“I do,” Sam sighs. “All this reading is giving me a headache. And I’ve gotten nowhere.”
“Same,” Julia puts her book down as well. “Might as well stop for lunch.” She turns to me. “Is soup and sandwiches okay? It’s nothing fancy, but we don’t really do fancy much around here.”
“Trust me, if you saw the charcuterie board we put together last night, you’d know I’m not fancy,” I say with a half smile, looking at Ethan. “And I love both soup and sandwiches. Want any help putting things together?”
“Sure, that’d be nice.” Julia smiles.
“I’m going to take a shower.” Ethan gets up. “Since I didn’t get to it last night.”
“You do stink,” I say without missing a beat.
“Not as bad as you did when I pulled you out of that pond.”
“Touché.” I laugh and get up from the table, following Julia to the kitchen. Like the living room, the decor in here is rustic farmhouse, with no shortage of Rae Dun dishes. I’m impressed, really, at how quickly this place got decorated. I’ve been in my house for years and still haven’t so much as hung a painting in my bedroom. They’ve been here, what, a few weeks and this place looks like it’s been lived in for a good year at least.
“Do you want turkey or ham?” Julia asks as I go to the sink to wash my hands.
“Either is fine with me. I’ll have whatever everyone else is having.”
“Turkey then.” Julia pulls out what we need for sandwiches from the fridge and goes into a pantry. It’s completely full and well organized, with pretty wicker baskets complete with labels. I catch a glimpse of one that says “kid snacks”, which is a little weird, right?
“I know Ethan said you guys do this on a daily basis, but thanks for helping me,” I tell Julia as I start putting sandwiches together.
“Of course,” she says, glancing away from the stove
“Let me know when lunch is ready.” Sam pushes her chair in a little too harshly and rolls her eyes when she passes me. “And I don’t need you to use magic to heat up my soup, thank you very much.”
“I’m sorry,” Julia says, and I wave my hand in the air.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not, she’s being rude. She’s my sister, so I’ll be the first to call her out as being a bitch, but I promise she’s not always like this. Being a hunter is isolating, not that it’s any excuse for her behavior, but overall, we try not to take a personal interest in anyone we’re helping in case things don’t work out and—oh shit.” She looks at me, eyes wide. “I didn’t mean it like that. You’re not going to die. Well, I can’t promise, because you know…you could die from anything. And you’re much more likely to die the next time you get in a car than from a demon. Oh, shit again. You drove here. I’m sorry. That all came out wrong.”
“It’s okay,” I assure her.
She opens a can of tomato soup and dumps it in a pot. “What I mean is, we don’t usually get close to anyone we’re working with. Not just because of the danger, but because it’s hard forming a friendship just to have it end. Most people don’t want anything to do with demons once they’ve been saved. Not that I can blame them, but it makes it hard for us to connect with anyone who’s not in the Order.”
“I get that,” I tell her. “I can relate a bit with the whole being able to see ghosts thing. It’s not dangerous like hunting demons, but people don’t like associating with anyone they think is weird or whatever.”
“How many people know?”
“Just my brother and two friends. My parents know but don’t believe me. My mom is a doctor and is all science first about everything. Which, don’t get me wrong, I believe in science, but not everything can be explained or understood by looking at it under a microscope.”
“You said your brother is your twin?”
“Yeah. And no, he can’t see ghosts,” I say because I know she’s going to ask. “I guess it skipped him like the magic. Now I kinda feel bad for him.”
“You like being a medium?”
“Yes and no,” I say as I finish putting together one sandwich. “I struggled as a kid being different, and I’ve spent so many hours of my life terrified of ghosts, but it’s all I know. And the ghost is still there whether or not I can see it, ya know?”
“That’s how I feel about being in the Order. I don’t know what a normal life would be like, and I’d rather know the things that go bump in the night because sooner or later, something does end up bumping. This way I’m prepared.”
We talk more about what it was like for her to grow up in the Order, and how she and Sam got to know Ethan and his dad. We set the table once the food is all ready, and I grab my phone from my purse as I wait for Ethan to come back downstairs.