Chapter 5
1224 Words
The next night, Natalie sat on Robert’s cot with her phone between them.
She had originally tried showing him games, but Robert seemed far more fascinated by her email inbox, especially the unread messages from her mother.
“Instant pony express,” he had called it, sounding genuinely delighted with himself.
The phrase had made her laugh.
But then his expression had shifted quietly as he admitted the last message he’d ever received from his own mother had come before he left home to earn money as a hired hand on a wagon train.
“She could not afford telegraphs,” he said softly. “Or coach fare. I do not even know if she ever learned what happened to me.”
Something in his voice had tightened at the end.
Natalie’s chest ached unexpectedly.
To distract him, she opened one of her mother’s emails.
“You want to hear modern correspondence?” she asked.
Robert perked up immediately. “You would share your personal letters with me?”
She smiled despite herself and opened the message, reading aloud the normal things first. Questions about school. Summer plans. Whether Natalie planned to visit.
Then she hit the familiar warning.
Do not give money to your father again.
Natalie stopped reading.
The silence stretched awkwardly for a second before Robert tilted his head slightly.
“My apologies,” he said quietly. “I did not mean to pry.”
Natalie leaned back against the cold wall with a sigh. “It’s fine. My dad’s probably kind of a disaster, but he’s still my dad.”
“I hope my mother thought such generous things about me.”
The faintly cheeky smile he gave her pulled another laugh out of her.
“I doubt you did anything that bad.”
Robert straightened slightly with obvious pride. “For your information, I was a train robber.”
Natalie stared at him.
There was absolutely nothing about Robert that matched the image of hardened criminals from movies.
She was opening her mouth to ask more when his expression shifted suddenly.
His attention moved toward the far corner of the cell.
“Natalie,” he said carefully, “there is someone else who wishes to meet you.”
Something about his tone sounded almost reluctant.
She followed his gaze. “Sure…”
Though he hadn’t actually asked if she wanted company.
The shadow near the edge of the cell shifted.
Not violently.
Not suddenly.
It simply… moved.
Like darkness deciding to become something solid.
Then he stepped into the moonlight.
And for one suspended second, Natalie forgot how to think.
He didn’t belong here.
That was the first thing her brain managed to grasp.
Dark blond hair caught the pale light, softer at the edges than anything in this prison had a right to be. His eyes lifted toward hers, sharp and entirely focused.
And his presence filled the room instantly.
Natalie’s thoughts stumbled over themselves.
Another ghost.
Of course there was another ghost.
This was literally a haunted prison.
That part should not have surprised her.
The problem was that he was devastatingly attractive.
Robert sighed softly beside her, sounding deeply put upon.
The new ghost’s attention flicked briefly toward him before returning immediately to Natalie.
And softening.
“Well,” he said, his voice low and smooth, “you are a pleasant surprise.”
Natalie swallowed hard.
“Yeah,” she managed weakly. “I’ve had a lot of surprises here.”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Not quite a smile.
“I imagine you have.”
His gaze never left her.
“You should not be down here alone.”
The words echoed Mr. Martin’s warnings, but the tone behind them was entirely different.
Warmer.
Personal.
Robert stayed silent, but something in the room had shifted around them anyway.
The new ghost stepped closer.
Not enough to crowd her.
Just enough to make it obvious he understood exactly how much space to take.
“I do not believe we have been properly introduced.”
His eyes held hers steadily.
“Andrew.”
Natalie blinked once. “...Natalie.”
“I know.”
The answer came too naturally.
And somehow that bothered her far less than it probably should have.
Andrew’s gaze lingered on her face.
“You are,” he said quietly, “the most beautiful thing I have seen in a very long time.”
Something warm flipped hard in Natalie’s chest.
Not fear.
Definitely not fear.
Robert went completely still.
Andrew didn’t move any closer.
He didn’t need to.
“You are a student,” he said. “What do you study?”
“Biology. Research track.”
“A smart woman,” he murmured, like the answer confirmed something.
Natalie frowned slightly. “What does that mean?”
“It means you prefer understanding things before believing them.”
The observation landed a little too accurately.
Natalie shifted slightly. “I like to know how things work.”
“I can see that.”
His gaze dropped briefly to the phone still resting in her hand.
“I could test things,” she admitted quietly. “If I understood what was actually happening.”
Andrew’s eyes lifted back to hers.
“I would willingly submit myself to your experiments.”
The phrasing sent an immediate rush of heat through her before she could stop it.
Natalie blinked. “You mean… actual tests?”
“If you wish.”
Behind him, Robert went still again.
“You’re saying I could study you?”
“If that is the term you prefer.”
Natalie laughed softly under her breath. “That’s insane.”
“And yet,” Andrew said gently, “you are considering it.”
She was.
That was the problem.
“I have always wanted to test something myself.”
The softer note in his voice caught her attention immediately.
Andrew tilted his head slightly, watching her through lowered lashes, and something about the look made her pulse skip hard.
Natalie nodded before she fully thought through the decision and closed her eyes again.
Cold brushed softly against her cheek.
Instinctively, she tilted toward it, half expecting a kiss that never came.
When she opened her eyes again, Andrew was leaning closer than before, his hand still resting against her face even though she could no longer feel the touch itself.
The look in his eyes made her stomach tighten.
He wanted to kiss her.
But he hadn’t.
The realization brought a tiny stab of disappointment sharp enough to surprise her.
Natalie smiled nervously. “Was that your experiment?”
A low laugh escaped him, warm despite the cold surrounding him.
“Not entirely.”
She wet her lips before she could stop herself and took a cautious half-step closer, careful not to walk through him.
“I think testing is important,” she said softly. “For science.”
Andrew’s smile deepened.
“Well,” he murmured, “for science, then.”
Natalie closed her eyes.
A cold, impossibly soft brush touched her lips.
The kiss barely lasted a second, but a shiver ran through her so sharply it felt dangerous.
Exciting.
Terrifying.
Wonderful.
The touch vanished almost instantly.
Her body reacted like it hadn’t.
Natalie’s eyes opened.
And for the first time since entering this prison…
she wanted more.
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