Heartbreak hotel

Chapter 31

When Silas heard Lillian call the other person Ghost, he had to ask because that was the most ridiculous name he had ever heard. “You know someone called Ghost?” he asked incredulously. Surely, that had to be a nickname or something of the sort, because if it truly said Ghost on the birth certificate, oh, he would inwardly have a field day with this new information.

Soren chuckled slightly, and Silas smiled a little as he caught the expression on the shorter man’s face. Despite everything around him, he managed to smile, and there was something unique about Soren’s smile. His eyes lit up, crinkling in the corner, his dimple sinking into his pale skin, and the corner of his lips turning up ever so slightly.

Lillian rolled her eyes as she picked up one of the cameras and brought it to her eye. “You'll see why he’s called Ghost when he gets his ratty little ass here,” she hissed. She brought the microphone to her mouth and screamed the last half into the microphone.

A few minutes went by, and Ash was getting annoyed. He had crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot on the floor. When Silas looked over at Gabriel, whom he had indeed thought would have been one of the first people to come to Midnight, he realised it had been him who had been stabbed. He was staring at the back of the couch, his back glued to the wall, his arms tightly crossed over his chest. But made no indication to move.

When the front door opened, Silas, not so subtly, stood closer to Soren, as did Ravi. He glared at the man but said nothing, as it meant there would be more people to protect him if needed. Soren, of course, saw the movement and rolled his eyes as all heads turned toward the sliding door, where a man walked in.

The first thing you noted about the man was how young he looked. At least he had to be in his late teens to his early twenties, and wasn’t that a little young compared to Lillian and Seth, who were clearly the parents’ age? The second thing Silas noted was his pale hair and pale skin, and then it dawned on him that this man was an albino, hence the name Ghost.

Melody cleared her throat as she looked around the room, running her hands through her hair before her eyes landed on Ghost again. “Is it bad if I think he’s pretty?” she muttered.

“Yes,” Olivia deadpanned. “Get your ass over here.” She had pointed to the space beside her.

“But mom,” she whined, pouting.

“Now,” Olivia snapped. Melody groaned as she childishly stomped over to stand with her parents, who were eyeing the man cautiously.

Silas tilted his head a little when he realised that Soren had his eyes glued on Scar, and he wondered how he was holding up with that whole thing. He knew Soren, although he would never outwardly admit it, was a little scared of Scar. Silas had been watching him long enough to know his tells and the way he always crossed his arms, remained out of grabbing distance of the man, or would never look the man in the eye. He would always, always stare at his neck. But this time, he was sure, he was staring at the man's face.

“Traitors,” Ghost snapped, scowling at Seth and Lillian and seeming to ignore everybody else in the room.

“Enough,” Lillian snapped, glaring at him. “You cost us this mission.”

“It’s what you deserve for helping them.”

“They’re good people,” Lillian groaned, running a hand through her hair and scratching her neck a little.

“No one in this line of work is a good person.”

“He’s got you there,” Seth muttered.

“They are decent people,” she amended before pointing to Erza, fixing Ghost with a pointed glare. “She is the one who helped me with Micahel. And the woman next to her is the one who helped us in Amsterdam ‘22.”

Erza and Megan stared at one another with raised eyebrows. Megan leaned over and kissed her wife’s shoulders sheepishly. “Yes,” Erza groaned. “We’ll talk about this later.”

At the mention of the person called Michael, Ghost froze, and Silas was sure that if this man weren’t as pale as he already was, he would have paled further. “They know about Michael?” he seethed.

“Yes,” Erza replied, her gaze softening as she stared at him, “I know about Michael, and I can guarantee you his safety. Where he is now, he is safe, happy and content.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re good people,” he deadpanned, ignoring Erza and gazing back at Seth and Lillian. “They’re friends with the Romeros. And they are not good people.”

“We’re not friends,” Ash deadpanned, scowling as he glared at Rick. “They rocked up at our door at three in the morning, their bleeding nephew in tow, and we couldn’t kick them to the curb. He would have died.”

“Traitors,” Rick deadpanned, glaring at Ash, who shrugged.

“I know this looks bad,” Lillian said, and all eyes in the lounge room again landed on her. “I know how this looks, but I know what I am doing, Ghost. They do not deserve to be on our list. I know they’ve done a lot of bad, but they have done just as much good. You cannot let their bad deeds overlook their good deeds.”

“Smiling at a stranger does not justify the blood on their hands.”

“No, but saving countless others does.”

~*~