Page 13 of Ghost
“Oo-rah?”
“It’s a battle cry adoptedfrom the World Wars.”
“That’sinteresting.”
“We keep talking about me,but what about you? Where did you grow up?” Ray asked before takinga swig of beer.
“Not much to say. I grew upin foster care in New York after being dumped by the Noah Group inan orphanage. However, I wasn’t aware of that fact until yearslater.”
“That had to suck.” Whysugarcoat it?
“Yeah. I never knew where Ibelonged. Until now.”
“Here at FireLake?”
“It’s the first time in mylife I feel normal. Weird to say, but being surrounded by othersurvivors and a team of lethal Navy SEALs makes me feelcomforted.”
“Hey, home is where youfind it. I may have been born in Marshall, but I felt more at homewith my military unit stationed across the globe.”
“Do you feel at home inSeattle?”
“No. I don’t think I’llever find a place that feels like home.”
“Why?”
“Not sure.” Ray shrugged.“Just never had that feeling. You know what I mean?”
“I do. I always felt like Iwas running, and I was never settled. It wasexhausting.”
“Like you can’t stop longin one place or set down roots because it never feels right,” Raysaid as he tapped his head and chest. “In here or here.”
“Exactly,” Ghost agreed,giving Ray a strange look, his eyebrows furrowed and an adorablewrinkle appearing between his eyes.
“What?”
“I would have never guessedwe’d have anything in common,” Ghost admitted.
“You’d be surprised howalike we may be after all.”
“Maybe.”
“How did you discover yourability? It’s amazing, by the way.”
Ghost blushed. It looked good on him.“You say amazing; others say freak.” The moment the word left hismouth, Ghost sat up straight and glanced around, putting Ray onalert.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just looking for Julia. Ipromised her I’d never use the word ‘freak’ when referring tomyself again. She’d kick my ass.”
Ray couldn’t help but chuckle. “I betshe would. Julia doesn’t strike me as a person who takes shit fromanyone. I like her.”
“She’s one of a kind. Idon’t remember the exact day, but I remember the feeling. I wantedto disappear, to become invisible from the world. I looked down atmy hand and realized I couldn’t discern where the pattern on thesofa started and where my hand began. They were thesame.”
“That had to freak youout.”
“You’d think, but I wasmore comforted than upset. So, why didn’t you like living inMarshall? Your whole family was here; hell, between yourgrandfather and father, they policed the town for manydecades.”
Ray wasn’t sure how to answer thatquestion, so he went with ambiguity.
