Ghost Scarab

Mending Fences

Sometimes I have a really hard time thinking up names for chapters. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it contains a lot of feels.

"Look, I don't care if he's doing drugs or planting bombs, running numbers or not doing anything at all. You are not going to be working for him. He has no interest in giving you a job. All he wants is a piece of your ass."

The car fell silent after Brandon's final angry statement. I stared out the window lost in thought.

There had been moments when I had been talking to Mr. Coaltar where I began to think he might be flirting with me and I had to admit I found myself feeling flattered by his attention. But I had always been quick to dismiss those thoughts telling myself that he was simply being polite or teasing me. He was smart, charming, attractive and wealthy. I had seen the kinds of woman that had been hanging around him at the party and I could not compare to them. So why then would someone like him flirt with someone like me?

But Brandon sounded so sure of himself when he told me that all Mr. Coaltar wanted was a piece of my ass. Just thinking of the way Brandon had worded that was enough to make me feel embarrassed. Deep down I had known that Mr. Coaltar wasn't serious with his job offer and even if he thought he was serious he would definitely change his mind once he learned more about me.

It hurt to acknowledge this but he wasn't really interested in me, he didn't know me. Sure I used my real name but the Sang who was at the party wasn't the real me and that was the version of Sang that Mr. Coaltar had been interested in. That Sang was wearing an expensive dress and heels. That Sang probably looked as though she almost belonged.

Why did I want so badly for Mr. Coaltar's interest to be genuine? I still had no idea what the other guys had found and although I didn't get the sense that he was a bad guy Brandon seemed so sure.

What if he really was involved in drugs? I didn't think that would change how drawn to him I was. So what kind of person did that make me? Was it because he was rich? I had never thought of myself as being so superficial that I would be interested in someone solely based on how much money they had but maybe the only reason I thought that was because I had never been in a situation that would allow me to find out.

I thought back to everything that had happened since I tried to steal Kevin's wallet at the mall yesterday.

There was Marc who spotted me when I tried to steal Kevin's wallet and called me over. Even with all my anxiety thinking I was about to be caught I couldn't help but feel flattered when he called me pretty. His one blue eye and one green eye had drawn me in from the moment I first saw them. I thought back to how he pulled off to the side of the road and demanded to know who had hurt me and how he had looked me straight in the eyes and promised me that if I let him he would protect me from my mother.

There was Corey who was the only person I had ever met who had a blush that was equal to my own. He always seemed to know just what to say to put me at ease. I had really enjoyed having him pretend to be my boyfriend at the mall and it made me happy when during our walk by the lake he had pretended I was his girlfriend.

There was Raven who despite his intimidating appearance managed to make me feel safe. He seemed to have a special talent for making me blush and he seemed to bring out a side of me that I never knew existed. He enjoyed pushing me and I found myself wanting to push back. I still couldn't believe I had found the nerve to pounce on him after he took one of the chocolates Dr. Roberts had given me. I remembered how gentle he was when he massaged my scalp while we were in the car on our way to Sergeant Jasper. He had said I was like a little kitten and he wasn't too far off, I would have purred if I had been able to. Then I thought of how different he was when he stood toe to toe with me with a gun pressed to my head as he challenged me demanding to know what I would do. My heart had been racing but it wasn't out of fear and my skin had felt like it was on fire.