All The Pretty Ghosts (The Never Series Book 1) Jamie Campbell (best life changing books .TXT) 📖

“It’s David. He’s here.”

“The spirit you helped?”

“Yeah.” A tall girl walked in front of me. I moved to see around her but David was gone. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me. Perhaps it was never him to begin with. I shook my head to clear the thoughts. “I don’t know. It was probably someone else that just looked like him.”

“Probably.” Oliver gave me a smile that was supposed to be reassuring. I tried to convince my shaking hands of that.

I got a small bread roll when I reached the front of the line and we walked back to the apartment once I had eaten. I needed to be away from the crowds, I yearned for some peace and quiet after everything that had happened. My aching body needed it even more.

As we sat in the musky apartment, silence settled between us. My mind was troubled, unable to keep the swirl of thoughts quiet for even a few hours.

Oliver was sitting across from me, his knees cradled to his chest in an attempt to stay warm. He blew on his hands and rubbed them together, trying to generate some heat.

I found the words falling from my mouth before I knew I was going to say them. “I need to find Faith.”

His head shot up to meet my gaze. “It’s been over a year. She could be anywhere.”

“She’s only nine, she couldn’t have gone far.”

“You haven’t even got any clues where she could be.”

I knew it was a hopeless search, but that didn’t mean I shouldn’t be trying. Faith was my sister, I would never be able to stop thinking about her.

Worrying about her.

Loving and missing her.

“I’ll find clues. She couldn’t have just disappeared.”

Oliver licked his lips to return some moisture to them before he replied. “Maybe it’s best you don’t know what happened to her.”

“How can you say that? She’s out in the world alone. She needs me, I was supposed to protect her.” Anger was rising up with the bile in my stomach. I didn’t know why Oliver was being so contrary.

He knew Faith, he had grown up with her too. She always wanted to hang out with us, he would constantly tease her about being a little drama queen. He was a big brother to her as much as I was a big sister.

“Things happen for a reason,” Oliver said quietly. “Maybe she wasn’t meant to stay with you.”

I was too stunned to say anything. And even if I did, I might regret what I wanted to say at that moment. No matter what Oliver’s opinion, finding Faith was something I had to do. I had been trying for over a year to locate her, it was time I stepped up my efforts.

Or perhaps there was another way.

If I could find out what secrets the adults’ held, I could restore the city. That would make it safe not only for my sister, but for all the kids. It was a long shot, but maybe it was crazy enough to work.

Chapter Thirteen

The night got colder as it wore on. I shivered and my teeth chattered all night. Morning was almost a relief, allowing us to move and generate some heat.

Oliver was awake before I was, staring at me as I woke up. Even with running a hand through my hair to try to smooth and untangle it, I felt self conscious. Once, I never would have left the house without looking perfect. Even though Oliver had seen me at my worst, it still didn’t feel right.

“Was I drooling?” I asked, wiping my face.

His lips quirked up into a smile. “No. You actually look really beautiful when you’re asleep. It’s peaceful watching you.”

For the second time in as many days, I was speechless. Oliver didn’t dwell, quickly standing and heading for the door. I stood too, shaking my arms and legs to get the blood moving around. The pain was a little better, but only marginally.

I opened the door and was instantly blasted with a gust of cold air.

No, not just cold, but frozen air.

Flakes of snow were softly falling to the ground in a silent dance, joining their mates already forming solid blocks on the pavement. What I wouldn’t have done for a heavy coat, gloves, and a scarf. My shirt and jeans were not going to stand up to the cold for long.

The raised voices of an argument drifted down with the wind. Oliver and I took one look at each other before sprinting toward it. We found them in an alleyway at the end of the street. Three boys, one of them couldn’t have been more than five years old.

“It’s mine, you can’t have it,” the smallest one said.

“I found it fair and square, it’s mine,” one of the bigger boys, in his early teens, replied. They each had a corner of a blanket, knuckles white as they held on for their life.

“It’s not! Give it to me!”

“I’m going to kill you if you don’t let go.”

“Like you could even try!”

Without warning, the two bigger boys lunged for the smaller one. They set on him like a wild pack of dogs, going for the most vulnerable one in the group.

“No!” I shrieked.

Oliver went to stop me but I was too fast for him. I jumped into the fray, my sole intention to get to the little boy before they could kill him.

I didn’t doubt they would.

Kill him, that is.

My hands clasped around the child’s collar, jerking him backwards. The grip of the other boy was too strong as his fingers dug into his little arms. He wasn’t going to give him up without a fight.

Trying not to think of what I was doing, I