Two Hearts: The Hunt [Slowly Editing]

Chapter Thirty-One

A/N- This chapter was rushed and long and is probably riddled with errors and weird sentence structures (more than the usual dosage, for sure) so please excuse those; I have no time to go back and re-read anything since I'm leaving for vacation!

*Please note: The term "Seer" is not to be confused with it's most common definition: an individual that possesses prophetic capabilities. I'm giving that word a new definition for this story 'cause I can :)

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Adrianna's POV

We sat in a den that was located in the alcove directly to the right of the high foyer. Caleb and I were seated together in a leather loveseat the color of plum, my naked legs relishing the way its soft texture felt against them. In front of us sat Nathan in a rocking chair that was decorated with strung, green beads on the headrest and armrests. They rattled, swaying back and forth along with his casual rocking.

Esme sat to the left of us, to the right of Nathan. She seemed to be the most rigid of us all: her hands gripped the thick arms of the single-seated sofa below her and her tiny body was leant forwards intently as she stared away at nothing. Behind her was a wall of bookcases. A fancy, mahogany-colored desk was settled between the shelved furniture, looking brandished and new, as if it had never been used.

"Well?" Nathan asked after a period of silence. "What do you guys think?"

I looked at Caleb and Caleb looked at Esme. I could feel the heat of his body just inches from my bare arm-a magnet urging me to get as close as I possibly could to ecstasy.

I bit my lip and clenched my hand.

"I think," Esme said distantly, her eyes wandering across the room until they find Nathan's. "I think you're a Seer."

I blinked along with Nathan.

"A what?"

"A Seer," Esme repeated. "Someone who can see and communicate with the spirits of the dead. This isn't very common, but when it does happen, it usually is caused by some sort of traumatic event that affects the brain. Nathan, how long did you say you've been seeing dead people?"

Nathan glanced at Caleb and the two locked eyes as he said, "Since the night of Jared's party. The one where I fell off the pier and hit my head on one of the rocks at the bottom."

"You've been seeing ghosts since then?" Caleb gasped, eyebrows raised past his hairline. "Why didn't you-"

"Why do you think, Caleb?" Nathan shot back with a grimace. "How could I have possibly known that you could turn into a big hairy dog that howls at the moon? I thought I was going crazy. I knew that if I told anyone I'd be sending myself straight to the mental hospital."

Caleb pursed his lips.

"I thought if I ignored it, it would go away," Nathan continued. "But instead it just got worse. The gho-spirits-knew I could see them, somehow. And they wouldn't leave me alone. I felt like I was trapped in an episode of Ghost Whisperer."

"And that was how you found out about me," Caleb finished.

Nathan nodded. "One of the spirits-an old man in a black cloak-told me that you weren't what you seemed. I ignored him at first, but he was persistent-more persistent than the others. So eventually, I gave in and opened an ear up to what he was saying about you being part-animal just so he could leave me the hell alone. I thought he was insane, almost as insane as I was. But then he told me to cross the street from school this morning and look for the black truck parked on the side of the road. And that was when I saw you. Naked."