Desperate

Chapter 28

Elizabeth's POV:

Elizabeth still couldn't believe it. Her father believed her lie. At first, she thought he was fishing for the actual truth with all of the constant questions he asked her, but she discovered that he was genuinely serious about the topic. She couldn't believe the information she fed him seemed rational to him. But why? He was a businessman, not a ghost hunter. Why in the world did he believe such a ridiculous story?

Not to mention, she noticed he kept paying close attention to her words as if he was memorizing them. He kept asking her to restate some of the details of the ghost's appearance, their powers, or any other distinguishing feature that her fictional paranormal creature had during their conversation. It was a little odd; she had never seen him so eager to hear her side of a story, even if it was a lie.

"Hello? Lizz? You still with us, spacey?"

Elizabeth blinked rapidly then glanced over at Susan, who was sitting across from her at the lunch table. "What?" she asked and tried to remember what they were previously talking about before her brief detachment from reality.

"This is the third time this week you've spaced out." Susan crossed her arms as she eyed her best friend skeptically. "You sure Doctor Evan didn't find anything wrong with your brain scans?"

"I'm positive." She sighed and took a bite out of her ham sandwich. "I'm sorry, I'm just-"

"Completely out of it," Thomas interjected, setting his coke down. "What's going on, Elizabeth? You're not yourself lately."

No kidding. She didn't feel like her usual self, especially now that she knew about her strange abilities. How was someone supposed to feel normal when controlling wind or completely changing appearance without an intention too? It seemed as if she was fighting a battle to control herself and failing continuously.

It had only been three weeks since the incident, and, fortunately, no one caught her using her powers unintentionally. The only one who knew what she was capable of was Matt, and he proved to keep her secret from everyone, even his closest friends. It was just between them. Hopefully, it would stay that way for a while.

"Elizabeth?" Thomas asked as an attempt to regain her attention. "You there?"

"Uh, yes." Elizabeth set her sandwich down and sighed again. "I'm fine. Really I am. I've just been distracted lately."

"With what?" Susan inquired and leaned closer. "What's distracting you?"

Before Lizz could answer, she gasped in alarm when someone touched her shoulder and glanced up to see Matt shadowing over her. He lifted a confused brow and took his hand back, and she sighed in dejection before patting the seat next to her for him to sit down. "Sorry, Lizz," he apologized and sat down. "I didn't think I would scare you."

"Yeah, neither did I."

"See?" Susan's eyes widened as she gestured to her best friend. "Something's off!"

"I'm fine-"

"No, you're not." Thomas crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes slightly. "You're not 'fine.' Something is wrong, and I think you need to see Doctor Evan again."

"Agreed," Susan stated and took out her cellphone. "Or maybe she should see another doctor, like Doctor Richardson. He would be able to figure out what was wrong quick."

Lizz's eyes widened, and she reached over to Susan to stop her from calling any Doctor to help her. "But-"

"You two aren't making any sense." Matt narrowed his eyes at them. "So what she got startled when I touched her? It's not like you would have heard me walk up to you if you were in the middle of a conversation."