Tonya Hurley_Ghostgirl_03 by Lovesick Page B

sent all this way back, very much in protest at that, she felt compelled, if not obliged, to notice.

Damen’s hair was trimmed a bit shorter, his jeans belted and more fitted, and his shirttail tucked in instead of hanging freely beneath his jacket and over his backside. He was always neatly dressed and appointed, but to Charlotte, he kind of looked like he was prepping for an interview. Or, heaven forbid, a date.

Suddenly, it all seemed to make sense to Charlotte. She was sent back to keep an eye on Damen, to prevent him from doing something foolish and hurtful and maybe even permanent to both himself and Scarlet. Of course! Only she knew him well enough, knew them both well enough, and cared enough to make sure that Cupid’s arrow stayed on target. This was serious business, after all.

Before Charlotte even had time to appreciate the importance of her mission, Damen interrupted her thoughts with a sigh, as he picked up an envelope that had been buried.

Whatever it was, Charlotte thought, Damen was glad it had arrived. A love letter from Scarlet, maybe? She could only hope. Or someone else?

He settled down and slowly pulled the flap open, the anticipation and tension returning to his face. What was this, the Grammys? But before he could open the envelope completely, his door opened.

“Hey, man,” Matt Rogers, Damen’s roommate, greeted him. “I was hoping not to see you.”

Matt was a blond, bespeckled frat boy. Good-looking, smart, outgoing, athletic, and loyal, he gave a straightlaced appearance but was clearly anything but. It was obvious instantly that Damen liked him a lot.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Damen shot back, “but I just might have gotten my ticket.”

“No way! Open it, open it, open it…,” Matt chanted, fists pumping, urging Damen on enthusiastically.

Damen took heart and bravely finished off the envelope. He reached in, grabbed the single sheet between his thumb and forefinger, and pulled it up to eye level. Even Charlotte was taken in as he read the letter silently, then looked over at his anxious roomie.

“I got it,” Damen said quietly, rushing at Matt with his hand skyward for a colossal high five. “I got the internship at Hawthorne Broadcasting Studios for spring semester!”

“HBS?” Charlotte wondered. “But that’s in…”

Before she could finish the thought, Matt did.

“You’re going home, bro!”

They embraced in an enthusiastic man-hug for a second and then separated uneasily and shook hands firmly, with Matt getting in a last good slap to Damen’s back.

“You’ve got an angel on your shoulder, dude,” Matt said sincerely.

“I must,” Damen said, already beginning to pack his stuff.

“Wonder if she’s hot,” Matt added.

This was the first time he ever commented about an angel being potentially hot. Usually it was either real girls in posters or comic book characters.

Damen looked at him, dumbfounded, but Charlotte was totally flattered by the compliment.

“Scarlet is going to freak,” Matt said, as Damen beamed a mischievous grin back at him.

“In a good way,” Charlotte thought to herself, “I hope.”

Chapter 9 Sadly Beautiful

I know I’ll never really get inside of you,

To make your eyes catch fire the way they should.

—The Cure

He loves me, he loves me not.

If two past lovers remain friends, they are either still in love, or never were. We are attracted to people for all sorts of reasons; however, the human mind sometimes classifies feelings as romantic because it can’t make sense of them at the given time. The truth is, those people we feel drawn to most might not be intended as love interests, but rather as life-changing, life-altering presences that come into our lives for reasons we can’t yet understand.

Everyone took some time to recover from Valentine’s Day, the excitement and romance of it for some, the disappointment of it for others. For the lonely hearts, the cards, flowers, and candy boxes on display