Grey II - Ghosts

Chapter 44 - Forest Games

My ghost, where'd you go?
What happened to the soul that you used to be?

Halsey - Ghost

Ailech and Ember were waiting outside awkwardly, or at least Ember looked awkward, Ailech looked mildly amused, as if he had greatly enjoyed the little soap opera that had played out. They followed us at an extended distance, Ember whispering something I couldn't quite catch to Ailech, whose eyes were almost continually rolling.

We were two halls away before James spoke, startling me.

"Hopefully Abraham will train your Sight now. He was better than Grayson anyway."

I wished his words didn't make my fists tighten at my sides, my jaw clench, but just the thought of Grayson 'training' James made me wish I had acted quicker in his office. I had seen James' reaction to Grayson and even if part of it was an act I knew what his words meant, what seeing his old teacher made him think of, made him relive.

My memory turned back to the night before, to what I had relived, but I stuffed down my anger at what James had done. Better for him to think it hadn't been anything to me, just a small victory for him. It seemed all our interactions were little battles, though I wasn't sure of what the score currently was between us, who was winning, or even what winning meant.

"Knowing Abby, he'll make you train me now," I muttered under my breath once I dragged my mind away from the memory of the night before, hoping my guess wouldn't be correct. James merely shrugged, his face blank.

"Abraham would be better suited to teach you, I'm sure."

There was a long pause and I resented how the silence hanging between us seemed heavy, uncomfortable. He kept glancing to his right and even opted to cross his arms over his skinny chest to avoid his hand swinging by his side, as if he thought he would hit something, though nothing was near us. The halls in the vault were wide, but he still acted like every bench we passed, every plant or statue was much too close to him. Eventually his aversion to the right wall interested me enough to ask.

"Does your hand still hurt?"

I saw him look at me out of the corner of his eye, seeming to decide how to answer.

"No."

"Then why are you favoring that side so much?"

"I'm not."

His words came out almost like the old James, defensive and cynical, but something in his tone didn't quite match, sounding a bit too flat.

"Then why do you keep looking over there, and keeping your hand at your side or holding it. If it isn't still injured why are you so worried about skimming it against something?"

He was silent for awhile as we continued to walk, nearing the gym I assumed he meant to work with me in. When he replied it was with a note of annoyance in his voice that clashed with his monotony strangely.

"Then actually yeah, it does still hurt."

"So are you lying now or then? Apparently I'm not that good at telling your lies from the truth," I said coldly, unable to hold my venom back any longer.

"Maybe you should just assume I'm always lying, and then you'll only ever be pleasantly surprised."

"Or you could be honest."

"I don't think that would suit me very well."

I scowled as we entered the gym, which turned out to be a forest area instead. It was so easy to get turned around in the Vault, and a reliable sense of direction had never been a forte of mine.