dunflorâ:
   For a moment, Jadeâs words buzzed in the distance while most of Duncanâs attention was fired at the hand that had held her. Brief as it was, he felt it had broken a seal that seemed to have been put in place during their âtime apart.â He flexed his hand as he tuned his focus back into what she was saying, only really hearing âAtlantaâ before he was able to catch the rest. He quickly puzzled it together with the rest of the context and shrugged.
âYou know I never stay in one place for too long,â he told her, withholding the part of him that, ever since her disappearance, had begun to hate walking around his hometown even more deeply than before.
For a little bit, he had stayed in Georgia. He told himself it wasnât so bad to be back, especially since his sibling had moved into town as well. It was nice to spend more time with them, but there was a constant voice in the back of his head. One that howled instead of whispered, like a lone wolf trying to find his pack through whipping winds. It called out her name each time it was tricked with the illusion of her hiding just out of his periphery.
It exhausted him to the point that he could no longer turn away from the facts. He had been waiting for her to return. Bearing her absence with the false presumption that she would eventually come back and apologize.Â
Of course, she never did and the only thing he could think to do was to make his way up to New York. Sure it was taking him a while since he was stopping and staying in a town here, another one there along the eastern coast as he made his way north. Salem was supposed to be a simple pit stop, but itâd enchanted him enough for him to want to stay for longer than a short visit. New York could wait a little longer, he had told himself.
Coincidence was all this could be. Just like the two of them meeting that night not too long ago. âI didnât come here for a watch, I came here to forget about it. You just happened to fucking be here, so Iâm taking it as a sign that maybe I shouldnât believe that âI donât have itâ bullshit,â he spat out.Â
Duncan ran his fingers through his dark hair, tugging at the ends of his loose, short curls in frustration. Then he let out a long breath and took a single step closer to her. âMaybe it got lost in your stuff, maybe you gave it to someone, I donât know, but if weâre both gonnaâ be here in Salem for a while, then youâve got time to find it and give it back to me.â His voice was low, husky. He needed a drink.
.
Opal frowned, decidedly not interested in the reminder that she knew him. In fact, she was a big non-fan of all the things his presence alone was waking up inside her. This was never supposed to be part of the deal-- seeing the ruin sheâd left behind. Jade was just a skin sheâd shed in Georgia, not a ghost to haunt her waking hours.
She didnât like the sharp reality that Jade might have been more than just a persona. And that Duncan might have been more than just a mark.
She stopped that thought dead in its tracks, content to simply glare at him instead. An icy glint chased away any lingering softness as she thought about what his words meant. He was planning on being here a while? The smart thing, then, would be to leave, but she didnât want to. And the stubborn parts of her refused to give up any ground. Not when he just all but declared war. Whether or not he knew it.
Taking a step back, simply to gain some distance, she let her eyes bore into him before she finally spoke again. âDonât hold your breath.âÂ
She didnât give him a chance to ensnare her any longer as she turned on her heel and hurried away.
end.











