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“I do have a father figure who’s alive – Papa Paul. He’s Zellie and Melody’s dad and used to be a pastor, but now he’s a
sous chef at Claire’s family’s ski resort. And I’ve got two great moms. My biological mother is a Seer and paralegal. She used to be married to Papa Paul. Mama Becky is a hairstylist and the only person in my family who supports my hairdo choices. She’s Avery’s mom and currently married to Papa Paul. Great Aunt Hazel and Uncle Roger live nearby…on a marijuana farm.” He cringes. “Okay, I can see how this makes me sound like a weirdo, and why no girl has ever wanted to kiss me and why I’ll probably be a virgin until I’m forty, but I promise it’s all a lot more normal than I’m making it sound.”

Wyatt sits up taller, throwing his shoulders back.

“You’ve really never kissed a girl?” I look at his mouth, his lips are full and rosy and highly kissable. Stupid small town bitches. Their loss.

“That’s your question?
Seriously?” He looks kinda pissed that I haven’t challenged his character. I know a little bit about that. I’m sure he’s got a standard rebuttal. I don’t care.

I whip the blanket covering my legs off, exposing my scarred thighs. “I did this to myself,” I say, gesturing to the raised shiny lines slashed across my legs. “I was addicted to prescription drugs, mostly oxy, but I loved morphine when I could get it. I…for years I woke up in strange places and didn’t know
how I got there
. At first it was scary, but then I started not to care and that should’ve been even scarier. I’ve slept with people for money and for drugs and in some cases just to have a place to spend the night.” I look at him directly, hoping this is all sinking in. He has nothing to worry about with me. “No one has ever called me an inbred freak or accused me of having a tail, but I’ve been called plenty of other names. Whore, trailer trash, worthless, diseased piece of shit…the hits keep on comin’. So, yeah, I know from fucked up. It’s not like this is a ‘who sucks worse at life’ competition, but as far as I can tell, you’re surrounded by a group of people that love you unconditionally. I’ve never even had anyone in my life to piss off and see if they forgive me.”

Wyatt shakes his head. “You’re right. I’m a dumbass. I have no reason to complain
abo-”

“Hold up, I’m not done talking or listening to you and I really want to know what’s in that box you brought me, but first,” my hand shoots out and I force him to move toward me, hiding my surprise that I am both awake and rewinding, “I’d like permission to kiss your stupid face.”

He closes the distance between us all on his own.

Penny

I’m chest to chest, mouth to mouth, man-hand on my thigh, all over Wyatt getting kissed like a freak by a freak when Reed barges into the room.

“Ben’s comi-”

“Hello, rule breakers,” Ben says, closing the door behind him and elbowing Reed out of the way. He looks at where Wyatt’s hand is and stifles a grin. Wyatt quickly scoots off the bed as I drag the blanket back over my legs.

“Uncle Ben,” Wyatt starts.

Ben shakes his head. “Don’t even. If I wasn’t in such an awesome mood, I’d kick your ass.” He pulls Wyatt into a hug. “Congrats, dude, you’re officially an uncle.”

“Already? That was quicker than Avery thought!”

I reach out and take Wyatt’s hand. His face goes all goofy smile-y.

Ben rolls his eyes. “Yes, sorry your sister giving birth didn’t afford you more time to make out with Penny.” He turns to me. “Good to see you awake and feeling better. Do we have Reed or Wyatt to thank for that?”

“Both.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him, thinking that will rein his sauciness in.

Instead he laughs. “Oh, to be young and confined to a bed with restraints.”

“Jesus, Uncle Ben!” Wyatt says, shaking his head.

He shrugs and points at Wyatt. “You, go see your sister. And you,” he swings his point toward Reed, “go with him. Check if Christopher needs some help. His mind’s wiped out.”

Wyatt ducks his head and kisses the top of my hand. “Um, thanks?” He chuckles.

“No problem.” I giggle, and then because this boy has somehow made me want to inexplicably act like a girly-girl, I look away from him all coy.

“Hmm,” Ben and Reed say at the same time.

“What?” Wyatt and I respond.

“Are you sure you haven’t been having death dreams about
Wy, Penny?” Ben asks. “Because you two are very, very enamored with one another.”

“Yeah,” Reed adds, “in that totally stupid trigger/Retro kind of way.”

Wyatt looks at me, questioning.

“No. Honestly, I would’ve told him, told all of you if something like that had happened.”
Shit
. I slap myself across the face.

“Whoa!” Wyatt says, stepping back from me. “What’d you do that for?”

Ben winces. “She’s making sure she’s awake.”

I rub my cheek. “Just because the dream starts out great doesn’t always mean it ends up that way. For all I know, those Crusader assholes are just about to break up this party.”

“Oh, which reminds me,” Wyatt says, retrieving the cardboard box from the floor and setting it at the foot of my bed. “During my copious amount of free time in the record room looking for a Maud Lavoie/Penny/Elle connection I came across this box full of Crusaders files.” Wyatt looks at Ben, his expression contrite.

“
Crrrrrrrap,” Ben drawls. He flops down in the easy chair crammed in the corner of the room. “Now my new baby buzz is seriously harshed. How much do you know, you nosy bugger?”

We all stare at him. Wyatt rubs the back of his neck. “Well, um, I didn’t read any of it. My plan was that if Penny was mad at me when she woke up, I could use the information as a peace offering, and if she wasn’t mad at me, it would give me a good excuse to sneak down here and hang out with her.”

I’ve finally managed to kiss a smart boy who wasn’t a jerk, junkie, or killer. Go One Cent!

“Hey,
brah, that’s not the worst idea you ever had,” Reed says, clapping Wyatt on the back. “Seems like shit worked out.”

“Oh, what the hell,” Ben says, throwing his hands up in the air. “Don’t tell your Uncle Christopher I told you this, he would be mortified. You know how he gets.”

Wyatt crosses his heart. It’s adorable.

“When you were little,
Wy, four I think,” Ben begins, settling in like he’s about to regale us with an epic tale, “we fought, and thought we’d ended, these jackasses who called themselves the Crusaders for the Protection of the Present.” Ben pauses. “Yeah, don’t try to create an acronym for it, your brain will bleed.
CftPotP?
Lame
.
”

“So,” Reed asks, “if you thought you defeated these clowns, then how are they showing up in Penny’s head?”

“And why does my ex-boyfriend Darren work for them?”

Wyatt absently strokes my leg through the blanket.

“That’s what Christopher and I would like to know. The original Crusaders were a group created by Christopher’s ex, Wes. He was a ghostly mofo who would not go to the light and not leave Chris be. Wes double-crossed us and sold us out a ridiculous number of times. He was cunning and bitter and powerful in the spirit world. There was no getting rid of him. When the old Society relocated to Europe…there was a group of spirits that was seriously pissed off at being traded to The Three and abandoned here.” Ben looks at me, explaining. “Spirits can travel, but if the person that’s anchoring them to a continent leaves, they’re screwed. Wes took advantage of this situation, as he’s taken advantage of every situation ever presented to him, and convinced these disgruntled, stuck spirits to start haunting religious fanatics and whispering suggestions in their ears. Trying to get them to kill us.” He shakes his head. “Clemmon Wayne Dansbury of Tallahassee, Florida took the bait. But we fought him, and I thought that was the end of it, until I saw him in your vision.”

“He’s back from the dead?” I ask.

“No,” Ben laughs, “nothing like that. We…at first we tried reasoning with him, letting him in on the truth, but I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to rationalize with a wack job. It didn’t go well. When that didn’t work, we had him committed.”

“Why didn’t you kill him?” Wyatt questions. “He was trying to kill you and Zellie and Christopher.”

Ben looks him in the eye. “Because the New Society is about helping humanity, not taking out those who get in our way. There had been enough killing and he was sick and being egged on by Wes. We could all empathize, I guess.” Ben leans forward in his chair, pointing at me. “However, that is when we realized we weren’t being smart about security. We started digging the tunnel for the alternate exit soon after.”

“Whatever happened to Wes?” Wyatt asks. “I’ve never met the guy.”

Ben grins widely. “You should ask Gaby about that the next time she comes in from the field.” He directs his grin at me. “You and Gaby would get along. When you learn to chat with spirits, I’ll hook you up.”

“
Chido,” I say. “So the Crusaders have a bone to pick with the New Society. That still doesn’t explain why they killed Parker or…have you ever heard of this formula that they were trying to get him to give up?”

“Nope.
And I know I’m not a fan of this Squirrel Figurine or whatever, but all the musicians I’ve ever hung out with, and there have been a few, weren’t also, like, moonlighting as scientists.”

Wyatt and I look at each other. He nods, essentially giving me the go ahead to get him in more trouble. “Remember when I said I had an encounter with the lead singer of
Squirrelish Figure at the drinking fountain in the airport?”

“Yeah,” Ben says. “Or at least Christopher recalled you telling us. We decided that was why you had the vision about him – because of recent contact.”

“Wyatt figured out that guy was a decoy named Parker Henry.”

Ben narrows his eyes at me, confused.

“After shows,” I explain, “in order to draw the paparazzi away from the real talent, they sometimes use a decoy. Y’know, he goes and gets in the limo and does the big goodnight wave at the hotel where fans are waiting. Meanwhile the real celebrity is hanging out, getting sloshed in a dive bar down the street.”

He waves his hand at me. “I know what a decoy is. So you’re saying that the guy in your vision wasn’t a musician?”

Wyatt taps his foot, jiggling the bed. “Parker was a Neurobiologist.”

“Hold up,” Ben says, getting to his feet. “Anything else you neglected to tell me?”

“Oh, sheeeit,” Reed says, sidestepping toward the door.

Wyatt shrugs. “What difference does it make? Parker’s dead, Darren didn’t get the formula from him, and you’re never going to let me be a Lookout again.”

Ben puts his hands on his hips. “Damn straight.”

“I fucked up! I’m a fuck-up,” Wyatt says, standing and getting in Ben’s face. “I know you all think I’m mediocre at best, that you’ve just been letting me play at the whole Lookout thing all these years. But I’ve been taking it seriously. I took being Penny’s Lookout fucking seriously, Uncle Ben, and I would’ve told you everything if I hadn’t felt like I would’ve been dismissed with a pat on the head and a ‘let the adults take care of this.’ I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m an adult now and it’s time you started treating me like one. I could be great. I. Could. Be.
Great. If you assholes would just give me a chance!”

“Dude, I hear you.” Ben walks over and flicks Wyatt on the side of the head. Wyatt flinches away and then sighs pointedly. “I know it sucks. I understand what it feels like to not be seen for all that you are, but you shouldn’t have tried to go it alone. That’s a lesson we all have to learn sooner or later.” Ben cups Wyatt’s cheek with his hand and this time Wyatt doesn’t flinch. Ben pats his face twice. “Zellie is the one who taught me that and look how much good it did me? Forget the Crusaders and Parker Henry. Let Melody and I handle it.”

Wyatt rolls his eyes, but then smiles. “Yes, Uncle Ben,” he sing-songs.

“I can feel the love in your sarcasm, and to you I say a very jolly, ‘
eff off.’ Go see your sister, while I babysit your scary girlfriend.”

“Hey!” I protest.

Ben winks at me.

What can I say? It works.

“And you,” he points to Reed, catching him slinking from the room. “Hit her with a little sleepy-time juice. Nothing’s going to happen tonight. I can feel it.”

Reed stares at me hard. “Sweet dreams, Penny.”

If only.

Wyatt

Reed and I drop our badges off at the guard station and go up the spiral staircase. We wait for Phil to buzz us through, even though we’re going topside for family business and I shouldn’t have to have Phil’s permission to do so. I should have an access code, plain and simple. I’m still annoyed that my family won’t pull their heads from their asses and trust me again.

“So, uh, I guess things went fairly bueno with Penny, huh?” Reed asks, slapping me on the back as we step outside and make our way to Zellie and Avery’s.