Chapter 48
**Amanda's Perspective:**
"Oh, come on... I didn't squeeze that hard," I say, laughing as Ghost jokes about how tightly I held onto him when we were on the motorcycle. I didn't think he knew how to joke... But even so, I've never heard him laugh, not even once. Not even a damn chuckle.
I don't know what I was expecting... His whole life, he's been trained not to feel anything. I don't even want to imagine what kind of childhood he had.
"What can I get you?" asks the lady selling street food, drawing both our attention.
"Beef empanada," we both say at the same time, and I smile at him, but of course, I get no reaction, not even a grimace. Still... I'm glad I have someone to share the joy of eating an empanada with. This is the one thing Ron and I don't do together. He hates this kind of food without any real reason.
I offer to pay, but Ghost pushes me so hard that I lose my balance. Jesus... Is he not aware of his strength? I regain my balance and give him a not-so-friendly look, which he treats with indifference. Someone needs to remind me why I chose to spend some time with him.
"I'm not used to having people around me, especially someone being nice to me," he says, taking a bite of the empanada. Was that supposed to be an apology?
"Is that your way of saying you're sorry?" I ask, sitting down on a bench. He looks at me as if I've just grown a second head, and I don't even know it.
"I don't apologize."
Of course, he doesn't... Denver never apologizes either. It makes sense that they trained him to do the same.
"Why doesn't Josh know about you? From what I understand from my parents, Russell chose to raise you." This question had been nagging at me the entire trip. There must be a reason Russell kept this secret.
"Because he wanted the perfect family, and I... He always told me I wasn't good enough to be treated like a son, so he turned me into his soldier."
Oh, Mom... What have you done?
"If it helps, Josh isn't perfect either, and I've never even seen his mother. I think the 'perfect family' is just something in Russell's imagination."
Ghost stares at me with the same cold gaze, but this time I'm not afraid of him. Now... I just feel sorry for him. It wasn't his choice to become the man he is today; he was trained this way from a young age.
"What's your name, anyway?" I ask, wiping my fingers with a napkin after finishing my meal. It's like a dark cloud settled over him because the whole atmosphere is polluted by the negative energy he's emitting. Of course... No one has ever cared about his fate until now, and he thinks I have hidden motives since I'm asking him so many questions, so I need to smooth things over.
"I just want to get to know you, that's all," I continue, and he seems to relax a bit.
"Ghost is my name. Russell told me I'm a ghost from his past."
"See you around," I say instead of "goodbye," and he just nods. I grab my bag, and after giving Ghost one last glance, I head towards the bus stop.
After boarding the bus and sitting in the back seats, I let my mind wander to Ghost. He seemed very doubtful when I asked him to wait until I come up with a solution for Denver. His entire life, he hasn't been able to trust anyone, which makes it hard for him to trust those around him. I know exactly how that feels. After I was kidnapped, the trust I had in people disappeared. And yet, here you are, chatting with the enemy, my conscience says, and I shake my head to get rid of the dark thoughts.
I get off the bus, and after a few minutes of walking, I arrive in front of the building where Ron works—Max Corporation. The building is so massive that I have to tilt my head back to see the top. I walk into the building, and a young woman, around my age—maybe a bit older—greets me with a smile.
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