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Again, there’s no answer but it feels wrong to not acknowledge her. That or I simply can’t stand being alone for long. I’m too social, unlike Jayce, who thrives in silence.
My first instinct is to check under the pillow, then the mattress. Both are empty. Under the bed she’s got a shoe box full of photos and another with written notes. Not wanting to go through each and every one at the moment, I put them back and make a mental note to tell Rav about them.
The bookshelf is full of chapter books and a few textbooks. Her desk is cluttered with half finished homework, the math problems left unsolved. A faded backpack is next to it. A cloud of dust puffs out as I unzip the bag and I have to abandon it and go for a window. It takes more muscle than I realize I have to get it to budge, but when it does I suck in a breath of the clean air.
Lifting my shirt over my face like a mask I grab the bag again and give it a shake before taking it to the bed and dumping the contents. A calculator, notebooks, another textbook, pencils, a few notes and crumpled assignments. Nothing out of the ordinary.
A cold feeling fills the air and immediately, I can feel a strange sense of hope. The heaviness from earlier is gone now and I have a feeling Pandora is with me.
Before I can speak a pencil rolls off of the bed and slowly works its way across the hardwood. I watch in shock as it shifts direction before coming to a stop in the very middle of the room. It lands on a particular floorboard.
“You sneaky girl,” I laugh. It’s slightly hysterical but I’m fairly certain a ghost just showed me where she hid her diary.
Walking over, I shove the dusty rug aside and try to pry it up. There’s an old notch in the natural wood, just enough to give traction and lift. Something is wrapped in burlap, and it takes every bit of fucking courage I have to put my hand in the dark, cobweb-filled hole in the floor.
My hand shakes as I reach forward, fingers brushing the burlap. A loud creak has me glancing to the side, shocked to see a figure peeking around the corner.
“Hey!” I yell out, forgetting about the floorboard as I race after the man. “What are you doing here?” The backdoor is now wide open but there’s not a soul on the lawn. Even as I glance around I can’t see him anywhere. The shed and old barn are too far away. Every door on the new barn is closed, so he couldn’t have gone there.
Was it a ghost?
If I was uneasy before, it has nothing on how on edge I am now. Walking back inside, it feels heavier, terrified. And I can’t tell if it’s me or Pandora…or something else altogether.
Not wanting to linger in here any longer, I snatch out the burlap bundle, put the floorboard back in place and head for the kitchen. Just as I set it down, tires on the gravel out front signify that Jayce and Raven have made it back.
“Hey!” Raven calls out. “You in here?”
Her voice is refreshing after all the silence. “Kitchen!” A few seconds later, she’s walking around the corner.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, narrowing her eyes as I lean over the table, face covered in a light sheen of sweat, and looking half crazed I’m sure.
“We need new locks. Tomorrow. Someone was here.”
“A ghost?” Lucien questions.
“That, too,” I admit as I sit down with a heavy sigh. “There have been an array of emotions in the air today. And I think Pandora helped me find this.” I gesture at the burlap in front of me.
“What is it?” Raven asks. “She was here?”
“I haven’t unwrapped it. Be glad I grabbed it from the spider infested hole,” I joke before launching into a full explanation of what happened while they were gone.
“Definitely need cameras,” Lucien agrees. He turns and walks out, glancing around to see if the person is bold enough to lurk around again.
“Should I open this?” Raven asks, staring down at the mysterious item between us. She seems conflicted and I can’t blame her. This is a big deal.
“I think you should,” I agree. “She meant for us to find it.”
My stomach rumbles after I tell Raven to open the book. “How about we cook dinner and head back to the apartment first? This will give you all the time you need to decide if and when you want to open it.”
Raven gives me a teary eyed smile. “And here I thought Jayce was the thoughtful one.”
I smile back at her as Jayce pipes in, “Stop trying to steal my thunder.”
He laughs so we know that he’s joking and it helps lighten the mood.
“Lucien, do you need any help?” Raven questions as she pockets the book, saving it for later as I suggest. I almost feel a sense of relief.
“From you, yes, those two, no,” he states in a serious tone.
