Page 99 of Some Kind of Haunted

Jack sighs. At me, I think. “All right. I’m coming.” He presses a sweet, quick kiss to my mouth—not like the one before it, but affecting all the same—and then stands. His gaze lingers on me. “You’re safe here, Lexi.”

I wonder how he can believe that. But then, I also wonder how he can be so sure he loves me, that I am a gift. I wonder a lot of things, but I don’t voice any of them. It’s easier to talk about the scotcheroo scandal.

I aim a smile at Harrison after Jack leaves, but he doesn’t smile back. It takes me a moment to realize that. And another moment to see that he’s studying me in a way I am not used to from him. It’s not warm.

It’s not exactly cold, but I am reminded of his warning about his grandson. That clearly Harrison is surprised by this more . . . involved nature of our relationship.

“You didn’t have to come up the stairs,” I offer into the awkward silence.

“Oh, it’s good for these old bones to get some exercise every now and again,” Harrison says with a chuckle. “Jack is right. You need some rest, and I’ll be right outside.”

He smiles at me then, back to warm and reassuring, and I’m unduly relieved.

And it’s a growth moment for me when I don’t tell myself that I imagined that coolness from him. Maybe he has reservations about anyone with Jack. Maybe it’s the fact I don’t live here. Maybe he always wanted Jack to be with someone else.

Who knows? It doesn’t matter.

“Everything is going to be just fine, Lexi. We’ll make sure of it,” he says gently, with that same certainty his grandson wields so effortlessly. “Try to sleep now. You’ve been through a terrible experience. You need to recalibrate.”

A lump forms in my throat, but I nod. Harrison pulls the door shut, and I wait to feel safe and sweetly watched over, but I shudder. Because being shut in this crowded room feels a bit like jail again—

But that’s ridiculous. This room is no cell. My bed is soft and safe. I’m clearly overtired and probably hangry, too—though my stomach still twists at the idea of eating.

I don’t let myself think about Cleo. Or Nora. I’ll start sobbing.

I sink into the covers and pile them over me. Then I pick up one of the heart-shaped rocks and clutch it in my hands. It’s warm and comforting somehow, not cool to the touch the way I expect. And before I know it, I fall into a strange, shallow sleep.

I don’t dream. And when I wake up, I’m exactly where I should be, right here in this bed. There is no blood on my hands. I am safe, just like Jack and Harrison assured me I would be.

Though when I focus on the wall across from me, my heart kicks at me, because all of those hair wreaths are back on the wall. Right back where they belong, like I didn’t hide them away with my own two hands—

I remind myself that this is not a bed-and-breakfast. This is a store. For all I know, Harrison had a hair wreath buyer come in who wanted to see them up again. And they are just hair. Just a different sort of textile.

They are still fucking creepy.

I squeeze the rock that’s still in my palm, then get up out of the bed. I shove the rock into my pocket, thinking that maybe it’s some kind of good luck talisman. After all, I slept. And woke up where I lay down, which always feels like a victory.

I step out into the hallway. The window that looks out over Main Street tells me I was out for a while, because the light is starting to fade. Out in the big store area where Nora slept that night, I see Harrison sitting in a little armchair in my peripheral vision. I turn to face him. I think maybe he nodded off, too, and is just waking up now. He blinks a little blearily.

“Did you get some rest?” he asks, his voice scratchy. He struggles to get up out of the chair.

I rush over to help him. “I think so.”

“Good. Jack wants you to meet him at the clock tower.” Harrison smiles as I help him to his feet and hand him his cane. “I’m going to walk over with you so you aren’t alone. And make sure we stay in the light.”

“Why the clock tower?” I ask, something in me internally resisting this idea. It’s nearly dark. Why would I go to a potential demon zone? Why would Jack want me to? Especially with poor, unsteady Harrison.

“He found something and he thinks it has an answer,” Harrison tells me.

I’m not sure why Jack wouldn’t have told me that himself, but then again, I was asleep. He probably didn’t want to wake me. But the idea of that clock tower . . .

“Did he go over there alone?” I ask, worried he’s done something overly noble.

“Logan was going to meet him there.”

“Okay.” It has to be okay. It’s not full night yet, so it’s not like it’s entirely dangerous yet. The danger is at night. We have to be together in the dark. And how bad can it really be if Jack is sending me with Harrison? Maybe this is why he left Harrison here. So I would know it was safe. I look out the window again, where it’s not getting any brighter. “I guess we should get going before it gets too late?”

Harrison nods and I help him down the hall and stairs. He seems more and more unstable as we go, particularly on the stairs.