Page 13 of A Haunting at Keystone Manor

“You’re welcome. Now, tell me how you like to be wooed.”

“I don’t want to be wooed,” he says stubbornly.

“I think that maybe you do,” I counter. “Do you like flowers, long walks through the woods, animal sacrifice to your preferred deity?”

He looks disturbed at the notion of animal sacrifice. “None of the above,” he says, but I see his lips twitch just a little.

I shrug as I lean back into the couch. “Playing tough to get. I get it,” I tell him.

It looks like he rolls his eyes at me, but that can’t be right, can it? We sit in silence for a bit as I watch him, trying to figure him out.

“What do you like to do for fun?” I ask him. “Any hobbies? When I was alive I liked reading those smutty romance novels. I had to hide them from my mom, but they were…educational.”

He shakes his head, trying desperately to hide his smile. “I wasn’t allowed to have hobbies. I tried to grow a vegetable garden once, when I was younger. My father destroyed it when he found out. I've spent so long doing what everyone around me demands, I don't even know what I like anymore,” he says simply and turns his attention to the window.

“I’m sorry. Maybe now that you’re here, you can figure it out.” He shrugs, and I can see him shutting down. He wants to be left alone. I stand up and stretch. Jake is a guarded fortress, and it’ll take time to get him to open up to me more. But I’m a stubborn boy; I’ll get through to him somehow.

“I have to, uh, have Brandon jot down a few ideas in my journal. For the hotel. Will you be okay in here?”

He looks over at me then, surprise on his face. “Yeah, I will be. Thank you, Alex.”

I bob my head. “I’ll see you later, then. If you need anything, come find me, okay?”

“I will.” He turns his gaze back to the window as I leave.

***

Okay, so the wooing is going to take some time. I knew that, but I was able to comfort Jake and even make him smile a little, so I consider that a win. I’ll have to come up with a good location for our first real date. Outing, I remind myself. Maybe take him to one of the lakes on the property. We could go on a hike! I don’t really like the outdoors though, so he’d have to carry me. Ooh, there’s an idea. I want to go on a hike with Jake.

Chapter nine

The Psychic

Jake

A loud knock on the front door shakes me out of my contemplation as I stare at a particularly deep crack in the wall of the lobby. What a shithole. I can’t believe my parents haven’t bothered to at least make an effort to fix this place up.

A tall, lanky guy with wild, shaggy black hair is standing in the entryway. He reminds me of Brandon. He’s wearing what looks to be a silk robe and worn down sandals. He has shiny silver rings on all his fingers, and a piercing in his eyebrow. He sees me and says, “Hey, I heard that this place is in need of my psychic prowess. I’m here to assist! My name is Seth. Are you Alex?”

I stare at him for a second. I shouldn’t be surprised he can see me, that’s the entire reason he’s here. “Uh, no, I’m Jake. My parents own this place.”

His face falls a little. “Oh, right. I heard what happened. That’s gnarly, bro, I’m sorry.” I shrug it off.

“How are you able to see me?” I ask.

“Well, I’m a psychic, so I’m pretty in tune with the paranormal. Ghosts and such. Normally it takes a bit more to woo the ghostly energies. But this place, man. It’s off the chart. Is this place next to a ley line by any chance? It feels like it's calling to me, pulling me in, you know?” I have no idea what that means. When I just shrug, he says, “Cool, no worries. I’ll investigate that later. Hey, I’ll be right back. I need to grab my tools.” With that he runs out the door. I turn my gaze back to that crack in the wall until he gets back.

Just as he returns with a small black trunk, Alex and Brandon come down the stairs. “I thought I heard your voice, bro!” Brandon says. “Thanks for coming out.”

“Any time, man. I’m just happy to help. Where do you want to do this? I have a few things I need to get set up before we start.”

Alex pipes up first. “This might get a little intense, so I was thinking we could do it in my room. You should have enough space in there. There’s a sitting area we can use.” Everyone agrees, so he leads the way up to his room. My palms are starting to get sweaty. It’s now or never.

Seth sets a few candles around the room and lights them before turning the ceiling light off. "It sets the mood, and aids in relaxation," he explains as he rummages through his bag, eventually pulling out an old leatherbound book. He hums quietly to himself as he thumbs through the pages.

“Ah, here we are,” he says with a lopsided grin as he quickly scans the page.

I look over at Alex as we take a seat on the couch. His face is bathed in deep shadows. He gives me a small smile and tries to quietly soothe my nerves while Seth gets his stuff set up. His trunk is packed full, and I have no idea what most of it is. He pulls out a few bundles of what look like herbs and sets each one in a small bowl on the coffee table.