Page 78 of Good Girls Beg

Lightning flashed, illuminating the wall around the curtains for a moment. A rumble of thunder followed a handful of seconds later. That was followed by another sound.

That wasn't thunder.

I sat up, leaning on my elbow, frowned and listened.

There it was again. It sounded like a distant shout.

I pushed the covers off myself and padded over to the door. Eased it open and stood there with my ear to the side.

I could make out the vague sound of the men talking in the kitchen, but it wasn't heated anymore. I was almost certain the shout hadn't come from one of them. If it had, they could take care of themselves. Did I want to find any of their dead bodies lying in the kitchen in the morning? No. In spite of everything, I was becoming used to them. Maybe a little bit attached.

If it wasn't them, then who was it?

I closed the door and walked over to the window, peeling back the curtain as lightning flashed again. Frowned and waited.

Thunder rumbled. Rain pattered on the roof. No sounds of distress. No screams or shouts. Not even a groan.

Whatever I heard, it must have come from one of the neighboring houses. I squinted, but couldn't see anything but darkness. I couldn't even make out the ocean unless the lightning flashed right over it, lighting up the waves for a heartbeat before the night fell dark again.

"I was hearing things," I told myself. I let the curtain drop back into place and crawled back under the covers. "Unless…"

Saltgrave was known to have an abundance of supposedly haunted houses. If I was a ghost, this was exactly the kind of night when I'd be out, making myself known. Shouting and rattling the house, trying to scare the shit out of people living there.

Was it the ghost of the former owner who was murdered? Hel said he wasn't murdered here, but he might have made his way back somehow. He could be floating around, looking for the person who killed him.

"For the record, it wasn't me," I said, addressing the ceiling and hoping any lurking ghosts heard and understood. Being haunted wasn't on my list of life goals. Whether or not I was heard was another thing. Would the ghost even care? An angry ghost might lash out at anyone.

"I'm starting to think living here wasn't a good idea," I mumbled as I pulled the covers over my head and nestled down.

If anyone else, person or ghost, shouted again, I didn't hear them. I was fast asleep.

"Morning," I said to Shannon as I reached the bottom of the stairs. She carried a box of cleaning supplies and seemed to be heading in the direction of the powder room.

"Morning." She nodded. "Did you sleep well with all the flashing and banging all night? I mean the thunderstorm, not the boys." She smirked in the general direction of Fade and Oak's bedrooms. Both doors were closed. They'd be late for work if they didn't get up soon.

"Once I got to bed I did," I said. I hesitated for a moment before asking, "Did you hear a funny sound in the middle of the night? It sounded like… I don't know, a shout?"

"I sleep with earplugs in," she said. "The apocalypse itself could come and I wouldn't hear it. Why?"

"I don't know," I said quickly. "I might have imagined it. You don't know if this place is haunted by any chance, do you?"

She barked a laugh. "Those boys are enough to scare any self-respecting ghost away. Although, between you and me, I wouldn't be surprised. They don't call this place Saltgrave Cove for nothing. Before the lighthouse was built, many a ship ended up on those beaches out there."

The lighthouse sat on a promontory a few miles north of this place. Over a hundred years old, it was still in operation. The building was also home to a cute coffee shop and gift shop, full of all sorts of Saltgrave themed things like T-shirts and coffee mugs. All the things tourists like to collect and take home. My dads had a few magnets on their fridge at home featuring the lighthouse and other landmarks.

"It might have been the ghost of a sailor, wandering the beaches looking for their ship," I said. That sounded so far-fetched, I almost laughed at myself.

"That doesn't sound as romantic as a ghost looking for his true love," Shannon said wistfully.

"It really doesn't," I agreed. "Let's go with that then. Unless he thinks one of us is his long lost love."

"Hell no," she agreed. "I have better things to do than be the object of fixation for some horny poltergeist. If you’ll excuse me." She raised her box of brushes and cleaning products before she hurried off to the powder room.

I pushed my bag up onto my shoulder and headed toward the front door.

"I'll give you a ride to college," Hel said before I could put my hand on the handle.

I startled and turned around.