Page 90 of The Corruption of Hollis Brown

Annie’s face was twisting in concern, and Yulia’s eyes got even harder. So Hollis paused and tried again.

“Never mind. Eventually, we just worked things out, figured out a way for both of us to . . . be me, I guess. We’re sharing, for now, and I’m fine the way things are. If I wasn’t, I would have asked. By the time I could physically ask you to help, I already knew him, Yulia.”

“How come you aren’t like Annie was?” Yulia asked, unmoved. “You’re not sick.”

“You have to make a deal with him. Like a crossroads demon, but I think getting sick is our fault. I think maybe there’s a certain suspension of belief that our minds and bodies can’t handle and when there’s discord with that, we get sick.” Hollis shook his head, exhausted.

“When I made my deal with him, my first thought was What have I done? I knew that in some small way, it was my fault, and there was a moment when I surrendered to it. But Annie was doing something else, she wasn’t ready when she took him from me.”

“I didn’t take him from you; he jumped into me.”

Hollis met her gaze.

“No, you took him from me. Yulia somehow severed whatever part of this that makes the transfer voluntary and made it involuntary. Whoever touched me would have taken him. It could have been anyone, he could have been lost, it could have—”

Annie pointed, scared.

Hollis looked down to see his left hand over his heart.

“That was me, not him. You can talk to him if you want, but he’s really upset, and to be honest, I . . . I don’t want you to.”

“Annie could have been hurt, you mean,” Yulia said slowly. “Annie could have died. If he’s a ghost, he’s already dead, Annie was the one at risk. Why don’t you like her anymore?”

“I don’t dislike Annie . . . he doesn’t like her actually. He likes you though. He . . . he actually thinks you’re really hot. It’s fucking . . . embarrassing.” Hollis didn’t know what else to say about that.

Yulia looked pensive, but that confession seemed to break the tension enough for her to put the knife down.

“There was a day. You were acting . . . I mean, we flirt, but you seemed serious,” she said, uncomfortable. “I didn’t know what to think.”

“He was being serious. I was screaming at him to stop. I think that was in the first week or something. God, you have no idea how bad it was in the beginning, I don’t even know how to articulate it. But if I could have talked to you and asked you for help, I would have. You’ve got to believe me.”

“Why doesn’t he like me?” Annie asked, soft and sad.

Hollis sighed and leaned back against the bathroom door. “You look like someone he knew.”

Tell her I’ll talk to her about it later.

“He says he’ll explain it later. Maybe tomorrow or something, I’m sorry.”

Yulia settled down and held the knife in her lap. She looked around the room at the candles still burning bright, at the chicken who died to make this exorcism possible. At the rosary that hadn’t worked at all.

Hollis followed her gaze to Annie’s wrist. “I don’t know. Maybe the crucifix and candles didn’t work and your stuff did because he’s not a demon . . . and he’s Catholic.”

Yulia’s frown got deeper.

“Was Catholic?” Hollis tried.

“Give me a second to think,” Yulia finished resolutely.

“Is he telling you that we can’t be friends anymore?” Annie pressed.

Hollis shook his head. “No, it’s not that, it just . . . He feels sad and anxious whenever we look at you. It wore on me, I guess. I’m sorry, Annie. . . . I should have been a better friend. To both of you.”

Yulia got up and started blowing out the candles.

“I think it would be good if you left for now, Hollis. Annie and I need some time to talk and think. You should come back tomorrow.”

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