Page 37 of See Through

“It’s going to be a long night. You might be used to all-nighters, but some of us need caffeine to survive them.”

“Maves, you work two jobs, and sometimes, you work overnights. You’re better at this than me.”

She shakes her head. “I run on sugar, caffeine, and naps. I may stay up, but it doesn't mean I like it.”

I jab her with my elbow. “Come on,” I say as I grab one of our screens. “I’ll show you where you’ll be set up.”

“After you, boss.”

“Coop, come help me set up these cameras.” Dean waves him over, and they disappear inside my old house before I have a chance to say anything.

Maven follows me to the garage, and I find myself knowing my way around my old house as if I never stopped living here. I open the door attached to the garage, and a cloud of dust greets me and Maven as we walk through. I remember there being an old desk in here somewhere, and there’s plenty of space to move around, even with all the boxes of Adrian’s things my parents left behind.

“Here,” I say as I grab the sheet off my old desk. “We can set up the screen here.”

“Perfect,” she says as she waves her hand in the air. “How are you feeling?”

“A little shaky, but okay.”

“Good.” She leans her head on my shoulder. “I’m here for you for this entire night. Consider me your eye in the sky.”

“I will,” I giggle as I find a plug to hook the screen up to. It turns on immediately. Thank goodness my parents still keep this place up. “When Dean and Cooper hook up the cameras, they’ll each show up here. You’ll have a good angle for each of them, and if you see anything, use this.” I set a walkie down on the table. “We’ll all be on the same frequency, so there should be no interference.”

She picks it up and plays with it. “Unless the ghosts decide to interfere.”

“Well look who's done her research,” I joke.

“Maybe a little bit.” She shrugs as Dean and Cooper come into view on the cameras.

“Does the audio sound okay?” he asks us.

Maven grabs her walkie. “It sounds crystal clear.”

“Good,” Dean says into the camera. “They’re steady and shouldn’t fall over. Mics are set up too.”

“Does that mean we’re ready to go?”

I grab the walkie from her. “Meet us in the garage.”

“Will do, boss,” Cooper says, and Maven and I grab the rest of the equipment from the truck, bringing it back just as Cooper and Dean get into the garage.

“Are you ready?” Dean asks me as he leans into my ear.

“As I’ll ever be.”

And after I explain to Cooper what everything is, Maven sits at the desk with her three coffees, and the three of us open the door to the house.

I don’t know what the night will bring, but I do have a feeling in my gut that something is going to happen, for better or worse. I’m not sure which yet, but as the stale smell hits my nostrils, I’m catapulted back years ago, when I used to run around this house, laughing and smiling with my brother.

That’ll never happen again, but that doesn’t mean my brother is gone. Tonight might just be proof of that.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Everything is a little too quiet in the house. It’s all a little too still, and I know we just walked into a portal to Aubrey’s childhood, but this steadiness is making me feel uneasy.

I can hear my blood pumping through my veins, my heart thrumming in my chest. There’s a small bead of sweat dripping down my forehead, and I can’t tell if it’s from nerves or what. I never get nervous. I’m always the calm and collected one, but for some reason, this investigation is terrifying me.

“Nothing feels off yet,” Aubrey whispers to the camera as we walk through the house. The three of us watched her do her normal introduction in the garage, and she introduced Cooper and Maven to her subscribers. I’ll admit, it’s been nice having them here alongside us. The extra company is helpful, especially in case something bad happens, like on our last investigation.