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“Immediately.”

“Immediately,” Nate added.

Leo nodded.

Nate stopped the recording and set the painting down carefully.

For a few seconds, he stood over it with his hands still on its edges.

Leo stayed nearby.

Then Nate straightened, retrieved the phone, and held it where they could both see.

“Let’s have a look.”

His own voice came out of the speaker.

Hey, everyone. Today we’re...

“I’ll cut that bit,” Nate said.

“Yes, please.”

He skipped forward.

Onscreen, he lifted the painting.

This is Leo. He lives here with me.

A short silence.

Then Nate turned toward a spot beyond the edge of the frame.

Right. I live here with him.

There was no voice answering Nate. No figure by the window. The camera hadn’t suddenly learned to see him.

But Nate was looking at him anyway.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Leo asked. “You’re talking to no one.”

“I’m not talking to no one.”

“But that’s what it looks like.”

On the phone, the video continued. Nate said he was a medium. He showed the painting and asked the strangers for help, telling them that there was someone in the house with him that they couldn’t see.

He’d most definitely be called a freak.

The recording reached the end.

Nate’s thumb hovered over the screen.

“Are you sure about this?” Leo asked.

“I am.” A grim expression settled on Nate’s face. “I’ll no longer pretend I’m blind because everyone else is.”

Chapter