AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t have to imagine it, Zoey,” she whispers, her voice full of ice. “Because it didn’t happen.”
It feels like I’ve been punched in the throat. “I…I don’t…understand,” I mutter. “It didn’t happen? What does that mean?”
“It means exactly as it sounds,” October says, frustration pulsing through each word. Her hands lace at the top of her head, and she glares at the ceiling. “I never drowned.”
My throat dries. “So you’re not cursed?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Fuck. I squint as if I can see through the fog that’s overtaking this situation. “Then what the hell happened?” I rub at my splotchy cheeks.
She drops her hands to her side, and her reddened gaze falls to me. “I can’t tell you.” She winces at herself. “I want to…I really do, but I can’t. And what does it matter—you won’t be here for long. Once you’ve solved your brother’s mystery, you’re gone.” October stares me down.
I’m not scared, but I’m dying inside. Dying to say I’m staying. Dying knowing that the life I’ve been creating for six years is in Chicago.
It’s not here.
It’s not with her.
“I mean…that’s fair.” My voice cracks now, and I mutter again to myself, “That’s fair.” I look up. “But I don’t want to go back to our rules. I want to understand what the hell is going on with you, and if you want more from me, then ask. I’ll tell you absolutely anything.”
October seems to ease. Just slightly. “My sister—she’s begged me to tell her the whole story about my real curse. I won’t. I can’t.” Those last two words come out choked.
“The only person who knows is your aunt?” I guess.
She winces. “Not by choice.”
Not by choice.
What does that even fucking mean?!
Before I met October, I probably would have been satisfied with the microscopic bits of information she’s providing. But she helped me become something more. Something better and stronger, and I’m not letting her suffer alone.
“Look,” I whisper. “I’m not asking you to give me a play-by-play. But you’re going to have to give me something. I can’t go to sleep tonight with you in this room and all I know is that your curse in the museum is a fucking lie.”
“Anything I tell you could put you in a lot of danger, Zoey. It’s safer if you don’t know.”
“Stop protecting me.”
“I can’t!”
“Try!” We’re both crying. “Let me join you, please.” I step closer. “I don’t like that you’re on an island on your own…with your aunt.”
She almost chokes on a laugh. “Zoey.” My name sounds loving but pained on her tongue.
I step even closer. “October.”
She doesn’t break eye contact from me. “I can’t tell you my curse. I can’t. I’m sorry.”
I stop cold. It’s a swift kick to the gut. Raw from the inside-out, my chest hurts. Pressure and pressure compounding. Before I can say anything, she takes a step forward.
Not one but two.
Then three.
And then she’s holding my hands. “It was the worst night of my life.” Her voice is shaky, scared. More scared than I’ve ever heard her.
I lace her fingers in mine. “It’s okay.”
She takes a steadying breath. “I was on the lake, and I had to call my aunt for help. She came and…she helped. But she…she insisted that I keep my real curse a secret. And when my aunt insists on something, there’s very little wiggle room. So she came up with this other story.”
“About you drowning?”
October nods. “And when we started telling people, no one questioned it. Not when it’s coming from Effie Brambilla.”
I frown. “Except for Babette.” She mentioned that her sister wants the whole story.
Her face shatters a little more. “My sister knows it’s deeper than me drowning in a lake. She can tell I’m different.” She drops my hands.
I wince.
She stays close.
We stay close.
That’s good. We’re still close. My throat feels raw and swollen as I ask, “So this whole I’m a ghost thing—?”
“Is true, Zoey.” October crosses her arms around her body like she’s trying to warm herself. “I died that night. Maybe I didn’t drown, but I died. I’m not the same person as before.”
“And you can’t tell me everything that happened.” I don’t phrase it like a question this time.
“It’d be worse for you, if you knew.” She looks pained again. “I told you as much as I can without feeling like I’m putting you in a compromising situation…” She swallows hard, then shakes her head. “I can’t hurt you, Zoey. Please don’t make me.”
I’m so confused.
All I know is that she cares about me. I care about her, and that has to be enough amid the giant question marks popping out of my head.
“Okay,” I breathe.
She shrugs off her coat now.
“You’re warm?” I say, surprised.
“A little.” She hangs the pink peacoat on the coat hook by the door. When she turns back, I realize I need something more. Or else my terrible imagination will haunt me in this haunted room all night long.
