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Cassie flung the bedcovers off and swung her legs to the floor. The clock read six in the morning, and the chilly air sent goosebumps down her spine. But she reveled in the feeling. It was better than the sweat beading across her forehead, left over from the intensity of her nightmare.
She wouldn’t be able to rest now, so she made her way to the kitchen, hoping coffee would throw off the last vestiges of sleep. It felt strange knowing another living being—aside from her cat, Apollo—was inside her house. Felt even stranger knowing it was her sister.
Cassie poured her coffee and allowed herself an extra spoonful of sugar this morning. The night before had been…awkward. She and her sister had talked about work and Savannah and what it would be like to go to Charlotte to visit their parents, but after that, the room had fallen silent. Cassie had put on a movie and fallen asleep on the couch.
When she woke up, Laura was already in bed with her lights out.
Today would be different. She’d make sure of it. They had a few fun things planned around the city, and with something to distract them, maybe they’d find more to talk about. She prayed that’d be the case, anyway.
Movement in her peripheral vision caught Cassie’s attention. She turned, expecting her sister to be standing in the dining room. Instead, she met the gaze of a strange man with sad eyes and translucent skin.
Cassie reacted involuntarily. She jumped and stifled whatever noise was about to escape her mouth. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to keep her hands from shaking, and her hot coffee spilled over the edge of the mug and onto her left hand. The pain caused her to let go, and the cup crashed against the floor. Apollo, who had been lurking under the dining room table, bolted to the other room. An angry meow followed in his wake.
The noise didn’t affect the ghost. He was tall and bone thin. He looked to be in his late fifties, though age was hard to pinpoint on ghosts, given that they weren’t completely solid. Cassie had imagined they appea
red in her world by supernatural radio waves. Sometimes that connection was weak and made them glitch and blur like static.
From the waist up, the man appeared unscathed except for the dark bruise circling his neck. From the waist down, however, his legs looked…wrong. They were bent in odd places, and patches of dark blood marked his jeans.
Cassie locked eyes with him again. Remorse filled her, and he moved forward. As he did, his pupils constricted. He opened his mouth, but instead of sound, a wall of burning anger hit her and crawled along her skin like ants. She took an automatic step backward and felt coffee soak into her sock.
The figure in front of her took another step forward, and the heat rose to such a level that she could feel sweat beading along the back of her neck. Her chest constricted; she could do nothing more than take shallow breaths. Her knees shook and spots danced in front of her eyesight.
The spirit froze, and just as Cassie didn’t think she could stand another minute of the oppressive heat, he disappeared. Between one blink of an eye and the next, he had left and taken the rising fury with him.
Cassie could breathe again. Her skin returned to normal, and the visceral hatred that hung in the air like smoke faded. She took another breath, slow and deliberate, and the rage dissipated.
Laura emerged from her bedroom. She looked at Cassie, then down at the mess on the floor, then back at Cassie. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Cassie acknowledged the shattered mug and coffee at her feet. One sock was still white, while the other had turned a grayish brown. When she looked back up at Laura, the fear and confusion in her eyes was still present. “Apollo startled me. I almost stepped on him, then I dropped my coffee.”
“That explains why he came tearing down the hallway like that.”
Cassie stepped out from the mess and peeled her socks off. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”
“No, I was already up. I have trouble sleeping anywhere but my own bed. Then I heard the crash and decided I should check it out.”
Cassie laughed. “Thanks. Let me clean this up, and I’ll pour some fresh coffee.”
“I can help. Where do you keep your broom?”
“No, no, it’s fine.” Cassie ducked her head as she passed her sister. The less Laura could surmise from her expression, the better. “It’ll only take me a minute. Sit down. I’ll cook breakfast, too.”
“You sure nothing happened?” Laura put a hand on Cassie’s arm, forcing her to stop. “You look freaked out.”
Cassie forced a smile onto her face, hoping it reached her eyes. “Yeah, it was just Apollo. I got surprised, that’s all. Don’t worry about me.”
Laura wasn’t convinced.
5
“I’ll be ready in twenty!” Cassie called, backing into her bedroom. She waited for Laura to respond before she closed the door and sighed. Her room was a calm oasis compared to the chaos of the kitchen, but her relief only lasted for a moment. The sun had barely risen above the horizon, and today already felt like a test.
She tossed her soggy socks in the laundry. Today, they’d planned to walk around Savannah in the morning, then head to The Pirates’ House restaurant for lunch. A little touristy, but Laura hadn’t been back in a few years, and the food was delicious. Cassie would have to figure out how to not react to the number of ghosts that usually hung out there.
Though her abilities weren’t what they had been before Novak attacked—twice—, they were coming back. Occasionally, she’d see a spirit here and there. Savannah’s historical district always provided ample encounters, and a location as historic as The Pirates’ House did as well.
She’d also have to avoid thinking about her disastrous date with Jason, keep up the conversation with her sister, and pretend like everything was perfect.
