AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She’s here,” Cassie said. “I see her.”
Jason was on her heels. “What’s she doing?”
“Walking.”
“Where?”
Cassie waited, never close enough to reach the ghost. Not that she’d know what do to if she did. How could you stop something you couldn’t touch? She had no control over a spirit’s body. All she had was
her words.
And she had no idea if that would be enough.
Dr. Cohen halted in the middle of the hallway. Cassie pulled up short and Jason slid to a stop, watching her face in attempt to figure out what was going on. She wanted to tell him every detail of the woman in front of her, but breaking the silence of the hall felt like committing a crime.
A few nurses passed by, but no one paid them any mind. They had their own work to do, their own lives to live. Little did they know what was happening under their noses. Cassie wondered how many went home and cried themselves to sleep after losing a patient, never knowing that it had all been out of their control.
Dr. Cohen turned to a closed door and stepped through the wall. Cassie didn’t hesitate. She couldn’t. She told Jason to stay where he was and entered the room herself. His protests fell on deaf ears, and she shut the door behind her before he could convince her she’d made a mistake.
The room was dark, the air inside stale. No one had opened a window in some time, though with the current weather, Cassie supposed that wouldn’t have been a good idea. Still, she felt her lungs protest. They screamed for fresh oxygen.
The Ghost Doctor hovered over an elderly woman with paper white skin. She had bruises along her arms, hidden in the folds of accumulated wrinkles. If Cassie had to guess, the woman was at least a hundred years old. It would be her time sooner or later, but Cassie would fight to make sure she’d last as long as possible.
When Dr. Cohen reached a hand to the woman, Cassie didn’t think. She acted. She sprang forward to stop her, reaching for the doctor’s arm even though she knew her hands wouldn’t latch on. But maybe the movement would startle the ghost. Maybe she’d think twice about taking this one.
Dr. Cohen turned toward her, hazel eyes boring into Cassie’s soul. As soon as Cassie’s hand passed through the woman’s translucent skin, a vision erupted in her mind, splitting her skull and making her knees buckle.
Cassie watched from the eyes of the Ghost Doctor as she saw a blonde woman in a short pink dress and yellow cardigan walk down the hall, wallet in hand. She stopped at a vending machine, debating her afternoon snack. She looked at her reflection in the glass and adjusted her hair. It was a wig.
A man rounded the corner. He stared at his phone, not seeing the woman standing in front of him. He knocked into her, causing her to drop her wallet. Cards and money hit the floor with a splat, sliding in all directions. The woman cursed and bent down to pick up her things.
Cassie, still seeing through the doctor’s eyes, moved closer. The man apologized and bent down to help her. She thanked him, tight-lipped, and shoved everything into her purse. But she didn’t see the credit card that had slid under the machine. Would she ever notice it was missing?
The woman brushed past the man, her afternoon snack forgotten. She kept her head down, as though she didn’t want to draw too much attention to her face. But it was too late. Cassie had already seen who it was.
There was no mistaking the blond hair or the face that looked so identical to Charli’s.
Stephanie walked right through Cassie without ever knowing she was there.
32
Cassie blinked away the vision, now staring into the hazel eyes of Dr. Cohen. There was a sad look on the woman’s face, something between remorse and weariness. But before Cassie could think of what to say, a line of light cut across the room as the door opened behind her.
“Excuse me, ma’am?” A nurse stood silhouetted against the frame. “You’re not supposed to be in here.”
Cassie turned her back on Dr. Cohen. Jason was right behind the nurse. “I told her you were looking for your aunt.” The words rushed out of him. “Is this not the right room?”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.” Cassie turned back to the woman in the bed. The Ghost Doctor had disappeared. “I think they gave me the wrong room number.” She was already making a retreat. “I’m so sorry. This is so embarrassing.”
“Ma’am, I can’t stress enough—”
“I know, I know.” Cassie held up her hands as she slipped past the nurse and out of the room. “I understand. I’m going to call my mom right now. I’m so sorry.”
Jason and Cassie all but ran down the hall. At the corner, Cassie cast a glance over her shoulder. The nurse was still watching them like a hawk. She ducked her head and made a beeline for the elevators. She didn’t hesitate as she punched the arrow back down to the first floor.
“I’m sorry, I stalled her as long as I could.” Jason wrapped a hand around the back of his neck. “She was kind of intimidating.”
“It’s fine.” Cassie’s heart was racing. “I got what I needed.”
