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“Guess you were.” I smirked, resting my hands on the edges of the planchette. Truth be told, I’d never used one of these things before. I’d only ever seen them in a couple of those classic Halloween movies which usually featured young kids being dumb in their attempt to conjure up the dead in, like, a cemetery or something. And almost always resulted in their untimely death.
But, nope, I wasn’t scared. Not super scared, anyway.
Besides, conjuring up a random dead person was not why I wanted to do this.
Even though I severely doubted anything could come from this—that is, us actually contacting a spirit—there was still my burning curiosity. If I asked for my father inside my mind, would Dad come to speak with me?
From my research on After Death Communication, I’d learned all about setting your intention, grounding yourself, and surrounding yourself in a protective golden light. Nothing to fear if you didn’t allow yourself to feel fear in the first place. Nothing could hurt us.
I only needed to keep reminding myself of this.
“I don’t even believe in this stuff, Jems,” Jamie said, tone now taking on more of a matter-of-fact guise, hiding the fear he’d shown earlier. “This is what’s going to happen… we’re going to push that thing subconsciously and get all kinds of strange answers to our questions. Except… it’s only going to be us answering each other.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But I still want to try and see what happens. After all, a bet’s a bet. And I’m not a chicken.”
“Fine. Fair enough.” He placed his hands on the other side of the planchette, our fingertips barely touching. The wind howled again, a branch snapping somewhere in the distance. We’d come to a very secluded area in the woods at Stony Point not far from a lake where people usually swam.
Where kids loved to hang in the summer.
And also a place where adults loved todiein the winter.
Tons of suicide cases here.
“This is the perfect spot,” I said, repeating my words from earlier. “Fuck. Probably lots of lost souls wandering these parts of the woods.” I adjusted my legs which rested against a blanket we’d laid out below us. I’d concocted the perfect lie to come out here—I had no intention of getting any other ghost’s attention but Dad’s.
He loved camping and the woods. What could be a better spot?
“Why don’t you just do the protection, Jems?” Jamie said, glancing above us. “I am kinda getting a little scared here.”
“Kind of scared? Gee, you fooled me. Aww. Poor Jamie,” I said mockingly, a hint of my anger shining through. After all, it wasn’t so surprising to me that I’d still be on the angry side. Even now that he was talking to me again.
Every time I saw him talking to Melissa outside between their classes, walking the grounds of the school, my heart hurt a little bit more deeply. I always wondered which bet they were placing now. Or what witty, slightly flirtatious banter they might be exchanging. I saw the way she looked at him with her batting eyes. The way she flipped her hair and stuck her hands into her pockets like a nervous girl with a crush.
Whether she loved him back or not, she was most definitely interested. And I was chop liver.
Ten months of being with Jamie.
Ten months.
And, oh, I was mad. Livid. Unsure of how much longer this relationship could last. Being with a boy who had given his heart to someone else.
I cleared my throat, focusing back on the Ouija board. That was why I was here, I reminded myself. I had no other friends, my boyfriend wasn’t there for me, Mom had distanced herself emotionally, and I had absolutely nobody who was truly listening to me. If I could somehow reach out to Dad. Somehow get closure on what had happened. Somehow hear from him one final time…
Maybe some of the emptiness would float away.
I shut my eyes, readying myself to say the words which I’d read on all the forums. “Thank you, higher beings, who are in the light, for surrounding us with positive energy. Thank you for keeping us protected against any spirits who would mean us harm.”
I opened my eyes. Jamie had squeezed his shut so tightly that his lids wrinkled.
“You can open your eyes now, dude,” I said. “That was all I had to say.”
“Okay.” Jamie slowly opened, glancing around our space like it was now haunted.
“Relax. Chicken.” I started to make one of those fake clucking noises, totally inspired by my current angry mood toward him. “For someone who doesn’t believe, you’re acting awfully terrified.”
“Yeah.” He let out a short laugh covered in annoyance. “What do we do now?”
I glanced down at the board. “Ask a question.”
