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I stand.“Here.”
She smiles.“Dr.Varek will see you now.”
Glancing back at Slasher, I take a bracing breath.
He nods.“You’ve got this.I’ll be here when you’re done.”
Comforted by that—and by the fact that I’ll be with Mel and Chase tonight, no matter what—I follow the nurse down the hall.
Chapter 17
Melissa
Iclick on the link Aaron sent and gasp.In two seconds, Tessa is hovering over my shoulder, gasping, too.
“Oh my God, is that what I think it is?”she asks.
I nod.“It’s the witch house.From when we were kids.”
“Well, whenyouwere a kid,” she says.“Iwas a teenager who drank beer at bonfire parties in its creepy backyard and got freaked out squatting to pee in its spooky shadow.”
“It was still the bonfire spot when I was a teen, too,” I say.Tessa is eight years older than I am, but Bad Dog was still a sleepy little town when both of us were young.It’s only started to grow in the past decade.
“But now it’s all fixed up and fancy,” she says.
“Sure is,” I mutter, sucking in another breath as I scroll past shots of the kitchen.“Oh my God, look at that stove.”
She squeals.“I didn’t know they made that model in royal blue.And look at the turquoise mixer!That’s a limited-edition KitchenAid Artisan,” she says, every bit as into baking porn as I am.“Damn, I want that kitchen.Hell, the whole house.”
“It’s gorgeous,” I agree.“Hard to believe it used to be so spooky.”
She shivers.“But it was.So spooky.Didn’t your brothers spend the night there once?”
“Yeah,” I say.“Wesley said he heard a ghost child crying all night, and Matty felt tiny, ice-cold fingers around his throat.Just resting there, not squeezing, but still…”
“Still,” Tessa agrees with another shiver.“Can you tell Aaron that you’d rather stay somewhere else?I mean, it’s super cute, but you’re already a big chicken after dark anyway.”
I scowl up at her.“I am not.”
She arches a brow.“When was the last time you had to call Matty to come over and help you check under the bed for monsters?”
I bristle.“It’s been a few weeks.Once I realized the scuttling sounds were coming from the raccoons in the attic, I’ve been much braver.”
“Uh-huh,” she says, clearly unimpressed.“And how long until you give yourself a heart attack imagining all the ghost children in that place?One day?Two?”
“The ghost children are probably gone,” I say, scrolling through the rental’s five-star reviews.“All the reviews say they had a great stay, and it’s part of the Meadows Falls community now.They have a security guard and their own little fire department and everything.We’ll be much safer than in my neighborhood way over at the edge of town.”
“True.”Tessa hums thoughtfully.“It’ll probably be fine.And if you need someone to help you beat back the poltergeists, Aaron will be there to help you out.Though he does only have one good arm.”
“I don’t think you can fight poltergeists with fists anyway.I’d need to burn some sage to cleanse the air of bad spirits or something.I’ll do some research before I head out.Just in case.”
She pulls in a breath and squeezes my arm.“That new hippy store on Main Street!I bet they have ghost-busting supplies.I could swing by for you now.I’m done with my prep and can’t start the bread until it rises anyway.”
I cock my head.“This wouldn’t have anything to do with wanting to spy on Nate while you look really cute in your pink sweater, would it?”
She snorts.“No.Ew.I don’t care what Nate is doing.Nate is my past.I hardly think about him at all anymore.”She lifts her nose higher in the air.“I actually forgot his bar was anywhere near the hippy shop.”
“Right.That’s why you’re on a sex cleanse.Because you’ve forgotten all about the ex who ghosted you like a big coward.”
