Page 121 of Insidious Heart
“That’s not the point.” With one moreplease help me out herelook, I attempt to navigate this conversation. “I’m just saying that anything is possible since we can’t be one hundred percent sure about what’s out there, so if Prince believes in ghosts, that’s totally ok.”
“Do you think…” The sweet little boy gets up on his knees and leans closer to the glass as he squints. “Do you think all ghosts are bad?”
I frown. “No…”
“And they don’t always haunt people to be mean or scary?”
“I don’t think so… Are you worried about a ghost haunting your house, buddy? If you are then—”
“Not my house.” Prince shakes his head as he looks at me over his shoulder. “The spooky one across the street.”
I can physically feel all the color drain from my face as I barely get out my next question. “Why… why would you think that house is haunted?”
“Cause I keep seeing a ghost walk in front of the window.”
King turns to look out the window as I get to my feet and quickly join them, the two of us now wide-eyed and staring at the abandoned house right along with Prince. We all watch in silence for a few seconds and sure enough, a shadow moves in front of the open living room window before it disappears out of view.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
That isn’t a ghost, not the kind Prince is talking about, because even from across the street and in the dark, that shadow carries a familiarity I couldn’t deny if I wanted to.
Victor.
I mean, I can’t say for sure it’s him, especially since he’s been scarce and the only time he stopped by after dropping me off was while I was panicking and lying to Cal and Rochelle,myghost seemingly respecting my need for space. And I didn’t even see him when he came over. He just snuck into my room and left another charm for my bracelet and cellphone on my bed. Which I didn’t know until long after he’d done it, I’m sure.
But I found both once the Moreland’s left, the little vintage heart with a knife through it sitting neatly on top of a shiny new iPhone with a notification already flashing on the screen.
GIZMO:please call me
My heart swelledand broke at the same time, but I powered off the phone, added the charm to my bracelet, then put both in my dresser drawer and left them there.
So while I’m pretty sure the shadow we saw was most likelymyghost keeping tabs on me from a distance, and I could easily verify by running upstairs to use the electronic I’m not allowed to have, I won’t. I miss Victor terribly and love him just as much, but I’m not going to leave the boys alone in order to satisfy my needs, or go back on what I said.
The time apart is important right now and the fact that it’s killing me from the inside shouldn’t change anything about it.
But as we keep staring at the supposed-to-be empty house, the shadow moves in front of the window again and heads toward what I think is the kitchen before it appears briefly in the side yard.
“Stevie?” Prince whispers, his tone starting to fill with fear. “Stevie, ghosts stay where they’re haunting, right?”
I nod slowly, my eyes never leaving the figure until it’s out of view. “Yeah. Yeah, buddy. They can’t—”
The front door of my house opens and slams shut, all three of us jumping out of our skin before whipping around to face the entrance of the living room.
“Hello! I hope you three didn’t spoil your dinner with popcorn and candy!”
Blowing out a very relieved breath, I climb off the couch just as Rochelle appears in the doorway, a huge smile on her pretty face and multiple pizza boxes in her hands. “Hey.”
“Hey…” She lifts a dark brow in question as I go over to help her, Rochelle’s gaze moving from me to the boys then back again. “You guys ok?”
“We’re fine.” I take the top two boxes and follow her down the hall. “Didn’t think you’d be back until later, that’s all.”
“I guess not, since it looks like I scared the shit of you.”
I chuckle a little as I set the pizzas on the island and start lifting lids. “We were just having a serious debate about ghosts and haunted houses. Your timing was impeccable.”
“Tis the season, after all.” Rochelle smirks as she turns to get plates and cups from the cupboard. “The boys making you watch spooky movies, I take it?”
