Chapter Five
JULIA
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
I take a deep breath, exhaling loudly through my mouth, trying to drown out the noise I’ve been hearing for the last fifteen minutes.
The rational side of me knows it’s an old building, and noises like this are to be expected.
The thing is, the rational side of my brain must already be asleep, because my imagination is running wild.
What if it’s someone trying to break in?
What if Candy Cane Creek isn’t as cute and wholesome as everyone seems to think it is?
What if they have a dark secret when it comes to tourists?
My heart starts beating faster than the drumbeats on my running playlist as I reach for my phone, pulling up the texting app and clicking on Lucas’s name.
Did you hear that?
Lucas
Sorry, Lucas can’t come to the phone right now. He’s trying to sleep. Leave a message after the beep.
Lucas, this isn’t funny. There are some weird noises in my room.
There was no beep. You can’t leave a message.
I’m serious. Do you hear that clanging?
It’s probably Jacob Marley’s shackles. This is a Christmas town, after all. Go back to sleep.
LUCAS!
Let me know if you’re visited by a ghost of Canada Days past.
Do you think the owner is THE Jacob Marley? He’s not how I would have pictured a ghost from the Victorian era.
I’m being serious.
So am I.
I sigh, throwing my arm over my eyes. The clanging stops, giving me a moment of relief before a bang sounds at my window.
Lucas, I’m really scared.
He doesn’t answer right away, and I hope he didn’t fall back asleep. I’m relieved when my phone lights up a minute later.
Open your side of the adjoining door.
I jump up, nearly tripping over my own feet as I let the glow of the bathroom light guide me to the door.
Sliding the lock as quickly as I can, I open the door and find a very sleepy Lucas standing on the other side, sliding his glasses onto his nose.
He’s wearing blue pyjama pants and a white T-shirt of his favourite hockey team, his brown hair sticking up in an untidy mess.
It’s the most unkempt I’ve seen him in years.
“I can’t believe you got me out of bed because of an old heating system,” he grumbles.
“You don’t know that’s what it was.” I stick my chin higher in the air, doubling down on my reasons. “That bang on my window certainly wasn’t.”
“Do you want me to check out your room? Make sure there aren’t any shackled ghosts hiding in the closet?”
“Lucas!” I say as loudly as I dare, knowing it’s the middle of the night and there are other people staying in the rooms around us. “What if it’s the Candy Cane Creeper or something?”
“The… What?” He disappears for a moment before returning. “Is that actually a thing?”
“I don’t know, but it could be.”
I take a step back as he enters my room, looking around. “I thought you said this was a cute town known for holiday celebrations. Not ghosts and killers.”
“I didn’t bring up ghosts, you did…”
I watch as he checks the bathroom, closet, and even behind the curtains.
“All clear, except for the worrisome-looking man in a Santa suit holding a candy cane,” he says, looking out the window.
“What?” I rush over to the window, seeing nothing but a pine tree outside. “Where?”
“There.” He points down the street, where the town’s welcome sign is lit up, displaying a cartoon Santa.
“Lucas, you scared me!” I smack his chest just hard enough to knock a little wind out of him as he laughs.
“Oh, you had it coming. It was probably a branch that hit your window. Can I go back to sleep now?”
Biting the corner of my lip, I look out the window hesitantly. “I guess so…”
“You aren’t going to go back to sleep, are you?” he asks, scratching the back of his head.
I don’t know if it’s because of how tired I am or the adrenaline rushing through me, but Lucas looks… different. This is the most dishevelled I’ve ever seen him, and yet, it’s the most handsome. And that’s just—weird.
This is Lucas.
My best friend.
I can’t think he’s handsome, can I?
He yawns, moving back toward his room. “I’m going to need sleep if I’m going to make the drive and prepare to be surrounded by you Northheads.”
“Northheads?”
“Isn’t that what you call yourselves?”
“How many macarons did you have at dinner, exactly? Are you having sugar-induced dreams?”
“Says the woman hearing noises in the middle of the night.”
“At least my noises were real.” My head searches for what he could possibly be talking about. I giggle when it comes to me. “Do you mean Blockheads?” He stares at me blankly. “New Kids on the Block?”
He looks at me blankly again. “Okay. I’m going back to bed now.”
“Lucas?”
He stops just inside his room. “Yeah?”
“I know this is silly, but… can we sleep with the adjoining doors open? You know, just in case there is a Canada Day ghost?”
“Or a Candy Cane Creeper?” He gives me a sleepy smirk.
“Exactly.”
“Sure.” He gives me another tired look before going to bed.
I do the same, pulling the blankets up to my chin, kicking myself for not fully closing the curtains. A stream of moonlight enters my room, just enough to make shadows in the corners where my brain says they shouldn’t be.
“Luc?” I whisper, just loud enough, I hope he can hear me.
“Yeah?”
“Did you check behind the dresser?”
He lets out a loud exhale. “What adult do you think is going to fit behind your dresser?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“Go to bed, Lia.”
I don’t say anything right away. I know he’s right. The dresser is so tight to the wall that not even a child could fit behind it.
“I can hear you freaking out all the way over here,” he says.
“I’m not freaking out.” I try to sound more confident than I feel.
“You need to go to sleep. You can only run on espresso and sugar for so long.”
I know he’s right. I also don’t want to ruin any part of my True North day because I lost sleep over shadows and old heating systems.
I turn and face the window, hugging my extra pillow to my chest as tightly as I can. I tell myself that I’m safe and Lucas is in the other room, should the Candy Cane Creeper turn out to be real.
Which, logically, I know it isn’t.
I also know Lucas wouldn’t let anything happen to me.
I’d be silly to question that. He’s always been there for me, no matter what.
While I’ve never needed protection from a violent attack—thank God—he’s been there for every bad grade, breakup, heartbreak, and everything in between.
He’s my one constant, other than my parents.
Maybe that’s why everyone assumes that we’re more than friends.
Going through your whole lives this close gives you a bond that most people can’t understand.
My eyes start to get heavy, and my thoughts slow as my body releases all the pent-up tension. I can’t get my mind to stop thinking: Why does this feel different all of a sudden?