10. Chapter 10
Kylie
As soon as I’ve turned on my laptop, the dreaded sound of an incoming video call makes the hair on my neck stand up.
My mother called again this morning, but I still have no energy to face her. Thankfully, this one is only Gabriella.
“Hey, girl.” I answer the call, still running around my living room in an attempt to find an outlet for my laptop. It’s okay, Gabriella won’t care if all she sees on screen is my butt.
“How’s it going, Kylie?” Ah, there is an outlet. Right under my kitchen counter. Couldn’t have been more obvious, but my thoughts are all over the place today. “How’s your new town?”
“Chaotic,” I reply with a sigh and plop into the seat.
My initial plan was to finish up my office yesterday, but for obvious reasons, I never got around to it. After Erik cleared us to go home, all I could do for most of the afternoon was stare at the mess they left on my property.
The hole where they dug up the bones, still marked with crime scene tape.
The beautiful lawn, dug up in several places, more of it destroyed by what must be a hundred pairs of steel-capped shoes paired with rain and soft ground.
A bunch of cigarette butts littered all around my driveway, along with to-go cups, bubble gum wraps and fast-food wrappers.
Kieran, Lauren and Nic were nice enough to help me make most of it presentable again.
Lauren picked up trash, Kieran helped me move garden furniture and logs back to their places after the feds moved my stuff all over the place to set up their equipment stations.
And Nic grabbed a rake and tried to salvage what’s left of my lawn.
They came in for a coffee afterward, but of course, the ghost wouldn’t make themselves known.
I was too exhausted to even think about setting up the rest of my office. So for now, I’m making myself comfortable in my living room. It looks somewhat presentable as background. I’m still glad I didn’t schedule any virtual client meetings for this week.
“So, chaotic?” Gabriella chuckles.
I make the tiny window with her face full screen and give her a quick recount of what happened yesterday. It’s more satisfying to watch her jaw drop and eyes widen on a big screen.
“Only you, Kylie.” She shakes her head, but a twitch in the corner of her mouth betrays her amusement. “Only you would accidentally buy a potential crime scene.”
“Hey, come on. I didn’t pick my house because it looked like a murder scene. Believe it or not, I actually want some calm and quiet.” BANG. A door flies closed. I jump and turn around. Abby appears in front of me, ears pointed forward and rigid posture, ready to charge. “What the fuck?”
My heart beats hard against my ribcage, and my entire body feels numb.
“Did you hear that?” I ask Gabriella in a whisper. Her wide-eyed, shocked expression doesn’t exactly help my own panic. Everything inside me screams at me to bolt and get my ass out of here, but I’m frozen in place.
“Yes, I did. What the hell is going on, Kylie?”
“I don’t know.” I pick up the laptop and take her with me to investigate. My hand trembles, but somehow, I manage to balance it.
“Oh God, this is straight-up horror movie vibes.” She hides her face behind her hand, peeking through a gap between her fingers. “And you’re white as a ghost. How fitting. Please don’t climb through my TV screen tonight.”
“Probably just a door closing,” I mumble, not even dignifying that with an answer and carry her up the steps with me. “All by itself. As a door in a house with no open windows does.”
“A door? I’d be relieved, it straight-up sounded like a shot over here. Oh God, I can’t look at this.”
I walk through my entire house, but there are no closed doors. Abby isn’t a great help either. She might be trudging along and sniffing the air occasionally, but nothing seems out of the ordinary to her.
By the time I’m back in the living room, my heart has calmed down a little. Emphasis on ‘a little.’
“Maybe we both imagined it,” I offer, but can’t help glancing over my shoulder the entire time. I might have to rearrange my office so my back is facing a wall instead of the open room.
Something here makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
As if someone’s watching me.
“Kylie.” Gabriella’s voice trembles. “I really don’t want to scare you, but I think you should know that the picture on the wall behind you just moved.”
I jolt around, heart beating so loudly it echoes in my eardrums. She’s right.
Ever so slightly, the picture hanging over my couch is moving. Left to right, then left again, until it comes to a stop, perfectly angled.
“Fuck.” I close my eyes, gulping down tears and force myself to take a deep breath. “I thought my neighbor was kidding about her ghost cat.”
“Well, you damn sure got yourself your own ghost,” Gabriella declares. “No other explanation for it.”
“Figures.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, then rub my eyes. “Of course, I would.”
“Look at the bright side. It could have been an intruder.” She tilts her head. “Then again, at least then the sexy officer could have come to save you. However,” she lowers her voice and wriggles her eyebrows, “the sexy officer can also come rescue you from ghosts. Just saying.”
“I’m not calling what’s probably the hottest guy in the city because I have a ghost problem. He’s no Ghost Buster,” I mumble with an eye roll and return my focus to my laptop.
Time to pull up my email inbox. It’s about as full as I suspected. However, I don’t notice any burning emergencies there.
“At least your ghost is putting pictures level instead of throwing books at you. Imagine all the cleaning up you’d have to do with a Poltergeist, so really, you should consider your ghost a silver lining.
It could be worse.” She shrugs. “But listen, I didn’t only call you to catch up.
I have an issue with my anti-aging campaign I’d love your thoughts on. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure,” I whisper, shooting another anxious glance over my shoulder.
Before I know it, my work day is over. The sun is setting behind the mountains on the other side of the lake. Sometime around early evening, the sky cleared up, making for the cutest orange cotton candy sunset.
Its beauty is a stark contrast to the crater reminders in my garden. Are there any flowers or plants I can get settled before winter? Now, with the earth nice and dug up, would be a good opportunity to plant some.
Silver linings and all that.
The house is dark and eerily quiet as Abby and I return from a short nightly walk along the shore. I chalk it up to still being creeped out by the random sound earlier, but Abby freezes up in the doorway and peers into the darkness, ears turned forward.
“Don’t do this to me, Abby,” I whisper and flick on the light.
The difference is like night and day. One second ago, she was stiff as a board and stared into the darkness. As soon as the light went on, she relaxes and shakes out her rigid muscles, then glances up at me with wide eyes, tongue hanging out of her mouth.
“Okay. Note to self, keep all of the lights on,” I mumble to myself and walk inside, but the eerie feeling won’t go away. It’s as if an angry stare drills into the back of my head.
Somebody has to be here. And even though a part of me doesn’t want to believe it’s anything paranormal, at this point I can’t come to a different conclusion.
I reach for my phone. Fuck, who can I even call?
Nic and Lauren don’t strike me as calm and collected in the face of a ghost. On the other hand, at least they’re already convinced my house is haunted and I won’t feel as ridiculous.
Kieran? No offense, but he might be more easily jump scared than I am.
Which leaves me with one person I can call.
Before I change my mind, I pull up his contact, press ‘call’ and hold the cold smartphone screen against my cheek. Please answer.
“Hey, this is Erik.” Oh, thank God.
“Hi, Kylie here,” I whisper. “Sorry for calling you so late, and at all, but I’m kind of freaking out a little. Okay, maybe a lot.”
“What is going on?” There’s rustling on his end of the line, his voice tight.
“My doors keep slamming shut and I feel as if someone’s watching me. Full disclosure, it might be a ghost.” I bury my face in my palm, feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment. I sound ridiculous. “I’m sorry, this is dumb, but I’m seriously about to reconsider camping.”
I’m not even sure what I’m trying to get out of this call. Some assurance, or for him to talk me out of the impeding panic attack. However, his next words send goosebumps all over my skin and make emotions clog my throat.
“I’ll be right there.” The call ends, and I stare at my phone’s dark screen.
I’ll be right there.
That easy.
I pull my lip between my teeth and suck in a shaky breath, eyes burning with tears. After years of having my needs ignored, a goddamn stranger gives me more attention, more reassurance, than my ex-husband who I was with for almost a decade.
I’ll be right there.
“Fuck, Abby,” I whisper and sink to the ground.
This will either be the best thing to ever happen to me or absolutely devastating.