Maggie
“Katie, I need you to come over today.” I held the phone up so I could see Katie as she pedaled her trike down the icy sidewalk.
“My family’s going to be here in a few days, and I don’t think I’m going to be ready.
I still have lights to hang outside, I haven’t even shopped for a tree, and I’m supposed to have someone go with me so I don’t get killed, and there’s no way I can prepare all this food, wrap presents and—”
“Mags, relax.” She stopped pedaling and removed the phone from the mount on her handlebars.
“Deep breaths. You’ve got time… and me.” She moved the phone so I could see behind her and witness Chester and Tophie curled up in the back basket, each wearing Yule-themed ugly sweaters and extra jingle bells from their collars.
“Mrs. Pembledown really loved on the little guy today.”
“Oh, I miss him,” I said, falling into the papasan in the sunroom.
“He misses you too. The holiday party at Wyldewood wore him out. She had extra eggnog and danced all morning with him hanging over her shoulder.” She brought her face back into view. “Have you told Hunter?”
“—told Hunter what?” Hunter said, peeking in through the door.
I sighed. “Chester’s coming home for Yule, babe.”
“That’s not a good idea, Maggie. He’s got it out for me.”
“He does not.”
“He does, and I don’t want to be all scratched up when I meet the rest of your family for the first time.” He sat down beside me and slipped a hand around my shoulder.
“Just think about it?”
He leaned in and kissed my forehead, something that used to feel sweet—protective almost—now felt… condescending. “Pretty sure I’m choosing my face.”
“Katie’s going to come over and help me decorate some more today. Right, Kates?”
“Yep. I’ll be there in—”
“Today’s bad.” Hunter stiffened. “You’ve got to get ready for the ViceGirl photoshoot.”
“That’s not for another four days,” I reminded him.
“Exactly, we can’t have you getting all stressed before the shoot. Your eyes get all puffy from the stress tears.”
My jaw tightened. I kept my eyes on the screen. “I’m going to be stressed if I don’t get these fucking lights up, Hunter.”
“Look… see that… you’re already starting to fluster.” He clicked my video on the phone, making my face larger.
Really?
“I’ll hang them after I get back from my ride this afternoon.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and tried to rub out the tension, but with each squeeze I felt my shoulders tighten.
“Fine,” I breathed.
And with that, he jumped up and headed out the door.
I let out a slow breath through my nose. “Sorry, Katie, I guess today is out.”
“Mags, why do you let him order you around like you’re some slave of his?”
My throat tightened. “Because I ruined his life. I need to let him live like I never cursed him.”
“So you’re going to just give up everything—let him control you? Does he even know what you are? Has he been in the attic? Have you worked on the grimoire we started after Graham left?”
Katie’s rapid-fire questions should have made me see the obvious consequences of hiding who I was, but they didn’t. Maybe it was my stubborn side acting out, or maybe it was that deep down I didn’t want Hunter to know all of me—not really anyway.
“No. I just… you don’t understand.”
“You’re right. I don’t. I’m coming over.”
“No, Katie, don’t!” I yelled. “I’m sorry. Maybe you can come tomorrow.”
“You know what, Maggie, update us when you’re done being his puppet. I’m sure Chester would love to be the first to know.” She hung up.
Goddamn it! I hated this. My actions were hurting people I really cared about.
But even if I did leave Hunter, he’d just cling to me like the others, like I was the only thing keeping his boat upright in stormy waters.
But I couldn’t take it anymore. He was micromanaging every single thing about my life.
He told me when to eat, what to wear, how long I could bathe for—every minute of every day needed his approval first. And now he was keeping me from my only form of therapy—Katie.
In the beginning I was fine with his demands.
They weren’t actually that bad. Some of them I found sweet.
He never restricted my access to my friends—and I figured I owed him.
But now that Graham was here, it was like he didn’t trust me.
Like his obsession had been sent into overdrive and the only way he could control me was if he could chain me.
Maybe I was being selfish.
I mean… I’d be nervous too if the woman I was in love with suddenly had the ex she couldn’t get over randomly show up and the only stories told were that they were the best thing that’d ever happened to one another.
Fuck!
I’d promised Hunter I’d follow his rules: No sex without him in the room. He was the only one to finish inside—even with a condom. And he always had the final say.
“Enough of this at once, dear girl.” Uncle Silas materialized in front of me. “I’m not about to spend my afterlife cooped up in some tiny pocket mirror listening to you destroy your friendships because of some silly man—especially the wrong man.”
“Uncle Silas!” I jumped up and wrapped my arms around his frigid ghostly form. “I’m sorry. I forgot all about you.”
“I see that.” He hugged me back. “Now, have you told that new beau of yours about your powers?”
“No. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“Have you told him about me?”
I looked away. “Not any more than you left me the estate in your will.”
“Blasted dear girl!” Uncle Silas pushed off of me and hovered near the center of the sunroom.
Light streamed through him, making him harder to see.
“How are we supposed to go about our paranormal investigation dealings if you haven’t even told your live-in that this bloody establishment is haunted? ”
“Well, I didn’t think he’d need to know.” I shrank.
“Didn’t think he’d need to know? Simply unbelievable—and after everything?” He tsked. “Maggie, I’m hurt.”
“Uncle Silas, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t even know where you were.”
“Oh, come on, dear, you’ve got more brains in that little head than you give yourself credit for.”
“Do we really have to discuss my fuck-ups right now? I’m kind of overwhelmed by them.”
He floated, staring at me, a face of concern and care wrinkled in his brow. “Of course not, my dear.”
I sank back down onto the papasan. A moment later he settled beside me, his hand finding my knee. “What’s the problem here?”
“I fucked up, big time,” I said, picking at a loose thread on the cushion.
“I thought we weren’t talking about those.”
“We’re not. Other than the fact that I cursed another guy.” My head hung low and I thumbed over my shoulder. “That guy. Hunter.”
“Didn’t you learn?”
“Yeah. But Graham wasn’t coming back. He didn’t even let me know he left. It was pretty simple. We were done. Except… he did come back, and I can’t just throw Hunter out because my old plaything’s back in town. I owe him more than that.”
“Well, my dear, I highly suggest you search some of the ol’ books for an answer to this predicament.”
“I did. I even asked the aunts. We haven’t found anything that can help me.”
“Even in the bunker? There has to be something there.”
“The… bunker?”
Uncle Silas pressed two fingers to his temple and closed his eyes briefly, the picture of a man exercising the last of his patience. “You know, the one behind the washing machine.”
“Wha-what are you talking about?”
“Oh, good heavens, haven’t you done any exploring since I’ve been away?”
“No. I didn’t know I was supposed to.” I reached through him and clutched a pillow, pulling it to my front like a hug for emotional support.
Uncle Silas scoffed and shook off his discomfort. “Haven’t you had cases involving the paranormal that required extra…” he made air quotes with his fingers, “expertise?”
“No, I’ve gotten two calls for pets that were stuck haunting their people. Only one turned out to be a raccoon in the chimney. So all this paranormal P.I. business you’d thought I’d be drowning in? It’s not really here.”
“My dear, trust me it’s here. You’re new. You have to get your name out there, and not in the way you have been. Spreading your legs for the camera is not going to pay your bills the way you think.”
“Well, it has so far,” I mumbled from the corner of my mouth.
“No. That was that poor officer sending you money in the middle of the night.”
“I am well aware. But it wasn’t just Graham. I have 240 paying subscribers in my top tier of $100 per month. That’s $24,000 a month, not counting Graham’s Super Vices, in case you’re bad at math,” I snapped.
“I don’t appreciate your tone.”
“And I don’t appreciate you trying to make me touch corpses for a living. I’d much rather get off on camera, make some easy money without getting ectoplasm on me, and leave the dead bodies and murderers to the police.”
“Bah—you’re being unreasonable.” Uncle Silas disappeared in a puff of green smoke.
I stood up and yelled into the void. “No, you’re being unreasonable! Not everyone wants to stick their nose in other people’s hauntings!”
I clutched the pillow tight in my fist, then chucked it back on the papasan.
“Just make yourself scarce when Hunter’s around!
Oh, and the family will be here in a week and I cant handle one more unexpected turn of events!
” I collapsed back into my seat and brought my knees to my chin, curling into a ball, ready to give up on everything.
Was it really so bad that I didn’t want to spend my life touching rotting bodies? Was it really so bad that I’d rather sit at home, masturbate for money, only having to leave for an award show or to restock my dwindling supply of Tootsie Rolls?
God, I missed Chester. I missed my life before this particular curse. I missed Katie and Derek... and Graham… I really missed Graham.