Someone should go.
Beck:
I said I would. Putting underwear on.
Lane:
Eww. TMI
I rub my eyes.Only here.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I can’t let this place go and be reduced to a pile of bricks. Because where wouldtheygo? This place is not just a house.
I dismissed them as the freaky part of our family, and Willow unknowingly showed me the way back to them. “Did I tell you how proud of you I am?”
She snaps her head up at me. “Ssshhh,” she says, her eyes all soft on me, her mouth going in for a kiss. The sound of voices coming from upstairs distracts her. She perks up, gets out of bed, and tiptoes to the door, stepping over the nightie she wore for less than two minutes last night. Cracking the door open, she tilts slightly forward, her naked body glowing in the semi darkness.
I put my arms behind my head to admire her as she tugs a strand of hair behind her ear. She looks over her shoulder at me, a big smile on her face.
“It was just a nightmare,” Beck’s voice sounds in the hallway.
“I don’t think so,” Gail’s shaky voice answers.
“There was no one there, I promise.”
“I’m not stupid, Beck,” Gail snaps back right as they pass our bedroom. “I saw you standing there in your underwear—”
“Swimsuit.”
“Whatever. Isawyou, just like Isawher, up in a corner, with a rope around her neck, and thatfuckingsmile.”
“That’s just not possible, you know,” Beck answers.
“It’s not funny!” she hisses. “How can you be laughing at me for-for-for seeing a-a-a…”
“A ghost?” he suggests, laughter in his voice. “Come on,” he adds, “you’re just confused. Let’s get you a cup of hot milk and honey.”
Willow snorts and gets back in bed with me. “Beck going all soft on Gail.” She snuggles on my chest, stroking my shoulder.
A ruckus of loud barking and sharp yaps echo through the mansion. “I guess they made it to the kitchen,” Willow whispers.
“What do you have planned there?”
She lifts herself off my chest, looking at me with mock offense. “I didn’tplananything. I just… let the household know what was at stake. Dogs are very perceptive, you know.”
“Get them off me!” Gail shrieks.
Beck’s voice rumbles in the distance.
“Is that poo?”
“Jesus, woman,” Willow mumbles, trying to get back to sleep. “Get a grip.”
“Ah shit!” Beck yells right as Gail shrieks again.
I muffle my laughter in Willow’s neck. “What do you think is happening?”
“Pretty sure Edward encountered dog poop.”
