“Nah, I’m kidding. I was playing with it.” He grinned and stood, taking the knife back. He placed it on the nightstand where it normally lived. “You did scream, though. But first you knocked out and almost slid off the window seat, so I put you here.”
“Oh. I guess I was having a bad dream. Those sleeping pills knocked me out.” I lay back and snuggled beneath the warm blankets.
“Are you okay if I leave now?”
“Sure. Go away. I’ll be fine. Thanks for staying.”
“Anytime.”
“Goodnight.” I rolled over and felt around for Frankie, then held him close and drifted back to sleep.
Broken
“What are you doing?” I dragged a pillow over my face.
“Turning your light on,” Ari said.“Don’t mind me. I’m looking for the shirt and jeans you so rudely took the other day.”
“They’re over there.” I pointed without looking.
“In your wall?” She laughed as I squinted. “Maybe open your eyes before you point next time. You’ve been asleep for like fourteen hours, by the way.”
“Really?” I pushed the covers aside and clumsily climbed out of bed. I glanced at the time to see she was right: I’d slept away a good chunk of the day.
“Let’s do something fun. I’m done with class for the day and my dad is leaving in a few minutes. He wants to talk to us before he goes.”
“About what?” I ruffled my hair and staredatthe bed before deciding it didn’t need to be made.
“That’s so messy.” Ari frowned as I haphazardly threw the covers across it.
“Who cares? This isn’t a bed making competition. I’ll be back. Your clothes are over there.” I pointed to a section of my closet before leaving for the bathroom. When I came back, she was perched on a perfectly made bed.“Thanks for making my bed. Where’s your dad going?”
“I dunno.” She shrugged and stood.“It’s a business trip somewhere. They called this morning.”
“I wonder how long he’ll be gone this time.” I followed her to the stairs, then hopped on the banister to slide down. I only made it partway before she shoved me off—I nearly fell as she laughed maniacally. She ran ahead but I pushed my way back in front, fighting off her attempts to overtake the lead.
“Morning girls.” Uncle Tom lowered his newspaper and coffee mug as we stampeded down the stairs.
“Good morning, Uncle Tom! I heard you’re going on another business trip. Where’re you going this time?” I flopped into an armchair while Ari sat beside him.
“Connecticut. I’ll be gone about five days. It shouldn’t be more than that.”
“That’s a long time,” Ari complained.“You never go for that long.”
“At least you have Emy to keep you company this time. It’s better than being alone, right?” He took a sip of coffee.
“Yeah, Ari. You have my awesome self to keep you company. You’re so lucky. I wishIcould hang around myself all the time. Oh wait… I can!” I giggled as she rolled her eyes.
“You’re not gonna burn the house down, right?” Uncle Tom chortled as he looked between us.
“Of course not.”
“Why would you ask such a thing?”
“You girls are something else.” He finished his coffee before grabbing the newspaper.“I wanna talk about these murders.” He gestured to its front page, which was dedicated to a possible serial killer. “I doubt you care, Emy, but Ari can you please make sure she doesn’t do anything unsafe while I’m gone?”
“I’ve beentryingto,but she never wants to listen to anyone.”
“I listen to my favorite bands and cartoon characters all the time. I’ve learned not to go in dark places and to never split up. Actually, splitting up is how you find the bad guys, so splitting up might be good. You have to split up to set traps to catch the ghosts and ghouls—”
