“You’re ruthless,” Cassidy said, but one corner of her mouth curled up in a smile.
The hall led to the front entranceway, where a rusting coat stand leaned against the door. A shoe rack held only the left shoesof each pair. Ash always wondered what had happened to the right ones.
Cassidy checked in the cubbyholes in case the mask was in there, but she came up empty-handed.
Then she saw a knee-high wooden Buddha statue next to the shoe rack. She bounced in place. “Two beautiful things!” Even though it was dusty, the Buddha’s face was still jolly, eyes crinkled in mirth.
Ash brushed off the top of the statue’s head. “My mom told me that rubbing his bald spot is good luck.”
“Maybe it’ll help my missing mask appear faster.” Cassidy gave the Buddha’s noggin a vigorous rub.
“If you were Ricky,” Ash said, “where would you hide the mask?”
Cassidy sighed. “Honestly? Somewhere gross. I love that kid, but he doesnothave the same standards of cleanliness that the rest of us do.”
Ash bit the inside of his cheek.
“Oh no,” Cassidy said. “What’re you thinking?”
“Uh…”
“Is it bad? Oh god, it’s bad. Just tell me.”
He cringed. “The bathroom?”
Cassidy paled, which caught Ash off guard. If she’d looked like she was going to puke, that would be expected—because of dirty old toilets, et cetera. Instead, she was practically breaking out into a cold sweat.
“Th-there’s a mirror in the bathroom, huh?” Cassidy asked. “And it’s probably dark.”
He nodded carefully, not sure where this was going.“The windowissmall, and it’s pretty much blacked out from grime, so yeah, not much light in there.”
“Dammit, Ricky.” Cassidy clenched and unclenched her fists, like she was trying to calm herself down. “He knows I’m scared of Bloody Mary.”
Ash paused as he tried to understand what she was saying. When it dawned on him, he burst out laughing. “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to regain composure. “Do you mean that ghost story kids tell?”
Cassidy grimaced. “The one where if you look in a mirror in a dark room and chant ‘Bloody Mary,’ her spirit will come out and murder you? Yeah. It’s really, really ridiculous, I know. But I heard the story when I was in first grade and it scared the crap out of me, and as illogical as it is, I still can’t shake it. I have to turn on all the lights anytime I go into a bathroom, because if I go into a dark one, my brain just starts chanting her name.”
Ash made a mental note never to tell Cassidy the theory that he was part ghost. However, he couldn’t help smiling at her as she paced, still opening and closing her fists. He loved that even though she’d been through real-life horrors, it was a childhood prank that haunted her.
“Tell you what,” Ash said. “You stay right there.”
“What are you—?”
“Igor will keep watch over you. I’ll be right back!” He darted down a different hallway than the one they’d come through, and into what used to be the powder room.
Sure enough, Ash found a pink plastic leopard-print mask inthe bathroom, sitting in a dirt-caked soap dish in the bathtub. Thankfully, Ricky hadn’t hidden the mask in the nasty toilet.
Triumphant, Ash ran back to where Cassidy was waiting next to the Buddha statue.
“Was it there?” she asked.
He smiled and presented it to her with a flourish.
Cassidy sighed with relief.
“Pinkleopard print, though?” Ash teased. He was happy that conversation with Cassidy came easier to him now.
Her nose turned the same color as her mask. “One of the girls bought a dozen of them in a set. She thought the tackiness was funny. Did its hideousness burn your eyes?”
