She turns and crosses her arms and offers a big grin. “They’re not. I got this earlier.” She pulls out potato chips, popcorn, chocolate, you name it.
“I haven’t seen you at all since you’ve moved in, and I was going to offer a girls' night tomorrow with an all-you-can-eat snack bar. We’re roommates; we should get to know each other.” She scratches the back of her head, her eyes avoiding mine, suddenly acting bashful.
Fuck.I exhale, shutting the door behind me, and make my way over to her. She begins putting items away while I begin to regret my choices. She’s trying to get dirt on me, and I can’t help but feel bad for being snarky. “I’m sorry, I just—ignore me. I was being defensive.”
She shakes her head. “It’s okay, I was being nosey myself. I can’t help but wonder if that’s why you’ve been so absent since moving in. Maybe you are hiding a secret.” She winks at me, and my insides clench in fear. The echoes of Priest Brown’s words ring like alarm bells through my head. She is following his orders, looking for proof of my sins.
I laugh awkwardly and step back. “I’m just more of an introvert. No big secret here, I just like my black clothes.”
I look over my shoulder at Jocelyn as I reach for the door. “I’m heading into the library to do more research on the town. I’ve heard there’s a lot of rich history.” I toss back and watch her visibly swallow.
Jocelyn nods. “There are lots of different histories of the area. Just be careful digging into histories that may cause more problems than they are worth finding out, alright?” She raises a brow at me with clear caution.
I hesitate at the door as I absorb what she says, trying to decipher if she’s warning me or threatening me when I respond with a nod. I open the door and look over my shoulder one last time to see Jocelyn watching me.
“8 pm tomorrow sounds great for a girls’ night,” I say, and then I shut the door behind me without waiting for a response. I realize I’ve made a potentially fatal mistake. The library is closed.
I followthe tree line toward the Baker building that holds the room where I first saw Milly. I try my best to remain in the shadows, keeping my eyes out for any silhouettes in the buildings’ windows. Silence surrounds me, minus the occasional shuffle of dead leaves or the windrustling through branches. I don’t feel any fear as I walk in the darkness. It’s been the one place I can relax, and being in these woods feels familiar. I don’t worry about the ghosts or ghouls. It’s the man I fear.
I’ve only just begun uncovering this massive, egregious scandal, but I haven’t allowed myself a moment to process what that could mean for me. From the fact that ghosts do exist, to our campus priest being a part of a long history of horrific disappearances—one I may find myself on the receiving end of within a matter of days. The stakes were suddenly high and increasingly personal.
I don’t want to spend my potential final days hiding from my true self, hiding from what draws me in. Milly might not want to speak to me because of the danger here or simply because I’m alive and she’s dead. But I’ve never felt more alive than when my eyes landed upon her.
I was shuffling through life, constantly going through the motions to find any piece of myself that wanted to live my life to the fullest. Losing my mother was like losing a piece of myself. My hand instinctively fidgets with the thorns on my necklace as I think of her. She knew I was battling something internally. I never spoke it out loud, but she was consistently there for me.
I remember one night she sat down with me on the couch. I was crying in her lap as she rubbed my back. I wanted to tell her the thoughts that were crossing my mind and ask her why I was thinking differently, but I couldn’t get the words out. She just rubbed my back with her radiant, warm affection.
“Oh, sweetie. I wish I knew what was weighing on you like this,” she said, running slender fingers from my back into my hair. “Whatever it is, you’re safe here. Even if you can’t say it out loud yet.”
I never admitted to her that she was right, but I don’t think I had to. I’d like to think that she just knew. That she accepted it before I was ready for it myself. I never got the chance to tell her, let alone thank her for loving me as unconditionally as she did.
My chest tightens as the grief wraps around it without signs ofrelease. Unfortunately, losing her destroyed me. The hateful voice of my father became a cavernous echo through my mind. I still haven’t replied to the text he sent me at the beginning of the week; there’s nothing that needs to be said. Part of me has this tiny voice in my head that wonders if he’s heard the whispers of the tales on this campus and brought me here for a reason more sinister than I can wrap my mind around.
I approach the side of the steps of Baker, pulling my hood up tighter against my face. I sneak around the back corner looking for an entrance into the building. I crouch along the side until I come across a window on the ground surrounded by mulch. I lean on the glass and glance inside, finding it to be one of the abandoned basement offices. I try to pull it open and groan when it doesn’t budge.
I peek back into the window and shoot my hand over my mouth to muffle a shriek when I find myself eye to eye with Milly. She unlatches the window and pushes it up as she glares up at me.
“Have I not made myself perfectly clear? You were not to come down here again!” I smile at the bite in her voice and lean forward, our eyes level as I take in her fire.
“Should I beg for forgiveness?” I smirk. I lean back and bring my legs forward to push them through the window. Once my torso is through, I twist slightly to have my face against the wall, my fingers holding onto the edge of the window as I glance down and jump to the floor. I wipe my hands on my joggers and take a deep breath. I can’t miss this opportunity with Milly again.
I turn toward her. Her face is in a scowl, her bottom lip jutting out in a gorgeous pout, while her arms cross over her large bosom.Breathe, Grace. Breathe.She’s in something completely different this time, which briefly shocks me. Who knew ghosts could change clothes? But the shock quickly shifts to desire as I take in her high-waisted pants with two rows of buttons going down the front of her pelvis. There are thick brown suspenders strapped over her shoulders, and a tight cream shirt with pearl buttons down the center rested just below. I catchmyself envying the buttons that strain against the fabric across her breasts.
I cross my arms and lift a brow at her. “The only rules that would ban me from this building are the campus rules. Forgive me for not following the rules of a place that wants to sacrifice me like a lamb. Why does it feel like you’re angry that I won’t submit to it?”
Her jaw clenches as she stalks her way toward me, taking her pointer finger and thumb to my chin and lifting it up so I can meet her eyes. A power play in motion. Heat blossoms in my lower body, an ache building that I haven’t felt this strongly in a long time. All because she’stouchingme. I swallow harshly, and her eyes darken a bit as her grip tightens slightly. I wonder if she knows how rewarding her touch is, even as a punishment.
“I’d rather you didn’t look at me that way, not with those eyes.” She tries to force a bite behind her words, but her voice falters a little as her eyes flick back and forth over mine.
I push my chin harder against her fingers, and she straightens her shoulders and drops her hand. My face instantly feels cool with the loss of her touch. A touch itself that is cold, but offers me warmth no furnace could provide.
I step toward her. “Don’t run away from me again, Milly. When was the last time you spoke to someone? When was the last time you let yourself truly enjoy life?”
Her eyes flash with rage again as the realization of what I said hits me.Fuck.“This life? You refer to the one I lost the moment I drew my last breath? I no longer possess the privileges your living form enjoys. I must insist that you leave at once. Simply put, it is not safe here.” I walk toward her with more confidence as she steps back, her butt hitting a desk as she falls onto it. I step in between her legs and lean over her, moving a curl out of her eyes.
“If the risk of searching for you involves coming into this forbidden basement, I’d take that risk every time.” I look at her, swearing that I seethat subtle flush cross her ghostly flesh. I lean forward when she suddenly vanishes.
“This is no game, Grace.” I glance over my shoulder to see Milly pacing the floor silently.
