“Oi! Oi! Oi!” The door shakes as she pounds on it. “Whooo’s locked me oot? Lemme in.”
I fling off the blankets and spring to the door, smacking it with the flat of my hand. “Go. Away. This isn’t your room.”
The stairs creak. Another voice joins her—softer, soothing. I can’t make out the words, only the murmuring hum of someone talking her down.
The voices recede.
I peer through the peephole in time to watch them disappear down the hall.
I lean against the door, waiting for my heart to settle. A shaky laugh forces its way out.
Just Betsy.The lady Una warned me about.
Relief floods me. I turn, open my eyes?—
He’s there.
Not a reflection. Not a trick of the light.
Him.
Standing right in front of me.
Chapter
Three
Iclap my hands over my face as a pathetic whimper escapes me.
Becausethat’llprotect me. Real mature.
I peek between my fingers.
He’s still there. Watching me.
Not fully solid. Not quite mist. Like a reflection on water.
His expression is set, stoic, but there’s something in his gaze. I’d swear he’s as startled as I am.
It’s the guy from the window. Though he’s not fully clear, I’m certain it’s him. Same messy, scruffy hair brushing the collar of that absurdly costumey shirt. And the same intensity. Like he knows me.
I lower my hands slowly and shift to the left. His eyes follow. I try again, moving right. His gaze still tracks me.
Somehow, impossibly, he’s here. Watching me.
I hear Una in my head.A taish. Dinnae be afraid of them.
Does that mean I should be afraid when it’s not a taish?
“What…what do you want?” I whisper.
He doesn’t speak. Doesn’t move toward me, either.
“Who are you?” I try again, a little more sure this time.
I’m a physics major. I don’t believe in ghosts. And yet here I am, talking to one.
He lifts a finger to his lips, and I startle at the movement. But that’s all he does—a simple request for silence. There’s something oddly courteous about it.
