I wait patiently for someone to come to the front, but I just hear a lot of banging and muttering of curse words. It sounds to me likewhoever’sback there is aclutz, soit’sa good sign that it could be Claudia.It’sone of the things wehadin common.In life, I was constantly bruising myself by knocking into things, and I broke my ankle twice by tripping over the sidewalk at my own house.
Finally, a young blonde woman with curtain bangs framing her heart shaped face comes around the cornerwithawide smileand big blue eyes.
Ihaven’tseen her face in years, but I would know it anywhere. She looks just like me.
“Claudia?”
Chapter Sixteen
KENNEDY
Claudia is staring at me like…well, likeshe’sseen a ghost. Rightnow,the look on her face tells me she’s trying to remember if she actually buried me or not.
With her mouth open wide and eyelids blinking in double-time, she stutters out, “Wh-what? How are…? B-but you?—”
I forgive my sister for not being able to form complete sentences, because rightnow,I’mstruggling to do the same.Ihaven’tmanaged any words at all.I’mstill processing the fact that my sister has been in Shadow Hills since the moment I arrived, and I had no idea.
The first words I let out areprobably notthe best, butit’sall I can manage.
“Don’t worry. I’m still dead,” I tell her flatly.
Claudia’s face pales so much it matches the little doilies on the counter.
It may have been abomb butdropping that little nugget of information will at least keep her from questioning her sanity. Hopefully.
“Then how are you…here?” My sister’s hand grips the counter to her left as she slouches against the wall.
Sheappears to beon the verge of collapse, and I would catch her if Iweren’ttoo tired to appear fully corporeal right now. Parts of my bodyflicker in and out of focus as I try to hold on to what energy I have left.
“Umm, so you see, after I died,” I cringe, still not used to the sentiment, “my spirit appeared here, in Shadow Hills.” I gesture to the streets outside. “Iwasn’table to stay put forvery long, so for a few days, I just popped in and out of places around town. But eventually, the witches were able to tether me to a house, so I can control it now.”
Claudia slowly nods her head, but her expression hasn’t changed, so I can’t be sure she’s absorbed any of what I just said.
I take a deep breath andshift fully into my spirit form. At once, that familiar sense ofweight liftingfrom my shoulders takes hold, and once againI’mjust a transparent figment of myself. “I’m a ghost, Claudia.”
Jaw no longer hanging to thefloor,her gaze softens as she steadies herself. She stands straight as she slowlyletsgo of the counter and approaches me.
“Holy shit,” she says breathily. “You’re a ghost.”
I press my lips together. “Yep.”
Claudia shakes her head and slapsher handover her mouth. Her eyes are back to the size of dinner plates. “Oh my god!”sheexclaims. “I heard there was a new ghost in town, but I had no idea… It was you!”
I push myself across the floor and stop just in front of her, keeping enough space between us so as not to scare her.“I had no idea you lived here,” Itellher. “I just found out.”I look away. “I saw the blueberries.”
The hand over her mouth turns into afistand she bashfully bites down on it. “I did that for you. Ihaven’twanted to bake since I got back from your funeral, but I had the idea to decorate some of the desserts with blueberries last night.” She pauses andglances away. “I had a dream about you, and now,” she looks back to me, “you’re here.”
My chest tightens and my shoulders instinctively draw up. “I didn’t know you baked,” I confess with a frown.
It’smy own fault for distancing myself over the past few years. I should havekept in touchmore. If I had, I would have known this about her.
My sister likes to bake.
Her head dips, and for a moment, we share our guilt. I never knew how she felt about my absence, because I never asked, but now I can see that it clearly hurt her just as much as it hurt me.
Then she looks back up. I notice her fingers twitching at her sides.
“Can I touch you?” she asks carefully.
