Curiosity jabs at me, but more than that is a sudden and unwavering commitment to prove I’m not afraid. Who I’m proving it to is unclear. I drop the candelabra and take a hesitant step toward him, prepared to bolt for the door, and reach a hand up.
My fingers pass through his like his skin is made of smoke. His tan fingers blur and resolidify as I snatch my hand back.
“Oh my god.” My voice barely rises above a whisper, but it twists Finn’s mouth into a frown. His broad shoulders droop.
“Yeah,” he says.“I couldn’t hurt you if I wanted to—”
“I doubt that—”
“—which I don’t.”He clears his throat and rakes a hand through his hair; I was right about the habit.“I’m sorry, this is new territory for me. It’s kind of freaking me out—”
“You’re freaking out? You?”
He motions at me.“You can see me. That’s not normal. Why can you see me?”
Why can I see him now, when I’ve been living in this house for a month and, despite my aunt’s and sister’s jokes about paranormal activity, neither has mentioned the specter of a teenage boy? But Icansee him. His edges are slightly off, like an actor against a green screen, and when he shifts, he’s somewhat translucent.
“You’re the one changing the radio.”
Finn shrugs, leaning back onto the bed, propped up on his elbows. Already too comfortable.
I’m still hovering by the dresser, trying to figure out if I’m hallucinating or dreaming or being massively screwed with. I have a dozen questions, but no control over which ones pop out. I take a breath and climb onto the end of the bed, folding my legs beneath me.
“Are you a ghost?” Voicing the word is even more ridiculous than it was in my head.
He sniffs, and says, “If the shoe fits.”
I suck in a breath, heat flooding my cheeks.
He gives an amused smile.“I’m not going to explode if you talk about people kicking it. I’ve been here for three years. It’s okay.”
He scratches at his jaw and averts his gaze. His discomfort fills the room like smoke. He pushes off the bed and gestures to the black spinet piano beside the dresser and my guitars—an old sand-colored acoustic I’ve had since I was ten and a black electric Flying V that I saved for two years for—resting in the corner.“You’re a musician?”He bounces on his heels, inspecting the instruments and gently passing a hand through the fretboard of the acoustic.
His eyes fall shut, lips parting, and he takes a small breath. The hard edges of his face are lined with a pain I know all too well. And as quickly as it came the look fades, and he opens his eyes to give me a sheepish smile.
“I’m not, like, stalking you or something like that. I heard you play once or twice.”He shakes his head.
A morbid curiosity has settled into my bones like a chill. I’m having a conversation with someone who shouldn’t be here. But ifhe’s here, maybe Harper is out there somewhere, too. And I can tell her I’m sorry. Sorry for surviving when she didn’t.
“You heard me play?”
He swallows and shuffles his feet. He’s wearing a faded and scuffed pair of white Vans. I wonder if he is stuck with the same stained pair of shoes and tattered black jeans forever.
The weirdness of all of this is so gigantic, there’s almost nothing to do but lean into it. Or at least lean into it until I have a moment alone to properly freak out.
“There’s always music in this house. It’s so normal, nobody blinks. But when you play…”He tips forward onto the balls of his feet, a bright, glazed glint in his eyes.“It’s like everything stops. Everyone freezes to listen. I swear the damn thunder holds back to hear.”
A shiver rolls down my spine, and suddenly the tiny room is three times smaller. Whatever I might have said dies on my tongue, and all I can do is stare at him. The fleeting face in the window. The presence at my back when I sat down at the keys.
“Sorry. That was weird.”
“Stop apologizing,” I say, not realizing I mean it until it’s out. “I’m willing to forgive the light stalking on account of there probably being nothing to do when you’re a…when you’re like you.”
He gives me a lopsided grin.“You’ve got no idea.”
My lips quirk up of their own accord, and I quickly pull them back into a line. Finn’s smile widens.
“But if you do go snooping again, I will exorcise you.”
