Page 81 of A Haunting at Keystone Manor

“It could be that your subconscious is manifesting them, trying to cope with the guilt you feel for whatever part you had to play in their deaths. Or maybe it just thinks you have some sort unresolved business with them that it’s trying to resolve,” Lisa says. “The mind is a complicated thing, and it often doesn’t make sense to us.”

“Maybe. I feel angry at them, for the way they treated me, for what they did to me. I hate them, and I hate that they’re gone and I still have to sit here and live with the consequences of their actions.”

“Then that’s what we’ll focus on.”

***

I walk Lisa to the door after our session, thanking her again before heading back into the living room. Seth is still sitting on the couch studying his hands. I sit back down next to him and put a hand over his, trying to give him comfort. We’re both wrung out, physically and emotionally.

“Did you like Lisa?” I ask.

“Yeah, she was really chill. Can I sit in next time you have a session? Or I guess, I can go solo. I don’t want to intrude. I know that shits private.”

“I’m fine with doing therapy with you. We have the same issues, same abuser. It’s not a secret. I think it helps talking through things with you, and I want to get it through your thick skull that you’re not to blame for anything.”

“Okay, cool. Thank you. I need a smoke. I have a date to get ready for.” We both stand and before he can leave, I pull him into a hug. He wraps his arms around me in return, and I just hold him for a minute, feeling his steady heartbeat against my chest. Seth is a touchy-feely person, and I get the sense that he needs all the comfort he can get. I do, too.

Chapter forty-one

Family Dinner

Alex

“Please, Seth! I have to live vicariously through you. Details, man!” I beg, hounding him for details about his date with Sasha.

Seth bites his lip ring and side eye’s me, debating how much to share. “It went well. We went to see Chainsaw’s Revenge Four and then got a bite to eat. No big deal.”

“How was the movie?” I’m so upset I can’t go see it. Chainsaw’s Revenge one through three are cult classics.

“It was, um, okay I guess. I wasn’t completely focused on the movie,” he admits.

I gasp. “Seth, you dog! Were you guys playing baseball in the theater?”

He looks at me, confused. “Huh?”

I wave my hands around dramatically. “It’s a metaphor! Now tell me, what were you focused on if not the movie?”

He blushes but decides to give me a few details. “He held my hand, during the movie. It was really nice.”

“Awww!” I coo and put a hand over my heart. “Are you planning on going out with him again?”

“Yeah, we have another date planned for this weekend. And no, you can’t have all the details, bro.”

“Traitor. I’m glad it went so well. Hey, I’m making dinner for everyone at the hotel tonight. Are you sticking around?”

“Hell, yeah. Sounds awesome.” He pulls a blunt out of his pocket. “I’m gonna take a smoke break,” he says and heads for the front door.

I head into the kitchen to get started on dinner. So, confession time. I’ve never cooked anything in my life other than things wrapped in plastic. I pull a cookbook off the shelf at the end of the island and open it. Flipping through it, I find a recipe for chicken enchiladas. Ooh. As I read through the recipe my eyes widen in horror. “What the fuck is this?” I mutter to myself. “This is cooking, why is there math involved?” I put my head in my hands, defeated.

Just then Sasha walks in and heads towards the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water.

“Oh hey, you just missed Seth,” I inform him.

He uncaps it and takes a long drink before wiping his mouth and looking me up and down.

“Something wrong?” he asks.

“Yes, something’s wrong! I want to make dinner for everyone tonight, but I can’t read this recipe. This is a disaster.”