“Yes, honey, she died.”
Cassie remembered being confused because when she looked past her parents to the other side of the room, Sarah Lennox was standing there, patiently waiting for Cassie to come out and play.
9
Cassie thudded down the stairs, fear and excitement racing through her veins in equal measure. She gripped Laura’s teddy bear in one hand and had the other flung out for balance. The buzz of anxiety had ceased, replaced with the singular blare of an alarm that drove her to find her sister.
She spotted Laura in the living room, gripping her coffee between her hands like it was the only thing holding her to reality. She opened her eyes when Cassie’s weight shifted the couch cushions, and even then, it looked like the last thing she wanted to do.
“I’m giving you fair warning that I’m not in a good mood today.” She slurped her coffee. “Someone—I’m not saying who—kept talking in her sleep last night.”
Cassie already had her mouth open to rehash everything she had remembered, but this made her come up short. “Wait, really? What was I saying?”
“I don’t remember. It was mostly mumbling. Do you always talk that much in your sleep?”
“I’m not sure. It’s been a while since anyone was in a position to tell me.”
Of course, that made Cassie think about Jason and how she’d be more than happy to offer him the opportunity. She’d texted him a few times since running into him at Van GoGo’s, but their conversations had remained superficial. She kept promising herself that when she returned home, she’d do everything in her power to give them a real chance.
“Well, I’m in the position of telling you it’s annoying.”
“Maybe it was because of the ghost in my dream last night. Which I guess is another thing I never told you about.”
“More secrets?”
“Unintentional ones, I promise. We had a lot going on.”
“Am I going to need another cup of coffee for this?”
“Probably.”
Laura held up a finger and drained her mug, then left the room and returned a minute later with a fresh cup. She settled back into the cushions and let the steam warm her face. “You may proceed.”
Cassie took a deep breath. She and Laura were closer than ever, but it still felt strange to be so open about her abilities and all that accompanied them. David had been by her side for years, and there were still times she struggled to tell him everything.
But if the last few weeks had taught her anything, it was that she needed to be more vulnerable with the people she cared about. David. Her parents. Laura. And maybe even Jason.
“After Novak died, my abilities faded, but the one constant was the ghost of a little boy who would stand in the corner of my room every night. He never spoke, but he would stare at me for hours.”
Laura shivered. “Creepy, but continue.”
“Then, one day, he spoke for the first time. He said the name Sarah Lennox. Not long after that, you visited, and he’d show up from time to time. He seems interested in you.”
Laura’s eyes widened. “Interested how? Should I worry?”
“I don’t think so. He’s nice. Still doesn’t say much. I’ve never gotten bad vibes, even though Apollo doesn’t like to be in the same room as him.”
“Why do you think he’s interested in me?”
“Still trying to figure that out.” Cassie shifted and tucked her feet underneath her to warm them. “My nightmares have slowly transformed. At the end of the one I had on our drive over here, five-year-old you told me it was my fault Sarah died.”
Laura brought a hand to her mouth. “I’m sure that’s not true.”
“It might be.” Cassie ran a hand through her hair, picking apart the knots with her fingers. “Either way, I don’t remember what happened that night. But that’s not the weird part.”
“Oh, we haven’t gotten to the weird part yet?”
“Last night, I had the same dream, but instead of you standing there at the end, it was him. The little boy.” She held up the teddy bear. “Last time, you handed me this and told me it was my fault Sarah died. This time, he handed me the bear and told me, ‘They need you.’”
“They? Who’s they?”
“I got this sense of people surrounding me, like ghosts I couldn’t see. Then everything faded, and I woke up. He was standing in the corner of the room, staring at you.”
Laura swallowed and looked around the living room. “Is he here now?”
“No.” She placed a hand on Laura’s arm. “I don’t think you need to worry. He won’t hurt you. I think he’s trying to tell me something. I’m just not sure what it is yet.”
“Maybe it has something to do with Mr. Brownie?”
“Mr. Brownie!” Cassie held up the stuffed animal like it was Simba. “You really weren’t clever with your names, were you?”
“I was three.” Laura took the bear and looked him over. “He’s seen better days.”
“Speaking of those days, a memory resurfaced when I picked him up.”
“Of what?”
“Sarah Lennox.” Cassie jabbed a finger at the bear. “Specifically, about holding Mr. Brownie and being told she couldn’t come over to play anymore. Mom and Dad were telling me she died.”
“That must’ve been weird.” Laura looked at Mr. Brownie like he had powers of his own. “Do you remember anything else?”
Cassie’s throat was dry, and she had to swallow before she could speak again. “When they told me this, I don’t remember being sad or angry. I was confused.”
“I feel like I won’t enjoy what’s coming next.”
“Sarah was standing in the corner of the room. More specifically, her ghost was standing there. She was waiting for me to play with her.”
Laura held up her arm. “You’re giving me goosebumps. That’s super creepy.”
“It wasn’t creepy to me.” Cassie shrugged and looked back down at Mr. Brownie. “I knew she wouldn’t hurt me. I’m not even sure she knew she was dead.”
“Did you know she was dead?”
“I don’t think so. I guess I thought she was
