Alina sucked in a breath. “Really? That’s so lit.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQqw2oQxlj
“What? You believe me?”
“Of course. You wouldn’t lie to me.”
I was shocked into silence.
She chuckled. “I knew you weren’t crazy.”
My heart swelled knowing my best friend had so much confidence in me and hadn’t run the other way when I’d started seeing things that weren’t there.
I told her about Sophie and how I’d helped find her.
“Wow. That’s… that is amazing. Now her family has closure.”
“Yeah.”
“You did that. You have a good heart.”
“I had to do something. She would have driven me mad like old Mrs Calthorpe at Mirrabooka.”
“Who?”
Oh, yeah. I’d forgotten that she didn’t know about any of that either.
I told her that story and added that they now knew that I wasn’t crazy, but still sent me out here to make it look like I hadn’t just miraculously been cured. I wanted so much to tell her the rest of it. The magic. The training. The fun of using magic.
“It all makes sense now,” she said. “I’m glad you told me.”
“So am I. I hated that you didn’t know, but I was worried that you wouldn’t believe me.”
“It’s all good. I’ve seen some weird stuff in my time, so believing you can see dead people is nothing.”
I laughed. “This is why I love you.”
Then I wondered what stuff could be weirder than being a Spirit Seer.
I told her about Nellie, Mrs C, and Mr J and how they died and by the time I’d finished, she’d sent me a couple of links. I clicked on the first one and tears sprung to my eyes. It was a news story about Mrs C and how she’d been murdered when a patient tried to escape back in the nineties.
“Oh, my God, that’s her! That’s Mrs C. That’s what she still looks like. She even has her nurse’s uniform on when I see her.”
“See? Not crazy.”
I clicked on the second link, nerves flitting through me. It was Mr J’s story. He was right. He’d been given electro-therapy during a thunderstorm and had been killed when the power surged. He’d be happy to know that the people in charge were prosecuted and there was an overhaul of safety procedures to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
“It lists their families. I wonder if any of them are still alive. With Mrs C, it was the nineties, so there’s more chance that her kids are still around. She probably has lots of grandkids and doesn’t know it.”
Alina was quiet while I read more about them.
“It’s so sad reading about their lives. They were too scared to try to track down family members and try to find peace so they could cross over. I made them promise me that they would try after I left. They couldn’t come with me, but a new ghost, Jackson, was able to travel in the car with me.”
So then I had to tell her about my pain-in-the-ass spirit who nearly ruined everything.
“So, is he good looking?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“I’m just curious.”
My face heated. “Yes. He’s… well, you know, he looks like Johnny Depp. But he’s still annoying as hell.”
“Ah-ha.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Mmmm. I can see it now.”
“What?”
“You like him.”
I shifted on the bed. “No. I don’t.”
“Okay. I believe you.”
“No, you don’t.” I sighed. “Look, even if I did like him — which I don’t — he’s dead. It’s not remotely possible to have a relationship with him.”
“It could be possible. Haven’t you seen The Ghost and Mrs Muir?”
“The what?”
“It was an old TV series. This widow lived in a big house haunted by this old ghost who was an old, arrogant sea captain and they kind of secretly fell in love, even though he did things to drive her crazy. It was cool.”
“Yeah, well I’m not going to do that. I want someone who’s still alive, thank you very much.”
“So, do you mean that you can’t touch Jackson?”
“No, I can. I’m not sure why, but they are solid like real people — live people — but I sense a different energy from them. It’s hard to explain.”
“So you could have a relationship with Jackson then.”
“No. How can I do that when no one else can see him?”
“I don’t know. You could make it work.”
“No, thanks.”
“Why? He sounds better than that Blake guy.”
“What have you got against Blake?”
“There’s something not quite right with him. I can’t put my finger on it.”
“I don’t know why you don’t like him. He’s okay. And he’s alive, so there’s that.”
“That might not be enough.”
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We’d stayed up way too late talking on the phone and I was tired all day Friday.
On Friday night at dinner, Tracy asked us if we knew where Kellie was. She was due home from work about an hour before. No one knew and I got this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Last time one of us was late home from work, it ended in me almost dying because some idiots had drained too much of my magic.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKZm5SnLlQ
Kaydan shifted in his seat like he wanted to jump up and run out the door looking for her. “Should we be worried? Could she have just missed the bus?”
“Don’t panic. I’m sure there’s a good explanation.” Tracy’s gaze fell on me. “We’ll wait till the next bus is due, then we’ll think about going to look for her if she’s not on it.”
I relaxed a tiny bit, but couldn’t help the anxiety creeping in while I tried to eat my curried chicken.
I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when the front door opened, but as soon as Kellie walked into the room, I knew something bad had happened.
Justina jumped up, “What’s wrong?”
Kellie sniffled and wiped her eyes. “It’s Emily. She’s missing.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdDnZut2V2
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Author's Note: What trouble has Emily gotten herself into now? Do you think she is “missing” like the others, or is she just being Emily?
What do you think of Emily as a character? Would she be your bestie, or your sworn enemy?
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