The haunting between us, p.21
The Haunting Between Us, page 21
Hugo: Sorry to do this. I need to talk
No response for a moment, and then my phone buzzes with a FaceTime request. I sigh and accept it. Abby’s on Water Street wearing a black knit cap with Maya and Chloe right behind her, in each other’s arms, sharing an umbrella. I look like a wreck in my selfie video, but I have bigger worries.
“Hey, Hugo, what’s going on?” she asks, brow creased.
I try not to sound like a mess, but I fail miserably. “Hey, Abby. I…um…shit.” My voice cracks as I fight back rising emotions.
She’s serious in a heartbeat. “Is that Cameron’s porch?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t move! I’ll be there in five.”
“Thanks,” I say, and then the call ends.
The cold and wetness make me shiver as I huddle next to Cameron’s front door. In a few minutes, Abby speeds down the road on her longboard, cutting through the rain. In one fluid motion, she hops off, kicks up her board, grabs it in the air, and runs to my side. She wraps me in a wet bear hug, but I don’t mind. It’s exactly what I need at this moment.
“The house?” she says, still hugging me.
“Yep.”
“You wanna talk about it?”
“Yeah, but give me a minute.”
“Let’s get out of the rain.” She releases me, then reaches up to the top of the front door frame and grabs a key. “Cameron’s family won’t mind.”
Once inside, we head up to Cameron’s room without a word. On the way, Abby grabs two towels from the linen closet, tossing one to me and keeping one for herself. We dry off in silence, Abby looking my way, words on the tip of her tongue. I beat her to it.
“It touched me.”
Abby’s eyes go wide. “Holy shit, really? The White Lady?”
“I dunno. It’s possible. Something grabbed my leg through a hole in the basement wall.”
Abby’s jaw drops as I pull up my pant leg. Faint red marks wrap around my ankle where the fingers were. My heart beats faster as the gravity of the situation hits me. Most things that have happened in the house could be explained away as coincidences, freak accidents, or my imagination. But this was real. It left a mark.
“What happened?” Abby asks.
I tell her everything, leaving out no details—the draft, Cameron’s voice, the eye in the hole, and the hand that reached out, like icicles on my skin. She sits listening, taking in everything, her face getting graver by the second.
“Hugo, this is serious. Getting physically touched—that’s a whole new ballgame. We have to do something. You aren’t safe.”
I nod, my shoulders sagging from this weight descending upon me. It’s too much. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Chloe and Maya are on their way over. Let’s talk it over with them.”
“Okay.”
“In the meantime, I want to check something,” Abby says, pulling out her phone.
She opens up the MindMap app, swipes through a few things on her screen, and brings up a photo—the floor plans of my house that Cameron and I got from the library. Thinking about Cameron makes a lump rise in my throat. I miss him so much.
Abby holds up her phone. “This is the floor plan for your basement. Can you show me where the hole is?”
I zoom in and scroll to the right spot. But instead of a wall, it shows a hallway with a large room beyond it. I point to the screen. “Right there. That’s where the wall is. That must be what’s on the other side of the iron door we found in the basement room.”
“Somebody walled up the other side,” Abby says. “Like ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’ That house couldn’t be any creepier if it tried.”
“Poe fan?” I ask, a slight laugh breaking through my gloom.
“Duh.”
I crack a smile and feel a little better. “Guess that was a dumb question. You are kind of a horror freak.” I bump my shoulder into hers. “Hey, thanks, Abby. You didn’t have to do this. Any of this. But it means a lot to me.”
“What are friends for?” She shrugs.
“I’m glad you’re my friend,” I say. “I haven’t had many of those. And I know you’re Cameron’s best friend. And I know I’ve been taking up most of his attention lately.”
Abby shakes her head. “Hey! Shush! You’re the best thing ever to happen to Cameron. In a few weeks, you’ve given him more confidence than I have in the last few years.”
My heart swells. “You’re a good person, Abby.”
“You too, Hugo.”
Abby’s phone buzzes in her hand. “Chloe and Maya are outside.”
We gather in Cameron’s dining nook. As I tell them the story, Chloe’s pale face gets even paler, and Maya’s forehead creases as she shoots looks at Chloe.
“Hugo, I’m so sorry,” Chloe says. “I feel responsible for this since my aunt won’t help you.”
“You are in no way responsible,” I say. “But is there any way you can tell your aunt what happened? Maybe she’ll reconsider.”
Chloe sighs. “I already know what she’ll say. We talked after, and she was quite clear about her feelings. She wants to help, but there’s no way she’s getting involved without your dad’s permission.”
“Hugo, this is getting serious,” Abby says. “It’s time to bring your dad into this. People could get hurt.”
Just thinking about losing Cameron and all my friends makes me sick to my stomach. I stare down at my feet and say nothing.
Abby puts her arm around me. “He might surprise you. Cameron said he was cool about you two dating. Maybe he’ll understand this too.”
“This is different. This is about my ma. It’s raw for him, even now.”
“Okay.” Abby nods. “Well, the first thing we need to do is find you a place to stay. There’s no way you can be alone in that house. I was looking at the patterns of the hauntings, and I noticed they get more intense when you or you and Cameron are alone in the house.”
“I noticed that too,” Chloe says. “And the spirit calming failed the first time because you two were holding hands and thinking lovey thoughts about each other. Am I wrong?”
I let out a short laugh. “You’re not wrong. But what does that house have against Cameron and me?”
“I think it all goes back to your connections to the house,” Chloe says. “Both my aunt and I sense a strong bond.”
“Cameron mentioned that Mr. Peterson was surprised when he heard you’d moved into Crimson House,” Abby says. “How did your dad end up choosing that house?”
“Margaret asked me the same question,” I say. “I don’t know. Last time I asked Pa, he didn’t really answer.”
“You need to ask him again. It could be important,” Abby says. “How long is your dad gone for?”
“Who knows? At least until Sunday. Maybe longer.”
Abby nods. “Well, we don’t want you alone in that house. That much we know. My parents are gone the whole weekend on some hippie retreat. You can stay at my place.”
“Abby, that would be so awesome,” I say.
Suddenly her eyes light up. “I have another idea!”
“Uh-oh,” Maya says. “Why do I think I’m not going to like this?”
Abby gets this manic look in her eyes. “With your dad gone, this is the perfect opportunity to do a real paranormal investigation. We haven’t been able to do that yet. Not really. We can go right now.”
“Yep,” Maya says. “I knew I wouldn’t like it.”
I’m about to agree with Maya when Chloe cuts in. “I think it’s a good idea.”
Maya and I simultaneously say, “You do?”
We both gape at Chloe.
“Yeah.” She nods. “I think we might be able to uncover what’s causing all of this. My aunt said we need to find more connections.”
Maya’s gaze bores into Chloe, concern written all over her face. “You sure about this?”
“I am,” Chloe says. “I’ll try to help.”
“Chloe,” I say, “if this has anything to do with you feeling guilty about your aunt—”
“I want to help,” she says, her voice more intense than I’ve ever heard it. “Please. Let me do this.”
I nod. My ankle tingles in the spot where that thing grabbed me, but I bury my fear and look her in the eye. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
***
We walk across the street carrying boxes of ghost-hunting equipment that Abby keeps stashed in Cameron’s closet. I pause by the front door to my house. Am I really going to do this after what happened earlier? Panic claws at my insides, threatening to spill out.
Abby looks my way, eyes soft. “Hey, we’re in this together,” she says. “We’ll never leave your side.”
I’m used to doing things by myself and don’t like depending on others. Relying on people always gets me into more trouble than being on my own. But something about having everyone here smooths over those feelings. I guess these really are my friends. They’ve got my back, and they aren’t going away, even when things get tough. My panic ebbs.
“Thanks.” I smile as I open the door and walk into the house with Abby beside me.
My phone dings as I set down the box I’m carrying. It’s Cameron checking in. I didn’t want him to worry, so I’ve been holding off on texting, but I can’t lie to him. I tell him what’s up without all the gory details. He immediately calls me.
“Are you okay?” he asks, sounding frantic.
“Yeah, I’m good. Your bestie Abby’s got my back.”
“Yeah.” He laughs, the worry draining from his voice. “She’s pretty awesome, isn’t she?”
“You’ve got yourself one heck of a best friend.”
“I miss you,” he says, and I can tell he means it.
“I miss you too.” Right now, nothing would be better than having him by my side. A twinge of sadness hits me as we say our goodbyes.
Abby sets up her “base of operations,” as she calls it, on the kitchen table, which we’ve carried into the living room so we can all be together. She removes countless electronic devices, explaining each one. She has IR cameras, motion sensors, digital voice recorders, and several other things that go over my head. A lot of it sounds like pseudoscience, but who am I to judge?
We spend the next hour setting up the equipment throughout the house, getting just the right angles based on Abby’s exacting instructions. We put cameras in all the places we’ve seen activity: the hidden rooms, the upstairs bathroom, outside Pa’s bedroom, the kitchen door, and near the hole in the basement wall. I’m not proud of it, but I let Chloe and Maya set up that last one.
With everything connected, Abby does a systems check. She’s nothing if not thorough.
“Digital recorders, check,” she says. “IR cameras, check. EMF meters, check. And I’ve got the ghost box right here. I think we’re all set.”
Chloe, Maya, and I gape at her.
“What?” she says as we continue to stare. “If you’re going to do something, you should do it right.”
“I’m glad you’re on our side,” Maya says.
The doorbell rings.
“Oh, Matty and Taylor found out what we’re doing,” Abby says, cringing at me. “Hope that’s okay.”
“Of course,” I say, laughing. “Why fight the inevitable?”
Matty and Taylor have brought snacks—lots of them.
“We can’t do an all-nighter ghost-hunting session without lots of sustenance,” Matty says with his arms full of grocery bags. “Oh, crap! Twinkies! Taylor, we forgot the Twinkies!”
All-nighter? What have I signed myself up for?
We pile onto the couches while Abby inspects all the feeds. Taylor goes over to help, sitting beside her. They have the slightest smile on their face as Abby explains everything in nauseating detail, taking it all in.
“All the cameras, mics, and other devices feed into this app,” she says as Taylor nods. “So, at any point, I’ll know what’s happening throughout the house.”
“That’s awesome.” Taylor smiles at her. “How did you learn all this stuff?”
“Figured it out on my own.” She shrugs. “And lots and lots of TV and YouTube.”
I detect the slightest blush on Abby’s cheeks. Interesting.
She flusters for only a moment, then focuses on the display again. “When we go lights out, the cameras will all automatically switch over to IR.”
“Why is lights out even a thing?” Matty says, eating a Flamin’ Hot Dorito. “I like lights. Don’t you just record in the dark to creep people out more?”
Abby doesn’t even glance up from the display. “The theory is that spirits have a harder time manifesting with UV radiation everywhere. Turning off lights also makes the EMF meters give fewer false positives.” She pauses for a moment. “And yeah, doing it in the dark is creepier for my YouTube channel.”
“I knew it!” Matty smiles like he won the argument.
Chloe pipes up, “I think it helps you be more attuned to your surroundings. When there are fewer stimuli, you notice things you can’t detect with your normal five senses.”
Matty fights the urge to make a smart-ass remark. Knowing him, it’s something about seeing dead people, but Maya glares at him, and he backs down, munching on another Dorito.
“Well, either way, we don’t have to turn off the lights yet,” Abby says. “The equipment is ready. Do we have any volunteers to do the first investigation?”
“Oh, I’ll do it!” Matty puts up his hand, waving it back and forth.
“I’ll join him,” Taylor says, smiling at Abby. Abby looks noticeably impressed. I bet that’s why Taylor was eager to volunteer.
“I’ll tag along too,” Chloe says, getting up from the couch. “I’d like to scope out how the house feels.”
“Perfect,” Abby says, handing out three walkie-talkies. “These are better and faster than cell phones for group talk. The rest of us will stay back and monitor things from here. Taylor, you want to wear the selfie cam?”
“Sure.” Taylor nods.
Abby outfits Taylor with a device that goes over their head with a flexible arm holding a tiny camera extending from it. She points the camera toward Taylor’s face.
“There we go,” Abby says as she adjusts it. “How does that feel?”
Taylor smiles and gives Abby a thumbs-up.
“Okay, let the investigation begin.” Abby raises her hands above her head in a sweeping motion. She lives for this stuff.
Taylor, Matty, and Chloe head to the foyer and then up the staircase while the rest of us gather around Abby’s command center, watching the feeds. They enter the second-floor bathroom. Taylor asks questions to the White Lady, Matty is waving an EMF meter around, and Chloe is standing still with her eyes closed, looking calm.
The doorbell rings.
“Are we expecting anybody else?” I ask Abby.
She shakes her head. “Not that I know of.”
“That’s strange.” I head to the door. “Wonder who it is.”
I open the door and see Cameron standing outside. I’m breathless and can’t hide my wide smile.
“Hey.” Cameron smiles back, his cheeks turning rosy.
“Hey!” My huge grin is uncontrollable, and relief floods through me in waves. “What are you doing here?”
I go in for a hug when I’m stopped in my tracks by what’s over Cameron’s shoulder in the front yard. All my joy turns into horror.
A ghostly white figure with a haggard face stands no more than twenty feet away.
23
Unexpected Events: Cameron
Hugo’s expression transforms into one of dread, and fear hits me like a freight train. I spin around. A figure dressed in white is headed right toward us.
I let out a yelp and stumble backward, and my heel hits the uneven surface of the porch, sending me tumbling into Hugo. He tries to steady me, but it’s useless, and the two of us crash to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
We both look back toward the figure, trying to scramble away, but the illusion is gone, and my fear turns into fury.
It’s somebody in a Halloween mask, wrapped in a white sheet. A teenage guy stands behind the idiot in the mask, holding his phone up, convulsing with laughter and clutching his stomach. I’d recognize that mop of red hair and that ugly laugh anywhere. Bryce Hunter.
“Ha! We got ’em, Jimmy!” Bryce cackles. “Wait until you see the looks on their faces. This is going to be awesome on TikTok.”
Jimmy removes the mask and laughs at us lying on the ground.
“You fuckers!” Hugo yells, jumping up. “I’m gonna kick your asses!”
I follow Hugo, but Bryce and Jimmy are already running away.
“Go, go, go, go!” Bryce yells as they head for a car parked down the street.
Hugo chases after them, but it’s no use. He’s only halfway to their car when the tires spin on the wet pavement and they pull away. One thing I find so amazing about Hugo is the way he protects me, running into danger without a second thought.
When I catch up, his face is contorted, his teeth bared as his chest heaves up and down, his fists clenched.
“Those assholes are so dead!” He spits out the words.
“Don’t even give them the satisfaction, Hugo.” I put my arm around him and rub his back in small circles. “Did you see the way they ran away from you? Those two are cowards.”
Abby calls from the front porch, holding up her phone. “You’re right. They are cowards. And I got a video of them running away from you, looking terrified.”
Hugo turns to Abby, a smile cracking through his anger. “You did?”
“Mm-hmm.” Abby’s mouth forms into an evil grin. “And wait until you see the close-up of their faces. Scared shitless.”
That’s my Abby. Always on top of everything. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her.
“Abby,” I say. “When was the last time I told you how awesome you are?”
“Pretty recently, but I never mind hearing it again.”
Once we’re all back inside and feeling calmer, Hugo hugs me. I sigh as I melt into his warm embrace.
“How are you here?” he asks after we pull apart. “I thought you were gone all weekend.”
