The haunting between us, p.23
The Haunting Between Us, page 23
“A violent cleansing can leave a mark on a house,” Margaret says with a deep sigh, then looks at Cameron and me. “Be vigilant. Let us know if there is any more activity. I do sense that you two still have physical connections to the house. I recommend that you try to get to the bottom of it.”
Cameron and I both nod. Margaret’s gaze bores into me. The intensity of her reproachful stare is extreme and makes me shrink back.
“Hugo,” she says in a level tone, but the edge of her voice is razor-sharp. “It’s time to tell your father about all this. You can’t keep it hidden from him. It’s impacting more than just you.”
Deep down, I know telling him is the right thing to do. But for some reason, the thought of talking to Pa about this scares me even more than coming out to him did. I have so much to lose.
“Yeah,” I say after a long pause. “But I want to tell him on my terms. I want to break it to him in the right way.”
Margaret nods. “Of course. But don’t wait long. I’ll give you until the end of next weekend, and then I’ll check in with you.”
My stomach churns, but I nod anyway. “I’ll get it done by then.”
“Very good. Chloe, I think it’s time to get you home. I’ll figure out how to break this to your parents.”
Chloe, Maya, and Margaret head for the door. On their way out, I intercept Chloe and wrap her in a hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I say. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
She smiles. “You just did.”
“One more thing. Maya said you had a dream about my pop.”
Chloe nods. “I dreamed he fell and got hurt.”
“What?”
Chloe puts her hand on my shoulder. “It was Emily who pushed him. Now she’s gone. It’s part of why I did what I did.”
I hug her again. “Thank you so much.”
“Come on, Chloe,” Margaret says, putting her arm around her niece and guiding her to the foyer.
We all wave goodbye as Chloe, Maya, and Margaret head out the door.
For the next hour, we work to get the house back to normal. In Emily’s room, I crank up the spiral staircase. We have more questions to answer, but I’d rather save them for another day, and I don’t want Pa discovering the basement room until I’m ready to tell him everything.
We put away all the ghost-hunting equipment, and I replace the bulbs that broke throughout the house while Cameron sweeps up the broken glass. Once we’re done, we all meet in the living room.
Matty pats me on the back. “Hugo, you sure know how to throw a fantastic party. But it’s late. I better go.”
I thank Matty, and we all wave goodbye.
“Taylor’s giving me a ride home,” Abby says. “Can you two carry these boxes back to your house, Cameron?”
“We got it,” Cameron says. “And thanks for everything, Abby. I’m not sure we would have survived without you.”
We say goodbye to Abby and Taylor, and they head out. Taylor has their hand on Abby’s shoulder. Interesting.
I turn to Cameron. “Is there something going on between those two? It seemed like Taylor was going out of their way to impress Abby tonight.”
“It’s possible.” Cameron shrugs with a smile. “They’ve been friends forever. But I have noticed she’s been acting strange around Taylor lately. Especially since camping.”
“They’d make a cute couple.”
“They would,” Cameron says. “But not as cute as us.”
He gives me the most bashful and adorable smile. My only option is to kiss him, so I do.
“Well,” I say, looking into Cameron’s eyes.
“Well,” Cameron echoes. He pauses for a beat, and we continue staring. Then he says, “I need help carrying these boxes over to my place. And…”
There’s a long pause.
“And?” I smile.
“And I don’t like the idea of you spending the night here alone. And my family is gone. So…”
“Cameron Walsh, are you inviting me to spend the night with you?”
He smiles. “Hugo Cruz, that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“And you’re okay with that?” I ask.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so okay with anything in my entire life. Are you okay with it?”
I look him right in the eye, deadly serious. “Yes.”
I smile and grab one box. “Race you back!”
The next two minutes consist of us running with boxes, bumping into each other, juggling keys to lock my door, racing across the street, juggling more keys to unlock Cameron’s door, elbowing each other on our way up the stairs with lots of giggling, kicking off our shoes, and jumping onto Cameron’s bed.
We tumble together onto the bedspread, kissing with our hands all over each other. Our kissing gets deeper as we roll around. I pause for a moment to take Cameron in. He looks back at me with these seductive eyes that make me lose my breath. This is not the bashful Cameron I met just weeks ago.
He slides his hands under my shirt and tickles my back, sending shivers down my spine. We’ve done this before over the last week, but after the time in the bunker, I’m glad he’s making the first move. He brings his hand to my front, squeezes my pec, and then runs it down my chest, sending a wonderful tingle through me, and I let out a gasp.
“Heh, you like that?” he says with a devilish smile.
“I do.”
He reaches down, lifts my shirt clean off, and stares at my naked chest, running his hand back and forth over my stomach.
I follow his lead and put my hand under his shirt. For a moment, Cameron tenses, but then he relaxes.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
His warm skin against my fingers is soft as silk. I glide my hand up his back, then down his chest, goose bumps springing up on his skin. I lift off his shirt and soak him in. Wow, Cameron is sexy. He’s got natural muscle on him, with strong shoulders and arms, which really gets me worked up. We both stop for a moment, lying side by side, just looking at each other’s half-naked bodies. My heart glows—this adorable, vulnerable, wonderful guy is lying next to me. I’m so lucky that things worked out like they did. I smile and run my hands through his hair, and he smiles back with pink in his cheeks.
We join again, pressing together, kissing with rising intensity. Something about our bare skin touching fills me with burning desire, and now I’m completely turned on. It’s pretty obvious Cameron is too.
To my surprise, Cameron unbuttons my pants. We’ve never gone this far before, and it makes my heart rate skyrocket. He kneels on the bed, then yanks my pants off in one quick motion, leaving me in my tighty-whities with a serious bulge pressing against them. His sudden bravery leaves me breathless.
I sit up, then playfully push him off his knees, sending him falling into the pillows. “Two can play that game,” I say, unbuttoning his pants. I rip them off so fast that I drag his underwear half off, exposing a tuft of brown hair extending down from his belly button. Cameron gasps.
“Hey, not so fast!” he cries with a smile as he swats my hand away and hikes his underwear back up.
He jumps on top of me, kissing me passionately as we smash our bodies together. This will send me over the edge pretty fast if we’re not careful.
Things start getting more intense, but then Cameron pulls away a moment later with a touch of apprehension. “Um. We haven’t talked about—uh—safe sex…and stuff.”
I brush away a lock of hair covering his eye. “There are plenty of things we can do that are perfectly safe,” I say. “That’s all I want to do tonight anyway.”
Relief washes over Cameron’s face. “Oh, thank god. I’m new to all this. I do not know how it’s supposed to work.”
“I’m new to this too. Let’s figure it out together. We’ll do what feels comfortable.”
Cameron beams. “How are you so awesome?”
“Lots of practice.” We both giggle.
“Okay.” Cameron gets up on his knees and guides me up to mine so we’re face-to-face. He grabs the top of my underwear with both hands. “On three?”
I guess we’re doing this. My heart beats faster as I grab the top of his underwear. “On three.”
We count down, then pull each other’s underwear down to the knees. We pause for a moment, staring, each taking the other one in. Seeing a guy I like naked in front of me is something I’ve dreamt of for years, and I’m not disappointed in the least. Cameron is perfect.
We push together, kissing with nothing between us. It’s magical. The beating of his heart, the light scent of his sweat, and the taste of his kiss make me feel more connected to him than I’ve ever been to another person.
I pull him closer, and we tumble onto the bed, rolling and kissing.
Cameron ends up on top and gets to his knees, looking down at me with this fire in his eyes that I’ve never seen.
“One sec,” he says, reaching over to his nightstand. He opens the drawer and pulls out a tiny bottle of lube.
I puff out a laugh. “Where’d you get that?”
“Walgreens,” he says, cheeks turning pink. “It was super embarrassing.”
“Adventure Cameron,” I say with a smile.
He opens the lube and empties about half the bottle on my lower regions, then jumps on top, rubbing us together. Holy crap. At this rate, I won’t last long.
We continue until the world melts away, and I’m only aware of our bodies pressed together. This is far more than just a physical act. My feelings for him are so powerful that my heart nearly bursts from my chest. Cameron’s warmth, his soft skin, and the sounds he makes, combined with the emotions flowing through me, wrap me in bliss. I go back to kissing him, muffling his cries as I mash our mouths together. It’s too much, and I can’t hold back—we go over the edge. For about ten beats of my heart, I’m lost in total ecstasy. He collapses on top of me, both of our chests heaving. As my pulse slows, we share soft kisses, touching and giggling, coming down from our euphoric high.
“Um, wow,” Cameron says.
“Yeah.”
He reaches over the bed and grabs a towel for us to clean up. Cameron thought of everything.
We lie side by side, basking in the afterglow. Cameron rests his head on my chest, running his hand up and down my stomach. “I’m so glad I met you.”
“You have no idea,” I say. “Before you, I wasn’t sure I’d ever have a real boyfriend.”
“What?” Cameron says, shock in his voice. “A hot guy like you? You could have your pick of guys.”
“Well, I pick you.” I kiss the top of his head.
“I’m still not sure why.”
“Because you’re kind, funny, and smart, and because I find you absolutely, irrefutably adorable and sexy as hell.”
“Okay, it’s starting to sink in.”
“Hey, bullies suck. They didn’t make you lose your confidence overnight. It took time. So, it’ll take time to go in the other direction too. But I’ll keep reminding you.” I smile and kiss him on the forehead, then sigh. “I’ve had my own issues, having darker skin. It’s so easy to hate yourself.”
“Yeah, I’ve thought of that, seeing idiots and bullies at school. The little comments they make.”
“Tell me about it,” I say with a sad laugh. “Death by a thousand cuts.”
“I deal with that with my dad. But I’m sure it’s nothing compared to what you go through.”
“It’s not fun for anybody. But yeah, it ain’t great.”
Cameron sighs. “People suck.” He puffs out a laugh. “And not in a good way.”
I raise an eyebrow and look at Cameron with a wry smile. “What is this good sucking of which you speak?”
Cameron smiles wide, cheeks pink. “Ready for round two?”
***
The next morning is leisurely, and we linger in bed. After such a long day and an even longer night, we deserve it. Cameron is tucked under my arm, resting on my chest. Drool has dribbled out of his mouth and formed a pool on my left pec. Even his drool is adorable. This is my boyfriend. Joy brims out of me, forcing me to smile. I replay the words in my mind—my boyfriend.
“Hey, Cameron,” I whisper, nudging him. “Time to wake up. It’s almost eleven.”
Cameron makes a noise that sounds roughly like Saturday, then rolls to the other side of the bed. Guess I’ll let him rest. I slink out of bed and slip on my clothes without making a sound. I kiss him on the forehead and whisper, “I’ll see ya soon. Sleep tight.”
Cameron grunts, and I slip out the door.
On the way to my house, I check my messages. Chloe is doing great today, thank god, and things went fine with her parents. Abby says she’s going to review all the ghost-hunting evidence we collected. That should be interesting. Pa says things are going well in Portland and he should be back by sometime on Sunday afternoon.
My stomach ties itself in knots as I read his text. How will he react to the fact that we have a prison cell in our basement and we exorcised a ghost? But Chloe’s aunt gave me a week, so I’ve got time to figure out how to break it to him. I can put it off a bit longer.
For the next hour, I scour the house, double-checking everything. I find only a few stray shards of glass under the kitchen counter. Other than that, it’s like nothing happened.
I take a shower and put on fresh clothes. A message flashes on my phone.
Cameron: Where’d you go [sad face emoji]
Hugo: Home to shower and change
Cameron: Why didn’t you wake me
Hugo: I totally woke you. You grunted like a [zombie emoji]
Cameron: Need [brain emoji]
Hugo: You only like me for my delicious [brain emoji]
Cameron: Nuh uh!!
Hugo: What else?
Cameron: Need [eggplant emoji]
Hugo: Be right over [sunglasses emoji]
I head over to Cameron’s house, rereading our text chain. Our humor meshes so well that I can’t help but laugh.
With my nose in the phone, I barely see the car coming toward me. I jump back just in time to avoid being roadkill, letting out a yelp of surprise. Our houses are near the end of a dead-end street, so traffic is unusual.
A man yells out of the driver’s side window of an old 1950s Chevy. “Watch it, kid!”
“Sorry!” I call back.
As the car passes, I glimpse someone in the back seat. It’s only for a moment, but I swear it’s an old woman with long gray hair and yellow crooked teeth, smiling at me. When she sees me looking, her smile gets wider. Unnaturally wide.
I gasp.
In a flash, the car zooms by. Through the rear window, the head is only a silhouette, and she doesn’t look back.
Shit. That stupid haunting really got to me. How long will I be seeing the White Lady everywhere? It wouldn’t surprise me to see her face on a piece of toast. I shake my head and head over to Cameron’s.
25
You Can’t Choose Them: Cameron
Hugo and I spend a lot of time together, savoring the time away from our parents and, more importantly, away from stupid Crimson House. We stay at my house for most of the weekend. My parents text me to ask how Abby is. I tell them she’s doing better and it’s just a stomach bug. A pang of guilt hits me for lying to them, but I couldn’t very well say I had to leave my aunt’s place early because my boyfriend had a ghost emergency, so I cut myself some slack.
Saturday is filled with hanging out with Hugo, talking, goofing off, and the occasional make-out session. I work on my urban fantasy while Hugo draws in his sketchbook. He wants to draw the characters in my story. I’m working up the courage to let him read enough to do that—any day now.
Saturday night is even more fun as we continue to explore ways to make each other happy. We’re still keeping things totally safe. Nobody’s sticking anything into anybody anytime soon. To be honest, the safe stuff is awesome.
But the best part is being close to Hugo. Being with him so intimately makes these feelings deep inside me bubble to the surface. Honestly, it’s a little scary how much I like him. I’ve never felt this way about another person, and the idea of losing him makes me ache, so it’s easy to understand why he’s afraid to talk to his dad. If there was even a chance it could break us up, I’m not sure I could go through with it myself.
On Sunday, we straighten up both of our houses, erasing all evidence of our nighttime activities, both ghost-related and not. But reality sets in when Hugo’s dad and my parents come home. It was fun while it lasted.
On Monday at school, I’m eager for lunch to come so I can check in with my friends. Although our group text blew up all weekend, I haven’t shared anything about what Hugo and I did. It’s too intimate to mention over text, even to my best friend.
Abby waves as I approach the lunch table. She has this funny expression, a smile forming on her face.
“What?” I say as my cheeks heat.
“Something’s different about you.” Her smile gets wider, and my face gets warmer.
“I don’t know what you mean.” My cheeks are on fire now, and I fight back a smile.
“Oh my god!” Abby shrieks, then whispers, “You and Hugo did it, didn’t you?”
“Wellllll,” I say. “We didn’t do it do it.”
“Did you or didn’t you touch Hugo’s penis?”
“Abby!”
“Cameron!” She folds her hands. “Spill it.”
“Yes, okay? We did it. Kinda. I mean, we were, like, naked and—you know.”
“Oh my god, Cameron!”
Taylor, Chloe, and Maya walk down the aisle toward our table.
“Don’t say anything!” I whisper to Abby, and draw my index finger across my throat to show I’ll kill her if she does. She mimes zipping her lips.
“Hey, gang,” Chloe says in a singsong voice as everybody finds a seat. It’s a relief to see her in such high spirits.
“Hey, Abby,” Taylor says as they sit down right next to her, smiling.
“Hey, Taylor.” Her voice hitches a bit, and she breaks eye contact. I’ve never seen Abby so flustered around Taylor before. Maybe Hugo was right. Maybe something is going on there.
