Read Online Ghost Boy of Mackenzie House by Patti Larsen - Free Book Online

As she did, she felt a powerful compulsion to go outside. She took her parents’ picture and her flashlight and crept down the stairs and out the back door without meeting Aunt Larry. She ran through the garden in her bare feet and all the way to the cliff where she sat on the edge, legs dangling over.
    Chloe held up the picture and pointed it at the water. “See?” she said to her parents. “That’s the Northumberland Strait. And the beach. See the cliffs, Dad?” It was so dark, she could only see the tops of the waves as they rolled, white and frothy, against the rocks beneath her. “This is where I live now. This is where I live.” She was so sure she had no more tears, and yet there were more, and more after those. She was sobbing again, hurting so much but not able to find a way to feel better.
    Aunt Larry sat down next to Chloe and tried to put her arm around her. Chloe jerked away, not wanting to be comforted.
    â€œLeave me alone,” she snapped.
    â€œI want to help you,” Aunt Larry said. “Please, Chloe, let me help.”
    â€œYou can’t help!” Chloe got to her feet. “They’re dead! How can you help dead?”
    Aunt Larry didn’t move. She looked very sad but Chloe didn’t care. “I can’t,” she said. “But you’re still here, honey.”
    â€œYeah,” Chloe said, putting all her hurt and embarrassment and anger into her words to her aunt, all the while knowing she didn’t deserve it. “I am. I just want my mom and dad and to go home, but I’m stuck here with you!”
    Aunt Larry flinched. Chloe immediately felt horrible but didn’t know how to fix it. She didn’t think saying she was sorry was enough. Sophie would have been furious with her.
    Lost and feeling very much alone, Chloe ran back to the house and to her room. She crawled into bed, trying not to hear the sounds of Aunt Larry closing up the house for the night. It wasn’t until she heard her aunt’s bedroom door close through the floor beneath her that Chloe thought of the ghost boy. Her heart tried to race but she was so tired. She peeked out once. He was nowhere in sight. Chloe fell into a restless sleep before she could check again.

Chapter Twelve
    Chloe hesitated at the kitchen door the next morning. Aunt Larry was making breakfast. Chloe had been able to smell the salty bacon all the way from her attic room.
    Aunt Larry greeted her with a smile and a full plate of food. Chloe said a quiet thank you and sat down to eat, grateful her aunt wasn’t angry, but still feeling bad about the way she had treated her. She was so intent on her meal she was startled by a low rumble in the distance.
    â€œStorm coming,” Aunt Larry said. “Weather network says lots of rain. Check your windows after breakfast, okay, Chloe?”
    When they were finished eating, Chloe helped Aunt Larry secure the house. It consisted of her following her aunt around from room to room while Aunt Larry closed the windows, but Chloe felt like she was helping somehow so it made her feel better.
    â€œI’m working this morning,” Aunt Larry told her. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
    Chloe’s heart fell. Aunt Larry was mad at her after all. Her aunt must have sensed what Chloe was thinking because she smiled.
    â€œYou can help me with my files if you want,” she said.
    Chloe hugged her hard as an apology. She spent the next hour filing away the slim yellow folders that Aunt Larry handed her out of a big cardboard box.
    â€œI’ve been meaning to do this for a while,” her aunt said. “These are my case files from my last trip to Mozambique.” She let Chloe open one. She admired the beautiful tribal boy with his tattoos and unusual dress in the picture attached to the medical sheet. “I keep meaning to sort these and write a paper, but…” Aunt Larry trailed off with a laugh.