empty kitchen.
“You jerk, Zilly. There’s no ghost in here,” Tyler said.
Aside from the animals that had run in to greet Mom, the kitchen was deserted.
“I swear, Mom, there was a guy standing right there. See the knife in the door? I threw it and it went right through him.”
She walked over, pulled the knife from the door, and turned it over in her palm a few times. She looked worried. For a minute I’d almost convinced myself she believed me. “Brazil, it’s been a rough week. The house is old. A place like this can cause people to imagine all kinds of things.”
I stared at her for a minute then walked out of the kitchen.
The apparition did not appear again that evening. The twins teased me nonstop, and Mom kept staring at me, obviously trying to decide if she should have me committed. I downed two aspirin with a glass of orange juice. The mixture nearly burned a hole in my stomach as I trudged up to my room. After all, it didn’t matter where I was in the house because the entire place was haunted, and the stalker ghost apparently only had issues with me.
Chapter 8
“Did you realize you do this odd, little twitching thing with your nose when you sleep?”
My eyes shot open, and I flew out of bed and landed on the hard ground with a thud.
My transparent bedfellow peered down at me. “Not to worry. With that button-sized nose of yours, it is not altogether unappealing. Rather like a rabbit.”
I sat up and scooted several feet away on my butt. “You—you are on my bed.”
He lowered his head and surveyed the side of the mattress before looking back up. “Yes, it appears so. I thought you twenty-first century girls were open-minded about such things.”
“No, not really. I haven’t allowed any strangers onto my bed lately. Especially not see-through ones.”
He rose up silently and floated off the bed to sit on the window seat. “You’re right. Where are my manners? Why, we hardly know each other.”
I stood and contemplated racing into the hallway or screaming to get someone’s attention, but I had a feeling Sebastian would disappear again, and I would be fitted for a straight jacket.
I pushed to my feet and pressed against the wall adjacent to the door. “Why are you haunting me? Couldn’t you find someone else to bother? I’m sort of in the middle of feeling sorry for myself at the moment.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed. But I decided you were spending too much time thinking about Brazil, so I’m giving you something else to think about.”
“I do not spend too much time thinking about Brazil. And if you were wondering why Emily didn’t write back, it might have had something to do with the fact that you’re extremely irritating.”
“Brazil!” Mom’s voice drifted up the stairwell. “Brazil, are you on the phone? You’ll be late for school.”
The ghostly figure of Sebastian Middleton floated in and out of focus. I blinked hard to see if I could make him disappear altogether. When I opened my eyes the third time, he’d moved closer. I tried to back up but the wall stopped me.
“You needn’t be afraid of me. I am no longer flesh and bone.”
“Considering I can see straight through you to the beach below, I’ve sort of figured that out. What do you want from me?”
“I need your help.”
One of the twins rapped loudly on my door and I startled. Sebastian vanished. “Bathroom is all yours, Zilly,” Tyler shouted through the door.
“But don’t expect any hot water,” Raymond added, and they both laughed as they plodded down the hall to their room.
My gaze flashed around the empty room. Sebastian was gone. At least for now. With trembling hands and a racing heart, I rummaged through my drawer to look for my jean shorts and raced to the bathroom to make up for lost time.
The floor, mirrors, and walls were soaked as usual. I reached in to turn on the water and a thought poked into my mind. What could possibly keep my ghostly friend from
“You jerk, Zilly. There’s no ghost in here,” Tyler said.
Aside from the animals that had run in to greet Mom, the kitchen was deserted.
“I swear, Mom, there was a guy standing right there. See the knife in the door? I threw it and it went right through him.”
She walked over, pulled the knife from the door, and turned it over in her palm a few times. She looked worried. For a minute I’d almost convinced myself she believed me. “Brazil, it’s been a rough week. The house is old. A place like this can cause people to imagine all kinds of things.”
I stared at her for a minute then walked out of the kitchen.
The apparition did not appear again that evening. The twins teased me nonstop, and Mom kept staring at me, obviously trying to decide if she should have me committed. I downed two aspirin with a glass of orange juice. The mixture nearly burned a hole in my stomach as I trudged up to my room. After all, it didn’t matter where I was in the house because the entire place was haunted, and the stalker ghost apparently only had issues with me.
Chapter 8
“Did you realize you do this odd, little twitching thing with your nose when you sleep?”
My eyes shot open, and I flew out of bed and landed on the hard ground with a thud.
My transparent bedfellow peered down at me. “Not to worry. With that button-sized nose of yours, it is not altogether unappealing. Rather like a rabbit.”
I sat up and scooted several feet away on my butt. “You—you are on my bed.”
He lowered his head and surveyed the side of the mattress before looking back up. “Yes, it appears so. I thought you twenty-first century girls were open-minded about such things.”
“No, not really. I haven’t allowed any strangers onto my bed lately. Especially not see-through ones.”
He rose up silently and floated off the bed to sit on the window seat. “You’re right. Where are my manners? Why, we hardly know each other.”
I stood and contemplated racing into the hallway or screaming to get someone’s attention, but I had a feeling Sebastian would disappear again, and I would be fitted for a straight jacket.
I pushed to my feet and pressed against the wall adjacent to the door. “Why are you haunting me? Couldn’t you find someone else to bother? I’m sort of in the middle of feeling sorry for myself at the moment.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed. But I decided you were spending too much time thinking about Brazil, so I’m giving you something else to think about.”
“I do not spend too much time thinking about Brazil. And if you were wondering why Emily didn’t write back, it might have had something to do with the fact that you’re extremely irritating.”
“Brazil!” Mom’s voice drifted up the stairwell. “Brazil, are you on the phone? You’ll be late for school.”
The ghostly figure of Sebastian Middleton floated in and out of focus. I blinked hard to see if I could make him disappear altogether. When I opened my eyes the third time, he’d moved closer. I tried to back up but the wall stopped me.
“You needn’t be afraid of me. I am no longer flesh and bone.”
“Considering I can see straight through you to the beach below, I’ve sort of figured that out. What do you want from me?”
“I need your help.”
One of the twins rapped loudly on my door and I startled. Sebastian vanished. “Bathroom is all yours, Zilly,” Tyler shouted through the door.
“But don’t expect any hot water,” Raymond added, and they both laughed as they plodded down the hall to their room.
My gaze flashed around the empty room. Sebastian was gone. At least for now. With trembling hands and a racing heart, I rummaged through my drawer to look for my jean shorts and raced to the bathroom to make up for lost time.
The floor, mirrors, and walls were soaked as usual. I reached in to turn on the water and a thought poked into my mind. What could possibly keep my ghostly friend from
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