Read Online Split at the Seams by Yolanda Sfetsos - Free Book Online Page A

appearing drawn out and gray farther down the corridor. Heading toward the same corner Oren had taken.
    I sucked in a quick breath and followed, trying to keep up with the flickering image of a ghost, instead of running from it. She turned the corner and continued down the next corridor.
    “Wait!” I had a feeling that whatever was calling this ghost girl would take her the same way it had taken Mrs. Wicker.
    When I caught up with her and extended my hand, hers was solid enough to grab. I moved with her, holding tight and determined to follow her until she stopped in front of an open doorway.
    “I need to go in there,” she said, pointing at a lonely bed in the middle of the room.
    “No, don’t!” But it was too late, her hand slipped from mine. She flashed me a small smile and then faded, but not before I saw what looked like a shadowy hand drag her in. Not this again.
    A tap on my shoulder made me jump and the coldness of the ghost’s presence faded, leaving me coughing and wheezing as I tried to catch my breath. My body struggled more than usual to adapt to the real world.
    “Relax, Sierra.” A cool hand rubbed my back gently.
    I hunched over for several seconds, hands on my knees, waiting for the artificial air of the hospital to settle around me. It took awhile, but the comforting hand never stopped its soothing motions and helped keep me grounded. I knew who it was before I looked up.
    “Thanks, Oren.” I straightened and his hand fell away. As I turned and met his eyes, I wondered how many times I was going to find myself thanking him today.
    “What happened?”
    “I just saw…” My voice trailed off when I noticed where I was standing. “This is Mara’s room?”
    “Yes, how did you know?” His eyes were concerned, but also questioning. “I got rid of the security guard for a while.”
    “How?”
    “He developed an unquenchable hunger for a greasy hamburger, which he’ll find several blocks from here.” A small grin twisted his thin lips. “He should be gone for a bit, but you better do whatever it is you need to in order to get some fast answers.”
    “Shit, I’m sorry. I could’ve ruined this—”
    “No, I was on my way to tell you I’d gotten rid of the guard when I found you just standing there in the middle of the corridor, rigid. I didn’t want to interfere and instead watched you head right for this room, reaching for something.” His brow furrowed. “What happened, Sierra?”
    I shivered at the recollection of what I’d seen. “I saw a ghost. She wanted my help, so I tried to encourage her to follow the light. But she wouldn’t. She said something else was calling her and led me here.” I figured the edited version of events was better suited for now. The last thing I wanted to do was mention the similarities between Mrs. Wicker and the sick dead girl. It seemed more important to focus on the fact that I was pretty sure the spook hadn’t been called into this room, but dragged.
    “A ghost led you to Mara’s room?”
    I nodded, slowly. My eyes focused on Mara, lying in the only occupied bed inside the hospital room. There were actually four beds but when I’d followed the spook, this was the only one I’d seen.
    “Something strange is definitely going on in this room. I can’t feel the dead like you, but I can certainly feel the unnatural nature of whatever is haunting her.” Oren actually looked uneasy. I’d never seen him this way. He was usually cool, calm and collected—in control of everything, and full of cryptic answers.
    I took another step and my skin crawled. I struggled to suck in a shallow breath and exhaled, trying to focus on my surroundings. The room was painted off-white, the same color as the curtains separating each bed. The dividing curtains were all pulled open, displaying the neatly made beds with no charts hanging from the ends. Mara seemed to be the only patient and her bed was situated near the sole window. Her chart looked thick, the pages