The Haunted

It felt over, all of it, despite what had happened the night before last, and she reached over to the nightstand and turned on her iPhone, not afraid of it anymore. She might even text her friends today, and just thinking that made her feel good. Putting on her robe, she walked across the hall to go to the bathroom and was embarrassed when she pulled down her pajama bottoms and saw the cuts on her legs.

That ended today, too.

She was not much of a breakfast eater, but once again her grandma had made a big breakfast—pancakes and bacon—and out of politeness, Megan forced herself to eat.

For some reason she could not explain, she wanted to go back home. Not to stay, of course. And definitely not at night. But in the daytime, when it was safe.

When her dad was there.

Part of it was that, of course. It had been only one night, but she missed her dad, and it didn’t feel right without him here. James had worriedly asked before breakfast whether their parents were going to get a divorce, and she’d told him no, but she wasn’t sure that was true. It didn’t make any sense for the family to be separated like this, and she knew that Grandma and Grandpa thought there was something wrong, which they tried to make up for by being especially nice to her and her brother. She hoped that wasn’t the case, but she thought of how angry her mom had been—

We need to get out of here! All of us! Right. Fucking. Now!

—and it troubled her. Talking to her dad might help. He was always more honest with her and James than their mom was, and he might be willing to give some honest answers.

But that was not the only reason she wanted to go back.

No. She also wanted to return home to see whether things had changed.

By all rights, their house should have been the last place she wanted to go. She was finally brave enough to use her phone again, finally felt free to text, and it made no sense to go back to where she’d been so threatened and terrified.

I will kill you both.

But, for some reason, she had the impression that whatever had been in the house was gone—and she wanted to check it out for herself. The feeling of freedom and liberation that had been hers this morning since awakening was not one she had felt when she’d left the house before. In fact, the black cloud that had hovered over her at home had previously accompanied her no matter where she went. Now, however, it was gone, and she didn’t think that would be possible unless whatever had been living in their house had left.

It was important for Megan to find out for herself whether that was the case, and she was hopeful that if the house really was free of all … ghosts … demons … whatever they were, things might be able to go back to normal.

At first, she planned to call her dad and tell him she was coming over, but after everything that had happened, he might not want her in the house, so it would probably be better if she just showed up. And while she’d considered asking her mom whether she could go, she knew the answer would be no, so instead she texted Zoe, asking her friend to call her back immediately and pretend to invite her somewhere. It was a ploy they had used before, on both of their mothers, and it worked every time.

Zoe was either busy or her phone wasn’t on, because it was nearly a half hour later, as her mom was getting ready to say good-bye to them before going to her office, that Zoe finally called. Megan made sure she picked up in front of her mother and grandparents, spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, and in response to Zoe’s question, “So, what’s the plan?” she replied, “I’d love to! Let me ask my mom.”

Megan turned to her mother. “Zoe wants to know if I can go with her to the Kachina festival at the park.”

James was glaring at her, letting her know that he thought she was a traitor for leaving him alone. Grandma and Grandpa had strict rules against daytime television, and severe restrictions on when and where James could play with his DS. Without Megan, he was looking forward to a long, slow day of dominoes and gin rummy.

She was taking a big chance here. The park was within sight of her mom’s office, and it would be very easy for her mother to find out she was not really there. But the brazenness of the lie was what might make it work. Besides, there really was a Kachina festival at the park, and if called on the carpet, she could always claim to be in a part of the crowd that her mom had not seen.

She was suddenly struck by an even better idea: after going home and checking the place out, she would go to the park. And she and Zoe would stop by her mom’s office to say hello.

All bases covered.

“Sure,” her mom said. “You can go. It sounds like fun. Do you want me to drive you two?”

“No,” Megan said quickly. “We’re riding bikes.”

“But your bike’s still at the house.”

“I mean, Zoe’s riding her bike over here. Then we’re going to walk.”