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She shrieked the last word, and I flinched, gritting my teeth, sure she was going to wake the entire house.
“Well, do you need anything?” Reed asked, shifting uncomfortably, obviously not sure how to handle my bizarre behavior.
“No.” I waved a hand to dismiss him. “I mean, I’m fine. Sorry for bothering you; you can go back to bed.”
“Meh. I was still awake,” he admitted. “Just finished my book.”
“Cool.” I bobbed my head in a daze. “Was it any good?”
Grinning, he pushed his glasses further up his nose and shrugged bashfully. “It was only my favorite of the series so far.”
“Nice. I’ll see you in the morning, kiddo. Okay?”
“Uh, okay.” Seemingly confused by my abrupt dismissal, he squinted at me but then said, “’Night, Foster.”
“Good night, Reed.”
After he turned away and went back into his room, shutting the door behind him, I heaved out a breath, glad he hadn’t realized how freaked I truly felt.
Once again alone in the hallway with the girl, I transferred my gaze to her. She stared back, looking petrified.
“What…is happening?” she asked.
Knowing I couldn’t speak aloud and wake anyone else, I widened my eyes and tipped my head toward my open door before motioning her inside.
She jumped and then hurried forward, darting past me to get into the room. I felt the air stir from her dash, and I shook my head, not sure how to even begin to deal with this.
Stepping in after her, I shut the door and pressed my back to it, heaving out a deep breath.
“This is bad. This is bad. This is really, really bad,” she chanted to herself, freaking out as she shook her hands and glanced around my room as if she’d just found herself in a dungeon. “He couldn’t see me. Why couldn’t he see me?” Focusing on me, she demanded. “Canyoustill see me?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “I can see you. And hear you.”
“Well, what does thatmean?” she cried.
“I…” I lifted my hands to look at this objectively. “I’m not completely sure. But I’m guessing that either you’re a figment of my imagination, and I’m hallucinating right now, or?—”
When I paused at the second option, she stepped closer. “Or what?”
“Or…” I blew out a breath and couldn’t believe I was going to even suggest this before I just blurted, “Maybe you’re a ghost.”
“A ghost?” She blinked at me once, then blurted out a laugh before stopping abruptly to scowl. “No.No!” Shaking her head, she began to pace the room. “I don’t like that option. Being a ghost would mean I’m dead. And I’m not dead.”
“Are you sure?” I asked hesitantly.
Halting abruptly, she swerved around to send me a harsh scowl. “I think I would know if I was dead!”
“You’d think you’d know your own name, too,” I countered with a cringe.
She gasped, insulted, and then narrowed her eyes. “Okay. Alright. Fair point. But if I was dead, could I dothis?”
Spotting my wallet and keys sitting on top of my dresser, she tried to sweep them off with a swing of her hand.
Except she missed.
“What the hell?” Blinking in confusion, she tried again, but her hand went straight through the items.
Easing forward, I pointed out a single finger and nudged the keys, making them scrape across the top of the dresser.
