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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Haunter One Cold Sunrise
It took me some time to fall asleep. Amy had stayed downstairs after dinner, for a little chat with Ann and Edward about what would be put in motion the moment Price drove past the Manor gates. Trisha slouched down the second-floor hallway to her room, still whining and complaining about her poor aching knees. She was knocking on my door in under a minute, all fussy and flabbergasted about her private bathtub. “I’m so taking a long bath with relaxing oils!” she cried, clapping. “Hush!” I chided her, nodding to the nursery. “It’s late, Trish!” “Oops!” she whispered, hand to her mouth. “Ghost kids go to bed early? Do they actually sleep?” “You should ask them yourself tomorrow morning. Early. Cause I’m waking you up at seven tops.” “What? You crazy? My religion forbids it. Waking up before ten is a deadly sin.” “Suit yourself. The celebs are arriving at nine.” She narrowed her eyes like I’d just stabbed her in the back, shook her head and slouched back to her room, grumbling under
Haunter First Round
“Your meds, Mr. Price?” asked Amy from the fireplace. She couldn’t have faked a smile at him even if her life depended on it. He turned to her, frowning. “Come again?” “I need your meds.” “I need them back by noon to take them.” Amy held his eyes for a heartbeat and turned to me. “The bag, Fran, please?” I hurried across the room to give it to her. And stayed as close to the heater as I could without falling into the fireplace. Man, I loved to feel the flames after being outside on such a cold morning. Price breathed deep, annoyed. His voice thundered across the whole house. “Isaac! Our prescriptions!” The wingman trotted down the stairs like an obedient poodle a moment later, carrying a belt pouch overflowing with pill bottles. He handed it out to Price, who nodded to Amy. “Let’s go one by one,” she said, taking out a bunch of small glass dropper bottles from her bag and lining them up on the mantelpiece. The wing— Enough of calling him that. Isaac grabbed a random orange bot
Haunter No Rest for the Wicked
I didn’t dig heading back to the Manor like nothing out of the ordinary was happening, but I did it anyway. Not that I couldn’t suffer being away from Haunter charming. It had more to do with that cold spot in my belly that advised against leaving them without supervision.We found Trisha having breakfast still in her pajamas, sharing the kitchen table with the twins, who were trying to use their drawing boards to practice their writing under Lizzie’s supervision. My friend welcomed us with a bright grin, mug and waffle in her hands and a spot of cherry jam on the tip of her nose.“I’m so totally moving in,” she said as soon as we walked in, merry like Christmas. “I’m gonna spend the rest of my life spoiling these lovely brats and chatting with Lizzie. And if you have any problem, find yourself a new place.”I smiled, truly happy to see my friend adjusted and fit in so much better than I’d ever
Haunter White & Sage
Trisha endured the cleansing like a champ, even though it took me longer than it took Amy. She opened her eyes and flashed a serene smile I’d never seen before, not caring about her wet locks sticking to her temples and cheeks. We took her hands and helped her back to her feet without a word, waiting for her to say something.“I could float away in the wind,” she said, and she seemed to glow in the golden daylight coming in through the kitchen windows. “But I would rather take a nap.”“You have an hour,” Amy replied softly.Trisha’s hug took me by surprise. “Thank you!” my friend whispered in my ear, and left the room with a light, placid gait that left me gaping.“That’s the effect?” I asked.“When you’re clean, this harmonizes your energy centers and sweeps away all the stress.” Amy went to the sink for more hot water. “Your turn, Fran. This is g
Haunter In the Moonlight
Needless to say Susan was still in the Manor when we got back, giggling and commenting on the last hour at the guesthouse. She insisted on serving our dinner, and I almost had to push her out the backdoor to get her to leave.As soon as I was done eating, I went down to the basement to check on Kujo. I didn’t know why. I just felt I needed to make sure he was okay.“Do I still smell of sage?”“Stink.”“You mean thing!” I protested, laughing.Joseph was still there, and I lingered with them, telling them about the cleansing. Back to the first floor, I was surprised I wasn’t tired, but wide awake and ready to spend the whole night up.Amy and Trisha were still at the kitchen table, watching something on TV, and Amy flashed a little smile when I told them I didn’t feel like going to bed at all.“What have you done to me, Amy Taylor?” I asked.“When yo
Haunter Not That Easy Anymore
No wonder I dreamed of him all night. Of him climbing up to my window, and kissing me the moment I opened it to let him in. Of course there was more to the dream, but I’m gonna let you fill in the blanks. I woke up at eight-thirty to a cold bright morning, feeling like I’d slept ten hours straight, full of energy, in the best of moods and ready for whatever the day may throw at me.Looking out while I got dressed, I had a flashback of my dream and chuckled, shaking my head. I really needed to tone down my body chemistry if I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. At the same time, everything I saw through my window seemed to call out to me. So I wore my jogging clothes and trotted down the stairs.Amy was already in the kitchen, making breakfast. She looked happy and energetic too.“Going out so early?” she asked, handing me a steamy mug.“No, thanks. It’s too beautiful a morning to stay indoors. Wanna join me?&rdq
Haunter One More Push
my eyes, narrowing his, and his face hardened in a calculating expression for a long moment. Until he set his jaw, breathed deep and finally rolled his eyes with a curt nod.“Okay, okay,” he grumbled.“Then get a shower and a bite and go to sleep,” said Amy. “We’ll be back at four.”Trisha and I had already put everything away, and headed to the front door after Amy in complete silence.Back to the Manor, Amy sent us both upstairs for a shower and stayed in the kitchen, instructing Susan about what we needed for lunch. I don’t know if it was because of our face-off the week before or because Amy was almost her age and gave orders like a five-star general, but Susan did as she said without any questions.I was startled when I heard Amy knock on my bathroom door to check on me. She seemed worried after seeing the state I was in when we’d finished the cleansing a while earlier.“Mind t
Haunter Backstab
I sat up in bed, not sure what had just woken me. The next thud shook the whole house. I jumped out of bed and scampered to the hallway. There was only one reason why Kujo could be doing it: Brandon was too close to him. I was halfway down to the first floor when Amy ran out of her bedroom, calling out for me to stop. I didn’t, and I heard her hurry after me. I stormed into the kitchen, expecting to find him out the door or something like that. An icy chill ran down my back when I found the backdoor wide open. What the fuck?Then I saw the basement door open too, and heard Brandon’s voice from down there, calling Kujo out.“Show yourself, demon!” he cried at the top of his lungs.What was wrong with him? Was he crazy?“Brandon!” I called, sprinting to the basement doorway.The stairs were in complete darkness, and I was forced to slow down and put my hands on the walls to keep from missing a step. I could hear th
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Haunter The Third Time's the Charm
The traveling crews came back to Los Angeles for the holidays a couple of days later, and Brandon decided he felt brave enough to host a dinner for all of them at one of the restaurants they used to go to.It would be like his big comeback to society, leaving behind almost four months of reclusion and darkness. And to mark the occasion, he warned me that Cake had leaked the date and place to a few reporters.“Meaning my friends will be there?”“Guess so. The problem is that ban on you. I don’t want them to leave you out of the report. The other way around: I want everybody to know we’re together.”I looked up at him with a heartfelt sigh. But like it always happened over the last week, meeting his eyes focused on mine made me so happy, I couldn’t refuse. So I called Greta Arbosky, who said she would take care of letting them know about this one exception. I disconnected and faced him, raising my eyebrows.&
Haunter The Hard Way Back
Against all odds, Brandon was the easiest, most complying patient in history. I think the scare of almost losing all his sight gave a whole new meaning to this opportunity to restore his eyes to full health. He never complained about the awful cream he had to apply directly on his eyeballs, he never missed drops or meds time, he slept on his belly, and kept his eye shields on around the clock.The first week was the hardest, of course, while he still wore the dressings. However, his determination to walk the line, no matter how hard, annoying or frustrating, helped us find our way around it faster than I’d ever expected. Just like the doctor had said, Brandon had been so stressed up over the last two or three weeks, he was plain exhausted, so he slept a lot over the first three days.My hovering tendencies kept me always within a few steps from wherever he was. At first, I thought he would soon get sick and tired of my relentless watch over him, but it was actual
Haunter A Brand New Day
I jumped to my feet when I heard Brandon move. His fingers flickered slightly and I covered his hand with mine, my heart hammering my chest. His head tilted a little toward me and his lips parted.“Hey,” I whispered. “Easy there.”He tried to speak and frowned.“It’s okay, Bran. The surgery worked alright.”He frowned deeper, trying to press my fingers. I took his hand to my lips to kiss it.“It worked, Bran,” I repeated, just in case. “You’re gonna be fine.”His shaky sigh told me he’d understood. His other hand came slowly up to brush the dressing covering his eyes.“That’s gonna stay there for a few days.”“Did it?” he mumbled, as his fingers explored the dressing further.“Yes, love. It worked. If we do what the doctor says, you’re gonna be fine in a few months. Maybe even better than before the inf
Haunter Better Angels
We woke up early the next morning. Brandon couldn’t have breakfast before surgery, but we were both too anxious to even feel any hunger. Cake arrived as we were coming down to the first floor, looking rested and ten years younger than the night before. On the way to the hospital, I took advantage of being alone in the backseat of the car to send a few texts. To Amy, to let her know I’d gotten to LA fine and everything was peachy. To Isaac, to let him know I was already in town, going with Brandon to the hospital, and I’d text him how the surgery had gone as soon as I found out. And finally to Harry, to ask him to remind Hugo to send all his light and all his angels to come lend a hand.“Who are you texting to?” asked the control freak from the passenger’s seat.“The press, obviously. Your NY Barbie and her gossiping friends will be waiting for us at the hospital.”He turned in his seat, frowning at me from behind h
Haunter Hold On Tight
I woke up at about three. Brandon was sound asleep, so much so that I was able to sneak between his arms without him even flinching. Back from the bathroom, I heard noises downstairs. Then I remembered the disaster zone the living area was when I’d come into the house. I got dressed and headed to the first floor, still trying to tie my hair in a ponytail.Guadalupe had arrived while we were upstairs, and her grin when she saw me threw me off. She and Cake had sort of cleaned up the living area, but the place still looked like the guys from A Clockwork Orange had dropped by to say hi. The kitchen was still a mess, with a lot of glass and smashed mugs all over the floor, wine and all kinds of things spilled on the floor. And when I say all kinds of things, I mean even mayonnaise. So I wore an apron, put on rubber gloves and set to clean up disaster zone number two.Guadalupe and Cake materialized in the kitchen, looking spooked. I faced them with
Haunter Shattered
I had a glimpse of the whole living area completely trashed, like a hurricane had blasted through it, but I couldn’t care less. I rushed to the stairs and up to the second floor, to storm into the master bedroom. I froze just past the doorway. My heart, which was about to crack my chest open, suddenly stopped, and everything spun around me.Because Brandon was lying on his bed, unconscious, a bleeding cut on his forehead that had sprayed blood all over him. Cake was right by his side, lifting his limp legs up to the bed.“He tripped in the kitchen and hit his head with the isle,” Cake managed to say, panting after carrying Brandon all the way upstairs.I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move.“Fran! Bring me a wet towel!”His shout made me snap out of my shock. I dropped my bag on the floor and ran around the bed to the bathroom, where I grabbed the first towel I
Haunter The Longest Hours
I sneaked out of the sleeping bag the moment Brandon left his seat.“Gina!” I called, crawling on all fours out of the tent.“What is it, Fran?”“Gina, I’m so sorry, but I can’t stay to come tomorrow night,” I said, wiping my tears away just to make room for more to rain down my face.“It’s okay, Fran. Don’t worry about us.”“Kujo protect,” he said, coming to stick to my side.“You guys sure?”“Yes. Go do what you have to do.”“Okay,” I mumbled, and got back into the tent to grab my phone.The first morning flight from Philadelphia International to LAX was scheduled to live after six AM. Shit. It was hardly past midnight. Whatever. Better late than never. I bought a ticket online, already doing the math. I could check in about five thirty, so I had to leave Pennhurst
Haunter The Redemption
Brandon walked across the Manor garden in the sunset, hands in his pockets, looking around absentmindedly as he spoke.“I had to watch the footage to actually remember what had happened, and her words shocked me. She called me a puppet. She knew what was going on. Back then, I only understood they wouldn’t let me get to her, especially when Isaac turned his back on me. I couldn’t believe it. He’d betrayed me! My best friend! How powerful could this demon be to turn the man who had been my best friend for the last twenty-five years against me? I was trapped, all alone. I might have to fight for my life.” He looked at the camera. “You must be wondering if I stayed. The answer is yes. Why?” He let out a bitter chuckle. “The truth is I have no idea.” He shrugged. “I was so out of my mind that night, I can count at least half a dozen reasons why I stayed. And none of them make any sense.”They cut back to the
Haunter The Demons We Breed
“Here she comes,” Brandon said, his voice reflecting exactly the same as his face. “The little witch comes to protect the demon. Not this time.”I felt Kujo brush his face against mine and realized I was holding my breath, still shaking from head to toe. His warm touch helped me snap out of it.Brandon kept taunting and provoking Kujo until I got there, trying to burn him with his holy water. And then he’d come at me, triggering Kujo’s reaction. After Kujo attacked him, hurting me in the process, I saw him jump back to his feet and try to fight Kujo with his bear fists, punching through him like a madman, almost stomping on me, ‘cause I was pretty much unconscious at his feet. Amy stormed down the stairs as Isaac managed to pull him away from me, and forced the camera into his hands to carry me up the stairs in his arms, while Amy kept Brandon at a safe distance.“Kujo mad.”“But y
