Came Back Haunted (Experiment in Terror #10) - Karina Halle Page 0,54
his head. “No. Not too tired. I’ll text Atlas and see if it’s okay. Think he’d lose his shit if we showed up unannounced.” He gives me a funny look before shoveling rice into his mouth.
“What?” I ask.
He swallows, gives me a bit of a wicked smile, and I already know what the funny look is for. “Just to hear you taking charge, wanting to go back in that house and scare yourself shitless. It’s a turn-on.”
“I often take charge,” I remind him.
“You keep telling yourself that, kiddo.” He pauses. “When are you getting that damn IUD thing out?”
“Calling the doctor first thing in the morning,” I tell him, getting to my feet. “Hopefully I can get an appointment sooner rather than later.”
He reaches out and grabs my wrist, staring up at me. “You’re really going to do this? You haven’t changed your mind? I keep thinking back and getting scared that…” He trails off, averting his eyes.
He almost looks hurt. I sit back down beside him and put my hands over his. “Hey,” I say softly, imploring him to look at me. “I haven’t changed my mind. I’m not going to change my mind. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
He finally meets my gaze. There’s so much hope and uncertainty swimming in his eyes that it’s hard not to feel it physically manifest inside me.
“What changed?”
I manage a small smile. “I don’t know. But something did.”
“You used to be so afraid…”
“I’m still a little afraid, Dex. For so many reasons, not just the ones we’ve already been warned about. It just took me longer to get past them than you.”
He gives his head a shake. “No. I still think about that, too. What they said. But I don’t want that to dictate what we can do. Or what we want. There was never anything concrete anyway, it was so fucking vague. Just horseshit mumbo jumbo that Max passed on to us. What the hell did that sequoia even know anyway?”
“Sequoia?”
“Tall, dumb redwood tree. Look, I know it’s not the best but I ran out of insults for him a long time ago.”
I can’t help but smirk, hoping Dex pulls that one out later. Max probably hasn’t been insulted properly in a long time.
“You’ve got a point,” I tell him. “About what he told us. I’m sorry it took this long for me to come to terms with it.” I get back up, picking up my plate. “Now come on, give Atlas a text before I lose my nerve about tonight.”
Atlas took his sweet fucking time getting back to us and giving us permission, which meant the both of us were all prepped and ready, sitting around for about an hour before we hit the road. At least it gave us plenty of time to come up with a game plan for tonight. Last time was totally by the seat of our pants, which worked back in the EIT days, but not if we’re going to be taken seriously by any networks.
We decided the best course of action this time would be to go to the dining room at the end of the hall first, hoping that perhaps spending time there would draw Samantha Poe out of the bathroom. She obviously wants to communicate with us, and there’s something to be said about how needy the residents of the afterlife can be. Once they can connect with you, they seem hellbent on keeping that connection going.
Whether you like it or not.
Besides, we don’t want her playing games with the EMF meter, we want to actually see her. Hear her words. Know what she has to say.
Okay, so the idea of those things freaks the hell out of me, but it is what it is. Go big and get the footage of a ghost or go home.
Anyway, if we start on the first floor and linger around there for a while, she might show herself. At the very least, by the time we get to the bathroom, she’ll be ready and waiting for us.
Then of course, there’s the whole Max thing. I’m just going to play it by ear and hope that he shows up at some point so I don’t have to keep this news to myself a minute longer. Hell, I know that even if he doesn’t, I’m going to have to tell Dex anyway. I owe it to him, more than I owe anything to Max.