The Ghoul Next Door

chapter Thirty-One

When Callahan had settled on the sofa, I handed the letters to him. My stomach turned at the thought of him coming clean with me. I wanted the truth, but I wanted it to be positive. The answer I wanted to hear. The last thing I needed right now was bad news from him. Would I let Callahan go without a fight? Probably. I never wanted to be anyone’s second choice. No one ever wanted to be the second choice.

Callahan took the letters and stared down at the pretty linen envelopes, then looked back up at me. He opened the first one, read it, then slipped open the next. When he saw that it was more of the same, he placed it back on the table and looked up at me.

“I have no idea why she would have sent these letters. Honest, I would tell you, Larue.”

I studied his gaze. Much to my relief, I believed him. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I did.

“Is she really working with you?”

He chuckled nervously. “I had no idea when I offered to help Mike that he was dating my ex-girlfriend. What are the odds?”

“With my luck, the odds are pretty good.”

Callahan stood and took my hands into mine. “Ginger was always strange. That’s why we’re not together anymore. I’ll talk to her, okay?”

I studied his face. “Okay. I was worried about you, though.”

“I was used to her antics. She’ll be fine. It’s her way of playing a joke. I’ll tell her it isn’t funny.”

A joke? I for one wasn’t laughing at her idea of humor. “Do you think it has anything to do with the magic? Maybe someone is messing with us again,” he said.

Anything was possible, but what if this was just his way out of this sticky situation? My belief in him had already begun to fade. Why did I always assume the worst? I was letting this negativity control me—the big black cloud hung over my head. But I’d been around too many men who allowed the lies to roll right off their tongues with perfection. Would I ever be able to trust a man? Would I ever have a trusting relationship?

“Callahan, I’m suddenly not feeling well. I think I just want to go to bed.”

He frowned. It looked as if I’d punched him in the stomach. “Can I help? Do you need anything?”

I shook my head. “I just need to be alone.”

I spoke the words, but I didn’t feel them. It didn’t matter though because there was no way I could stop myself from telling him to leave.

Callahan stopped at the door and looked at me. “I’ll call to check on you.”

I nodded but didn’t answer… and with that he was gone.

I padded through the house. My ghosts were nowhere in sight which was completely weird and slightly unnerving. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt as if something was following me though. Were Mr. Fine or Candy Cherry making their forms invisible to me?

For what seemed like the millionth time, I glanced over my shoulder. Nope. Nothing back there. Could something sinister completely hide from me? I was pretty sure the evil spirits could be invisible any time they wanted—just like the ghosts. That was totally not fair.

As I sat on the sofa, I stared blankly out the window. My phone rang, breaking my reverie. I pulled it out from my purse and noticed Mindy’s number. I didn’t answer. I didn’t know why I didn’t answer, but something told me not to pick up. The worst part? Why was I listening to the voice in my head and where was the voice coming from? It wasn’t any of the ghosts around me. So who was it? Or what was it? Had the evil spirit followed me from the investigation? My thoughts were muddled.

A few minutes later when Callahan called, I did the same thing—I ignored the call. This was no way to treat the people who I cared about, yet I couldn’t force myself to pick up the phone.

As I stood by the window, a faint voice called out like a whisper across the wind. “You should just jump,” it said.

That message chilled me to the bone. I was terrified. In no way did I want to jump and why was this voice telling me to do so? This was the last straw. This evil thing wanted to hurt me, and I had to get rid of it. I had isolated myself from everyone and that wasn’t like me at all.

A noise sounded from outside. It sounded exactly like the noise Callahan and I had heard the other night. A twinge of pain ran through my body when I thought of that evening spent with Callahan, but something forced me to push the thought away.

That power also pulled me outside, forcing me to leave the protection of my home. But I had to know what was going on; where the noise had come from. Maybe it wasn’t safe… maybe I was asking for trouble by going out there alone, but I had to face my fears. I had to take care of this on my own.

I slipped on my shoes and coat and eased out the back door. Pulling my coat closer together for protection from the wind, I stood on the back porch and peered out into the darkness. A partial moon shone in the sky with lights twinkling through the breaks in the clouds.

I’d turned off the porch light, so if anyone was out there they wouldn’t see me—at least I hoped they wouldn’t notice me. The night air was still and no noise sounded. My gaze was drawn to the woods just beyond my house. It was as if something was out there staring at me, watching every move I made and waiting for its chance to pounce. I wouldn’t give it the opportunity.

As I turned to hurry back inside, a noise sounded from beside the house. I spun around, but couldn’t see anything in the dark. I stepped off the porch and made my way around the side of the house. My heart pounded in my ears. What if I wasn’t prepared for what I’d find? With that thought, a shadow zipped around the side of my house and I took off running after it.

Yeah, I should have run the other direction, but I didn’t. What had I been thinking? I should have run back inside, locked the door, jumped into bed and pulled the covers up over my head. But no. Instead I ran after the thing—whatever it was.

My long coat flowed in the wind behind me as I ran through the grass chasing this thing. Had it been a person or the caped shadow figure? It was so dark I didn’t know if it was a living and breathing person or a spirit. Either way, I wanted to know for sure. I had to know what it wanted with me. I hoped I didn’t find out the hard way that the thing wanted to kill me.

As I made my way to the front of the house, I saw the shadow move around the other side of the porch. How long would this game of chase continue? Would we run around the house all night? I didn’t think I could keep up the pace for that long. Sure, the pole fitness had helped me, but I could only last for so long.

My shoe slipped and I stumbled forward but caught myself before I fell face first in the mud. The rain had turned my yard into a marsh. When I looked up, I spotted the shadow figure fading into the tree line. There was no way I was going in there after it. Whatever it was would have to go. I had a feeling it would probably be back. It wasn’t the last I’d see of the thing. But the question remained: was it a person or a spirit? It had moved just like the dark shadow I’d seen recently. Had someone really unleashed a demon on me from their black magic? It wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

I hurried toward the back door before the thing had a chance to return. What had I been thinking by chasing something in the middle of the night? I’d lost my ever-loving mind. I rushed in, locked the door and flipped off the muddy shoes. I hoped they weren’t ruined.

My breathing was still heavy from my nocturnal exercise. I moved over to the window to see if the thing had returned, but thankfully, I saw nothing. I needed a shower and sleep. I’d block this whole mess out of my head and worry about it tomorrow. I needed time to relax. The stress was getting the better of me.

After a long hot shower, I slipped into my cozy pajamas and buried myself under the covers. There was nothing like the comfort of my bed to make me feel safe. As if nothing could possibly get me there. Well, as long as I didn’t stick my toes out from under the covers, because then for sure the monster under the bed could get me.

The thoughts overwhelmed my mind so much that I finally resorted to counting sheep to take my mind off of what I’d seen. It must have worked somewhere around number a hundred and ten because I didn’t remember counting after that. But I woke up with a start the next morning.

When I pulled my legs from the covers, I was shocked at what I saw. Panic rose from my stomach and my heart raced. My feet were covered in dried mud. My stomach turned. I knew I’d taken a shower the night before. I remembered. I had on the pink pajamas I’d put on, but the bottoms of the legs were muddy too. Had I been sleepwalking? There was no other explanation, right? I’d never done it in the past. Not that I was aware of at least, and I’d know by now. What had happened?

When I looked down at the floor, I saw my footprints, but that wasn’t all. My prints weren’t the only ones. I recognized the others as the demons that had visited me in the past. My stomach turned. Apparently, I’d taken a jog with a demon. I had to do something. This was the last straw. I wouldn’t put myself in danger like this ever again. I had to get rid of whatever was invading my life. I hadn’t invited it and I wouldn’t allow it to stay.

I looked around the room but saw nothing else out of place. Where were the ghosts anyway? Where was Elvis? Had they seen me leave in the middle of the night? I stepped out into the foyer, but didn’t see anyone or anything. Of all times for the ghosts to disappear. It figured. When I needed them, they were nowhere in sight. I stepped back into the bathroom and hurried into the shower. I had to get the mud off my feet. I didn’t want to see the reminder of what had happened during the night.