Eye Candy

“I, ah . . .” I hesitate. “Well, yeah, of course, but I don’t . . .”

“You’re shy,” Kaity says. “I get that, and you’ve had a hard time, so no pressure or anything. Take your time. If you like him, just see what happens.”

“Exactly, and honestly, by the way he was looking at you, I think he’s going to ask you out anyway.” Marlie smiles warmly, nodding. “You two would be super cute together. And he’s a really good guy. Kenai said so.”

And I’d trust Kenai’s opinion more than anyone’s, to be honest. Oliver isn’t the same age as Kenai, he seems closer to my age, but apparently he spent some time doing repairs on Kenai’s building when he was younger. Kenai took a liking to him, so he gave him a job. I’m not quite sure what the job was, but the two of them have been working together for a while now and get along really well.

“We’re back,” Kenai says.

We all look up to see Kenai and Oliver coming through the front doors. Kenai is holding pizza boxes, and Oliver has some bags I’m assuming are full of drinks. They join us on the couch, spreading everything out. We all dig in, starving and thirsty. I take a beer and a piece of pizza and lean back, glancing at Oliver, who surprises me by coming and sitting beside me on the sofa with his food.

I look over to Marlie, and she wiggles her brows. My cheeks heat and I focus on my pizza, so nobody can see how nervous I am.

“Well,” Kaity says. “Here’s to everyone. A great effort!”

We all clink our bottles.

“Considering it’s Halloween, I think we should all share a time where something freaky happened to us. Like a ghost story,” Marlie suggests. “I’m sure you’ve all experienced or heard of one.”

“I haven’t,” Kaity says, pursing her lips.

“Yeah, we totally have,” Marlie adds. “Remember when we were kids . . . ?”

Kaity’s eyes get big. “Ohhh yeah.”

“Okay, we’ll go first then,” Marlie says. “When Kaity and I were little, we used to play in the graveyards, as most kids do. One day when we were there, we were reading all the headstones and we came across one that was a teenage boy killed in an accident. We read his name, and then continued playing. But when we went back, I swear to God . . . Kaity, you tell them.”

Kaity’s eyes are wide. “His name was scratched out, and into the stone was scratched ‘get out.’ We ran so fast out of there and we never entered a graveyard again after that.”

My eyes get big. “That’s freaky!”

“Yep.” Marlie nods, shivering. “It was horrible.”

“I guess he didn’t want to be disturbed,” Oliver says, taking a drink of his beer.

“No,” Kenai agrees gruffly. “Guess he didn’t.”

“Okay, what about you, Jade? Have you got a story?”

I nod. “Actually, I do.”

I take another bite of pizza and a sip of beer before I begin. “When I was a kid, I went to a sleepover at a friend’s house. There were five of us, and her parents had an Ouija board.”

“Ugh.” Kaity shudders. “Those things give me the creeps.”

I nod. “Yeah. I know. Anyway, we decided, at the fragile age of twelve, that we’d play with it. I mean, my friend had seen the movies, her parents let her watch whatever she wanted, so she laid it out and we all held hands, just like she told us. She started babbling some chant, and then she asked the board a question.”

“Did it move?” Marlie gasps.

“Yes.” I nod, remembering it like it was yesterday. “The thing started moving like crazy, sliding all over the board. We freaked out and were screaming before we threw it out the window. We all got sent home, but I will never forget it.”

“Aren’t you supposed to finish those things off?” Kaity asks. “I thought you couldn’t just raise whatever it is and then leave? I thought you had to send them back to wherever the hell they came from.”

I shrug. “I don’t know, but I do know my friend . . . It freaked her out so much, she was never the same.”

“The ghost probably haunted her,” Kenai mutters. “Those things are dangerous.”

I nod. “Yes, they are. I’ve never gone near anything like that again.”

“Wow,” Marlie says. “Intense. What about you, Oliver? Have you got a story?”

Oliver shakes his head. “Can’t say I do. Never had any supernatural experiences.”

“Not even one?” Kaity questions.

“Nope.”

“Oh, well, think yourself lucky.” Marlie smiles at him before turning toward Kenai. “What about you, chief?”

Kenai grins at her, and she flushes. I smile at them. I love the way they look at each other. It’s the kind of look every girl wants to see from the man she loves. It’s the look that lets her know she’s the only one for him, and she always will be.

“I got one,” Kenai says. “When I was a kid, we found this old abandoned house. Me and my pals went inside, and honestly, there was something in there. Doors kept slamming, cupboards would fly open, there were sounds of footsteps everywhere. We bolted, but I left my favorite pair of sunglasses there, so I went back the next day.”

“And?” Marlie cries.

“The glasses were hanging from a fan,” Kenai continues. “I didn’t want to touch them, but when I was standing there, contemplating it, the fan turned on. I shit you not. And the glasses came flying off and right at me.”

“Oh my God!” Marlie squeals.

“Yep,” Kenai nods. “I ran the hell out of there, without the sunglasses, and didn’t look back.”

Marlie giggles. “I didn’t think much frightened you, handsome.”

He winks at her. “Was a boy, doesn’t count.”

We all laugh.

I love this night.

*

As us girls are just sitting around chatting, finished with our pizza and waiting for Kenai and Oliver to come back with ice cream, Marlie is in the middle of telling us about a woman who recently came to the Sanctuary.

“So, we have to be—” Marlie says before she’s cut off when the lights suddenly go off. The entire place plummets into darkness, and everything goes silent.

“Dammit,” Marlie says. “The power is out. Let me find my phone.”

I reach into my pocket, pull my phone out, and turn the flashlight on.

“Do you know where the power box is?” I ask Marlie.

She sighs. “I do, but I’ve never had to deal with anything like that. Kaity, have you?”

“Nope.”

I stand. “I’ve done it more than once before, I’ll go and have a look. Call Kenai if you can, maybe tell him what happened.”

“Are you sure?” Marlie asks, concern in her voice.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I won’t touch anything if I’m not.”

“Okay, do you want one of us to come?”

“No, no, stay here and wait for the guys to get back. I’m okay.”

I walk toward the back exit and then turn left and head down the stairs to the basement where the power box is located. It’s dark and I can’t see much, even with my phone. I walk in and shine my light around until I see the power box. I move over to it, opening it and shining my light on so I can see. It doesn’t appear that any of the switches have flipped.

A creaking sound comes from behind me and I spin around. “Hello?” I call. “Marlie, is that you?”