Page 10 of Chasing Your Ghost

There wouldn’t even be any way for Riley to share the stories of the ghosts she came across because there was no way in hell she’d talk to Edith about her abilities. All of that was gone, and Riley didn’t know how she was supposed to deal with that.

She turned to look out the passenger window as they took an offramp, hoping Edith didn’t notice the tears tracking down her cheeks. It didn’t matter that the woman had been crying for most of the trip. Riley didn’t want her to see that she was now too.

She watched as they left the mess of the Interstate Highway behind them, as they drove past a line of red brick buildings, as trees blurred past in a haze of green, and finally, as that greenery gave way to suburban streets.

They passed rows and rows of houses, most of which looked Colonial-style. Riley grudgingly had to admit they were rather quaint, even when seen through the blur of tears. Kids cycled down the road and played in their front yards. There were trees and grass, and a woman jogging on the sidewalk smiled and waved at their car as they passed. It was all so very un-New York, and though it was charming and Riley could see the appeal, she wasn’t sure she liked it.

How could she when she was used to crowded subway cars and the clamor of busy New York streets? She was used to being a faceless, nameless stranger in a sea of other faceless, nameless strangers. There was no waving at people as they passed by. For the most part, people didn’t even bother getting to know their neighbors.

New York, her home, was so many worlds away from Fort Hunt, Virginia, that it was almost laughable. And much as Riley could appreciate the cuteness of it, she hated it as much as she hated Edith’s stupid peach-colored power suit. She hated it because it wasn’t New York. It wasn’t home.

“Your grandparents are traveling around Europe at the moment and will only be back in August,” Edith said after turning down another quaint street. “But they asked me to tell you they’re looking forward to seeing you again.”

“Oh.” Riley’s memories of Edith’s parents were a bit blurry, but there was nothing bad in them. Just the opposite, in fact. Though she’d only met them a handful of times before she’d cut Edith from her life, she remembered liking them. “Cool.”

“Also, Noah’s been staying with his mom most of the time, but Hugh asked him to stay with us for the next few days while you settle in,” the blonde woman explained as they pulled into the driveway of her double-story house.

She came to a stop behind a black Jeep Wrangler and a Red Ford truck, which were both lined up in front of the closed garage door. Riley knew from their lunch that Hugh used the garage as a workshop to restore old furniture and make his own pieces that could be sold in a shop in Old Town.

“Okay,” Riley replied, trying not to read into Hugh making an effort for her arrival.

She looked up at the white house, taking in the dark blue shutters that hung on either side of the windows, the lantern light fixtures affixed beside the navy front door, and the gray tiles of the roof. It was just as beautiful as she remembered. It looked like a home. But Riley knew it would never be that for her.

“He usually stays in the pool house,” Edith started.

“You have a pool house?” Riley cut in. She’d assumed the woman did well for herself as the CEO of a marketing firm, but having a pool, let alone a pool house, seemed an excessive splurge.

“Yes. We converted it into a guest house a few years ago. Hugh and I weren’t sure if you would prefer to stay there or in the spare bedroom in the house. Do you have a preference?”

“The pool house,” Riley replied without hesitation.

Edith tried to hide how much the answer had let her down behind a smile. “Alright.”

“Will Noah mind?”

Edith shook her head as she turned off the car. “As I said, he mainly stays with his mom. He’ll be perfectly fine in the guest bedroom in the main house when he’s here.”

“As long as he’s okay with it,” Riley said, no longer so certain about her choice. Stealing her stepbrother’s pool house didn’t seem like the best way to make a good impression, especially when he was her age and most likely loved the privacy it offered.

“He won’t mind.”

“Great. Then the pool house it is.” It’s for the best, Riley thought as she yanked on her door handle. They would all probably feel better with her as far away as possible, and it would have the added benefit of reminding Edith that she didn’t really want to be there, that her stay wasn’t permanent.

“Whatever makes you more comfortable.” Edith started fiddling with the diamond ring on her finger, twisting it in circles in what must have been a nervous habit. “I haven’t told them about your abilities,” she finally managed. “And I think it’s best we keep it that way. They won’t understand.”

Riley felt the strange urge to laugh, but not in amusement. “Right. We wouldn’t want your family to react like you did,” she said bitterly. “I don’t really feel in the mood to have holy water thrown at me by a priest.”

Edith closed her eyes, her expression one of agony. “Riley, I was trying to protect you.”

Riley scoffed. “No, you were scared of me and what I could do. You were only trying to protect yourself. You were terrified of your own daughter, and to make yourself feel better about being a terrible mother, you built up a delusion about my gift being some kind of evil curse that needed to be prayed and blessed out of me.”

Edith’s hands curled tightly around the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white.

“I was worried about my twelve-year-old daughter being able to see dead people. I was worried about the effects that would have on her mental health. I didn’t want—”

“Save it,” Riley interrupted viciously, her voice a near snarl. “Maybe you should have thought about the mental scars you’d leave on your twelve-year-old daughter by taking her to some random priest, who looked at her like she was an abomination, all while he urged the devil to leave her body.”

“I’ll be inside,” Edith whispered as she opened her door and got out of the car with the kind of grace that Riley only seemed to possess in a ballet studio.

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