Page 46 of Treacherous

"Have you met her daddy?" Grandma Tracy asked me chuckling as she shuffled towards the kitchen door. "Boys," she called out. "Dinner's ready."

A stampede erupted from somewhere upstairs so I rose from my chair and said my goodbyes, ready to make myself scarce.

"Oh hey, Teegs, don't worry," Hope called out after me when I reached the front door. "I'm going with you to Ireland – come hell or high water."

****

Teagan

By the time school finished on Friday I was looking forward to locking myself away from the world for two whole days.

Unfortunately Hope seemed to have other plans.

"Sorry for barging in, Uncle Max," Hope called out as she sauntered into my kitchen. "But I kinda need to borrow your niece for the evening."

"In case you've forgotten, I'm kind of grounded," I muttered, casting Max an evil look from where I was perched on the countertop, dressed in my ratty old sweats, waiting for the kettle to boil.

Max had extended my grounded sentence when Ellie – the rat – went straight to him, sobbing her little heart of stone out over the whole flour bombing incident at Thanksgiving.

Hope frowned and worried her lip anxiously. Her blue eyes were round as saucers as she swung around to stare at Max. "Please?" she asked softly.

Uncle Max sighed heavily from where he was sitting, watching us. "You can go," he grumbled as he closed the lid of his laptop and leaned back in his chair. "You've suffered enough."

Hope clapped her hands and grinned. "You're the best," she squealed. "I promise we won't be out too late."

"Keep her as long as you like," I heard Max chuckle and I shook my head in mock disgust as I hopped down from the counter and followed Hope to the kitchen door.

"Keep the tomfoolery to a minimum though, Teegs," Max said in a stern tone. He stood up and unplugged his laptop from its charger before sliding it into a brown leather case. "Andnofighting with the neighbors."

****

"So what's up?" I asked, prying my arm out of Hope's grasp when we stepped outside.

It was dusk on the hill and the sky looked illusory darker than normal. I was hoping this was a sign of snow. I couldn’t freaking wait for the snow…

"I need you to come with me somewhere," she mumbled as we crossed the street towards her house.

Hope pushed the door inwards and I froze when it creaked spookily.

There's no such thing as ghosts…

There's no such thing as ghosts…

Hope, noticing my reaction, rolled her eyes and pulled me inside. "Who told you?" she asked as she pushed me up the staircase.

"Layton," I whispered, clutching her sleeve.

Hope huffed. "He's such a gossip."

"Is it true?"

"All of it and more probably," she mused as she pushed me down the hallway, stopping outside the last door on the right. "Relax," she added as she pushed the door inwards.

"There are no ghosts in this house, Teagan. They wouldn't get a minute's peace with my brothers," she added dryly, gesturing me into a yellow painted bedroom.

"Besides," she grumbled as she walked over to closet and pulled the door open. "We've got bigger problems."

"Like what?" I tentatively took a step into her bedroom, and when nothing bad happened I took another step.

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