Page 31 of Ghostlighted
“Yes.” He lunged forward, but paused before he could step onto the bumper and looked back at me. “I don’t want to ask more of you.”
“It’s fine. Whatever you need.”
He pulled his keys out of his jacket pocket, teased one out with the tips of his fingers, and used it to hold the whole jangling bunch out to me. “This is for Tia’s house. Could you lock up for me, please? The outside lights are on a timer, but?—”
“I’ve got it.” I gently took the keyring from him. “Do you want me to bring your truck to the hospital for you?”
He shook his head. “No. There’ll be enough of the family there to give me a ride, and I don’t know how long we’ll be.”
“You’ll keep me updated?”
He nodded, and then climbed up into the ambulance, taking a seat next to Sofia’s feet while Rosalie did something official near her head.
Warren closed the rear doors. “Thanks for your help.”
“No problem.”
He jogged toward the front of the ambulance, and a moment later, the engine turned over.
I stepped up onto the grass verge as they pulled away, rubbing my chest absently. It felt… hollow. Like somethingprecious had been uprooted and nothing planted in its place. If anything happened to Sofia, I expected Ricky’s entire family would be feeling the same or worse.
The ambulance turned onto Main Street and its flashing lights disappeared behind the dark bulk of Patrice’s house and trees.
“Will she be okay?” Avi’s voice held the kind of worry I’d only heard from him a couple of times before.
“I hope so. She?—”
Wait.Avi?
I whipped my head around. “How did you— When—” I took a breath. “You’re outside.”
Avi blinked and looked down at himself, then turned in a slow circle, surveying the street, the Manor grounds, Sofia’s house,ourhouse.
“I am.” He met my gaze. “How do you suppose I got here?”
“You don’t know?”
He gave me his patented Avi can’t-believe-you’re-being-this-dense look from under his brows, chin tilted down, hair flopping over his forehead. “We’ve been over this, Maz. I don’t know howanyof this works.”
“Maybe your, I don’t know, range is expanding or something.”
“I… suppose that could be. It’s just as likely as anything else.”
I glanced at the corner again. There was no sign of the ambulance, and I had no idea how long it would be until I had more news about Sofia. However, I knew one thing for certain.
There was zero chance I’d be able to focus on any task that required responsible adult decisions, such as sorting through the many,manyboxes in my house—both mine and Oren’s.
I straightened my shoulders and met Avi’s gaze. “Then what do you say we experiment?”
Chapter Eleven
“Okay, then.” I stowed Ricky’s keys in my hoodie pocket, propped my fists on my hips, and looked up at our house, the streetlight casting my shadow on the grass. “How should we do this? We know you can make it from the house to the street.”
Avi matched my pose, but of course had no shadow. “Maybe we should circle the house? See if I can access all of the grounds?”
“Good idea.”
When I’d arrived in Ghost and got my first look at the house, I’d paced around it, half in awe and half in annoyance that the door locks were stuffed with sawdust and I couldn’t get inside. I hadn’t walked the entire yard then. For one thing, it was enormous, and for another, it lacked features of interest, such as Sofia’s garden and natty scarecrow.
