Page 8 of Ghostlighted
I looked away and shrugged. “He’s a delusional homicidal plagiarist. Why should what he says bother me?”
“It shouldn’t. But it does.” He paused, lips parted. “Wait a minute.” He straightened so quickly he floated a foot off the ground. The bills, on the other hand, dropped to the desktop. “That’swhy.”
Chapter Three
Ieyed Avi while I snaked an arm out and opened the nearest desk drawer to sweep the bills inside, away from prying ghosts with aerial talents. “That’s why what?”
“Why you refuse to touch the royalty money. Why you haven’t moved in.”
“It’s nottheroyalty money, Avi. It’syourroyalty money. And, hey.” I jabbed my finger toward the floor. “I’ve moved in. I sleep in the primary bedroom. My car’s parked in the garage. My cat’s litter box is in the mudroom, his food dishes are in the kitchen, and his toys are scattered all over the house from hell to breakfast.”
“That’s exactly my point. Other than the clothes you claim are serviceable, the car that hardly qualifies as transportation, the laptop which is about as workmanlike as you can get, and the bare minimum of grooming supplies, your cat has morepersonalitems here than you do.”
“I— Wait.” Had I let my scruff get too scruffy? “Do you think I need more grooming supplies?”
He folded his arms, the toe of one foot tapping soundlessly. “Would you buy them with the royalty money if I said yes?”
“Well…” I scratched the back of my head. Should I get my hair trimmed? My curls reached past my shoulders now. “Doesn’t that seem like an inappropriate use of funds?”
“Oh, for the love of—” He flung his hands in the air and float-marched to the middle of the room before turning to face me. “Look at this library.”
Lowering my eyebrows, I glanced around the room. “Yeah. It’s amazing. I thought so the first time I saw it.”
“We had that desk custom built by a local woodworker.”
I ran my hand along its gleaming oak top. “They did a fantastic job.”
“Yet the only thing you use it for is to hide your bills.” He pointed at me when I grimaced. “Yeah, don’t think I missed that little maneuver.”
“Sorry.” I peeked up at him, caught the exasperated look on his face, and switched to studying my frayed sneaker laces. “The desk really is beautiful.”
“Then tell me.” He hunkered down in front of me and looked up into my face. “Why do you always set up your laptop on the table and work in the kitchen? Are you still traumatized by that tantrum I threw in here before I understood what was going on? Because you know I didn’t do it on purpose. I’ll never forgive myself if that’s given you an aversion to the room.”
That brought my head up with a snap. “No! I don’t blame you for that. And if any room should traumatize me, it should be the kitchen, since that’s where I was, you know, held at gunpoint.”
“Then why? Why won’t you work in here?”
I dropped my head again. “Because this was your office,” I mumbled.
He cupped a hand behind his ear. “What was that?”
“Isaidthis wasyour office.” I didn’t shout. Almost. But then my shoulders fell and I gazed out the window so I couldn’t seethe hurt in his eyes—or the pattern of the rug through his body. My voice dropped to nearly inaudible. “And this was where it happened.”
“Maz.” Avi’s words matched my vocal level. “I didn’t die here.”
I looked up at him. “No. But if you hadn’t been attacked here, while you were working atthis”—I jabbed my finger against the desktop—“desk, you’d never have died in the backyard.”
He scrunched up his face, making his glasses lift off his nose, and stood up with a sigh. “Evidently, both of us need to work on reclaiming spaces that trigger us. Maybe we can help each other do that. Deal?”
We couldn’t shake hands, so I stood and faced him, once again noting that we were exactly the same height. I nodded. “Deal.”
He returned the nod. “Cool. So if we ever find a way for me to step outside, you can coach me through the yard. In the meantime, let me assist you in staking your claim inside the house. You don’t need to keep it as a shrine to Oren and me.”
“It’s not a shrine.” I pointedly didnotstare at the shelf that held all of Avi’s Jake Fields books. “While the house may be mine legally because of those pesky laws that prevent the deceased from owning property, I share it with you. You should have some say.”
His smile was a little evil. “Then here’s my say.” He leaned forward. “If you have to work up the gumption to use the royalty money over time, I can respect that. But meanwhile, at least hang up a photograph or two. Stick your favorite mugs in the kitchen cabinets. Put your own books on the shelves.Move in.”
“Well.” I picked at a loose thread on my jeans. “There’s a thing.”
