Page 110 of The Ghost of Ellwood
“Don’t turn around. Just go!”
He gripped my hoodie and tugged me through the gate and didn’t stop until we were at my car. Knowing I was in no state to drive, he retrieved the keys from my pocket and placed me in the passenger’s seat before he took the driver’s side. There was no hesitation as he peeled out of the spot and drove like a bat out of hell down the long driveway and to the main road.
“Carter?” My voice sounded off, like I’d been a chain smoker for twenty years. I attempted to clear it and started coughing again.
“I’m so fucking sorry for suggesting we go there,” he said, and his chin shook. In fact, his whole body shook. “God, I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
“I think so.” I would’ve been better if I had a huge bottle of water to down. My throat was so dry it hurt. “What did you see before we left?”
He’d seen something that had scared the hell out of him.Please, God, don’t let him have seen her.Seeing her face was something I wouldn’t wish on anybody.
He was quiet for a while and paid extra attention to the road. Eventually, I decided he wouldn’t answer me and closed my eyes.
“There were so many of them,” he whispered.
I cracked open my lids. “Huh? So many of what?”
“People,” he said, and all the color drained from his face. “Though I guess they weren’t exactly people. They stood on the front lawn, some by the door, others by the columns, and a few in the windows. All just watching us. Dozens of them.”
I shivered, even though the heater was on full blast.
“Maybe the spirits of people who’ve died there,” I said.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
When we pulled onto Ellwood, Carter didn’t look so good. He was still pale and trembling. We both had been scared out of our wits tonight.
“This is gonna make me sound like a kid, but can I crash at your place tonight?” he asked. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”
“Of course you can.”
A tear fell from his eye as he nodded.
Theo opened the door once we pulled into the driveway. Carter hunched his shoulders, hands deep in his pockets, and walked beside me as we went into the house. I locked the door before greeting Theo with a light kiss.
“Everything okay?” he asked, glancing between the two of us.
“Carter’s going to stay the night. I hope that’s okay.”
“It is,” Theo said, gently touching Carter’s arm. “Neither of you answered my question.”
“I’ll fill you in.” My chest tightened at the memory. “Just let me get a drink first. Preferably something strong.”
“Me too,” Carter said.
Once in the kitchen, I drank a full glass of water before taking the rum from the freezer and grabbing a few glasses. I poured us a drink and went into the living room.
“It was my idea,” Carter said.
“What was?” Theo’s eyes narrowed.
And then Carter explained everything. When it got to the part about me, I took over and described what I’d seen and felt; the woman and the suffocating smoke that only seemed to affect me. We told Theo the whole story, and once we fell silent, Theo stood and flickered over to the window.
“So Lady Death showed herself again,” he said, crossing his arms. The flames in the fireplace intensified, scaring both me and Carter, before calming again. That could only mean my lover was angry. And rightly so. “You two are fools for ever going back there.”
“I’m sorry,” Carter said, his voice cracking. “Don’t be mad at Ben. It was my fault.”
Jesus, it was like we were two kids begging our parent to forgive us.
