Page 127 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
Lucky refused to answer that. “I’m not possessed. I’m in full control during my experiments.”
“I believe you.” But he sighed as he said it. “I just think you could stand to be a lot safer than you’re being.”
“Iambeing safe.” She stood up and so did he.
“I don’t think you are,” he said calmly. “You can’t even be objective. You refuse to even entertain the idea that there could be something wrong with that house. Maybe it isn’t some big misunderstanding.Maybeit just likes watching people suffer.”
“Well, I don’t believe that.” She raised her chin in defiance. “Any other questions? I need to go soon.”
“No,” he said, looking away. “That’s it.”
Maverick walked with her to the parking lot, neither of them speaking. She threw her bag in the back seat and was holding the driver’s-side door open when she turned to say goodbye—and read what he wanted to say in his eyes before he said it.
“Lucky, wait. Maybe you should take a day off. Get some distance and go back in with a clear head. Xander will understand.”
One last plea to see reason. Lucky wanted to smile but couldn’t bring herself to fake one. “I don’t need to do that,” she said. “I’m hoping tonight can be my final experiment.”
He looked taken aback, surprised even. “Are you—are you honestly planning to give that housepermanentaccess to you?”
She scoffed. “It’s just an option. I never said that’s what I’m doing.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Being myself,” she said honestly. “This is who I am. These are the kinds of risks I take and that you signed up to deal with. I’m going back to Hennessee House to finish what I started. I’m sorry you don’t like it.”
She wasn’t surprised when Maverick had nothing to say to that.
Lucky knew from the beginning their personalities were like oil and water. This moment became inevitable from the second she agreed to be his, but she never would’ve guessed that it’d go down like this.
To be fair, were his concernsreallythat far-fetched?
Possession wasn’t impossible. Improbable, but not outside the realm of possibility. He didn’t know Hennessee the way she did. She condensed weeks of research into a twenty-minute presentation andaskedhim to be her skeptic. Not to mention shetoldhim her worst fear was being possessed. Of course, he was going to check.
That wasn’t what was upsetting her. All she’d ever wanted was to be believed.
He believed the supernatural was real, but he didn’t believe inher.
She wasn’t a “useless” twelve-year-old “psychic” anymore. She’d grown up, forging her own path one uncharted step at a time. But those devastating memories remained, lingering in the way that scars did, and those scars were half as old as she was. So, why did they still hurt like fresh wounds? How did they split open so easily because of a simple conversation that made perfect sense?
Lust wasn’t the only thing capable of playing people for fools, apparently.
“I’ve put one hundred and ten percent of myself into investigating Hennessee House,” she said. “I sacrificed everything to get here. This opportunity is supposed to be the start of my life’s work.” Tears rudely sprang out of her eyes, making her jaw ache and voice tremble.Shit.She managed to continue anyway. “I broke the rules because I missed you. I came here because I wanted to share the most important thing I have inmylife with you. Gonna be honest, really wasn’t expecting you to kind of diminish everything I’ve done by implying I don’t know what I’m doing. That I’m just some possessed puppet who doesn’t know any better.”
Lucky waited for Maverick to say something, anything, and he didn’t. She watched in real time as words left him and he retreated into himself, overwhelmed and needing time.
“Call me later, okay?” She kissed his cheek before hopping in the car. “If you want.”
•••
Lucky wanted to bring everything full circle. She waited patiently as the sun began to set, standing with her back pressed against Hennessee House’s front door. Ending where she began.
This time, however, Gengar supervised her from the staircase next to the camera she set up. A much welcome addition.
Despite wishing she had a team with her, she was ready. At sunset she’d hit the ground running on pure instinct. Tonight would make or break her stay in Hennessee House.
“Hello, Lucky.”
“Hello, Hennessee House. I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately.”
