Page 52 of A Step You Shouldn't Take

Reed’s footsteps padded away along the landing, and I had a minor freak-out when I realised it was eight thirty on a Friday and I was still at home. Then I remembered I’d cleared today in case I needed time to process Georgette’s revelations, and we didn’t have a wedding on this weekend. Phew.

Another panic came in the bathroom when I caught sight of my face, which mirrored Georgette’s with make-up smudged everywhere, and once again, I wondered why Reed hadn’t run for the hills. If all my talk of ghosts hadn’t scared him off, surely my tear-streaked mascara should have?

As I got dressed, I couldn’t help pausing every so often to listen. Was he really making breakfast? Or had he snuck out to get a straitjacket? After all, that was what my father did to Mom. She came back from her yoga class, took a shower, then walked downstairs into the arms of the waiting doctors. Father had hustled ten-year-old me back to my room so I never even got a chance to say goodbye, and three months passed before I was allowed to speak to her again.

But today, when I plucked up the courage to tiptoe into the kitchen, I found Reed cooking scrambled eggs.

“Hey.”

He saw me in the doorway and smiled. “I feel as though I should have made some cheesy crack about how you like your eggs in the morning.”

“I appreciate that you didn’t.”

“Scrambled okay?”

“Scrambled’s fine.”

“You like bagels? I found a package in the fridge.”

“I was the one who bought them.”

“Yeah. Of course.”

I took a seat at the breakfast bar, feeling decidedly uncomfortable in my own home. Reed had already set out cutlery and two glasses of orange juice, and I took a sip from the closest.

“So…” I said.

“So.”

“I’m not sure where to start.”

“How about at the beginning, with the truth this time? I need to know what we’re dealing with. There’s a whole different level of danger involved if we’re hunting a murderer instead of just an asshole who likes to spike girls’ drinks.”

“I’m sorry. So, so sorry. I should have told you, but I just… I didn’t know how.”

“Don’t dwell on it. If we’re going to work together on this, we both have to move on.”

“I don’t understand why you’re still helping.”

“Honestly? Two reasons. Firstly, I need the money, and secondly, I don’t want a killer roaming the streets any more than you do. You would have been his third victim, and so far, he’s been clever enough that nobody else suspects a thing.”

Two bagels popped out of the toaster, and Reed put them on plates then divided the eggs in half and spooned them over the top. Today was the first time anyone had cooked for me in this kitchen, and if I hadn’t been so antsy inside, I might even have enjoyed it.

“Have you always been able to see ghosts?” Reed asked.

“Can I take a mouthful first?”

“Sorry.”

Wow, these eggs were good. I never managed to get them fluffy like that.

“Uh, not always. Only since I was seven. But I knew it was coming.”

“How?”

“My mom told me. It’s something that gets passed down to your firstborn child, and there was a crossover point, a few years when we could both see the spirits, then her gift began to fade as mine got stronger.”

“So now you’re stuck with it until you have a kid?”

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