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The next day, I had Scouts again, and as usual, we met at Todd Harrison’s home. Then, our stomachs full of Mrs. Harrison’s chocolate chip cookies, we rode our bikes home.
Jax was going out to a movie with his family, so he’d shot off right after the meeting, but Gary and I rode side by side.
“You’re still sleeping over, right?” I asked Gary.
“Yeah. My mom said I could.” He pushed his large glasses up to the bridge of his nose where they belonged and flashed me his usual sly grin. “I’ll just grab some things from home and be right over.”
“Cool. My mom rented some movies and a VCR. She let me pick one out. I got Clash of the Titans!”
I loved Clash of the Titans. Of course, I loved anything fantasy with swords, sorcery, and monsters. My mom let us watch it alone because she didn’t care for that kind of stuff, and I was glad for that because a couple of parts showed a woman’s bare top, and watching those scenes with my mom was uncomfortable. But wouldn’t you know it, she stuck her head in the room to ask us if we needed any more drinks during the only six seconds of bare boobs in the whole two-hour movie!
After the movie, Gary and I sat up, halfway out of our sleeping bags on the floor of the living room, all the lights out except for a dim table lamp, and we shuffled through each other’s stacks of Star Wars trading cards.
“I have a duplicate of Chewbacca wearing the gas mask and holding his crossbow,” I said.
“The one when they’re inside that creature’s stomach!”
“Yeah, it’s pretty sweet. Probably my favorite of Chewy.”
“Cool. Thanks.”
I handed it over to him and tugged a piece of licorice off with my teeth.
“So where have you been lately?” Gary asked.
My smile dropped, and my eyes turned to the ground. I was nervous to tell him. I thought he would be mad at me either for sneaking around on Beaumont and Lester without him or for hanging out with Dawn. Either way, I couldn’t win. “Nowhere really. Just doing stuff.”
“Doing stuff?” He called me out.
I nodded, keeping silent.
“We could use your help with the fort. Rosco really knows what he’s doing, and we’re almost finished.”
“That’s cool. I’ll have to come see it.”
“See it?” He gave me a sideways look, like he couldn’t believe what I’d just said.
“I’ll come help you guys. Sorry I haven’t been there, man.”
He shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess.”
“I, um, I’ve been hanging out with Dawn.”
“Really? Is she your girlfriend now?”
“No. We’re just good friends. I ran into her at the library, and we just started hanging out.”
“We came by yesterday and the day before, but you weren’t there. I just wondered what you were doing, if you were hanging out with Matt again or you didn’t like us anymore or something.”
“No, of course I still like you guys. We’re best pals. It’s just... I don’t know. I was with Dawn and got caught up in doing stuff.”
“What stuff? And what were you doing at the library?”
I saw myself in the reflection of his glasses. My face had gone dark and sullen again. He knew something was up. I had to confess.
“I’ve been doing some research.”
“What kind?”
“The Crooked House kind.”
His face went white like he’d seen the ghost again. He trembled, and genuine fear crossed his eyes. “Why can’t you leave that place alone?”
Because the ghost lady came to my house and returned my pillow. I think she wants me to help. But I couldn’t tell him that. “I don’t know. I feel a responsibility. Mr. Beaumont and Lester are up to something. I don’t know what it is, but people are dying and going missing. Like Joanna, and I know Beaumont killed his wife. Plus, Dawn and I heard them talking like they might hurt more people, and Lester admitted he hears voices in his head.”
“Creepy. You’ve got to tell the police—or your parents!”
“I told Sheriff Packard everything already. I think he believes me even though he won’t admit it. He says there’s no evidence to go on.”
“What is it you think you can do?”
“I just have to find out what they’re doing, what their plan is for this town before it’s too late. Parents aren’t going to believe me, and the cops aren’t going to do anything. It’s all up to me.”
We stared at each other in silence for a moment in the dim light. Nothing made a sound but the ticking of the clock in the kitchen. No doubt sensing my desperation and passion, he gave me a firm nod.
“Then I’m with you,” he said firmly.
I hadn’t realized I needed his support until he said that. My shoulders relaxed, like he’d lifted a weight off them. I needed my friends. “You are?”
“Yes. That’s how this works. We’re the Black Widows, for hell’s sakes.”
I laughed out loud, and so did he. It set off a chain reaction of giggles that we couldn’t stop.
“Boys!” my dad called from the back room. “Time to go to sleep. It’s late.”
It didn’t stop our laughter, but we covered our mouths to quiet the chuckles.
Gary was utterly terrified of that house. I could tell from his reaction every time someone brought it up. He was scared of the ghost who haunted it. The shock of seeing a ghost had already taken a piece of who he was, and he would never get that back. Still, without any hesitation, he was willing to stand beside me and face the horror together.
“Thanks,” I said with sincerity, and he nodded.
I turned out the light, and we lay down. We fell asleep within the next twenty minutes, and I slept soundly for the first time in a while.