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CHASING GHOSTS

ASHER

M y breath caught as I watched Holland’s body convulse once before he became still. He choked on his own blood and died.

The silence his death brought was cathartic. “This is for you, Riles. This is my apology. I hope you’ll accept it.”

“I know she will,” Diya said, her hand on my shoulder.

The darkness within me parted. It hadn’t been this clear in my head for a long time.

I stood up, glaring at Ellis. She was like a statue of flesh and blood, but behind her eyes were a million emotions. Rage. Fear. Helplessness. Boiling over each other.

Oh, she felt it all.

But she would never get the chance to scream again.

I walked toward her and saw the fear in her eyes. “You’ll live with no power, no control. You’ll despise yourself as time passes, but you’ll live,” I said, unshackling her from the chair. As I wiped my fingerprints from my dagger, I could feel her desperate gaze on me, trying to figure out what came next for her.

I pressed the weapon into her trembling fingers before tilting the chair. She fell right beside Holland, and I put the dagger onto the floor right next to her.

Her eyes widened in panic as they landed on me. She wanted out of this, wanted to die… anything but to face the consequences of her sins.

“You’re a woman and you did horrible things to those girls..,” I shook my head. “That was your worst sin. You could have just killed them, and it would have been the most merciful thing. But you didn’t.”

Her chest heaved, and she squeezed her eyes shut, a tremor running through her.

I stepped back, far enough to let her suffer in her silence. My eyes flickered to Diya. She grabbed Ellis’s gun from the floor.

“Who is this registered to, Ellis? Holland? You?” Diya asked, handing me the gun. “Doesn’t matter. It’s all the same.”

I took the gun from her with a sigh. I aimed the gun at Ellis’s left knee and pulled the trigger.

Ellis’s body jerked violently as the bullet tore into her knee.

“This is the punishment you deserve.” I shot her on the right knee next.

This was for Riley. For the girls. For all of them.

I looked around the bunker. Maybe they would rot in here and nobody would find them. That would be one way to go.

“Let’s get the fuck out before the sheriff comes sniffing—” Before Layne could finish, the trap door opened again. “Fuck. I jinxed it, didn’t I? Shit, this isn’t good.”

Vincent flinched, eyes wide, taking in the horror before him as he came down the ladder. Blood drained from his face as he stumbled back, fists curling at the sides. “What…”

“He kidnapped me and tried to rape me and kill me,” Diya said, pointing to the mess of bodies on the floor.

Vincent flinched, before turning to look at me. “I got your text and met Jonah,” Vincent said. “He-he told me about what Holland did. How the hell did I miss that? I’m a cop.” He exhaled sharply, his face twisted with guilt. “Did Holland—did he really do that to Riley, to Millie?” He closed his eyes. “Jonah told me… how he kept us away from each other. Holland made sure we didn’t trust each other.”

“He’s clever, and he manipulated you and Jonah. It was one of the few ways he controlled you. He told me that he broke your toys and Jonah’s, and it wasn’t enough when he grew up,” Diya said, her eyes warm.

Vincent’s hands tightened into fists. “I always thought Jonah was the one who broke my toys, the one who killed my dog…” Vincent glared at his brother with disgust. “Holland did it and he blamed it on Jonah. I should’ve seen it. I should’ve figured it out.”

“He raped Riley, and they poisoned her with mercury. And she… Ellis killed her.” I bit my lip, blinking back the tears.

“And you did this for her.” Vincent looked at me, his eyes strangely kind.

I looked at Diya, and she subtly shook her head. He was still the law, and confessing to him, was not a smart idea.

“It’s okay,” Vincent said, giving Diya a reassuring nod. “You can leave.”

“You’re letting us leave?” Layne asked.

He nodded, his eyes earnest. “But tell me what happened to her? So I can find a way to keep you all out of this mess.”

Layne shrugged. “We poisoned her. To mimic a stroke. After we killed Holland. She’s paralyzed, and not moving anytime soon. If you repeat it to anyone, I’ll deny it.”

Vincent’s jaw clenched. He glanced from Layne to me, then back to his brother. “The gun was Holland’s,” he said, trying to put this puzzle together. “He poisoned Ellis. He played that twisted game with her, just like he did with everyone else. But… something went wrong, and she fought back. He hurt her, and she killed him.” Vincent sighed. “I know it’ll make her a martyr, and not a villain, but that’s the only way I can protect you.” He looked at me, eyes broken. “For Riley.”

I swallowed hard. “Vince…”

“I know,” he said. “I should’ve done more. I should’ve seen what was happening. I should’ve stopped him sooner.” He looked back at me, guilt tightening his expression. “I should’ve stayed by her.”

It took us so many years to finally fucking talk without tearing each other’s throats out.

The silence between us stretched, thick and heavy, but for the first time, it wasn’t anger.

“We were both too young, and we bailed at the first sign of trouble. You did it first, but I did it to her too. I ran when it became too much,” I said with a wince.

“Are they going to kiss now?” Layne whispered, and Diya chuckled.

“Maybe you guys should. You know…” Diya said with a wink.

“I’d rather kiss you,” Vincent said with a smile, but his eyes were sad and desperate. He wasn’t joking, not at all.

“I’ll break all your teeth,” I said. “Don’t even try.”

He shrugged, turning away from me.

Diya walked closer to him. Taking his hand in hers, she kissed him on his cheek.

His eyes fluttered close.

“You’re a great guy, Vincent.” She gave me a look when I scoffed. “And thank you for this.”

He pulled her into a hug, and I clenched my fists. Layne put a hand on my shoulder.

“Calm down, cowboy. Or he’ll change his mind and send you to prison. Once you’re there, it’ll be easier for him to seduce Diya.”

I glared at her. “Don’t give him ideas.”

“You need to leave. I’ll take care of this,” Vincent said.

There was no hesitation in his voice. Nodding, we climbed up the ladder.

“Is this it?” I whispered, looking at the setting sun as we walked out of the trap door.

“Yes.”

“What’s next?”

“We get the hell out of this place, and go home..”

The next two weeks were pure chaos. The whole town was caught in this storm of fear, disbelief, and rage. No one could wrap their heads around the fact that something so dark, so twisted, had been living quietly among them for years. None of us would have seen it if it wasn’t for Riley.

“ The evil next door ,” Layne read aloud. “Ellis Bricks, behind her polished smile and coiffed hair, was a predator. An insidious evil. She befriended the girls, watched as her husband raped them, and then pushed them to kill them. When he finally turned on her, after a fight, they both destroyed each other in a show of blood and vengeance.”

It was the hundredth headline this week, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last. Not yet.

“Vincent did good,” Layne said, setting the paper down. “He didn’t make her into a martyr.”

I nodded. “He did great.”

After we left that day, Vincent stayed in that bunker. He made sure the scene looked like two insane, toxic people who destroyed each other.

He scrubbed every trace of us from that place—no fingerprints, no evidence. No one cared Holland had died anyway.

The town was happy their sick mayor was killed, and his equally sick wife was locked up for life.

After that day, Vincent worked his ass off to wrap up the case neatly. He’d uncovered a mountain of evidence in Ellis and Holland’s house—enough to bury them so deep, that not even their ghosts could crawl out. It was like they’d been keeping a shrine to their crimes. There were photos, more than what Jonah found. Sick little trophies.

Photos of the girls they’d hurt, their faces frozen in fear. Newspaper clippings, obituaries… like they wanted to relive it, keep it close. It wasn’t just Hollow Heights, either. After Millie, there were more victims—girls from towns nearby. They made the murders look like accidents. But now, with everything laid out, it was clear. It had never stopped. They just kept changing their MO.

Ellis was locked up, and she was completely gone. Just trapped in the hell inside her head, and she’d rot in it forever.

“He saved your ass,” Layne said. “He tells such good stories too. He made it like the dagger always belonged to Holland.”

I smiled. “He’s good.”

Combined with Riley’s letter about Doctor T and the monster in the woods, Holland’s prints on my dagger, and his known connection to all three men? It was more than enough to make the murder charge stick.

“He’s sexy. If only he wasn’t in love with Diya…” she said, laughing when I shot her a glare.

“Diya thinks I’m sexier.”

She made a show of tilting her head, squinting at me. “Mmm… I don’t know about that. Maybe she just has bad eyesight?”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m just saying, if she ever gets glasses, you might be in trouble.”

Diya came out of her room, shaking her head at us.

“Why are you glaring at her?” she asked, kissing me on my cheek, before turning to Layne. “Layne, stop making him pout.”

“Well, it’s fun,” Layne said with a shrug.

Diya resigned from her job the day after the incident but decided to stay until the new therapist came. Today was her last day.

Diya looked at the clock. “I have my last session with Millie today.”

Millie read about Holland’s death, and it was like a flash. She was slowly remembering what had happened to her. She was strong enough, and she’d survive it.

Diya kissed me before she walked out.

“Are you excited?” Layne asked.

“I am… but I’m also nervous,” I admitted.

“Don’t be. She loves you.”

“I know,” I said, watching as Layne grabbed a book.

“Remember that,” she said, opening it. “Now, I gotta finish this before the ending gets spoiled online.”

I nodded and stood up. “I’m going to Hollowhaven.”

“Can you do that? You’re no longer a Hollowhaven resident, and nobody knows you’re still holed up here.”

I shrugged. “It’ll be fine,” I said, pulling the door open, only to stop when I saw Vincent standing there, hands buried deep in his pockets.

“I figured you’d be here. I just—” He shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. “Brought Jonah to see Millie. He really wanted to visit her. It’s been… a weird few weeks.”

That was putting it mildly. I could only imagine how hard it’d been for him. He loved and looked up to Holland once.

“How’ve you been holding up?” I asked as Vincent and I started walking toward Hollowhaven.

“I don’t even know,” he said quietly. “It’s just... a lot. My parents have been blaming themselves. And me. Everything’s kind of a mess right now, but I did what I had to.” He rubbed his face with a sigh.

“I’m sorry.”

“I should’ve stayed. Even if things didn’t work out with Riley... I should’ve been there. I was her friend before her boyfriend.”

“You’re not the only one to blame. I hated you because you were right. I abandoned her too.”

“I-I miss Riley.”

“I miss her too,” I said. “I miss the way she’d smile… after she pulled some stupid prank.”

“Or how proud she’d be when we let her win,” he added with a faint smile.

He was the only one who knew Riley like I did.

For so long, my memories of Riley had been the version of her made by Ellis and Holland. But she was more. She was brilliant, she was beyond what they made her.

“Or… or… when she sang in the school competition and everyone made fun of her,” I added with a smile. “She said they were just jealous.”

“She was terrible.”

“You told her she could become a singer,” I said with a chuckle.

“Well…” Vincent shrugged, his smile wilting.

We stopped in front of the gate, and Oswald opened it with a smile.

“Asher, it’s good to see you,” he said.

“You too, Oswald.”

Vincent and I walked into the yard, and I looked around, my eyes taking in everything.

I spent almost six months here, and these people had become a part of my life.

“There’s Jonah with Millie,” Vincent said, motioning to the swing. Jonah was saying something to her, and Millie… was smiling. Smiling.

Diya was sitting a few feet away, her eyes never leaving Millie. She sniffed a little when she saw Millie smile.

I blinked, trying to hold myself together.

“She looks happy,” Vincent said. “She deserves it.”

“She does.”

After Jonah left with Vincent, I made my way toward Millie. She looked up and smiled when she saw me.

“Asher.”

“How are you feeling, Millie?” I asked.

“Good? Good,” she said, nodding. “Sit.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes. It was comfortable. Then she opened her sketchbook, carefully tore out a page, and handed it to me.

“This is for you.”

There were no gray skies. No spiders. No broken graves. Just a blue sky. A forest in deep green. And I stood in the middle of it all.

“You used colors.”

“Doctor Sharma bought me new oil pastels,” she said with a small grin. “I think… I love colors.”

Diya and I went back around four in the evening.

“It’s time to leave,” Diya said. “I… think I’ll miss this place.”

We loaded the luggage into Diya’s car while Layne got into the driver’s seat, giving us a quick wave. I had to drop my motorcycle off with Vincent. He’d offered to help ship it to New York.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that, Maddox?” Diya asked once we were finally alone in the cottage.

So many memories in this place.

This spot right here… that’s where I first threatened her

“I almost feel sad to leave this all behind,” she said as she locked the cottage door. “This is where I found you sneaking that time I went on a date with Vincent,” she said as we walked past the cottage. “And this is where Dex caught me. I thought he was you.” She laughed like it was some ridiculous joke.

It wasn’t. I was shocked, and before I could react, the bastard had slammed my head against the tree and knocked me out.

“Where the hell is he?” I grunted. I should have killed him that day.

“Probably holed up somewhere, getting ready to destroy us. If I know Dex—and I do know him—he’ll come back. For me and Layne, this time,” she said with a long sigh. “He’s very good at biding his time.”

“So, it’s not over yet?” I asked with a frown. The idea of Declan still lurking out there, holding a grudge, made my skin crawl.

“Definitely not. It’s my life. You know… you started this for Riley. I killed for myself .”

“And for girls like Riley. I see no harm in that,” I said. She didn’t know how I loved her all the more for that.

“Would you be okay with me, still… doing that?” She looked at me, biting her lips.

I understood what she was asking.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, but what about Detective Knight?”

“I’ll be more careful, I promise. I don’t know where I’ll end up or what I want to do yet… but I’m really glad you’re here, Ash. Being with you—that’s the one thing I’m sure about.” She reached for my hand.

“I love you, Diya Sharma.”

“Sorry, it took me so long to figure it out. I just needed some time. But when I was stuck in that bunker, all I could think about was you. And how much I’d regret it if I never got the chance to tell you how much I trust you... and that I love you.”

She winced, her eyes clouding over with the memory.

“That day… I knew things wouldn’t be the same without you.”

We reached my motorcycle, and I handed her the helmet.

“You look way too hot on that thing,” she said as I swung a leg over the bike. She stepped in closer, her voice dropping into that low, teasing siren call I loved. “Hey, Asher… can you, like, actually have sex on this?”

“You’re insane,” I said, grinning.

She leaned into me with that wicked little smile, twirling the helmet in her hand.

“I swear, every time I see you in those tight leathers, all I can think about is getting them off you.” Her fingers slid slowly up my thigh, lazy and deliberate. “Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about it, Pussycat,” she murmured, pressing in so close I could feel her breath on my ear. “Because… you’re kinda making it obvious.” She trailed a finger up my cock, and I jerked away.

I clenched the handlebars. “Keep your hands to yourself.”

“Why?” she hummed.

I shook my head, taking the helmet from her and putting it on her.

“Now, go and sit. And do not touch me.”

She gave me a wink.

“Yes, sir.”