Page 18 of Ghost of a Chance

K irsty got up at six as was her habit and sat on her bed writing on her laptop for an hour.

She usually liked coffee when she was writing, but after last night’s disastrous encounter with Jasper she made do with her water bottle.

It was still dark outside and the fall of rain against the windowpane made her want to curl on her side and scroll on her phone.

Words didn’t write themselves, so she forced herself to prop two pillows behind her back to make herself comfortable. Then she hopped out of bed, cracking the window and letting the damp, chilly morning air into the room.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to expel the tension that had dogged her all night making it impossible to sleep.

As soon as she finished her pages for the morning, she googled around for mediums in the area.

Maybe there was someone she could talk to and find out what she was doing wrong.

Faking her way through wasn’t going to work.

There were two she could find, but both weren’t open until ten. She put the numbers in a new note on her phone and then set an alarm to call them later.

A quick shower and change of clothes and there was nothing else she could use to delay going downstairs. The TV had blared on at six thirty before being swiftly shut off.

Feeling surly, she slicked her hair back into a low ponytail, ringed her eyes in black kohl liner and then dressed in her armor of all black.

The frown on her face was just an added bonus.

When she got to the kitchen, she found Gia dressed in head-to-toe pumpkin orange and making pumpkin spice pancakes.

Dan and Jasper both had loaded plates and “Autumn Leaves” by Ed Sheeran was playing on someone’s portable speaker.

She liked the song but this morning she was more in the mood for “Black Parade.”

“Great, you’re awake,” Gia said. “How many pancakes?”

“One.”

“Did you hear the TV this morning? I mean honestly how could you not? Woke me from a pretty good sleep,” she said, pouring pancake batter in the sizzling pan.

“I was already awake, writing.”

“I jerked straight up and fell out of my bed,” Dan said. “After that I came downstairs and set up the camera in the living room to try to catch the ghost. But nothing.”

Dan had a wide grin, probably looking for some reinforcement. Why did all of the men in this house remind her of Chewie? “Cool.”

“Shouldn’t that have worked?” Dan asked around a huge bite of pancakes.

“Jasper would know better. Does the book have to be near the TV to turn it on?”

Jasper glanced over her, only to answer Dan. “Nah, I keep it in a drawer at home and it still fucks with the TV.”

“Well that’s not great. I mean how am I supposed to capture the action,” Dan said, more to himself than them.

Gia handed her a plate with one pancake, carrying a second plate with one for herself. They sat down next to each other, eating slowly. The earthy pumpkin and the rich brown sugar were almost enough to melt Kirsty’s frown.

“I guess you could follow Jasper around. He seems to be the trigger,” Kirsty said. “I have to make a call at ten this morning, so why don’t you two focus on that?”

“Focus on what? I have no idea when Paul is going to be active,” Jasper said.

He was ticked. Looks like she wasn’t the only one good at holding a grudge.

“I made a list of some information we need to gather. We could divide it up and work on it this morning.”

“Like what?” Gia asked. “Dan, you could film that. Maybe if we’re all distracted Paul will show up to scare us.”

“Maybe,” Kirsty agreed.

The list she’d made was simple.

·Paul’s class schedule (G)

·People Paul saw on a daily basis (J)

·Reasons Paul doesn’t want to move on (J)

·Paranormal activity in Burlington/rental house (K)

·Ways to free a spirit from an object (K)

She passed the list around the table.

“I wanted to check out the campus anyway. I’ll bring back lunch. I’ll text y’all later,” Gia said.

“I don’t have an answer,” Jasper said when he saw what she’d marked for him.

“I know. But you’re the only one who knows his family and friends. I think you should make a list and then we can contact them later,” Kirsty said.

“I’ve just added everyone to a WhatsApp group. Let’s put our updates in there. Dan, are you staying here?” Gia asked the other man.

“Actually I’ll catch a ride with you. I want to try to get some small cameras to install in the living room. That way I can get footage of the TV and anything else that goes bump in the night around here.”

“Good thinking,” Kirsty said. “They use infrared cameras on those ghost hunting shows.”

“I’m not sure what my budget is,” Dan admitted, scratching his head. “I’ll see if I can rig something up with my phone at least.”

Seemed like everyone had a plan of what to do. It didn’t take a mind reader to see that Jasper wasn’t thrilled that it was just the two of them staying at the house. He immediately took Chewie out for a walk after Gia and Dan left.

Kirsty settled in the living room with her phone and the two books she’d brought with her.

Awaken Your Psychic Ability and Mentor Medium .

Both books really weren’t helpful with getting rid of spirits, but more on questions she could ask the other realm.

She was a bit scared she’d drawn in a negative spirit last night.

Maybe something slumbered in the house that she awakened the night before. Or the wiki she’d followed for the séance might not have been accurate. Not her most rigorous research.

It wasn’t like she suddenly believed she had psychic powers, but she owed it to Jasper to take this seriously. Bringing down candles and salt from her room, she made a circle on the floor of the family room, which was empty except for a treadmill pushed into the corner and an exercise ball.

She took her time with the circle, reciting a mediation she’d read in a newsletter she got about moon magic and the divine feminine. Mixing magic probably wasn’t the best idea. But at this rate she’d try anything.

Sadly, it was a bust. Her only other idea was to try the incantation from last night one more time.

“I welcome friendly spirits who can help me find answers. All good spirits who are near this circle are welcome to contact me. I only seek information and mean no harm.”

Keeping her eyes closed she repeated it, chanting in a low voice, reaching out with her senses. If her third eye was really going to awaken…it needed to do it now.

Nothing happened. No cool breeze. No flickering candlelight. No creepy detached voice.

Nada.

Not even Paul seemed interested in his normal shenanigans. Her legs were starting to get numb when the front door opened. Chewie ran past the exercise room as Jasper’s tall frame darkened the doorway.

She got to her feet, blowing out the candles.

“Any luck?”

“Nothing.” She paused, giving him an expectant look. “We need to figure out why he’s so shy,” she said. It was the closest she was going to come to apologizing to him for her words.

“Yeah. So now you think I’m not lying?”

“Take the win for fuck’s sake. I never said that you were lying…

just that it wasn’t always easy to believe.

You and I both know that if we’re at odds he’s never going to perform on camera, and then Bri and Periwinkle Press will cut the funding and we’ll go home.

That means you and Paul together for the rest of your life,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, right.” He sighed. “I texted Paul’s mom. Hopefully we’ll hear something soon.”

He glanced down at her books spread out on the floor. Standing a bit straighter, she waited for him to comment.

“Brushing up?” he asked.

Taking a deep breath and then exhaling slowly, she forced herself to let go of the attitude that she’d been carrying around this morning. “Yeah. I mean Paul is stubborn. If we’re going to get anywhere I need to be at my best.”

“Fair enough. He always was a dick when I pushed him to try something new.”

Apparently that was his olive branch. She smiled. “Good to know. Maybe we can make him believe that talking to us is his idea.”

“How?”

“No clue. I need some coffee. I always think better with one.”

Chewie had found a warm place near the back door where some determined sunlight was trying to make an appearance. She concentrated on making her coffee from the pod machine.

Her panic at trying to figure out that concerning voice from the night before made it easier to understand Jasper. For a moment, it had felt like she was the one being haunted. If that was what his life was like, no wonder he was so certain about the afterlife.

* * *

Obviously it would be better if he hadn’t taken Kirsty’s statement from the night before personally, but Jasper wasn’t built that way. He’d thought they were bonding, getting closer. But in the end she’d dismissed him, like so many other people in his life had before.

She clearly didn’t know him, no matter how fated their encounter seemed to be. She was essentially a stranger to him. A very pretty, slightly irritating one. But still a stranger.

He ranted to Chewie on the walk, trying to make sense of Kirsty, but the dog only moaned and whined, rubbing his muzzle on Jasper’s sweatpants in commiseration. It wasn’t the first time Chewie heard about his problems.

Finding her with the séance kit, obviously trying to figure things out, had taken him aback. She had to be as frustrated as he was at not getting results. Admittedly, it could be because of her own career and reputation…but something told him that wasn’t the case.

While she started making her coffee, he lingered in the hallway like he was back in eighth grade, awkward and unsure of every move. He’d always been semipopular but inside he never felt like he belonged. So here he was again, letting his self-doubt prevail, hanging back waiting for a sign.