Page 16 of Haunted Heart (Things that Go Hump in the night #1)

SIXTEEN

I feel each creaking joint as my house settles again.

I feel the house more than my own body anymore, and it’s been so long since I’ve broken anything… I’d forgotten how it takes from my soul every time I take from it.

Hell weakened me. Killing that boy only made it worse.

But there is no rest for the wicked, as they say.

I pull my cellar doors closed, leaving a piece of myself behind to keep the broken boards held tight together.

If it snaps, I’ll know.

Rising through the floor takes more effort than it should.

Genevieve’s friend isn’t the only one who’s soul weary. I could sink into the bones of this house and let the joists or rafters be the coffin I wasn’t given.

I wonder if she’d let me.

I’ve haunted her, I’ve given her so many reasons to leave, and yet…

I look at the rug at the base of the stairs and the vase of flowers that have only just begun to wilt.

She’s here in little places… Fingerprints in disturbed dust, a piece of red hair caught in a hinge, the windows scrubbed clean to let the outside world—her world—in to mine.

She’s made her presence known in big ways too. The piano she insists on playing, despite it needing to be tuned, is fully dusted, a new cushion on its bench. She cleaned the kitchen cupboards last week and brought home dishes in patterns that didn’t match and sizes that barely stack.

This house is hers as much as it is mine.

I don’t want to give into this weariness. I want her.

I want to keep her, and wanting makes it easier to go on.

“Genevieve Delany Humphries.”

I look up to find one of my grandmothers standing in front of their house, broom in hand, a scowl on her lips.

“I think you have some explaining to do.” She glances at Jonas and then back to me.

“I definitely do,” I say. “Gran, this is my friend Jonas. Jonas, this is my Grandmother Collette.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Jonas,” she tips her head toward the front door, “the couch is already made up for you.”

He looks at me and then back to her. “Th-thank you.”

“There’s a protection spell on the pillow case, so you shouldn’t have nightmares,” she comments as he goes.

He gives me one last dazed look before disappearing, and my grandmother turns her attention fully to me. “Where is The Book?”

She doesn’t have to clarify which book.

“At the Whittaker house.”

“Did you use it?”

“Yes.”

She shakes her head at me, white curls bobbing. “How many people died?”

“Two, but only one stayed dead.”

Gran sighs and taps me on the nose with her broomstick. “Did you learn your lesson?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Bring The Book back to the house, right now , and I will give you the spell you should have performed tonight.”

“What spell is that?”

She glares at me, and I know she won’t tell me until I’ve done what she asked.

I turn for Julia's house while she turns for hers.

The lights burn low in the windows, and Julia hovers at the threshold, waiting for me.

The moment I make it through the door, she wraps me in her arms and kisses me… it feels like home.

I could almost forget…

Sighing against her lips, I draw back.

“I have to take The Book to my grandmother,” I tell her. “She’s… calm, but I know she’s furious.”

Julia scowls. Her face is almost back to normal, but she still looks a little… wrong. “How long will you be gone?”

“I’m not sure. But I will be back. And I will try to be faster than last time.”

She releases me from her embrace but doesn’t let go of my hand. “Would you stay here when you come back?”

“Of course.”

She twines her fingers in mine. and her brows pinch. “I mean, would you stay here… permanently?”

I bite my tongue because I want to laugh, and I don’t think it would sound like joy.

“You want me to move in?”

She nods. “After two hundred years thinking I preferred solitude, I’ve found that I would rather have your company.”

“I will… if you are okay with the fact I will have to make changes.” I look at broken stairs and the shattered lamps. “Are you okay with me adding electricity and updating the plumbing…?”

“I am.”

“You’ll need someone to repair this place, too.” I kiss her before offering, “Let me put your house back together.”

“Put me back together too.” Julia kisses me once more and then releases me. “Hurry back.”