Page 33 of The Ghost of Ellwood

Taking a deep breath, I went over and opened the door. Carter wore a black hoodie with a skull on it, and the studs in his ears had been switched out for small silver spikes.

“Hey.”

“Ah shit.” Carter studied my face. “I’d say you looked like you just saw a ghost, but given the turn of recent events I know that’s nothing shocking by now. What happened?”

“Let’s step outside.”

I joined him on the porch and shut the door. We went down the steps at a slow pace, both of us quiet.

I hadn’t talked to Carter a whole lot lately. He’d picked up a few extra shifts at work to cover for a sick employee, and I’d been working hard on my book. When wehadtalked, though, I’d told him Theo had appeared again.

“How’re things with the ghost?” he asked, once we had found a spot near the greenhouse to sit.

“Theo,” I corrected. “And it’s been okay.”

“Sorry.” An awkward smile touched his lips. “Has Theo said anything about his death?”

“He refuses to talk about it. That’s what we were in the middle of discussing before…”

“Before I interrupted.”

I bumped my shoulder to his. “You didn’t interrupt. I’m glad you stopped by.”

“Me too. It seems like forever, but it’s only been a few days.”

A leaf fell from the tree in front of us, gliding as it approached the earth below. Everything had a beginning and an end. Every leaf eventually fell, and every blade of grass died. Same with people. Yet, Theo would remain exactly as he was. Forever.

My reflective mood probably made me boring company.

Then, a memory sparked.

“Carter.” I faced him, my heart racing. “Do you know if there have ever been any other houses on Ellwood?”

“Hmm. Not that I know of. It’s only ever been Blackwell Manor and my family’s house.”

“Your house is pretty old too, right? Like same time period as mine?”

“Yeah.” Carter’s confusion only grew. He’d pierced his lip since the last time I’d seen him, and he played with the ring. “Why are you asking?”

“Because when I was talking to Theo earlier, he mentioned his best friend had lived in the house down the road,” I said, not able to conceal the excitement in my voice. “The friend he eventually fell in love with. And I think you’re related to him.”

***

“Sorry for the mess,” Carter said, picking up a box and moving it to the sorting pile we’d made in the attic. “I haven’t been up here in God only knows how long.”

“No problem.” We squatted to look through the box. “You sure this is okay? I don’t want to pry into your family’s personal things.”

“Dude, I’ve been meaning to go through this attic for forever. You’re helping me big time. Just as long as we don’t find, like, a box of Granny’s underwear or something, I’m fine.”

I snorted and watched as he pulled out the contents. Looked like another box of yarn, mixed in with mouse droppings.

“Ew.” Carter crinkled his nose. “This needs to be tossed out. Can you put it in the discard pile?”

“Sure.” I carried it over and dropped it in the growing pile of trash. “Do you mind if I open the window to let in fresh air?”

“Go for it.”

I opened the window and breathed in the fall day, ridding my lungs of the musty, stale air I’d been breathing for the past fifteen minutes. I didn’t know what we’d find up here, but if my theory was correct, Carter was Harvey’s relative.