Page 150 of Their Little Ghost

“Of course you do,” I mutter sarcastically. “You’re too nice for your own good. He killed you, remember?”

“Dad killed me,” she corrects. “Not Eli.”

“You’ve had my body for a year,” I snap, hitting the side of my head, as if the action will somehow get her to fall out of my head. “Can I get a little fucking peace for a minute?”

She must have listened as a deadly silence follows, making me instantly regret my outburst. Being truly alone is even worse.

Suddenly, my cell door bursts open. Bright lights from the hall flood in, making me squint to see an ominous outline in the doorway. A masked figure steps inside, and I jump to my feet. Two more masked men follow him, and the door closes behind them with a bang.

I clench my fists and hold them up like I’m preparing for a fight.

Lex chuckles from behind his black balaclava. He’s the one on the left.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Eli says to the right of Aiden, who stands in the middle. He raises his hands. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

“I’ll scream,” I warn. “The orderlies will come. My father will find you. He’ll lock you up and throw away the key!”

“No one is coming,” Lex says. “We’ve made sure of that.”

“I’m not Erin,” I hiss. “You can’t intimidate me.”

Aiden steps forward. “We know you’re angry, but?—”

“Fuck you!” I cut him off. I’m not playing by his rules. Not anymore. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Wasn’t I clear enough the first time? Leave me alone.”

“We can’t do that,” Eli says. “We’re the only ones who can help you.”

“I don’t want your help,” I hiss indignantly.

“You don’t have a choice,” Aiden says. “Your father will find out you’re back soon.”

“I’m a good actress,” I say, but my voice quivers.

How long can I really pretend to be my sister? I can’t lose control again or let her take over.

“Not that good,” Lex says. He takes out his cell phone and holds it up. “You need to watch this.”

“What is it?” My lip curls. “Another video of you fucking Erin?”

“You can’t hold that over us forever,” Aiden says impatiently. “We thought you were dead.”

“That doesn’t justify it,” I snap. “You aren’t crazy enough to think we’ll pick up where we left off, right? Too much has happened!’

Lex thrusts the phone into my hand. “Just fucking watch it!”

I snatch it from him and hit play.

It’s a video of Doctor Warner’s office.

“We installed hidden cameras, so we could watch your sessions,” Eli explains.

“So much for patient confidentiality,” I mutter sarcastically.

In the video, Doctor Warner sits behind his desk, shuffling through papers. He looks terrible. He struggles to keep his eyes open and drinks a coffee before putting his head in his hands. If he wasn’t partially responsible for trying to erase me from existence, I might actually feel sorry for him.

“Another depressed doctor? Big deal!” I say. “If you haven’t noticed, this place is full of them.”

“Keep watching,” Lex urges.