“All right. Thanks.”
“You know…” He kicked my foot and grinned. “Would have been nice to warn me you had recent spooks before you invited me to spend the night.”
“I did not invite you. You invited yourself.”
“You want me to leave?”
“Only if you’re uncomfortable staying. I understand if you’re scared, I don’t want any piss on my sofa in the morning.”
He grinned. “I’m not scared. I don’t like the idea of them, but ghosts don’t bother me. I’m like a repellent. Maybe because I’m always shielding myself.” Twitching his eyebrows, he added, “Maybe you should sleep with me tonight. I’ll keep you safe.”
I grinned back. “I’ll take my chances with the ghosts.”
“You’re no fun. But why don’t you just move? You own two other places nearby.”
I scowled. “You know way too much about me.”
“What can I say, I’ve been obsessing over you a long time.”
“Right.”
“I’m joking. Seriously though, you could move.”
“And leave it to my renters to deal with this? I can imagine those reviews. ‘One star, on account of the evil entities slamming doors at night. Do not recommend.’”
Orion laughed. “Okay, call Chapel then.”
“I will. And you think about moving into the guest house.”
He yawned, stretching his arms up. “You sure you’d want me living that close? I get the sense I annoy you. Well, sometimes I sense that. Other times you go blank.”
“I go blank?”
“Yeah, you slam the door in your mind and I can’t see nothing. It’s irritating.”
“Then stop trying to read me,” I said. “I don’t want you invading my privacy with your spooky abilities.”
“You’re just afraid I’ll see how much you love me.”
“Ha, ha,” I said. “But seriously, if you do move in next door, we’ll still have our own space. It’s not like you’re moving into my house.”
“I might knock on your door and ask to borrow cookies sometimes.”
I chuckled. “That’s fine.”
“Could I bring clients here though? For readings? As it stands, I always go to them because Chapel calls dibs on having clients to the apartment, because he has trouble in a crowd with his abilities.”
“Of course. It would be your home however you want to use it.”
He held his hands up. “Don’t accuse me of being a sucker again, but you should probably run this whole idea by Jaz first. I don’t wanna deceive him about nothing, or make him think we’re conspiring behind his back.”
“Even though he lied to you about things recently?”
“Don’t matter.” He shook his head. “I won’t have him thinking I’m plotting against him. He has to know.”
“I understand, that’s fine,” I said. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”
“Okay. If he’s okay with it, then I’ll think about moving into your dirty, smelly garage.”
“Good.”
He yawned. “Getting tired.”
I stood. “I’ll get you a blanket and we can turn in. You sure you don’t want to take the guest room?”
“Nah, I don’t wanna mess up one of your beds. Couch is fine.”
I got him a blanket and pillow, and he immediately slid down, closing his eyes. “I’m upstairs,” I said. “Just shout if you need anything. And there’s drinks and bottled water in the fridge. You know where the bathroom is.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled, sounding exhausted. “G’night.”
“Good night.”
I was equally exhausted, so after locking up, I got ready for bed myself, and was sound asleep within minutes.
I woke some indeterminate time later to a sound in my bedroom. It was still fully dark outside. I heard the tinkling of metal items knocking together, soft but distinct, and recognized it. Someone’s rifling through my jewelry. I didn’t have much jewelry, just a few expensive watches and rings on a tray on my bureau. But I knew the sound, and when I saw him in the shadows, in front of my bureau, my heart sank.
Is Orion trying to steal from me? Have I misjudged everything?
I sat up in bed, discombobulated, struggling to fully wake and blinking to clear my sleep-fogged vision. “What are you doing?”
He stilled. It was dark in the bedroom, so I could only barely make out his silhouette. “I’m cold,” he whispered.
Some excuse. Though sluggish with drowsy confusion, anger and disappointment edged my thoughts. I pushed the emotions aside to consider in the morning, when I’d be alert enough to deal with this. “My closet right there,” I said. “It’s a walk-in, there are blankets on the shelf on the right.”
He moved past the end of my bed and into the closet. I waited, but after about twenty seconds with no light or sounds, I wondered suddenly if he was sleepwalking. Maybe he didn’t know what he was doing. Maybe he wasn’t trying to steal. God, I hope he wasn’t. I want to be wrong so badly. “There’s a light in there,” I said. “Just pull the cord.”
I waited, but the light didn’t turn on and I still heard no movement.
“Orion.” Silence. I flicked on my bedside lamp. “Orion!”
“Yeah?” Orion’s sleepy voice called back…from downstairs. “Kurt, you calling me?”
My heart lurched and adrenaline flooded my system. I launched out of bed, grabbing an empty juice glass off the nightstand—the only thing I could find that may have served as a weapon—and ran to the closet, turning the light on. The closet was empty. There was nobody there.
****
“You definitely weren’t dreaming?” Orion slid a cup of tea to me across the kitchen table, my stomach still trembling and nerves jangling. “You know I’m no skeptic, Kurt. But it might have been a dream.”
“Wasn’t a dream.” I took a sip of tea. It was hot and soothing. More sugar than I preferred, but I didn’t care at the moment. “I was awake. The sound woke me up. I thought it was you.”
Orion pulled a chair out and sat beside me, frowning. His eyes were cute and puffy from sleep, something I noted even in my shaken state. I focused on that for a moment, his cute, sleepy face and messy hair. “Did it look like me?” he asked. “Because ghosts can play doppelganger sometimes.”
“It was just a silhouette. I assumed it was you because you’re the only other person here. Or you were supposed to be!”
“Okay, okay.” He squeezed my shoulder. “I believe you.”
“Do Spites do that? Appear as shadows? It was like…full human shaped. It moved like a person.”
Orion grimaced, then shook his head. “No. Spites are usually just poltergeist activity, shit moving around, doors banging. Not full apparitions. But I’m no expert. You should talk to Chapel.”
I set my teacup down. “It fucking spoke, Orion. It talked! Said ‘I’m cold’ and when I told you…it…to go in the closet and get a blanket, it fucking went.”