Mezzanine

| 22 |

Carter and I were silent as we walked down the street. Gray clouds streamed across the sky, but even with the sun poking through the gaps, after leaving the library, everything felt darker. Learning about what happened to my father—that something in this town possibly killed him—freaked me out. The idea that the same thing might be after me left me on edge.

My eyes darted around like I was expecting to find someone lurking in the bushes and waiting to jump out and attack. Chills crawled up my spine like a trail of spiders. I crossed my arms over my chest, shuddering as another gust of cold wind blasted down the street. October was almost over, and the days were only going to get colder and the nights longer and darker.

A pickup truck screeched by, its tires sending a spray of mud up from the road.

"Shit," I hissed under my breath as it splattered across my shirt and jeans.

"Gross," Carter said. He wiped mud off his hoodie as the pickup turned and sped off into the distance.

Before Carter or I could say anything else, my phone buzzed. I took it out, glanced at the screen, and shoved it back in my pocket. I knew who it was, but I wasn't ready to deal with it yet.

Carter peered over my shoulder. Who's he getting a message from? Is it Lola?

I did my best to ignore his thoughts.

"Are you going to answer it?" he asked.

"It's..." I started to say, but I stalled out and shook my head. "I'll deal with it later."

The idea of facing the way I'd driven her off last night made my stomach turn. I couldn't even bring myself to read what she'd said, let alone respond. I wasn't sure if it was shame, fear, or something else, but as much as I knew I should answer her, I couldn't.

"Okay." Carter's brow furrowed. I guess I can't blame him for not wanting to talk to Lola. It's a lot to process right now. I'm...scared. Whatever is going on, how am I involved?

I crossed my arms over my chest as we continued walking, the realization that this was all even more terrifying for Carter than it was for me becoming impossible to ignore.

What really happened to me last night? Carter's thoughts continued, like he'd forgotten I could hear them. What if I was like that crazy man walking down the street that killed Jay's dad? Was that why I was trying to hurt him last night? I was...possessed.

His thoughts spiraled into snips of memories from last night. The basement in the factory, the metal doll at the center of that hearth, and finally Lola and me forcing him to use the Ouija board with us, dragging him into this mess that was now terrorizing him.

I stopped walking. "I'm sorry," I said.

It took Carter a few steps to realize I wasn't with him. He paused and looked back at me, tilting his head to the side. "What are you sorry about?"

"I don't know." My hands clenched in fists at my sides, and my entire body shook. I felt like I needed be sick or scream, I wasn't sure which. "I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry I dragged you into this. This is my problem, not yours. I don't want you to have to—"

"What?" Carter cut me off, his brown eyes meeting mine.

I held back a shudder as I thought about the way they'd turned red last night when whatever demon possessed him took over and attacked us.

"I don't want you to have to go through that again..." I began. The wind whipped down the street, and I shoved my hand back through my hair to keep it out of my eyes. "What happened to you last night, I mean." Heat rushed to my face. I hadn't wanted to bring it up because I knew it scared him even more than it scared Lola and me, but we couldn't go on forever without talking about it.