by Jenna Lehne
I crawl over the back of the couch and tiptoe toward the wooden splinters. “The bookshelf just tipped over. Maybe the wall brackets gave out.”
“Or maybe it was the wall.” Henry nods at a gaping, two-foot wide hole burrowed into the logs.
“Oh no.” I grab my head with my hands and close my eyes. “My parents are going to ground me 'till I’m thirty.”
“It’s okay, Murphy. The hole would’ve already been there. Maybe they knew about it before and just used the shelf to cover it up,” Oliver says. He’s always so zen when he’s stoned.
I smile at him and walk over to the hole. I run my fingers around the edge of the hole and they come back grey and ashy. A faded box catches my eye. “Weird. There’s something in here.”
“Let me get it.” Teddy crouches down next to me. “It might be dangerous or something.”
I bite back a smile. “Okay then. Be careful.”
Teddy reaches in and pulls out an old board game. “This is seriously creepy.”
Hayley peeks over his shoulder. “I think you mean cool.”
“What is it?” Peyton asks from the couch.
“It’s Ouija board,” Hayley says. “Some call it a spirit board. It’s a tool we can use to connect with the other side.”
Henry snorts. “Yeah, right.”
Oliver takes the box from Teddy and carries it over to the coffee table. “My great aunt had one of these. They work, dude. I’ve used one before.”
An icy draft comes through the hole and pushes my hair away from my face. Every single hair on my body stands up and I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. “We should put it back. I think we’ve had enough of the death theme for the weekend.”
“No way,” Hayley says. “We wanted ghost stories around the fire and now we’re going to get them.”
The wine in my stomach turns into lead and I get that creepy crawly feeling that something is about to go wrong, but I ignore it.
“Fine,” I say. “Set it up.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The entire living room is glowing, lit by the four-dozen emergency candles Mom insists on stashing in every drawer, closet and shelf. We’ve pushed the couches back and everyone is sitting in a lazy circle in front of the fireplace. I kill all the lights and pour myself another glass of wine.
“What do we do?” Peyton drapes a quilt over her lap, the soft fabric spilling onto Teddy’s legs. “Just grab the little triangle thing and ask questions?”
“It’s called a planchette,” Hayley says. “And no. There’s a process.”
“What kind of process? We have candles, what else do we need?” Henry sips his forth glass of scotch. He hardly makes a face now.
“Sage and maybe a thunderstorm.” Hayley arranges the Ouija board in the middle of the circle.
“I’ll work on the storm.” I flick off the kitchen light ten times in a row. “My mom might have some dried sage in the spice rack, want me to check?”
Hayley sighs. “No, that’s fine. Knowing our luck, it’ll light up like gun powder and we’ll burn the cabin to the ground.”
Oliver bumps Hayley with his shoulder. “Nice imagery, babe.”
Hayley ducks her head. “Sorry. Come sit down, Murph.”
I sit down next to Teddy and pull a pillow into my lap.
“Now everyone hold hands and close your eyes. We need to clear our heads and shit,” Hayley says as she grabs mine and Oliver’s hands.
Teddy’s hand is resting palm up on his blanket-less knee, his other hand is joined to Peyton’s somewhere beneath the fabric covering their laps. I slip my fingers in between his and blink in surprise as a butterfly wakes up and slowly beats its wings. Teddy presses his palm into mine and starts drawing tiny circles on the back of my hand with his thumb, making the butterfly float even higher. My cheeks burn and I can just tell they’re turning the color of the coals in the fireplace.
Henry looks at Teddy’s swirling thumb and arches an eyebrow at me.
“You’re supposed to be closing your eyes, Henry.” I squeeze mine shut, annoyed that Henry is paying so much attention to mine and Teddy’s hands rather than Teddy and Peyton’s.
“Are you guys ready?” Hayley asks.
I nod, even though she can’t see me.
Hayley takes a deep breath, the air coming out of her nose in a slight whistle. I bite my lip to keep from laughing. Teddy shakes silently beside me.
“We ask for protection.” Hayley’s chill, THC-laced voice is replaced by a stern, commanding one that kind of reminds me of our history teacher.
Teddy stops his silent chuckle and I grip his hand a little tighter.
Hayley’s voice cracks and snaps with the roaring fire. “We ask that we only communicate with spirits of the light. We ask that you shield us from the dark. Thank you.”
“Amen,” I blurt out, giving into years of Sunday school and church camp.
“Amen,” Pey snorts, hopefully getting a nose full of her lime-tinged beer.
“Shhhh.” Hayley glares at us. “We’re ready to start.”
Silence settles over us, thick and warm, like the quilt covering Peyton and Teddy. One by one, we release each other’s hands and reach into the center of the circle. We rest our fingertips along the smooth, cool edges of the planchette.
“We welcome you into this space.” Hayley drops her head forward and lets her hair fall into her face. “Is there anyone here with us?”
We wait, eyes peeled for any hint of a sign. The candles flicker and the giant log in the fireplace pops a little louder than usual, but that’s about it.
“If someone is here, please give us a sign,” Haley commands.
The planchette jerks under our fingers and I search around the circle to see who moved it. Dinner plate sized eyes look back at me.
“Holy shit.” Teddy leans a little closer to me.
“Was that you?” Peyton asks Hayley.
She just shakes her head. “Whom are we speaking with?”
The planchette twitches to the right. I fight the urge to tear my hands away and chuck the devil board into the inferno. I tell myself that it’s probably just Teddy screwing with us, but that doesn’t slow my racing heart.
“Someone should write this down.” Oliver leans closer to the board.
I pull my hands back before anyone can beat me to it and grab the pen and paper. The planchette darts between letters, moving shockingly smooth.
“K,O,R,” Oliver reads off the letters the planchette is pointing too. “K,U.”
The planchette returns to the center of the board.
“Korku?” Hayley asks. “Are you a good spirit?”
The planchette zooms up toward the symbol for no.
“Maybe we should stop.” Henry leans away from the board like it might bite him or something.
“It’s just a game, babe,” Peyton says. “Relax a little.”
“Shut up,” Hayley snaps. “Korku, are you a demon?”
The planchette swirls toward the sign for yes.
“I don’t like this,” I whisper as the candles flicker. The air in the room is different, more alive, more…dangerous.
“Why don’t we take a break and grab a beer?” Teddy takes a hand off the planchette and rests it on my hip. I let him keep it there.
The planchette slithers and slips across the board.
“P -U-S-S-Y.” I read each letter aloud.
Henry barks out a laugh. “Good one.”
“Fuck you.” Teddy rolls his eyes before he’s flung back so hard and fast he somersaults backward.
“Are you okay, man?” Oliver jumps up and helps him to his feet. Teddy’s face is as white as the blanket in Peyton’s lap.
“That’s not funny, Teddy.” Peyton stands up and finishes off her drinks. She looks more annoyed than scared.
“Sit down!” Hayley barks. “We need to close the circle.”
Peyton and Oliver drop to their knees and slide their fingers back onto the planchette. Peyton reaches up an
d tugs Teddy’s sleeve.
“Sit down, Teddy,” she says.
“Fuck that.” Teddy shakes off Peyton and storms into the kitchen.
“Grab the planchette, Murph. We need more people to close the circle.” Hayley nods at the planchette.
“That thing freaks me out.” I bite my lip and take a step back. There’s no way I’m touching that demonic board again.
“Murph,” Henry says softly. “Teddy was just fooling around. I know him—he’s probably just trying to score some sympathy points for later. Everything will be fine, okay?”
Typical Henry. When we used to stay up late and watch horror movies, he’d always be the one explaining why a shape-shifting spider was physically impossible. I hated it now, because it ruined the scare for me, but I’m thankful for it now.
“’Kay.” I sit down and wrap Peyton’s discarded blanket around my shoulders. I reach forward and rest the pads of my fingers on the planchette. It’s so hot I almost snap my fingers back. “Let’s get this over with.”
“What kind of demon are you?” Hayley asks once we’re all settled.
“You’re supposed to close the circle,” Pey hisses.
The planchette starts to move so quickly it’s almost vibrating. It buzzes along the board, twitching like a fly that’s been stuck in a coffee cup, until it spells out the words, “F-E-A-R.”
“Fear,” I say. “Great. We’re talking to the demon of fear. Shut this thing down, Hayley. Now.”
“We send you back where you came from, Korku.” Hayley’s voice wavers. “This circle is closed.”
I wait for the fire to blaze or the board to explode, but nothing happens. Too much nothing happens. No one moves. No one speaks. We hardly even breathe.
And then Peyton starts to scream.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The scream starts off as more of a moan, but it builds, growing louder and shriller by the second. Soon Peyton is shrieking her bloody head off, staring into the fire, batting away any hands that reach for her.
“What’s wrong?” Hayley grabs her shoulders and shakes them.
Peyton’s eyes, wide with fear, meet mine. “Korku is coming.”
I pull Peyton into my chest and stroke her hair. “No, he’s not. It’s just a game. It’s okay.”
“It’s not a game,” she whispers. “He’s here. In the house. I can feel him.” Peyton starts to buck against my chest until I have no other choice but to let her go. Her eyes roll back in her head and her mouth goes slack.
And then she starts to laugh.
“What’s wrong with her?” Henry asks. He grabs my elbow and pulls me back.
I grab a pillow off the couch and throw it in Peyton’s face. “Nothing. She’s just screwing with us.”
Peyton laughs even louder and grabs her sides. “I’m sorry, Murph. I couldn’t resist—you looked so freaked out.”
“Nice, Peyton,” Henry snaps. “Really fucking nice.”
I grab my empty glass and leave my howling bestie on the floor. Henry can deal with her now. Teddy is still in the kitchen, and even though he’s on his seventh beer of the night, he looks stone cold sober.
I walk up to him and squeeze his tense forearm. “Are you okay?”
Teddy blinks a few times before he looks at me. His face slides into an easy, yet totally fake smile. “Hey, you. Yeah, I’m fine. That board thing just freaked me out, that’s all.”
I rub my arms even though I’m not cold. “I know what you mean. Do you want to grab a few drinks and go down—”
“Hey, Teddy, can you come help me with something real quick?” Peyton breezes by, all legs, and grabs Teddy’s hand.
“I’ll be right back.” Teddy smiles apologetically at me and lets Peyton lead him toward the stairs.
Oliver guides a sleepy-looking Hayley into the kitchen. “We’re going to hit the hay. Spirit boards always suck the life out of Hayley,” he says.
“Sorry I’m no fun,” Hayley mumbles. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
I give Hayley a quick hug. “It’s okay, pal. Have a good sleep, guys.”
They disappear down the stairs, leaving Henry and me alone on opposite sides of a freshly opened bottle of wine.
“You’re not going to bed, are you?” Henry swishes his remaining scotch around the bottom of his glass.
“No way.” I fill my wine glass up and take a sip. “Wanna watch a movie or something?”
“I have a better idea. How about we grab this bottle and hit the hot tub?” Henry lifts the scotch up. He nods toward the darkness lurking beyond the patio door.
Stars, wine, and a hot tub. Now that combination does not suck. “Sure, give me a second and I’ll go get Peyton and Teddy.”
Henry nods. “Want another drink?”
“There’s beer in the fridge.” I spin on my heels and jog up the stairs.. Muffled voices meet me at the bottom of the stairs leading to the loft. I tip toe up the stairs, carefully skipping the creaky one. Teddy is sitting on the king sized bed with Peyton straddling his legs. She has her hands slipped up the front of his t-shirt and is whispering into his ear.
“What are we going to do at the lake?” he asks.
Peyton giggles and lifts his t-shirt higher, revealing his admittedly fantastic abs. She kisses his neck and runs her tongue along his angled jawline. He doesn’t kiss her back, but he doesn’t push her away either.
I walk backward down the stairs until I can no longer see Teddy and my traitorous best friend. Not only is she cheating on Henry, but she’s fooling around with the guy she supposedly wanted me to hook up with. I debate with myself about whether or not to tell Henry about what’s going on upstairs. At the last second, I decide not too. I’m not going to let Peyton ruin the weekend, not that it’s off to a great start anyway.
“I changed my mind,” I say once I get back into the kitchen. An angry feeling, jealousy maybe, has me reaching for the bottle of wine. Henry is still there, waiting with a couple of beers. “Teddy and Peyton can do their own thing.”
“So I’ll meet you in the hot tub?” Henry grins at me.
I grab my wine glass and drain it. “I’ll grab the towels.”
I grab a few fluffy towels and meet Henry outside. He’s already in the hot tub with a fresh beer cracked. We make small talk and stare at the sky. It looks like a piece of black velvet, sprinkled with diamond shards.
The patio door slides open and Peyton and Teddy come walking out of the house. It’s obvious they can’t see us.
“Is the hot tub open?” Teddy asks.
“Maybe,” Peyton purrs. “I think Hayley and Oliver are in it. Let’s go before they see us.”
They take off toward the stone steps that lead to the dock, leaving Henry and me alone in the chlorine-tinged fog.
“Do you want to go down there?” I ask a minute later.
“Not really,” Henry says. “I’m pretty sure Teddy will shut her down, but I’d rather not see her throwing herself at him.”
“Why do you put up with it?” I ask before I can stop myself.
Henry shrugs. “She’s always so much nicer when she’s guilty.”
I burst out laughing. The wine makes the steam swirl and dance. “You guys are fucked up.”
“I’d rather be fucked up and happy than normal and alone,” Henry says.
My laughter stops.
“Shit, Murphy, I didn’t mean it like that.”
I hold up my hand to stop him. “It’s fine.”
It’s always fine.
“You still haven’t mentioned him, you know,” Henry says. “I thought after the accident you’d at least say his name.”
“No one wants to talk about the past, Henry.” I pull myself out of the water and sit on the side.
Henry tosses back his drink. “Sam isn’t the past, he was my best fucking friend.”
Hearing his name makes my entire body break into chills. We don’t talk about him anymore, and we definitely don’t say his name.
“Sam,”
I say slowly. “God, when did it start sounding like that?”
“Like it was a swear word?”
I nod.
“Since you stopped saying it,” Henry says.
I close my eyes and say Sam’s name again. It’s been fourteen months and eighteen days since he died in the car accident that shut down my heart, literally for 45 seconds, figuratively since he took his last breath. I open my eyes. “I never thought it’d be possible to miss someone so much and be so mad at the same time.”
Henry looks down the stairs. “I know what you mean.”
Lightening illuminates the sky, followed by a savage crack of thunder.
“Holy shit! Hayley got her storm after all.” I scramble out of the hot tub and grab a towel.
We cover the hot tub and run back into the house just as another bolt of lightening flashes across the sky.
Thunder crashes so hard the window panes vibrate. Rain starts to pound the deck.
“Crap, Peyton and Teddy are still outside,” I groan. I grab my towel and wrap it around myself. It’s raining so hard outside it’s coming down in sheets rather than individual drops. I run onto the deck and squeal as razor-sharp streams of rain beat my hot skin. I squint through the storm and look down at the dock. I can’t see Teddy or Peyton anywhere. I run back inside and shut the door behind me.
“I can’t find them,” I say. “Do you think they’re okay?”
The wind picks up and the lights flicker.
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Henry says. “But I should go find them before the storm gets any worse.”
“I’m coming with you.” I run to the front closet, not wanting to waste time changing, and grab a few heavy jackets Dad uses when the weather acts up. I go back into the kitchen and toss one to Henry.
Before Henry and I can even step toward the door, Teddy’s hand smacks against the glass sliding door. Peyton is tucked under his arm, her forehead smeared with blood.
“Shit!” Henry rushes to the door and tries to yank it open. It’s locked. “Murph! How do I open it?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t lock it.” I grab the handle and tug. It doesn’t budge. I point toward the front of the deck. “Go to the front door!”