The Awakening by Marley Gibson

Author:Marley Gibson [Gibson, Marley]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2011-06-15T09:04:35+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

"KENDALL, YOU SHOULDN'T SLEEP OVER at someone's house on a school night," Mom says Thursday evening as she loads the dinner plates into the dishwasher. That's supposed to be Kaitlin's chore, but she's in front of the television playing Guitar Hero with Okra Carmickle's little sister, Penny.

"But Penny's spending the night here," I nearly whine. God, I sound just like Kaitlin.

Mom waves a towel at me. "That's different. They're young and can't get into as much trouble as you can."

Jesus, Mary, and Saint Joseph! "I'm just going to Celia's to work on a project we're doing together. I'll be in the backyard, practically. I can wave at you from her window."

Dad strolls in and looks at my backpack slung over my shoulder. "Running away from home, kiddo?" Then he winks.

"I'm trying to go over to Celia's to spend the night. Mom's giving me a hard time."

I know she's still concerned over the whole talking-to-spirits thing and probably thinks if she just keeps me in her line of sight, nothing will happen. And you know, she's right. Because I am going to Celia's to do some research on the people who owned our house previous to Mrs. Elliott. And I am ghost hunting under my own roof, right down the hall from Mom.

"Why, Sarah?" Dad asks.

She totally gives Dad the hairy eyeball and flattens her mouth. "You know exactly why, David."

Dad reaches into the fridge and refills his iced tea. "Come on, Sarah. We talked to her like she's an adult and told her our expectations on her behavior moving forward. I don't think we have to do a house arrest."

Right, considering this particular house seems to be actually haunted.

"Hello! I'm standing right here."

"I know, kiddo. Go on over to Celia's. We trust you to be an adult. Right, Sarah?"

Mom knows she can't fight both of us. Besides, how much trouble can I get into, looking at the names of the former tenants of our house?

I quickly kiss Mom's cheek and then go to do the same to Dad. Something stops me, though. Cold in my tracks, right on the tile kitchen floor. A warming sensation throbs on my left hand, between my thumb and forefinger. It's like there's a gash there. But not on my hand... Dad's hand.

Reaching out, I seize his left hand and spread the fingers out. Sure enough, there's a large Band-Aid covering its side. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," he says.

Mom, the nurse, steps forward too. "Oh, David. Why didn't you show me this? Kendall, go get my kit, would you?"

Dad stops me with his hands raised. "It's fine. I'm fine. It's just a little cut."

No, it's not.

"How'd you cut your hand, Dad?"

"I was working on some plans and I guess I knocked my coffee mug off my desk. I cut myself when I picked the pieces up and threw them away."

"Didn't that happen to the guy before you?" I ask.

"I suppose so. Maybe the office is too close to the train station."

"There's no train in Radisson," Mom notes, as concerned as I am.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.