The Booker by Grace Hudson

Author:Grace Hudson [The Booker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: haunted house, m/m, Horror
ISBN: 9781645169314
Publisher: Grace Hudson
Published: 2020-06-21T23:00:00+00:00

– 27 –

When Barry emerged from the shower, Simon gasped.

“What? What is it?”

“You’re hurt.”

He had barely noticed the scratches on his arms and hands. They didn’t look too bad when he gave them a quick once-over in the shower. He stood in his towel, dripping water on the floor and feeling more than a little self-conscious.

“It’s nothing. Just a few scratches.” He held out his arm. “It’s not that bad.”

“Not those.” Simon grabbed his waist, turning him to face the mirror. He pointed at his back. “That.”

The parallel scratches on his lower back were dripping blood, the skin ragged at the edges. How had he not noticed that?

“Does it hurt?”

It wasn’t hurting before but now he was aware of it, the skin began to throb and burn.

“It does now.”

Simon guided him to the bed. “Sit down.” He studied Barry’s back, hands brushing around the marks, careful not to touch them. Barry shivered, the water cooling on his skin.

“Jesus, Baz, they look like fingernail marks.”

“I probably scratched myself on some wood or something.” He glanced over his shoulder. “How can you know for sure what fingernail marks look like?”

“Believe me, I know. And these aren’t happy scratches.”

“What the hell are happy scratches?”

“The ones you get when you’re doing fun things. Someone tried to hurt you. They ripped through the skin right here. We need to get you to a doctor.”

“I’m not going to a doctor. It’s midnight.” Simon glared at him. “I promise I’ll go tomorrow. Look, it’ll be fine. There’s a first aid kit in the kitchen.”

Simon returned with the kit. “Turn around.” Barry faced the wall, allowing Simon to swab the skin with disinfectant. He winced as the sting seeped into his flesh, cooling and burning at the same time. “Sorry, sorry. Almost done… there.”

Barry turned around quickly, realising that he was almost nose to nose with Simon. “Uh… thanks.”

Simon glanced at Barry’s lips, his gaze flicking back to his eyes.

Barry felt the need to break the silence with something. “So, um…” That wasn’t what he was going for, let alone a complete sentence.

Simon shuffled back on the bed. “Right. Well, are you going to tell me what happened or do I have to guess?”

Barry grabbed a T-shirt, pulling it over his head. He rummaged around in the drawer for some jeans. The towel dropped to the floor before he managed to get his jeans on. When he turned around, Simon was studying the lamp with furious intensity.

“I guess my answer is I don’t know exactly.”

“Hm?” Simon turned back, seemingly relieved that he was finally clothed.

“The scratches. You wanted to know what happened. I can’t remember.” He wondered if he should tell Simon about the ballroom tunnel. He decided against it. It was almost too difficult to make sense of it in his own head, let alone explain it in rational terms.

“It was a ghost, wasn’t it?”

Sometimes he wondered if Simon read his mind. A lot of the time Simon, or Felicia, depending on the day, didn’t seem too interested in things that didn’t directly concern him.

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