Page 84 of If I Stopped Haunting You

“Like hell you’re leaving me here alone.”

He didn’t try to stop her as he opened the door and Pentrudged after him, pausing in the hallway. All the doors were shut tight, no other sounds to be heard so early in the morning. The castle was painted in the silver-blue light of the snow beyond the windows, and the dark gray sky cast a strange, eerie hue over everything as small flurries flitted down to the already white-covered castle grounds.

She snagged Neil’s hand, squeezing tight as the floorboards squeaked beneath their shifting weight.

“Maybe we should stop running toward creepy noises,” she said. Her round, stormy eyes flitted over the hall, taking in the busts and paintings as if something in them might move at any given moment.

Tap-tap.

“Come on,” he urged, tugging her closer.

She settled against his side as they crept on. One step, and then another, their bare feet sinking into the plush carpet.

Tap-tap.

They paused outside the last door on the left, hands clasped tight as they looked from each other to the door.

“What do you think it is?” Pen asked.

Neil shook his head. “I’m not sure. Maybe Georgina? Should we… look?”

Pen swallowed as anothertap-tapsounded in the room beyond. It was Daniela’s room. Was there a ghost trapped in each room or section of the castle? How many ghosts were there in this place? Worse yet, if they died here, would they spend eternity haunting these halls too?

She shuddered and squeezed his fingers, motioning to the door.

As quietly as possible, Neil leaned forward and turned the knob, wincing with each click until the door popped open.

“H-hello?” he called, peering in.

“Get out!”

Pen and Neil screamed as they stumbled away, a barrage of pillows and clothes hitting them.

“Go!” Pen screamed, scrambling to stand.

But Neil stood frozen, eyes crinkling as he lifted a pair of lacy black underwear in the air.

“Penelope, I don’t think these belong to the ghost, do you?”

Pen turned to the door. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but a fuming Daniela wrapped in a sheet wasnotit.

“Would you twopleasekeep it down?” Daniela hissed as she readjusted the sheet.

“Who’s there?” someone called from inside the room.

Pen and Neil peered around the door to see Daniela’s laptop open and what appeared to be a large array of sex toys spread out over the bed.

“Zoe couldn’t make it to the retreat, and we’ve sort of been seeing each other. I finally got a patchy signal on my phone, so I tethered it to my laptop and figured we’d try some cam stuff,” Daniela said, leaning against the doorframe.

“I thought the internet was down?” Neil asked.

“It was, but the second you two went to sleep, it was working again. Well, it was, but now that you’re up, it’s misbehaving.”

“Dan… la? Losing…”

Daniela scowled at the laptop, her curls sticking out in every direction. She turned and winked at Pen. “No hard feelings, right? You and I were not a good fit.”

“From the looks… she… moved on,” Zoe said from the laptop.