Page 13 of Camera Stays On

IT WAS A long morning, driving here and there. Collingwood was mostly farmland and housing. There wasn’t a whole lot of real estate or land in town, but the farther you drove, the more it opened up. Terrell took me to six different locations, two of which were just land.

As we were heading back with nothing promising to show for our trip, he got an email.

“Ooh, remember that mansion in the middle of nowhere we looked at two months ago? They just drastically lowered the price.”

“The one with the giant terrace?” The house in question was an old, abandoned, all-black mansion once owned by a mobster in the nineties. When he went to prison, the house had been left to rot. So, when the guy got out and saw the state of the place, he decided to sell it. I’d tried to put a bid on it back then but had gotten rejected.

“No one’s biting at the original price,” Terrell reminded me. “I think we might be able to get them down to your budget.”

I tugged on the corners of my mustache, considering it.

It was a huge mansion with a lot of land. It was just outside of town, but kids could bike to it easily. It would be perfect for a haunt. But even with a lower price, it would be tight. I might be having ramen noodles and bread and butter for a while just to get the lights on.

Unless I took Sawyer up on his offer. I stared into space, thinking about how he’d tried to be decent this morning, when just last night, I’d royally fucked him over.

“Could be a brother bonding experience…”

“Fuck it, let’s try for it.”

Chapter 5

Asher

Six weeks later

“THIS IS PERFECT. I can see it already.” Sawyer walked around my new house, a camera in his hand.

I walked through the estate, checking out the mansion I’d purchased for my future haunt. The dogs barked from the yard, where we’d put them on leads so they wouldn’t run in here and make a mess or chew on something.

“I literally just signed the papers, Sawyer. Couldn’t you wait even twenty-four hours before bringing a camera in?” I shook my head and walked into the large kitchen. Everything was covered in a layer of dust but looked unused. If the previous owner lived here, it hadn’t been for long. I flicked a switch by the fridge, and the garbage disposal whirred to life. Quickly, I shut it back off and continued my inspection.

“This is for the bonus content.”

I rolled my eyes but kept moving.

“I’m running out of time. We have to film this movie in the fall,” he insisted.

“Why? I’ve read the script. None of it is set in a specific season. Are you really set on that title, though?” I added, giving him a look that mirrored my confusion and slight disgust.

“Ash to Moth? Yeah, I love it, it’s a play on—it doesn’t matter. Yes, we have to film now. I have a vision for how I’d like it to look. Plus, this time next year you’ll have the haunt, and I won’t be able to shoot here. Tell the truth, if I were a client, and this wasn’t your property, would you not suggest I film here?”

I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t wrong. It was kind of perfect for the script I’d read.

Most of this place, despite having been abandoned the better part of thirty years, wasn’t as terrible as we’d thought. It mostly needed a new roof, and the plumbing would have to be completely redone. But otherwise, the bones were there. It just needed a deep, deep clean and some spackle here and there. It was still going to cost a pretty penny, though. Bringing in Sawyer was necessary.

“I need to get a roof up before winter.” I paused at a puddle on the floor and looked up at the leaking ceiling. “Did you get the money from those investors yet?”

“Yeah…about that…”

His slow reaction made me turn to him and narrow my gaze into slits. “What happened?” I couldn’t afford to fix this place without his involvement. Sawyer put his hands up in innocence.

“Well… they pulled out, but I have a backup plan. I do, Ash. Don’t worry.”

“You don’t have the investors? Sawyer—”

“I’m sellin’ the house!” he blurted. I snapped my mouth shut and blinked. He nodded. “I’m selling the house, Ash. I already spoke to Terrell about listing it. We don’t have to move out until it’s sold.”

“And where are you going to live after the movie?” I shook my head. He smiled and raised his arms.