Page 12 of We Live Here Now

“Did you used to live in this house?”

No movement. I swallow hard before I ask the next question.

“Did you die in this house?”

Everything stills. I hear nothing, not even my own heart beating, as if I’ve been plunged into a vacuum, as if every atom has been sucked out of the world.

“This is freaking me out now.” Cat’s voice is quiet, more mouse than cat. “Maybe we should stop.” No one answers and she doesn’t move. I can’t stop. Not now. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.

“Did you die in this house?” My lips move and my throat vibrates so I know I’m speaking but I hear nothing. The bubble has become a pressure on my chest, the house shrinking into the vacuum, and I’m not sure I’m even breathing. I try to lift my fingers from the planchette but I can’t move my hand. All of gravity is holding it there. Is there pressure in a vacuum? What is happening? Is Iso feeling this too?

“How can we help you?” she asks.

The candles glow brighter and my ears pop. I feeldistanced.Suddenly my hand moves, Iso’s too, pulled from letter to letter, getting faster and faster, so fast my eyes can’t keep up.

FINDITFINDITFINDITFINDITFINDIT

“What the fuck?” Even Mark stares when our hands finally stop moving. “Find what?”

“Stop it, you two. You’ve had your laugh.”

Another question comes to me, and I ignore Freddie and ask it.

“Were you murdered in this house?”

The effect is immediate. The air in front of me ripples like water, and I’m wondering if Iso can see it too when—

My arm jolts forward, out of my control. I hear Iso yelp as hers does the same, our fingers stuck to the planchette, the sudden yanking jarring my shoulder, and I know I’m being pulled to theYeswhen suddenly—

There’s a loud banging on the front door and the candles go out.

15

Emily

“This is very kind.” The vicar, pouring from a bottle of red wine, smiles thankfully at Freddie as he puts a plate and knife down so he can have some of the cheese board. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Thank you for saving me from a flat battery,” Mark says. “Left the headlights on to unload the car and was too keen to get warm to remember to turn them off.”

“We’re having a belated Christmas for Emily,” Iso says, her face still flushed. “She’s been in the hospital.”

“And it’s nice to have surprise visitors at Christmas.” I steer the chat quickly away from having to go through the story of my accident.

“We were doing a Ouija board,” Russell says, “when you knocked. You scared the crap out of us.”

“Russ.” Cat fires him a look and he shrugs—What?—although he knows exactly what. But if he was hoping to shock or offend Paul, then he’s failed because in fact the vicar looks delighted.

“Oh really?”

“It was getting very creepy when you arrived.” Cat passes him the Stilton. “I don’t know whether it was Iso or Emily or both who were moving the planchette, but they definitely freaked me out.”

We’d all shrieked like an axe murderer was in the house when the candles blew out at the same time as Paul banged on the door. The shrieks quickly turned to laughter as we hurriedly switched on the lights and hid the board, but it was still an odd coincidence. Did a draft blow the candles out? Was it a sign ofsomething? Nowthat the lights are back on, it’s hard to be sure exactly whatdidhappen.

“It wasn’t me,” Iso repeats, although now that the lights are on I do have to wonder. It would be a very Iso thing to do. “And it was creepy or interesting, depending on your perspective.”

“Whichever way, it was probably a good time to stop,” Mark says. “Childish, really.”

“Emily thinks the house is haunted.” Iso ignores Mark and turns to the vicar. “She’s got afeeling.And—no surprise—the board agreed.”

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