Page 81 of Middle of the Night

The conversation ended then, and Billy never got a chance to talk to Johnny about it again. For soon he was dead. Drugs, Billy’s mother told him in that worried way of hers, as if just mentioning it might cause it to happen to someone else.

For the rest of last summer, Billy had no desire to find the Hawthorne Institute himself. Thinking about the place made him sad because it reminded him of Johnny, the only person who’d taken him seriously when he talked about ghosts. Ethan certainly doesn’t. Sure, he pretends to be interested, but Billy can tell he doesn’t believe in them. Not the same way Billy does.

When this summer rolled around, though, his sadness about Johnny had faded, and Billy was ready to explore. He began gradually, making quick treks into the woods, going a little bit farther each time until he reached the road. Then he started exploring beyond it, eventually finding the stone wall Johnny had mentioned.

Then, yesterday, he’d found the breach in the wall and, without hesitation, pushed through it. After that, curiosity took over, pullinghim all the way to the top of the falls, where he finally laid eyes on the Hawthorne Institute.

What he saw disappointed him.

The place was huge, yes, and undeniably interesting. Yet he’d been expecting something different. Something spookier. Still, he was debating whether to explore farther when the man in the suit spotted him.

“Hey, you!” he yelled. “You’re not allowed to be here! Go away and don’t come back!”

Billy ran.

All the way home.

Afraid he was being followed but too afraid to look behind him to find out.

Now Billy knows the man is right. He should have had enough sense to stay away. Instead, he returned. And this time he brought others.

“Let’s go,” the man says, giving Billy a nudge that’s surprisingly gentle for someone so huge. “I need to find out what to do with you.”

He leads Billy along the gravel path, heading toward the mansion he’d seen from the top of the falls. As they approach it, Billy expects to feel nervous or afraid. Instead, by the time they get to the mansion itself, a kind of anticipatory curiosity has taken over.

This is where they talk to ghosts.

And he’s about to go inside.

The man in the suit guides him through a red door in the back of the mansion and down a long hallway. It leads to a vast entrance hall with a huge staircase and a creepy oil painting of a man surrounded by weird symbols.

The only other person there is a woman who pokes her head out of an office door. Peering at Billy, she says, “What do we have here?”

“Trespasser,” the man in the suit says. “Where’s the boss?”

The woman gestures to the stairs. “His office. This is either going to make his day or ruin it.”

Off they go, across the entrance hall and up the steps to an office on the second floor. “Hope you’re ready, kid,” the man tells Billy before they go in. “Because you have a lot of explaining to do.”

The fear Billy had felt earlier comes roaring back at full force. He shouldn’t be here. Not alone. He wishes more than anything that Ethan were here with him. Anger, sadness, and disappointment mingle with his fear, threatening to overwhelm him. He feels tears start to form again, although he’s not sure which emotion has summoned them.

Or maybe it’s a new one, sneaking up on him like a ghost.

Loneliness.

That’s what Billy feels in this moment. So terrifyingly, utterly alone.

The man in the suit nudges him into the office, where Billy sees another man in a similar black suit. He’s standing behind a desk, his back turned as he looks out a window overlooking the gardens at the back of the mansion.

“Hello there, Billy,” he says. “I hear you’re very curious about this place.”

Billy’s hit with a wave of confusion. How does this man know his name?

The answer arrives when the man turns around, revealing himself to be Billy’s neighbor.

“Mr. Van de Veer?” he says, stunned. “What are you doing here?”

“Please, son,” Mr. Van de Veer says. “Call me Fritz.”

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