Page 20 of Haunted Nights & Savage Sins
As much as I don’t want to be excited, I can’t help it.
The silly part of me who wants to believe that he is worth redemption wants to believe that he’s here to take me home. The more realistic part of me knows he’s just here to lay eyes on me and make sure that his business deal is still intact.
That’s all I am to him now, a deal.
Cormac and I are in the back of a very fancy truck. I don’t know what kind but instead of there being two rows of seats there is one long row that turns into a curved L shape. There is a partition that cuts off any interaction with the driver.
It’s dark and quiet. The same way it is in the house. I sit on the very last seat closest to the window.
It’s the first I’m able to see my surroundings in the daylight. It was pitch black when we arrived here from Ireland.
Now that I can see the scenery away from the dreary mansion, I’m pleasantly surprised.
It’s October and the towns and small cities that we are driving through don’t disappoint when it comes to decorations.
Back home, Halloween has always been a big thing. Kids and adults alike dress up and celebrate the spooky holiday. In fact, Halloween is probably one of my favorite holidays.
Not so much for the candy anymore but for the ability to just become something I’m not. On that one day, I can be anything I choose to be. I can be a superhero, a witch, beggar woman, anyone.
I didn’t think it was so popular here in America but I’m happy to see that I was wrong. Nearly every shop we drive by has some decorations out front.
Spooky skeletons, pumpkins, fake spiders and cobwebs. One store had a huge inflatable grim reaper standing in front of the door that would light up and move as people walked near it.
As exciting as it is to see all this, I can’t help but feel a bit depressed about it too. This is going to be the first Halloween in years that I won’t be able to take part. I can’t even go lookingat any of the costumes. See how the traditions differ in the two different countries.
If Cormac doesn’t want me leaving the property regularly, I doubt he’ll lift that stipulation just because it’s Halloween.
Besides, just living in that mansion is haunted-house enough for me.
I lean back against the soft leather of the seat, suddenly the silence in the large vehicle feels like it’s about to strangle me.
“I didn’t think Halloween would be so popular here,” I say out loud, only to get a grunt from Cormac who is focused on his phone. His fingers moving fast over the screen, obviously typing something out.
I’m not going to let him get off the hook that easily. “Do you get many trick-or-treaters at the house?”
He finally looks up at me. “No, no one makes it past the gate. No one has for years.”
“That’s sad. Your house has probably become the haunted house the kids talk about in their scary stories.”
“I’m sure it has and for good reason. I don’t have anything for them and they know it.”
“How do they know it? Don’t tell me you’re so cruel you’d turn away little children.”
“I’m not a child. The town knows better than to bother me.” He shrugs and tries to look back down to his phone. Except I’m not through talking.
Since I’ve been here I’ve said only a few words to him, now that I’m talking though it feels a little less lonely and I don’t want to go back.
“It’s not a bother. It’s fun. Do you ever do that? You know, have fun?” I try my hand at a joke that obviously doesn’t land with him.
“It’s not fun to have people I don’t know in my space. The gate is there for a reason and it will continue to serve its purpose no matter what time of year it is.”
“You’re miserable, absolutely out of your mind miserable.”
“This conversation isn’t making it any better.” His words slam into me. So much for trying to break the ice between us.
He doesn’t want to talk to me. Fine. Silence it is.
I clamp my mouth shut and turn to look back out the window. I’m not sure exactly where we are going but anything is better than being stuck in that house. At least the truck is warm. I revel in the feel of it.
