Page 18 of Chasing Ghosts
“We…I…Roxie. Won’t Roxie be back soon?”
“Hmm.” It’s not really an answer, and he doesn’t pull back or put space between us. His eyes capture mine and burn into me until there’s no place to hide. My whole body is shaking and on fire at the same time. If his thumb goes any higher, he’s going to…
“Such a sweet girl. So, kind and…trusting.”
His words hold me enthralled, so it takes me more than a few seconds to realize he’s taken his hand away and brought his thumb to his mouth. A gasp falls from my lips as I watch him close his eyes and moan around it.
“Guys, we’re back.” My head whips around to stare at the door. I know they are most likely coming through. I really wish I had a moment to…gather myself before Roxie sees me.
“Just a minute.” It comes out as a gruff command that makes me jump and take a step back. This time, he lets me go.
He stands up, and I take another step back before he reaches for me to pull me to him. His hand comes up to brush against my cheek.
“You stay close to me from now on.”
I don’t ask why. I’m too afraid of the answer. He waits for me to give him a nod before stepping in front of me and telling Roxie to come in.
I have more questions than I had before I came to this island, and I don’t know exactly where Mac and I stand. Did I makea mistake trusting him, telling him who and what I am? He promised not to use me, but was he telling me the truth? And why does he want me to stay close to him? Why did he…do what he did? The uncertainty has me all upside down and off balance.
Roxie can tell because she stays close to me, and her eyes are full of questions I don’t have the answers to. Mac makes her go outside so we can change clothes, but as soon as we’re done and call for her, she’s right back by my side.
“You alright, sweetie?”
I nod and glance over at Mac, standing next to Tray, going over the footage of the night before. His eyes are on me, and he’s…listening to what we are saying.
“You seem awfully quiet.”
“I’m okay. I mean, as okay as I can be knowing every time I fall asleep I might walk into the ocean and…”
“We’re not going to let that happen, sweetheart.” Mac interrupts me and comes to stand beside the bench that Roxie and I found and are sitting on.
I give him a nod, but I don’t know how much I believe anything can help or stop it. Not until I'm off the island and away from all the…things that seem to be happening to me. When I look up, I see the drowned woman standing behind Tray.
“Cori, baby…” I can tell when I look up at Mac again, he realizes I’ve seen something - probably because all the blood has drained out of my face.
Before I can say anything, the bench we are sitting on starts to tip backwards, and Roxie and I are falling.
“Oh shit!” Roxie’s voice has a slight sound of panic that mirrors the feeling in my heart as we fall all the way back.
“Oh my God!” I land on my back with my legs up in the air.
“What the hell?” I’m being pulled up and out of the hole we’ve seemingly fallen back in.
Roxie is being lifted out by Tray. When I look back, it's to find that the floor of the boathouse has given way and we’ve fallen into a…pit.
“What is it?” I look at Mac, who shakes his head.
“I don’t know.”
What the hell did we just fall into?
Chapter Fourteen
Mac
“It looks like…a tunnel.”
Roxie slips back in the hole and bends down to take a closer look. The hole seems to go back further.
