Page 51 of The Spirit Key
“Right then, what did you feel?”
He cocked his head. “Pissed, and it’s weird. When she got sick, I got angry a lot. I’d scream at her, and she would stand there, so goddamn placid. She would say, ‘I know this isn’t you,’ then walk away until I calmed down.”
Have you ever heard of a eureka moment? That exact second where everything just sort of comes together, and you understand things so much better?
Welcome to mine.
“Holy shit.”
“What? ‘Holy shit’ what?”
“She knew before she died.”
He looked at me as though I’d struck him. “What do you mean?”
An idea was forming in my head, and as ludicrous as it sounded to me, it was going to sound weirder to Tim.
Chapter Twelve
TIM’S EYESnarrowed dangerously. “What the hell do you mean, she knew?”
In my head, the synapses were firing in every which direction. It was insane, but it made sense in a weird sort of way.
“Your mother saw ghosts.”
He pushed my feet off his lap. “That’s crazy.”
“I know! Hear me out, though. She knew about me, or at least we think she did. She understood what was coming. I think, when she got sick, you were at your lowest point. The ghost latched on to you, and she knew it but couldn’t do anything about it. I think that’s why she was so calm around you. Strong, negative emotions give the thing power.”
He was right—it was crazy—but all the bits fit together perfectly. Yes, there were still pieces missing from the puzzle, but not nearly as many as there had been.
“Okay, go through this again for me. But this time, do it slowly and make sense.”
I jutted my lip out a bit and gave him puppy dog eyes. “But what about my soup?”
He drew away. “Oh shit! I’m sorry.” He stood up and started for the kitchen.
“Come back here. I was kidding.”
He turned around but shook his head. “No, I need to take care of you. It’s…. God, how do I say this and not sound stupid? I feel like it’s my purpose in life to make sure you’re okay. I’m not sure where it’s coming from, but watching you with that girl? I now understand things I didn’t before.”
“And we’ll work on them, but for now, come here and hold me.”
There was uncertainty in Tim’s eyes, but he took a few hesitant steps in my direction. As tired and hungry as I was, he needed me more than I needed sleep or food. He sat beside me and curled up, with one leg under the other. He leaned against me, and I wrapped my arms around his waist. Tim had always been the strong one in my eyes, but even the strongest of people needed to be held once in a while.
“Why is this happening to us?”
“Because there are things we’re involved in that are bigger than the two of us individually. I think that’s why your mom came to me. She needed me to help you so you could help me.”
He sighed. “Do you really think she was like you?”
I nuzzled his hair, delighting in the silkiness of it. “I’m thinking maybe she was. My working theory is that the ghost latched on to you at some point when your defenses were down, and your mom knew, but she was sick and didn’t have the strength to do anything about it.”
“Then why not tell me?”
I kissed his hair. “Would you have believed her? I mean, when I told you, how’d you react? She probably was using all her strength to keep you calm, because dark emotions gave the ghost more control over you.” I sighed. “I think he’s going to do to you what he did to his other hosts. He’s trying to break you down so he can take over.” I swallowed hard. “He wants to use you to kill more kids.”
Tim shoved me away and pushed up off the couch. “Fuck that! If my mom was like you and she knew this was in me, why didn’t she do anything about it?”
