Ghost Girl in Shadow Bay: A Young Adult Haunted House Mystery (8 page)

"Yeah, a few."

"Male friends?" She looked at him.

"Some. Why? Getting tired of me
already?"

Peyton chuckled. "Hardly! I was just
wondering because I have a friend, Lily, who's in Shadow Bay for
the summer--just down the street. She wants to meet a cute guy.

He grinned. "Cute guy, huh?"

Peyton flushed. "That a problem?"

"Not at all." Bryant grinned. "Is she as
pretty as you?"

Peyton kicked water at him. "No!"

"Didn't think so." He kicked water back her
way.

"But pretty enough for someone other than
you."

Bryant laughed. "Hey, don't worry. I like
you,
Peyton. We'll find someone else for Lily."

He really does like me, beyond the
kisses
. Peyton was jubilant.

She looked forward to giving Lily the
news.

"I like you, too, Bry."

"Yeah?"

Peyton got courageous and kissed him,
holding his cheeks with her hands. "Does that answer your
question?"

"Sure does."

"Thought so."

They exchanged more kisses before getting
out of the water.

"I guess we should probably head back now,"
Bryant said. "I've gotta feed Hugh."

And I've got to go back to a house where my
mother and stepfather are becoming more and more like strangers to
me.

Not to mention some other possible
inhabitants.

Peyton hid her dissatisfaction. "I suppose
you're right. I've got a few unfinished chores, too."

Bryant walked her to the porch. Peyton was
certain that their goodbyes would probably be interrupted. But,
thankfully, no one came out.

"I had a great time," he said.

"Yeah, so did I." If she could, Peyton would
have shouted it to the world.

Bryant looked down at her face. "Maybe next
week we can check out a movie."

"That sounds good." Peyton imagined that
going anywhere with him was something she was sure to enjoy.

"Cool." He smiled and gave her a quick peck
on the lips. "Bye."

"See you later, Bry."

Peyton could still feel the tingle of
Bryant's mouth on hers long after she had gone inside. He was a
great kisser and so much more. The summer was taking on a new
meaning for Peyton in romantic ways she had not anticipated when
they moved to Shadow Bay.

But even that wasn't enough to keep her from
feeling that something was very wrong in this household. And she
doubted it would go away easily.

No more than the mysterious girl, who seemed
determined to keep Peyton guessing.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Following a morning run the next day, Peyton
returned to the house. With Vance at work, she expected her mother
would be working in her office. But she wasn't there or in the
kitchen.

Peyton wondered if maybe her mother wasn't
feeling well and had stayed in bed.

But she wasn't in her room.

Since her mother's car was outside, Peyton
knew she hadn't gone into town.

So where could she be?

Not that Peyton wanted to sound the alarm
bells or anything. Then again, maybe she should.

Maybe that girl in the mirror had done
something bad to her mother.

For an instant, Peyton considered the
possibility that her mother might have gone to see Luke, even if it
seemed somewhat out of character. But her mother hadn't exactly
been in character of late and she did seem to like Luke and vice
versa.

"Mom...are you home?" Peyton called out.

"Up here," Melody answered in a hollow
voice.

"Where's here?"

"The attic."

Peyton ambled towards door that led to the
attic. She had gone up there once after they first moved in, but
found it too drab, cluttered, dusty, and plain old creepy to want
to go up again anytime soon.

She spotted her mother practically buried
between boxes.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I thought I'd come up to see if I could
straighten out some of this mess." Melody sighed. "Instead, I found
a treasure trove."

"Such as?"

"Clothing that looks like it could still be
worn today." She stood up, holding something. "And pictures that
speak of the history of this house and its occupants. Like this
one--"

Peyton saw the back of an antique wooden
frame. Her mother turned it around, revealing an old black and
white photograph of a family. Upon closer inspection, Peyton was
taken aback, putting a hand to her mouth.

The man, woman,
and
girl in the
picture were the same ones in her dreams. Peyton was sure of it,
honing in on the girl in particular.

So I wasn't losing my mind. Not exactly
anyway.

"What is it, Peyton?"

"I've seen them," she said.

"Who?"

Peyton pointed at the photograph.

Her mother looked at it again and back to
Peyton. "Where?"

She sighed, almost afraid to say. "In my
dreams..."

Melody's brow creased. "That's not possible,
honey."

"Yes, it is!" Peyton shook. "That girl...is
the one I saw in the bay...and--" She held up from revealing that
she'd also seen her in the mirror.

Melody sat the picture down and touched
Peyton's cheek. "We agreed that whoever or whatever you saw in the
bay was either a neighborhood girl or--"

"No,
you
agreed, Mom--with Vance,"
Peyton snapped. "Bry asked around and didn't come up with anyone
who fit the description or is even missing from around here."

"Then maybe it was something else," her
mother suggested. "Like a log or--"

"A
dead
person--" Peyton's eyes grew
large.

Melody stiffened. "Listen to me, honey, if
the girl you say you saw in the bay was dead, then she wouldn't be
the same girl in the picture. Why, it must be at least fifty years
old."

"I meant
dead
, as in a
ghost
,"
Peyton said uneasily. "I know it sounds crazy, but I think her
ghost is haunting this house...haunting me."

Melody sighed. "There's no such thing as
ghosts."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"But what if you're wrong?" Peyton
challenged.

Her mother peered. "Why on earth would this
girl haunt you, Peyton?"

"I don't know. Maybe because she was killed
by her father--along with mother and another man--and can't find
peace or something."

Peyton had read once about spirits trapped
in a void between life and the afterlife because of unsettled
issues. But never really believed it was possible till now.

"You have a vivid imagination, Peyton. But
that doesn't make it right."

"I saw it in my dreams...nightmares..."
Peyton sucked in a deep breath. "I'm sure it
really
happened--in this house in another time."

Melody frowned. "It did not happen,
sweetheart! And the people in the photo are not the ones in your
nightmare. Haunted houses and restless spirits simply do not exist
in the real world, no matter how much you may want to believe they
do. You couldn't have dreamt about a family who lived in this house
many years ago. For one thing, they may all still be alive today
and much older than the people in your dreams."

"You think so?" Peyton hadn't considered
that. Was it possible her mind was playing tricks on her? And that
no one was really murdered in this house?

"Why not, if they had a normal life span and
the picture was taken within the last fifty years or so," her
mother speculated. "Certainly the girl would not be a teenager
anymore. She could be a mother or even a grandmother today."

"Maybe you're right," Peyton allowed, though
still not convinced.

"I know I am." Melody's eyes crinkled. "Now
that's enough in this attic for today, I think. Let's go get
something to drink."

She took Peyton's hand and led her out of
the attic.

Peyton looked over her shoulder at the
picture sitting on a small table, seemingly staring back at her.
She wondered if it was truly possible to dream--or even
daydream--images that seemed to resemble real people she had never
met. Or dream about people who actually lived in the house in
another time, but in some ways never left.

* * *

Caitlyn watched as Peyton and her mother
left the attic. She moved over to the picture, studying it like she
once had her schoolbooks. The photo was taken when the family had
gone to visit her aunt in Michigan. Everything seemed so happy and
loving then.

But it would soon all fall apart. Everything
she had dreamt for her family had been destroyed. So had her
future.

And now it was happening all over again. A
new family had assumed all the dark forces that existed in the
house. History was bound to make the same mistakes with deadly
consequences, unless she could combine forces with Peyton to defeat
the enemy within. But it would not be easy, for Caitlyn's father
was as angry and vindictive today as he was so very long ago, as
though time had stood still.

Caitlyn refused to back away from her
self-appointed mission to make the outcome different this time. It
would soon all come to a head and she prayed that the curse would
be broken forever.

Caitlyn suddenly froze when she sensed her
father coming. He would be very upset if he found her in the attic
where she wasn't allowed.

With great willpower, the girl vanished,
just as a looming figure appeared. He scowled while looking around.
His eyes focused on the framed photograph. Whereas once the picture
had meant everything to him, now it only inflamed his hatred.

He made a sweeping motion with his arm,
knocking the picture over.

She would pay again for what she had done.
Pay dearly. And only then might he exact some retribution.

For now, he intended to keep an eye not on
only his family, but the new ones who occupied the premises.

Right up to the day they died.

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Peyton asked
Lily the following afternoon.

They were sitting in a café eating ice
cream. She had hesitated to broach the subject with her new friend,
but decided to anyhow.

Lily batted her eyes. "You mean like spirits
who only come out at night?"

"Yeah. Or even during the day."

"You're serious?"

Maybe she'll think I'm nuts
. "Well,
some people do believe in that stuff, you know."

Lily spooned a generous scoop of ice cream
from her banana split. "I guess I don't really believe that ghosts
are lurking around us, but I'm not saying it's impossible. Why? Did
you see a ghost?"

Peyton swallowed a spoonful of strawberry
ice cream. She thought about the girl in the bay, mirror, and her
dreams.
Was she just a figment of my imagination?
Or was she
something more ghostly?

Was it was possible the girl in the photo
and the girl Peyton had seen with her very own eyes were one and
the same?

"I might have..." she said.

Lily's eyes widened. "Really? Where?"

Peyton told her. "Then my mom found this
decades old photograph in the attic that had a girl in it who
looked just like the one I saw."

"Wow!" Lily sat back and stuck her spoon in
the banana. "So you think this girl is after you, or what?"

"I don't know. I thought she was trying to
hurt me in the bay, but maybe not. Maybe she just wanted to get my
attention...you know, sort of like to keep her company, or maybe
help her somehow."

Peyton checked herself, realizing how this
must have sounded to Lily. "I know I'm babbling--"
If she ran
away from me as quickly as she could right now, I wouldn't blame
her.

Lily tossed back her hair. "This is pretty
much over my head, but my Nana is into ghosts and supernatural
stuff."

"Really?"

"Well, she's not a ghost hunter or anything,
but she definitely believes that spirits exist all around us.
Nana's told me lots of stories over the years."

Peyton was intrigued. "Think I could talk
her about it sometime? Maybe she could help me understand what's
going on here."

"Sure. But be careful what you ask for. My
grandmother's pretty lonely, though she'll never admit it, and will
talk your head off if you let her."

Peyton laughed. "Sounds like my friend
Erica. She lives in San Diego and boy can she talk."

"Do you want to go to the bookstore?" Lily
was clearly ready to move past the ghost chat. "We can get some
coffee and people watch."

"Sure, I'm game." Peyton was only too happy
to enjoy some girlfriend fun, without the specter of ghosts and
evil spirits hanging over her like a dark cloud.

* * *

That evening Peyton was sitting at the
dining room table for dinner. Her mother and stepfather were
sitting at opposite ends, as if on different planets.

"I'd say we're finally settled in enough to
call this place home," Vance said. "What do you think, Melody?"

She smiled faintly. "You're right. My garden
is still a work in progress, but even it has the makings of home to
me."

"What about you, Peyton?" Vance's voice
deepened. "Getting comfortable with the surroundings?"

Peyton looked up from her salad. She thought
about Bryant and Lily. They had made her feel at home, but she
still missed San Diego, their old house, Erica, and her other
friends.

Then there was her possible brush with the
supernatural that had Peyton questioning a number of things,
including her sanity.

"Yeah, I am starting to like living in
Shadow Bay," she told her stepfather in what amounted to a
half-truth. Peyton met her mother's eyes and wondered if she was
truly happy there. Or was it more that she desperately wanted to
be, in order to make her second marriage work half as well as the
first one?

"Good," Vance said. "Once you start school,
you'll get even more acclimated and can start to focus on your
future."