Creep It Real

Chapter Two

The house is quiet when I get home — just the way I like it. Emma must be at work still. If she were home, there would be music playing from somewhere in the house or she'd be busy in the kitchen. But when I step through the front door, all the lights are off and there's not a sound to be heard.

I've always enjoyed the solitude. Living with my sister is nice, but when I get the place to myself some nights...well, there's nothing else like it. You can do whatever you want, wherever you want without being watched. The peace is the best part though. It feels like I can think for once.

I close the door behind me and flick on the living room light. It slowly fades on above the cheap L-shaped sectional and average-sized television on the wooden entertainment center Emma got from Facebook Marketplace.

That's one thing my sister and I don't see eye-to-eye on; her easy trust in strangers.

I should probably wash my face, but the bathroom is all the way at the end of the hall. From here, it stretches farther in the dark than it does with the light on. As I take a step, the aching in my legs shoots upward. The couch is calling to me. Come on, Claire. Sit down. I take another step, and my knees practically buckle. Okay, fine.

The couch takes me in. I sigh. Some nights after a haunt, my body and mind are exhausted. The setup is sometimes more hard on the body than the actual event. But the hardest part has to be carrying the gear. The helmets and other equipment are heavy, and they do their damage over time.

I close my eyes and my muscles begin to relax. Toward the end of the sectional, I feel the couch sink in. I barely lift my head when I see a blurry figure come rushing at me. My eyes flash open and I try to sit up fast, but it's too late.

Bailey leaps into my lap and begins to lick my face. I grab him and hold him back.

"Hi buddy," I say to the Maltipoo as he tries to lunge for another wet kiss. "Have you been waiting in the dark the whole time?"

He yips, and I take it as a yes. I lower him to the floor before I stand up. My back cracks loudly. Bailey looks up at me, blindly running forward as he walks with me into the kitchen. I turn on the overhead kitchen light. The off-white lighting washes over the out-dated appliances and cabinets. I wander over to the fridge and open the freezer.

Many frozen single-serve meals stare back at me, but I don't take one. I'm usually not hungry after a haunt. It's funny — I can sit through a gory movie while inhaling a plate of nachos without issue. But after a night in a dark building talking about fake ghosts and pretending to be attacked by them makes me lose my appetite.

I close the freezer and grab a granola bar instead. You need to eat something, Claire, Emma would say if she were here.

Sometimes I think she forgets who the baby sister is.

I head back into the living room with Bailey on my heels. Before I can sit down again, the doorbell shrills through the foyer. Bailey begins to bark, and that's even louder than the damn bell.