2|| Whispers in the Wind

11|| is everyone here insane, or is it just me?

Kalyani

"That makes sense... kind of. Why don't you chill out for a bit, then we can discuss this again," Evelyn suggested. She traced a pattern on her bedspread with a perfectly manicured fingernail. Kalyani always felt really out of place anywhere lavish, and Evelyn always had a way to unintentionally heighten that feeling. The only thing keeping her grounded was Jacob, who was currently scribbling obscenities on his arm with a Sharpie.

They'd snuck into Evelyn's room for a while so Kalyani could replay the terrible moments and the new information she'd collected. Evelyn shared her opinions- like how Jacob's theory on Roxanne was wrong- or that he was right about one thing: you just have to give the girl what she wanted. There was also another bomb dropped: there were more books on Roxanne out there- you just needed to know where to look.

So, Kalyani traced back to the first day at her old house, when she'd dared to get onto the dark web. The Stones seemed thrilled by the idea, suggesting that they look through it again on her laptop. Their dad was super laid-back; there would be no malware notifications on his end.

The highlight of her day by far, though, was actually meeting Jacob Stone. He was definitely not what she'd expected. For one, he was no more than 14 years old, not at all intimidating for someone labeled the town ghost expert. The one thing that lined up with her expectations was his stone-cold resting face, but even that was so out of place for someone so young. The only people she'd seen him warm up to were Evelyn and Wilder, who he seemed to enjoy bothering. Kalyani wasn't sure if she liked the persona he kept for strangers.

Now, he finally quit drawing on his arm and looked up at the girls. "You guys seem awfully convinced that Roxanne isn't totally guilty. It's the widely accepted theory that she did kill her family."

Kalyani frowned. "I... don't know. It's just a feeling I'm getting- I mean, I guess I did I hear a voice the other day claiming she was behind the murders... but I dunno. Maybe I just don't want to believe it."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "A voice?"

She blushed. "Yeah. Honestly, I can't tell anymore if it's my own thoughts or something she's putting into my head. I hate it- it's like I'm a puppet in her game."

Jacob swatted at a fly. "Spirits aren't strong enough to take over your body. You need to stop giving her power over you and she'll get out of your mind. It might kickstart more visual phenomena though."

"Sounds thrilling."

He rolled his eyes. "Do you want her where you can see her, or do you want her crawling into your brain and driving you nuts?"

Before she could conjure up that wonderful image, the door flew open. It was Arlo. Yes, Arlo was at Evelyn's house. Kalyani had wanted her there, and it took tons of bribery and a promise of free dinner from Wilder to convince Evelyn to invite her. "What are you guys doing? You've been away so long," Arlo frowned.

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "That's none of your business."

Arlo crossed her arms and leaned back against the door. "And what if I want to know what's going on?"

"Since when does this matter to you?"

"Since now. So come on, tell me."

Evelyn stood up abruptly. "It's up to Kalyani, and I don't know how much she wants say. We three can continue this conversation another time, K. Sorry."

She shouldered Arlo out of the way and took her leave. Jacob made an apologetic face and and followed.

"What's up with her? Why does she hate you so much?" Kalyani asked.