Guided

Chapter 2- Summerville

I was so happy I didn't get pulled over.

Driving in New York at fifteen with a permit, I was glad I even made it out of the state. I drove through seven states in forty-eight hours. I stopped three times at motels to rest, and more times than I can count to get food and gas.

I made it to Summerville and sighed in relief. I would be in my aunt's home, having a good sleep in twenty minutes. Eighteen minutes. The only thing that kept me going was knowing I would be home soon.

Aunt Jenny was always the fun one. The aunt that lets her niece have a sip of her wine at ten years old? That's Aunt Jenny. She always danced around the kitchen, listening to some inappropriate music while shaking her thin hips. She loved it.

I pulled into the driveway, bouncing my leg excitedly. I was going to spend a few weeks with my aunt. And it was going to be amazing. I grabbed my suitcase and backpack out of the trunk, almost having to slam the lid closed.

I unlocked the house using the key Aunt Jenny gave me years ago. Immediately, sung swears filled my hearing. I quickly shut the door. I knew there were kids in the neighborhood.

Aunt Jenny was dancing around the kitchen to a blasting speaker. She grabbed her own neck and ran her hand down her chest to the song. I smiled and raised an eyebrow at my aunt. She was hilarious.

She grabbed my hands and danced with me when a dance song came on. She twirled me, laughing like she was drunk. I didn't see any wine glasses or wine, so she wasn't. She pulled me into a hug and stopped her music.

"What are you doing here, gorgeous?" Aunt Jenny grinned.

"Thought I'd pay my favorite aunt a visit," I said, smiling back.

"Grandpa and Grandma not going to be home?" Aunt Jenny's smile fell into a frown.

"Not for the next few weeks, he said. So, I thought I'd crash here," I admitted.

"You're always welcome here, sweetpea," Aunt Jenny assured me.

"Thank you, Aunt Jenny," I whispered as she hugged me again.

She helped me unpack in my room. I slid on the ring Grandpa gave to me when I was eleven. Four years later, the ring still fit. He told me to look into it whenever I found myself out of place. I never needed to know what it was. All it was to me was a black sphere in the middle of a heart.

"So, did you drive illegally?" Aunt Jenny asked.

"How else did I get here?" I replied. "I am a damn good driver if I don't get pulled over for crossing seven states."

"Y'know, you really take after your grandfather," Aunt Jenny stated.

"Why? Because we have trouble with the law?" I guessed.

Aunt Jenny nodded. "Like father, like daughter."

"Like grandfather, like granddaughter," Aunt Jenny replied.

It was nighttime when Aunt Jenny went to dinner with me. She brought me to this fancy restaurant in honor of my arrival. She talked half of dinner, and let me talk about me finishing my freshman year. We left two hours later.

I stayed up until it was midnight again. The ghost wanted me to be here for something. A warning? Did the ghost live here before Aunt Jenny? So many questions filled my mind until the light flickered on again.

"Hello, ghosty. What do I owe for this midnight visit?" I asked, my words slurred from sleepiness.

My glasses and a book lifted out of my backpack. I put them on and looked at the book they pulled out. I smiled. "Yeah. I'm a big Harry Potter nerd. Started reading them when I was eleven. Finished them in six months. Read each of them over ten times by now." I looked between the two objects. "Did you read a lot, too?"

The book went up and down. I took that as a yes. I smiled and pulled up a book on my phone. The light turned off by itself, leaving only the light of my screen to show shadows of the room.