The Haunting of Sunshine Girl

Chapter 48

They're back at Tom Waters's house, again. Sunshine slowly steps up on the patio and clangs the door knocker against the wood, leaning back and nearly running into Nolan, who's being clingier than usual. Ugh.

Oh. Oh. The door sways open from the pressure of Sunshine's palm, a draft pulling the wind inside.

"Oh. Well that's dandy," Nolan says.

Sunshine frowns, heart thumping wildly in her chest. "The door is open," she mutters, more to herself than anyone, leading the way inside of Tom's house. "Mr. Waters?"

"Are you sure we wanna be in here?" Andrew asks hesitantly.

"Mr. Waters!" Sunshine whispers-yells, ignoring Andrew.

"Hey Tom?" Nolan calls louder, peering over their heads into the kitchen. As they walk past the living room Sunshine realizes most of the lights are off, save for one in the open study. The static of the box television gives off an eerie, unwelcoming vibe. "The door was open."

"Shhh, you don't have to yell," Sunshine grumbles, "What if he's, like, sleeping or something?" She looks into a side bedroom. "Go look in there."

Nolan shuffles over and pokes his head inside the dark room. "Mr. Waters?" he whispers. No answer.

"Sir?" Andrew tries. "Sir, are you there?"

Sunshine doesn't have a good feeling. The closer they inch toward the kitchen, the tighter her stomach seems to clench. She thrums her fingers along her jeans, twitching slightly from the pain.

"Okay, maybe he's not here, right?" Nolan pads up behind Sunshine and Andrew, hesitantly glancing around. "He left his door open, we don't need to be here when he gets back— let's just come back later."

Sunshine doesn't listen. She can't listen. Something buzzes in her ears and her mind feels like it's floating. "No," she replies, but the word feels foreign on her tongue. "I think he's here." She doesn't really know what she's saying, or what is happening behind her, but can recognize that gut feeling.

"Good," Nolan sarcastically says, "you think he's here. Great."

Sunshine makes her way into the back hallway next to the kitchen, blinking at the bathroom light streaming in front of her. "Mr. Waters?" She's not sure why she's calling out— he hasn't answered any of them yet.

Nolan frowns and checks in another bedroom. Sunshine peers into the bathroom, and Andrew nervously looks down the dark hallway. "Sunshine," Nolan sighs, "at this point we're basically just breaking and entering. That's all we're doing."

She looks at him, raising a brow. "We're not breaking in—"

A sharp bang jolts Sunshine into place. Her eyes widen and she blankly stares at the slammed front door, blocking their way out of the house. Oh, wonderful.

"Every time with the—" Nolan runs a hand through his ashen-brown hair. "I'm just saying doors, in general, I hate them now."

"What was it?" she asks, following him back near the kitchen.

Nolan widens his arms to his sides. "It was nothing," he says with an edge to his voice. "Of course, it was nothing. It's always nothing. It's just a—" He scrunches his nose and makes a vague motion.

"So he's not there," Andrew concludes.

"I don't think so. No, I don't see any Tom."

Sunshine has to refrain from rolling her eyes. God, he's in a horrible mood.

"Sunshine, let's go," he stresses, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"No. I know he's here." She slowly turns and walks into the kitchen, eyes widening when she sees a figure standing there. Oh! A kid! Wait, why is there a child in here? Does Tom have children? "Hey, kid, do you know—" The kid turns into another brightly-lit closet.