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The Haunted_Edit Copy 4-7-17

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“Whatever was in that house was evil. I didn’t believe him<br />

at first, but he started coming into school with weird scratches on<br />

him and was so scared. And I think the demon might have attached<br />

itself to Tucker.”<br />

His words were a twister that tore up the entire room and<br />

wrenched all my limbs apart. I opened my mouth, but my tongue<br />

couldn’t form words. It took me several tries before I finally went,<br />

with the utmost coherence, “What?”<br />

My brother glanced down at the phone that was lying on the<br />

coffee table, its silence reminding us of the absence of Trouble in<br />

the house. <strong>The</strong>y said they’d call when they had news.<br />

“He burned his own hand. He hit our dog with his car. I’m<br />

guessing you’ve noticed some other things wrong with him, too.” I<br />

thought of the lack of his necklace. <strong>The</strong> going outside when I<br />

smudged his apartment. <strong>The</strong> scratches and bruises. <strong>The</strong> smoking and<br />

the arrogance. <strong>The</strong> way he’d hurt me. My heart twisted into a knot.<br />

“Shit.” I slammed my fist into the couch.<br />

“I’m not saying it’s definite. But I’m saying it’s worth<br />

looking into.” Gunner chewed nervously on his lip. “And you should<br />

probably not be around him alone.”<br />

“You think he’s possessed?” I asked, my voice sounding<br />

very small.<br />

“Possibly. I don’t know. Every case is different. But he’s<br />

showing some signs that can’t be written off as just coincidence after<br />

what happened at the Johanssons’.”<br />

I pressed my nose against my knees. God. How was I<br />

supposed to react to this? I’d always been so afraid of something<br />

like this happening to me. Now it had happened to the person who’d<br />

been reassuring me all along that I’d be fine. My mentor. My guide.<br />

My Tucker.<br />

“Hey, Chelsea, it’s okay.” Gunner reached out to awkwardly<br />

pat my hand. “I wanted to tell you so we could get him some help.<br />

You can tell the people in charge of your group. <strong>The</strong>y should know<br />

what to do to help him.”<br />

<strong>17</strong>3

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