The Haunted_Edit Copy 4-9-17 final final 5 Upload

“Hey. Listen, I know we haven’t talked much lately, and I
know we’re both really busy. But I miss you. Are you free Friday
night?” Her voice, on the other hand, sounded like the whimper of a
puppy that had peed on the carpet and was trying to make amends
by bringing a bone to her master.
“That would be …” my cheating wife guilt was a knife
twisting through my insides, abruptly stopping me from finishing
my sentence; it wouldn’t be fun because I couldn’t do it — “great,
on any other day. Sorry, Chelle. I’m busy Friday.”
“What are you doing? Working?” Of course this was her
only logical explanation for my being busy, because if I was free I
would surely have made time for my best friend who I hadn’t seen
in over a month. I definitely wouldn’t be ghost hunting with a cute
older boy and his friends. That wasn’t Chelsea Keller style.
“Uh ... no. I’m going on another ghost investigation.”
“Another?” I could practically see her freckles stretching as
her eyes widened. “Do you like, do this all the time now?”
“Um, kind of.” I picked at a frayed spot on my shorts. “A
few times, anyway.”
“Since when do you want to be involved in this kind of stuff,
Chelsea? You were always scared of it before. And, I mean, it
doesn’t sound safe to me.”
Maybe it was my guilt spurring a more favorable reaction,
but my face started to get hot. The unfaithful wife spoke up
defensively. “It’s safe. I’m fine. I have people teaching me who have
been working with the paranormal for years.”
“What happened to the girl who wouldn’t even watch The
Blair Witch Project?”
“She finally grew a pair.” My cheeks were burning.
Somewhere inside me the guilt was still scratching at my stomach,
trying to remind me that I didn’t need to get so worked up. But I was
starting to spread my wings and she was trying to rein me back in.
“If you want, I can tell you what this is really about. I can show you.
It’s not as scary as we used to think.”
“No, thanks. I’m just fine without Satan appearing in my
bedroom at night.”
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