Home, Sweet Haunt Read online

  “Laura, I—” Mr. Wilson began as he reached Nora’s bedroom. His voice dropped. “Whoa.”

  Nora and Lucas were wrapped together on the floor, a tangled mess of arms and legs.

  The room was covered with white feathers. It looked like it had snowed.

  The window was broken.

  And shattered glass covered Nora’s bed.

  CHAPTER 2

  When the mess was cleaned up, Lucas and Nora were both sent to shower. Then they had a “family meeting” in the living room. This was the second formal meeting ever in Wilson family history. The first one had been a few days after the fire. That meeting changed her life. Nora expected this one to be bad as well.

  Nora sat back into the couch. The fabric had once been soft velvet, but velvet burned easily. Rough towels covered the holes, and the floppy cushions were held together with duct tape. The sofa smelled like burnt toast.

  Lucas came in. His hair was wet and he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Lucas stomped across the floor as usual. He was the loudest walker in the world. Nora always wondered why the people who lived below never complained. After all, in an apartment building, their floor was someone’s ceiling.

  “That was fun today,” Lucas whispered to Nora. He took one last clumping step toward the couch. “We need to have more fun.”

  Nora sneered at him.

  “About our adventure—” Lucas began.

  “Sit!” Mr. Wilson interrupted. He directed Lucas to the space next to Nora on the sofa.

  Nora prepared herself to be punished. Although she had to wonder what more could be taken away from her.

  “After what happened this morning, it has occurred to us that you’ve both gotten a little stir-crazy,” Mrs. Wilson said, tilting her head at the kids.

  “So we’ve decided to let you go outside,” Nora’s father put in. “Run around and blow off some steam.”

  “We aren’t in trouble?” Nora bolted up to her feet. At her father’s strong stare she plopped back onto the couch, feeling the springs settle beneath her weight. Perhaps the day wasn’t ruined after all.

  “You’ll need to do extra chores,” her mother said. “And an extra math assignment.”

  Nora groaned.

  “Does Lucas get extra math?” Nora asked.

  “No,” her mother said. “He’s younger than you, Nora. You should have known better than to fight with him.”

  “He started it,” Nora complained, but then let the argument drop as she realized they’d said something more important. She had to be sure she’d heard right. “Wait, did you say we can go out of the apartment?” Nora would gladly do a million math assignments for an afternoon in the sun and a chance to see her friends.

  “It’s Halloween,” her father said, as if Nora hadn’t already known. “A special occasion.”

  “Yeah . . .” She wanted them to hurry to the going outside part.

  “You can go to the park,” her father added, squashing Nora’s plans to rush over to school and see all her old friends. Nora strained to hear when he turned to her mother and said in a whisper, “Mrs. Daugherty’s living room window faces away from the park. It’ll be fine as long as they hurry across the hall and avoid hanging around waiting for the elevator.” He glared at Nora and said in a louder voice, “Use the stairs.”

  “Stairs?” But there were so many. Nora began to complain, when her mother pinned her with a stern look.

  “We will watch you from here.” Their own living room window looked out directly at the park. Her mother’s voice was hard. “You may not go anywhere else.” She lowered her eyes at Nora and didn’t blink.

  Ugh.

  Going to the park was so babyish. There were swings and a slide designed for kids half her age. Then again, the park was better than nothing at all. Plus, if she thought about it really hard, Nora was certain she could figure out a way to get Hallie and Lindsay to hang out with her there. She’d need a plan, that was all.

  “Okay.” Again Nora began to get off the couch.

  Her father stopped her escape. “You’ll go today from noon to three.”

  Nora slumped back down. “But school isn’t out until three,” she whined. “Hallie and Lindsay don’t come around the corner until twelve minutes after! With that rule, I won’t see them.”

  Mrs. Wilson shrugged. “It’s for the best,” she said, flashing a glance at Nora’s dad.

  “That’s the deal,” her father said. “Take it or leave it.”

  “Hmmm.” Nora exhaled sharply. It wasn’t like her to break rules; that was Lucas’s thing. But maybe, just this once, Nora could stay out an extra fifteen minutes. She’d do two million math problems for the chance to see her friends.

  “I’m not finished,” Mr. Wilson said. “Nora, you have to take Lucas with you.”

  “We can’t go today.” Lucas grinned. “We’re going to have a Halloween adventure right here in the building.”

  “No, we’re not,” Nora said, frowning. The only adventure she was going to have was outside. With her friends. Hanging with Lucas was not part of the plan.

  “I saved your life,” Lucas countered. “You owe me.”

  Nora groaned. “I wasn’t going to fall out the window.”

  “Yes, you were,” Lucas began.

  Mrs. Wilson put up a hand to stop the argument before it began. She said, “Your father already told you the deal, Nora. Now you can decide if you want to go or not.”

  Nora stared at her parents for a long moment.

  “Oh, fine,” she said at last. “I’ll take the pest to the park.” She glared at Lucas and wondered how hard it would be to ditch him. With the way he’d been lately, probably impossible.

  “You better be ready to go out at noon. Not noon-oh-one. Don’t be late,” Nora told her brother.

  Without waiting for his response, Nora ran into her room to pick what she’d wear. A costume? Jeans? T-shirt? This was so exciting.

  “Huh?” She stopped in her doorway.

  Her parents had nailed a thick wooden board over the broken glass. They must have done it while she showered.

  Nora couldn’t see outside anymore.

  They’d also moved her bed back to the center of the room.

  “Bummer,” Nora muttered as she began flipping through her clothes.

  Not having the same jacket as Hallie and Lindsay was yet another bummer. She picked black leggings and a lacy hot-pink tank top. Tying her hair up in a high ponytail, Nora did her best to match Hallie’s and Lindsay’s costumes.

  “You look great,” Mrs. Wilson said when Nora walked into the living room. “A rock star.”

  “Pop star,” Nora corrected.

  “Oh, right,” her mother said with a smile. “My mistake.”

  “I’m ready,” Nora told her. “Where’s Lucas?”

  “In his room.” Mr. Wilson pointed down the hall. “Go get him.”

  Just to let them know how she felt about being her brother’s escort, Nora huffed.

  “I’ll be watching,” her mother said, indicating she was going to watch from the living room window. “Don’t leave the park.”

  “Got it. Got it,” Nora repeated impatiently before stomping down the hallway. “Lucas?” Nora went to his room and opened the door.

  He wasn’t there.

  She checked the bathroom and the hallway and her parents’ room.

  It wasn’t like the apartment was so big. He had to be somewhere!

  “Lucas!” Nora shouted his name as she wandered around looking in all the rooms again. Even her room was empty.

  She felt her blood starting to rise into her cheeks. Where was he?!

  Back in Lucas’s room, she found a note lying on his bed.

  It read: Happy Halloween. Then below that he’d drawn a picture of a cartoon ghost with a comic bubble over his head that said: Boo!

  Nora groaned. She’d made it clear she didn’t want to have an adventure with him.

  “I’m leaving,” she called out, in case
Lucas was hiding somewhere.

  No reply. Only silence.

  “Have fun by yourself,” she called into the air. Then, “See ya later.”

  Nora checked the clock. It was 12:05 now. Her freedom was ticking away. She rushed into the kitchen.

  “Mom,” she said, “Lucas doesn’t want to come with me.” That was true enough.

  “I suppose you can go alone,” her mother said, checking with her father for confirmation. He nodded. “Hurry to the stairs.”

  Waving good-bye to her parents, Nora opened the door to the apartment, and for the first time in what felt like forever, stepped into the floral-carpeted hallway.

  The park was quiet. All the kids were at school. The brightly colored hard plastic equipment was fun when Nora was little. The red slide seemed so tall then. Now Nora could easily reach up and touch the top platform. The slide was attached to yellow climbing cubes, which led to the blue-and-green monkey bars.

  Over to the side, across a sandy patch, two thick black rubber swings hung from chains attached to a purple-painted metal rod. A toddler’s swing, one of those seats with leg holes, was in the third space, nearest the slide.

  Nora went down the slide a few times before camping out on a swing. She opened the book she had brought with her, but she had trouble concentrating on the words.

  It didn’t take long to realize that the park would be way more fun with friends.

  By the end of the first hour, Nora sort of even wished that Lucas would show up. Sort of.

  Dragging her feet in the sand, Nora raised her chin up to feel the afternoon sun on her face. It was warm, but the air was crisp. A typical autumn day. It had been a long time since she’d been in the sun at all. Maybe she should have put on sunscreen. She was surprised her mother hadn’t insisted.

  Nora was daydreaming, thinking of how she was going survive the next two hours, clever ways to greet her friends, and what excuses she’d give her mom when she got back to the apartment after three o’clock, when she heard voices around the corner. Raising her head, Nora tipped her ear to be sure. Yep! Nora recognized those voices!

  With everything that had happened, she’d forgotten that today was an early dismissal from school. School let out at one fifteen on Halloween!

  This was awesome. Nora was going to see her friends without getting in any trouble when she returned home.

  Fast as lightning, Nora jumped off the swing and dashed behind some nearby bushes.

  It was going to be an amazing surprise. She was going to jump out and hug Hallie first, since she’d known her longer. Nora had met Hallie the first day of kindergarten. They hadn’t met Lindsay until the second day.

  Then she considered that since she talked more often at night to Lindsay, maybe she should hug her first.

  Or should it be a group hug?

  Nora still hadn’t decided whom she was going to hug first when the two girls approached the bush where she was hiding. She held her breath until they passed. Nora sucked her cheeks together and tried not to make even a single little peeping sound.

  “So what time should we meet for trick-or-treating?” Hallie asked Lindsay.

  “Seven,” Lindsay replied.

  “I’m sad to go without Nora,” Hallie said.

  Nora knew it. They hadn’t forgotten her!

  “Freaky, what happened this morning,” Lindsay said.

  Hallie pulled her pop-star jacket tightly around herself and shook her head.

  Lindsay put her arm around Hallie. “I think we should agree not to mention it ever again.”

  Of course. Now Nora understood what had happened. Popping up and down in the window frame as she fought with Lucas had made them uncertain if they’d really seen her or not. She wished she’d planned it on purpose. It fit in with the theme of the day!

  Well then, how about another fright?

  It would be the perfect way to surprise her friends. Forget the hugs. They loved being scared. All those movies they’d watched together while sleeping at Hallie’s on Halloween night. All those pranks they’d pulled on one another. This was going to be the ultimate. Hallie and Lindsay would be frightened for a moment, and then they’d laugh when they realized it was her. It would be just like old times.

  Nora grinned.

  As Hallie and Lindsay passed by the bushes, Nora tiptoed out of her hiding place. She crept up slowly, careful not to let them see her before she was ready.

  The girls slowed down at the edge of the park. Nora wasn’t allowed to go any farther, and she knew her mother was watching, so she had to act now. An inch at a time, she reached her hand out to touch Hallie on the shoulder.

  “Boo!” she shouted as Hallie turned.

  “Ahhhh!” Hallie screamed in Nora’s face. Her breath smelled like cafeteria pizza.

  Nora rested her hand on Lindsay’s shoulder and said, “Surprise!”

  “AHHHHHHH!” Lindsay’s shrieks practically broke Nora’s eardrums.

  “Ha-ha!” Nora giggled. “I got you guys good!”

  The two girls grabbed hands with each other and ran the last few feet to their apartment building. Nora could see their eyes bulging out of their pale faces as they took one last look behind them before slamming the door shut.

  “Wait!” Nora rushed after Hallie and Lindsay. “Wait for me!” There must have been something scary behind her for Hallie and Lindsay to have run like that. Nora timidly glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see someone in a realistic, horrifying costume: maybe an eerie horseman carrying his severed head under one arm or a blood-soaked werewolf with soggy guts hanging from his snarling jaws.

  She didn’t see anyone right away. But whoever it was could be hiding again. Like she had. There was a row of trees a few feet behind her. The person must be preparing to pop out and give Nora the fright of her life. Although she knew she’d be busted by her parents for leaving the park, Nora decided she didn’t care. Afraid of whatever was lurking behind her, she rushed to Hallie and Lindsay’s apartment complex and tugged on the door. It was locked.

  She pressed the buzzer for Hallie’s apartment. Then buzzed Lindsay’s.

  They didn’t answer.

  Nora kept pressing the buttons, figuring they’d pick up. But no one did. She swallowed her nerves and let out her breath in one huge gust. Whatever was out there, she’d have to face it, alone. Steeling her courage, Nora turned and started walking back to the park.

  CHAPTER 3

  A few moments later Nora entered the row of trees. She walked as silently as she could while she looked behind every one. She even looked inside a bush, but there was no one.

  Maybe this was Hallie and Lindsay’s Halloween trick on Nora?

  They must have pretended to be scared and then run away from her.

  That made sense. Nora had done something similar in second grade. It was hysterical when they were seven. But now they were older, and after five minutes of leaning on their apartment buzzers, Nora had to admit that the joke was no longer funny.

  Nora went back to the park swings and sat down. She wondered what had gone wrong.

  Nora had thought her friends would be happy to see her. She’d assumed they’d all hang out and have a great Halloween, just like old times. Nora was now sure of what she hadn’t wanted to admit: At best, Hallie and Lindsay didn’t want to be friends with her because she wasn’t allowed out of her apartment. At worst, they had forgotten about her completely.

  It was almost two o’clock, and Nora didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to be in the park alone for another hour. Going home seemed like a terrible idea since she didn’t know when she’d ever be let outside again. It would be a mistake to stand on the doorstep of Hallie and Lindsay’s apartment building and ring the buzzer another million times. They weren’t coming out.

  Nora could feel that in her bones.

  “Hi.”

  Nora looked up to see a girl her own age looking down at her and smiling. The girl had dark skin with golden eyes and sporty short hair.
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  “I’m Caitlin,” the girl said. “Are you new around here?”

  “No.” Nora pinched her lips together and quickly added, “I just don’t get out much.”

  “Oh.” Caitlin sat down on the empty swing next to Nora and spun around, twisting the chain. “Well, I’m new.” She let the chain go and the swing spun around twice before stopping. Caitlin twisted it up and let go again. “I moved to the neighborhood last month,” she said.

  “What school do you go to?” Nora asked.

  “Westside.” Caitlin said the name of Nora’s old school.

  “Oh,” Nora said, perking up. “Do you know Hallie Malik and Lindsay Sanchez?” Maybe Caitlin could get them to answer the bell, and Nora could start the afternoon over.

  “Nope,” Caitlin said as she considered the names. “It’s a big school. I don’t know many people yet.”

  “I see.” Nora frowned.

  “Where do you go?” Caitlin asked.

  “I used to go to Westside, but I’m homeschooled now,” Nora said.

  “That explains why you don’t get out much,” Caitlin replied. She sat thoughtfully for a long silent moment before asking, “Do you like it? Homeschooling?”

  “I don’t have a choice,” Nora replied simply.

  “Oh,” Caitlin said.

  The conversation faded again before Caitlin asked, “Want to see who can swing highest?”

  “Sure.” Nora used to be able to go the highest of her friends. Her ex-friends.

  The girls took turns pumping their legs and soaring. Nora was higher than Caitlin when suddenly, at the top of the arc, Caitlin leaped off her seat. She made a perfect landing, arms raised, in the grass beyond the sandbox.

  “Awesome!” Nora tried to do the same thing. Her landing wasn’t nearly as smooth, and she tumbled, rolling on the soft lawn.

  “Nice crash.” Caitlin laughed. She turned a couple cartwheels before executing a backflip. “I probably should have warned you that I take gymnastics.”

  Nora stretched out on the grass and looked up at the sky. “I bet you’re really good,” Nora said.

  Flopping down next to Nora, Caitlin replied, “I practice a lot. I don’t have many friends at school because I’m at the gym so much. I do tumbling and floor before school every day and vault and beam after.”