Ruby's Ghost Read Free

She tried to ignore them; she shouldn’t have watched that horror film before bed. Every creak of the house set her on edge. She kept her eyes closed and tried to relax, but the longer she tried to pretend nothing was wrong, the worse she felt and the colder she got. A shiver rolled down her spine. This was ridiculous. She swallowed and rolled over, determined to prove to herself that there was nothing in her room and that she was just overreacting. Pre-exam stress and horror movies didn’t mix.
    Eloise cracked her eyes open. Nothing. An empty room. The breath she’d been holding slid out and clouded in front of her. It really was freezing in her room. Her eyes widened as a shadow moved and coalesced into a man standing in the middle of her room.
    Her heart jumped into her throat and back into her belly. Please let it be my imagination. She closed her eyes, counted to ten and then peeked again. Still there. The man’s image wavered and she could see through him for a second. Not a real person. There was no one in her room. It was just her imagination, or a ghost. A ghost. Right. She was going to have to quit the late-night cups of coffee too. The fear didn’t leave—it gripped her heart tighter as the man solidified. In her ears her pulse was loud enough to wake the street.
    Why did her parents have to be out tonight? Even though they’d been leaving her home alone since she was sixteen, she suddenly didn’t feel old enough to be by herself.
    Get a grip. You’re twenty, not two.
    She’d turn on the light and prove he was nothing but shadows… Then he moved. Shadows didn’t take lurching steps and turn around as if looking for something. She fisted the blanket and hoped he hadn’t realized she was there.
    She didn’t blink, or breathe, or swallow until he’d turned away. She had to do something. She couldn’t lie here paralyzed all night.
    Sure she could. What else was she supposed to do? The opposite of whatever the girls in horror movies did. She couldn’t think what that was.
    This could still be a really realistic hallucination. Yeah, that was way better than a ghost in her room. If she turned the light on, she’d see there was nothing there. Slowly she eased her hand out from under the blanket to the switch of the light on her bedside table.
    The man turned as if confused. Then he looked right at her and took a step forward. “Where am I?”
    Her mouth dried. That wasn’t her imagination. Her heart bounced against her ribs as if trying to break free. There was a ghost in her room. If she turned on the light would he get mad, or leave? It was too late to do nothing since he knew she was there.
    Eloise turned on the light and hoped for the best—whatever that might be. The man looked pale and scared. His left arm hung limply by his side, dripping blood onto the carpet. His image shifted, and he became less solid, as if he was having difficulty being here. Please leave. She held her breath and hoped he’d fade away, but he didn’t.
    He was still looking around the room, puzzlement drawing his eyebrows down. Then he lifted his head like he could hear something.
    “What do you want?” she said, trying to sound brave. Could she reach her bedroom door or would he follow? If she ran, where would she go? She sat up and made ready to flee if he came any closer.
    He didn’t move. He just stood there looking lost and frightened. If he were real, she’d be wondering what was wrong. Maybe he wasn’t a vengeful ghost. The thought wasn’t calming. There shouldn’t be any ghosts in her room. “Who are you?”
    He looked at her, then vanished.
    Sirens filled the night. Eloise got out of bed and walked over to the window. She couldn’t see anything, but she could hear more than one set of sirens. Police and ambulance in multiple. There’d been an accident close by. Maybe the man who’d just been in her room was involved. She shuddered and glanced over her shoulder, but he hadn’t come back. Why come here in