2

“Hey, stranger,” he says, sliding into his usual booth by the window. “Got a minute?”

I shake my head but smile despite myself. “Barely. Mrs. Patel has me running around like crazy.”

“Yeah, yeah, but you’ve always got time for me, right?” Liam leans back in his seat, giving me that mischievous look that always makes it hard to stay mad at him.

I roll my eyes, wiping my hands on the towel hanging from my apron. “Fine. What’s the gossip today?”

Liam’s eyes light up as he leans in, lowering his voice as if we’re sharing some grand secret. “Alright, so you know that old mansion on the edge of town? The one everyone says is haunted?”

I nod. Everyone in town knows about that place. It’s been abandoned for as long as I can remember, and no one ever goes near it. Not unless they’re looking for trouble.

“Well,” Liam continues, “I heard some new guy bought it. Moved in a few weeks ago, apparently. Rich, mysterious, you know the type.”

I raise an eyebrow. “And? People buy houses all the time. What’s so special about this guy?”

Liam leans forward, his voice dropping even lower. “The thing is, no one’s seen him. He shows up out of nowhere, buys the place, and now there are all these rumors about weird things happening around the mansion. Shadows moving when they shouldn’t, strange noises at night. That kind of thing.”

“Sounds like town gossip,” I say, but there’s a part of me that’s intrigued. The mansion has always been a source of fascination for people around here, and it’s easy to imagine them spinning stories about anyone who dares to live there.

“Maybe,” Liam admits, “but I thought it’d be fun to check it out. You and me, tonight. What do you say?”

I snort, shaking my head. “You want to sneak into some rich guy’s house just because people are saying it’s haunted? Sounds like a terrible idea.”

“Come on, where’s your sense of adventure?” Liam grins, nudging my arm. “It’ll be fun. Besides, when’s the last time you did something exciting?”

I open my mouth to argue, but I can’t think of a good response. He’s not wrong. My life is about as far from exciting as it gets. Day in and day out, I’m either here at the restaurant or at Aunt Tessa’s house, trying to avoid her glares. Maybe a little adventure wouldn’t hurt.

Before I can say anything, Mrs. Patel pokes her head out of the kitchen. “Selene, I need you in here.”

I sigh, giving Liam an apologetic look. “I’ll think about it, okay? But no promises.”

Liam grins, clearly satisfied with that. “That’s all I ask.”

I head back to the kitchen, where Mrs. Patel hands me another stack of dishes. The rest of the day passes in a blur of orders, dishes, and tired feet. By the time my shift ends, the sun is dipping below the horizon, casting long shadows across the street outside.

I step out into the cool evening air, I spot Liam waiting for me by the door. His grin is as wide as ever.

“Ready?” he asks, like I’ve already agreed to his crazy plan.

I groan but can’t help smiling. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“Never.” He slings an arm around my shoulders as we walk down the street. “Come on, Selene. It’ll be fun. Just think of it as a little adventure.”

For a moment, I almost believe him. It feels good to laugh, to let go of the weight that’s always pressing down on me. But as we walk, that strange feeling creeps back—the one I’ve been trying to ignore. Like someone’s watching me. I glance over my shoulder, half-expecting to see the figure from the night before. But there’s nothing there. Just the empty street, the wind rustling the leaves.

I shake it off, telling myself it’s just my imagination. After all, ghosts aren’t real. Right?

The mansion was massive, larger than I had ever imagined. Its sheer size made me feel small, like a speck of dust in the shadow of something ancient. As we walked closer, I felt the weight of it looming over us, an old beast that had long been forgotten by the world but still carried the memory of every soul who had ever crossed its threshold.

I glanced up, and for a moment, I thought I saw movement behind the grimy windows. But when I blinked, it was gone—just shadows, I told myself. Still, a chill crept down my spine. The place looked like it had been abandoned for centuries, left to decay and wither away under the weight of time.

The front gate, which once might have been an imposing barrier, was now rusted and hanging off its hinges, the wrought iron curling into twisted shapes that looked like something from a nightmare. Liam pushed it open with a creak, and the sound made me flinch, though he didn’t seem to notice. I followed him up the overgrown path, weeds and dead leaves crunching under our feet, the silence of the place pressing down on me.

The front door was slightly ajar, a gaping mouth inviting us in. It was huge—made of dark wood and carved with strange, swirling designs that I couldn’t quite make out. Ancient symbols, maybe. I didn’t like the way they seemed to shimmer in the fading light, as if they held some forgotten power. I hesitated at the threshold, my hand hovering over the handle.

“Come on, Selene,” Liam called, already inside. “It’s just an old house.”

Just an old house. Yeah, right. I took a deep breath and stepped inside, immediately feeling the temperature drop. The air was thick, heavy, like it hadn’t been disturbed in decades. Dust clung to everything, swirling in the faint shafts of light that managed to break through the filthy windows.