It was a little after 8:00 pm, a few hours after the "fantastical" (in Edison's words) happenings at school when Nora called Edison on her cell phone.
"Hey, Nora. What's up?"
"I can't do this anymore..." the words were jumbled in a sob.
"Slow down, I can't understand you. Take a deep breath."
Nora took a deep breath and let it out in a huff.
"Now, what's going on?"
Edison's calm voice washed over her in a warm wave.
"They arrested dad, but only for a night, unless mom presses charges. Mom had an ice pack on her face. Again. Did you hear me, Edison, I said, again...when will it end?"
"I'm coming over."
"No," she sighed. "I'll be fine. Besides, Aunt Lianne is here."
Nora studied the shiny blue polish on her fingernails and wondered how pathetic she sounded.
"I'll come pick you up. Okay?"
"Am I interrupting anything?" She sniffled. Yuck, I must sound gross, she thought, as she dabbed at her nose with a tissue.
"No, you goof. See you in five minutes."
"Thanks."
"What are friends for? Be there as soon as I can."
Nora glanced at herself in the full-length mirror next to her dresser. She smoothed her red, long sleeved t-shirt and dabbed some cover-up on her face. Then she slung her cross body purse on, grabbed her leather jacket and went downstairs.
Her aunt was in the kitchen making iced tea.
"Hey, sweetie," her aunt said.
"Hi. Is it okay if go hang out with a friend for awhile?"
"Which friend?"
"Edison," Nora answered as she put on her jacket.
"I suppose that's fine, but don't come home too late."
"I won't."
She came around from behind the counter and hugged Nora. Nora let her but was stiff even though she tried to relax. Lianne let her go.
"I'm so sorry for what my brother has done," she said.
Nora glanced away from her aunt's sad face. This felt awkward.
"I know. I'm glad you came over, Aunt Lianne."
"I'm always here for you. I just want you to know that."
"Thank you."
A few moments later, Nora stepped outside into the cool night air. She zipped up her leather jacket and glanced around the quiet street. When she spotted Edison's Nissan, she started walking towards it.
"Sorry for the hassle," she mumbled as she got into the passenger seat.
"Don't be silly. Do you want to go anywhere or just hang out at the house?"
"I don't know what else we can do this late except go eat but I'm not hungry. Are you?"
Edison shook his head.
"We can go to your place, I guess if your parents are cool with me being over this late?"
"They aren't home. Remember I mentioned that they were going to my great uncle's funeral service in New York? They'll be back Sunday.
"No, you never mentioned it."
"I'm sure I did. I mean, I thought I did." He wrinkled his brow for a moment.
"You've been the absent-minded professor, lately," she joked. "Don't forget my birthday which is coming up in two months," she teased.
"Since when have I ever forgotten your birthday?" he smiled at her.
He had the greatest smile. It was just a fraction crooked on one side but very sexy. And his eyes twinkled behind his glasses.
"Since never," she grinned, feeling better than she had all night.
Later That Night:
Nora was snuggled up in a throw blanket next to Edison on the large sofa. A bowl of half-eaten popcorn and two Cokes sat on the coffee table.
They had just finished watching the movie "Alien," one of Nora's favorites.
She stretched, closing her eyes a moment. She felt something wet on her face. She opened her eyes to find Jax, a black Dachshund, looking back at her with his loving eyes.
"Sweet and gross, at the same time, Jax," she laughed. Jax wagged his tail and settled between them.
As Edison pet Jax, his hand touched Nora's. They both felt a tingling sensation. Nora pulled hers away embarrassed.
"Do you want to talk or anything?" he said, turning to her.
"Yeah, can we please talk about what happened at school? What was that?"
"Later, okay?"
He looked so cute in his button-up shirt and jeans with his slightly messy hair. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"Yeah, sure," Nora answered, wondering why he was shutting her out. It felt like he knew something that she didn't.
Her phone rang and she picked it up from the coffee table.
"Hello?"
Edison put his glasses back on and watched her.
"Oh...I see. Okay. Yeah, I'm alright. Is he okay? I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. Love you too. Bye."
Nora clicked a button and set down the phone.
"My aunt has to leave for the night. My uncle caught my cousin drinking. He puked all over my uncle and admitted he had stolen the vodka from their liquor cabinet. What a dork."
"Oh, wow," Edison laughed.
Jax started to snore.
"I don't think you should be alone, so you can stay the night here. I mean, if you want to," Edison said.
"I haven't stayed the night here since we were little kids. Anyway, I think I can handle being alone for one night."
"I know you can. I just meant, I worry about you and I'd feel better if you stayed here. I could go to your house but Jax needs to be taken care of."
Nora bent her head.
Instantly Edison knew she was crying again. He gently moved Jax aside and put his arm around Nora.
Damn, Nora thought. I'm such a baby.
"I'm sorry...I thought I was feeling better."
"Just stay here tonight. It will help keep your mind off things. I'll sleep on the sofa."
"I feel weird."
"You're going through a lot. I want you to know that I'm here for you, Nora."
Edison gave her a hug. "Sit tight. I'm going to fix up my room for you." He cleared the dishes from the coffee table.
"Thank you, I do feel better not being alone."
"No problem. Be back in a bit."
Jax lay on his back, still snoring.
Fifteen minutes later, Nora was tucked into Edison's queen size bed. There was a small lamp on the nightstand with a digital clock and a stack of books.
He had changed the sheets and it smelled like he had sprayed Febreze, that air freshener, all over his room.
"You're an awesome friend," she smiled at him.
"As are you," he said as he grabbed some clothes from the closet. He paused at the door.
"Promise you'll get me if you need anything at all?"
"I will, but I'm so exhausted I think I'll just sleep."
"Okay, then. I'll see you in the morning, Nora," he pulled the door so it stayed half open.
"Goodnight."
"Night."
She switched off the lamp. As Nora laid her head on his pillow and pulled the soft comforter tightly around her, her thoughts wandered to Edison sleeping on the sofa, not too far away. The thoughts drifted into a dream of him asking her on a real date.
She woke up a few hours later. She was usually a sound sleeper. Strange, she thought. She glanced at the clock. Its numbers glowed 3:00 am. Realizing that she needed to use the bathroom, she pulled herself from the warm bed with a sigh.
In the large bathroom a few minutes later, she washed her hands and glanced up into the mirror over the sink.
A girl stared back at her in the reflection. She had long, dark hair, with a blonde streak going down the side. It was her intense eyes and slow, curving smile that made Nora scream.
Edison heard her scream and bounded up the stairs with Jax close behind him. He found his bed empty. He went to his bathroom and banged on the door.
"Hey, Nora!"
Nora unlocked the door and stood in front of him, in his sweatpants and t-shirt. Her hair was tangled, her face was even paler than a redhead's skin could be, her eyes were wide with shock, but most concerning was the scratch on her right arm. It looked like someone had dragged three nails down her skin.
Everything felt fuzzy as Nora tried to process what she had seen. Was it real? It had to be real because she'd felt it. She had just been standing there, staring at the apparition, when her arm began to burn.
Jax's yipping seemed to pull Nora out of her shock a little. He stopped yipping then started to growl, circling their feet.
"What happened in here?" Edison asked, as he gingerly examined her arm.
"I think your house is haunted."
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