"Someone finally bought the Rose House," my mom says, pouring cereal in my little brother's bowl, while he runs around the kitchen in his pj's practicing web shooting for his Spider-man costume. He's got these wrist attachments that squirt out silly string, and I can't believe my mom is letting him do this in the house.

My sister looks up from her phone, and Emily never looks up from her phone. Unless she's with her boyfriend, Josh.

"Are you serious?" Emily says. "I'm surprised someone would buy that place, after what happened there."

"What happened?" says Noah, who never pays attention to anything anybody says unless it's something you don't want him to hear.

"Nothing," my mom says, and gives Em a hard look. She just shrugs and turns back to her phone.

"Which house is that?" I ask. My mom is a real estate agent, and she has names for all the listings. But I haven't heard her mention this one before.

"It's that big house over on Shady Lane," Mom says. "The one with the overgrown yard and those wild rose bushes."

"Huh," I say, because I don't remember ever noticing it. Of course we've only been here a few months, since Dad got transferred and we moved to this little town in Connecticut.

I don't mind living here. Even if most of the girls in my class think my short haircut and the pink highlights are kind of weird. I just haven't made any real friends yet.

* * *

It's my job to make sure Noah gets to school every morning, because God knows where he'd end up if left on his own. He's eight years old and he's not stupid. He's just easily distracted. Noah's school is next to the middle school, so we walk together.

I stop and text Emily. What's the deal with the Rose House? She doesn't answer.

"Hey," I say to Noah. "You want to walk past that house Mom was talking about?"

"Sure." Noah shrugs. "I don't care."

And in a few minutes we're standing looking up at it. There's an iron fence around the property. A lawn service truck is parked out front, and a couple guys are raking stuff and chopping things down.

I'm just staring at the house, and Noah is bored already, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Come on, Madison, we'll be late." He tugs on my arm.

"Ok, ok," I say, but for some reason I don't want to look away. Then a movement catches my eye. "Hey," I say to Noah, "did you see that?"

"What?"

"I think I saw the curtain move in the window up on the third floor."

"So?"

"So, maybe somebody moved in already."

"Who cares, Mad, let's go." He tugs my arm again and I glance back as I start to walk away and this time I'm sure I see it. A flicker of the curtain, and was that a face? I could swear I saw a girl looking out the window, with pale blond hair. But it was only for a second. I shake my head and let Noah pull me down the sidewalk.

* * *

I don't really like being in a new school. You get to reinvent yourself, think how fun that is, my mom told me in the chirpy voice adults use when they are trying to make something bad sound like it's actually a good thing.

I set my lunch tray down at the table with the group of girls I'm kind of on the fringes of. They let me eat lunch with them, but they never invite me to do anything outside of school. They all dress like they shop at L.L.Bean and they all have long hair, mostly in ponytails. Three of them are cheerleaders. But one of them, Brianna, plays volleyball, which is how I ended up invited to sit here. Also, Jenny, the girl who seems to be the leader, actually thinks my hair is kind of cool.

"So, do you guys know anything about the Rose House? On Shady Lane?

"Everybody knows about that place," Jenny says.

Sophie lowers her voice. "Someone died there."

"No, no," Brianna says, "a girl went missing after a party at that house back in, like, the 1980's."

"She didn't just go missing," Chelsea says. She's one of the cheerleaders. Blond and tiny, she's always the one they toss up in the air for their stunts. "Someone killed her."

Jenny shrugs. "I heard they found her in the basement." She pauses. "And nobody will buy the house because it's bad luck to live in a house where somebody died."

"That's stupid," Sophie says, biting into her taco. It's taco Friday, and for cafeteria food it's not that bad. "Old people die in their houses all the time."

"Sure, old people," Jenny says. "But this was a girl who got murdered in the house. That's why it's just sitting there, empty."

"Well somebody bought it," I tell them, and all six heads swivel and look at me, ponytails swaying. "My mom saw the real estate listing, and it's sold.

"In fact," I say, leaning in closer and enjoying the attention. "I walked past there this morning and people were working there. And," I add, pausing for dramatic effect. "I'm sure I saw someone looking out the third floor window."

"Maybe a cleaning service?" Sophie guesses.

"I don't think so. I only saw her for a second, but it looked like somebody our age. Maybe the new owners moved in already."

"Maybe there'll be another new girl in school next week," Jenny says, "and we can talk her into having a Halloween party there. Can you imagine having a Halloween party in a house where someone was murdered?"

"Ew, I think that's crazy. I wouldn't go anywhere near that house," Chelsea says, and then shuts up when Jenny glares at her.

"Really, Chels? So you think some crazed killer has been hiding in the basement for 40 years?"

Then Jenny looks at me. "Since your mom's the real estate agent, you find out and let us know."

"Yeah, sure," I say.

* * *

I want to walk by the house again after volleyball practice, but Mom surprises me and picks me up. She already has Noah in the car. She closed some big sale this morning, and we're celebrating. Not Emily, though, because she has a date.

"Mom," I say, taking the opportunity to pump her for information, "what's the story on the Rose House?" She jerks her head toward Noah sitting in the backseat and frowns.

Noah has headphones on and his attention is riveted to the new Zelda game on his Switch, but I sigh. There's no point trying to convince Mom when she doesn't want to talk about something.

I decide to be strategic and let Noah choose where we're going for dinner, and he predictably picks the pizza place with a bunch of arcade games. Noah sits still for a slice and a half of pizza, then runs off. Finally, I get Mom alone.

"Is it true that somebody got killed in that house?"

She sighs. "I don't want you repeating this in front of your little brother and giving him nightmares."

"I won't."

Mom takes a forkful of salad, while I grab another slice and wait.

"Well, the story I heard was that the couple who lived there went out of town for the weekend, and left their teenage son and their younger daughter home by themselves. And the kids decided to have a party - which is why I'm never going out of town and leaving your sister Emily in charge, so don't even think about that -"

"Mommm, come on." Although, I'm thinking, yeah, Em probably would throw a party if Mom and Dad went away and left her in charge.

"So anyway, lots of the older boy's high school friends were there, of course, but the younger sister also had friends over. They all claimed they were sleeping over at other kids' houses, so the parents had no idea anyone was going to a party where there were no adults."

"Did it get really loud and the neighbors complained and the police showed up?"

"No, actually, from what I understand no one heard anything. But the next morning, one of the sister's friends never got home. She went missing."

"Didn't the girl who lived there, who invited her, notice she was gone?"

"Apparently all the middle school girls were in the sister's room, but she went downstairs and nobody remembered if she came back up before they all fell asleep." Mom pauses. "I guess there was a lot of speculation whether something might have happened with one of the older boys, but nobody ever admitted that they saw anything. The family that lived there moved away not long after that. But 10 years later when someone else was living in the house, they redid the basement. It was one of those old rec rooms with wood paneled walls that were so popular back then. When the construction workers got into the crawl space they found her body - well, I guess by then it was just bones."

"Ew, that's so gross. Did they find out who killed her?"

"No," Mom says. "They never did."

"That is creepy," I say, and shiver. "But it happened a long time ago, right?"

"A really long time ago. Honey, don't be scared. Whoever killed that girl is probably dead by now. It was almost 40 years ago."

"So who's moving in? Noah and I walked past there yesterday and I thought I saw somebody in the window upstairs."

"I don't know who the buyer is," Mom says, "but I'd be surprised if anyone's living there yet. They hired a local firm to do remodeling inside, so it could be months. Why are you so curious?"

"Seriously? A creepy story like that so close to Halloween? And I don't know. I guess I was just hoping someone my age was moving in so I wouldn't be the new girl at school anymore."

Mom reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. "Nothing wrong with being the new girl," she says, and I wonder if she even remembers what it's like to be 13.

***

"So that's it?" Brianna says, when we finish our match. "Somebody bought it and they're remodeling. Damn," she says, then looks over her shoulder quickly to make sure Coach didn't hear her. She lowers her voice. "Jenny's going to be disappointed about the party. That would have been so cool."

And I'm seeing my chances of impressing Jenny and getting in solid with this friend group fading away. So I think of something desperate.

"Yeah, but if no one is living there, then maybe we could sneak in. Like, have a séance or something."

She looks skeptical but interested.

"How would we sneak in?"

"I'll see if there's one of those realtor code boxes on the door. If there is, I bet I could use my mom's code and get the key." And my mom will kill me dead. I'd probably be grounded for life. But she'd have to catch me first. I'll be careful.

"My mom wasn't the agent," I tell Jenny, "but someone in her office was, so her code should work too."

"Oh my God," Brianna says. "That would be even cooler than asking some random girl to have a party. Jenny and Sophie will love this. Chelsea will be scared spitless but she'll go. The others will too."

Brianna gives me a quick hug. "I knew I was right to invite you to our lunch table. I just knew you'd fit. Even with your crazy hair," she says, and laughs.

***

I study the house from the sidewalk. There's no sign of anyone looking out the window on the third floor, and I'm starting to think I imagined it. I should have asked Brianna to come with me.

Too late now. I take a deep breath and open the gate. It creaks a little, but I go up the front walk and climb the three steps to the porch. There's a box there just like I suspected. All of a sudden I get this weird feeling that someone's watching me and I turn around, fumbling with an explanation for why I'm there. But there's no one. I turn back quickly and push Mom's code in before I have time to change my mind, and the box pops open. I reach my hand inside and feel around.

It's empty.

Someone must have taken the key. Crap, maybe it's a cleaning person or a contractor and they're actually in the house right now.

I could knock on the door. I'm still wearing my volleyball uniform. I'll just say I'm telling people about our fundraiser. I lean forward and touch the door.

And it just swings open.

"Hello?"

I peak inside cautiously.

"Is anybody there?"

I should leave. But I'm so curious. And it's not like breaking in. I didn't even touch the doorknob. The door just opened.

Nobody answers. Someone must have stopped by earlier to work on the place and forgot to put the key back in the box.

And left the door open? Seriously? says the little voice in my head that's telling me to stop now, but I ignore it.

What could it hurt to look around, just a little? Then I can tell Jenny and everybody all about it on Monday.

I step in quickly and close the door behind me. I'm surprised to see furniture. It's all done in that style my mom calls "Mid-Century Modern." It looks like those old sit coms she watches on TV.

I get that prickly feeling on the back of my neck again.

But it's the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday. The sun is streaming though the windows. There's no way I'm going down to what used to be the rec room. But I could just run upstairs really quick and see the room that has the third floor window.

I start up the stairs and freeze when one of them halfway up creaks, then I laugh at myself. It's just a creaky step, and there's nobody to hear it. I pass the second floor and go straight up another set of stairs into a room that looks like it was an attic converted to a bedroom. It's cool. Half princess and half rockstar. With vintage posters on the wall.

I go to the window and pull the white lacy curtain aside and look out. Suddenly I feel a little dizzy, and I shake my head.

I sense, rather than hear, a movement in the doorway and I spin around.

"What are you doing in my room?"

***

"You scared me."

It's just a girl, about my age. She's wearing high-rise baggy jeans and a t-shirt with the name of a band on it that I don't recognize. She has blond hair and a lot of it, but it's not straightened or anything. It's kind of everywhere.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know anybody was living here yet. The door was open."

She narrows her eyes. "I saw you before. You were staring at my window."

So I did see someone. I knew it.

"Are you living here?"

"Just getting things ready," she says, and walks into the room, goes over and sits down on the pretty frilly bed with the canopy. Then she seems to focus on me. "What are you wearing?"

I'm in my black spandex shorts and my volleyball jersey.

"I play volleyball. For the middle school? We just had a game today."

"Oh."

"I should go," I say. "I'm sorry I came in your house. I was curious."

"Why?"

"Why? I mean, nobody's lived here for a long time before, um, your family bought it . . ." My voice trails off. What am I supposed to tell her? And there's this thing about a dead body behind the wall in your basement?

"It's ok. I've been waiting for you."

"For me?"

"Well, for somebody. I'm new."

"Are you starting at the middle school on Monday?" I ask. And I'm thinking now I'm not the new girl anymore.

"No, I'm not, like, officially here yet? I'm just getting my room set up." She waves her arm around. "Do you like it?"

"I love it," I say. "I'm really into vintage stuff. And those posters are awesome."

"I used to like playing volleyball in gym class. At my old school," she says. "Maybe I can try out here."

"Well," I say, shuffling my feet. "The season's almost over."

"Maybe you can help me learn to serve," she says. "I always hit the ball into the net."

"Um, sure," I say.

"Thank you so much!" She jumps off the bed and comes over to me. She grabs my right arm and squeezes it and hugs me. I'm not really a huggy person, and I start to feel almost dizzy again, kind of like I was when I looked out the window earlier.

"Ok, ok," I say, pulling away from her. "You're hurting my arm."

She drops her hands. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," I say, then I glance down at my phone and see it's already after 4:30. "I have to go! I'm going to be in so much trouble."

"You'll come back?" she asks me. "I'll be here next week."

"Um, sure, I can do that."

I think she's going to walk me out, but instead she goes back to the bed and flops down on it. I hurry downstairs and grab my bag and go out the door.

I'm halfway home before I realize I never asked the girl what her name is. And I never told her mine.

***

So on Monday all eyes are on me as I approach the lunch table. When I tell them I was in the house, Jenny's eyes glint. I don't tell them I actually met the girl who's moving in. Mostly because I feel stupid I hadn't even found out her name or whether she's in our grade or the date they're moving. So instead, I just tell them I went in and looked around for a few minutes, and the new family hasn't moved in yet.

Jenny isn't at all upset about the party. She's all about the séance idea. The best thing is that we all exchange numbers and we're following each other on Instagram too, so I'm feeling like, yeah, these really are my friends now.

All I have to do is figure out how to mange this whole séance thing some night before that girl and her family actually move in.

It's bothering me so much that I can't think of anything else all afternoon. Everybody laughs in history class when Mr. Marshall calls on me and has to say my name three times before I answer, and then I don't know the question.

And after school I can't hit my serve at all in volleyball practice, and the coach tells me to get my head in the game or else.

Since I have practice on Mondays, Emily gets Noah after school, so I stop by the Rose House on the off chance that the new girl will be there again. I look up at the third floor window. Almost immediately I see the curtains move and she's waving at me to come in.

I open the door and look around, but I don't see her mom or anything so I go straight up to the third floor.

"You came back!" she says.

"I said I would. How often are you here?"

She shrugs. "It's better than being dragged around looking at wallpaper samples."

So I guess that's where her mom is.

"I'm thinking about changing my hair," she tells me. "Would you mind if I copied you? I love pink."

I laugh and tell her pink hair would match her room.

"You won't be mad?" she asks.

"No, why would I be mad? Well, I'm Mad, actually," I say, and she looks puzzled so I explain. "My name's Madison, and my little brother Noah calls me Mad."

"Mad Madison," she says, testing it out.

"I don't know your name," I say, and she looks at me and smiles.

"Rose," she says. "My name is Rose."

"You should add me on your phone, then we can text each other and you can let me know when you're going to be here." I scramble in my backpack and pull my phone out. We aren't allowed to use them at school or they get confiscated, and then your parents have to go to office to get them back, and it's so lame. At my old school nobody cared.

Then I freeze in shock when Rose tells me she doesn't have a phone.

"My parents are really, really strict," she says. "I have to lie and sneak out if I want to do anything."

I show her my Instagram and we scroll through looking at some of the posts from Jenny and rest of the group from school, the photos I posted of the anime characters I like to draw.

"You're really good," she says, grabbing my hand and twining our fingers together and I feel a weird tingling from my fingertips to my wrist. "I wish I could draw like you," she says.

Then she pulls out this clunky electronic game that has different colors that light up and you have to memorize the patterns and pass it back and forth and hit the right buttons and not mess up. It's addictive. I'll have to get one to play with Noah. Rose rocks at it. She wins every single game.

"Don't feel bad," she says, "I've had lots of time to practice."

I glance over at the cool analog clock on Rose's nightstand and can't believe what time it is. "Rose! I have to go. Mom's gonna' kill me if I'm late for dinner."

"It's okay," Rose says. "My mom will be home any minute. I guess you can meet her another time."

I run all the way home and burst through the door out of breath. Emily is sitting on the couch next to Josh while Noah runs around the room. He's in his Spider-man costume again. He's going to wear it out before Halloween even comes.

"Thanks a lot, Madison," Emily says.

Mom walks out of the kitchen. "Madison, I thought you were coming straight home after volleyball to watch Noah."

"I'm not a baby," Noah says, but no one pays any attention.

"I'm sorry. One the girls from the team invited me over," I lie. I don't like lying to my mom. But I don't want to tell her about Rose and I'm not even sure why.

Her face lights up. "Oh, honey, I'm so glad you're making friends."

"I know I should have texted you, but - no! Mom, I left my phone at . . . Brianna's house. I'll just run back and-"

"Oh no you don't," Mom say. "We're about to sit down for dinner, and Josh is staying. You can get your phone from Brianna at school tomorrow."

I don't have a good argument, so I get through dinner. Noah is playing video games, and Mom is on a phone call with another real estate agent. Emily and Josh are in the family room sitting on the couch together and probably wouldn't notice if the ceiling fell in.

I slip out the back door and cut through the neighbor's yard and then down a few blocks until I get to Shady Lane. It's not that late but it's October so it's already dark out. I run up to the gate and then stop, disappointed. The whole house is dark, including the third floor window to Rose's room. Of course she's not here. Her mom probably picked her up five minutes after I left. I'll just have to run over after school tomorrow and hope she's back.

***

Sophie stops by my locker to walk to Spanish class, and when we all sit down at lunch Jenny says she had no idea I was so cool.

"Ok thanks, but what you mean?"

"Very funny," Brianna says.

"I think it's scary," Chelsea says.

"Scary good," says Jenny. "This is going to be perfect."

I go along with it even though I have no idea what they're talking about. Unless . . .

Briana giggles. She looks around to make sure no teachers are watching, then pulls her phone out and holds it under the table where I can see. It's a floor with shapes and symbols drawn in chalk and there are fat white candles waiting to be lit. It's a photo in a group text. And it's from. . . me.

"I can't believe you set this all up. It's so freaking awesome."

"Intense." Jenny says. And she smiles at me.

I can't wait until school is over to go grab Noah out of the line at elementary and drag him along with me.

"Mad, stop it! I don't want to go over there."

"You can wait outside. I told you, I dropped my phone and I have to get it before I get in trouble because Mom doesn't know I was even there."

"Why do you keep going over to that creepy old house?"

"It's not creepy. I met the girl who's moving in there. She's nice."

"So why did you tell mom you were someplace else?"

"Just come with me, and I'll pay Mario Kart with you as long as you want when we get home, and don't say anything to Mom."

"Yeah, okay. But I'm not going in."

I leave him at the front gate and run inside and up the stairs. "Rose? Are you here?"

I step into the bedroom and stop. She's just sitting there staring at me.

"You didn't tell me you wanted to have a séance here. At my house."

"I also didn't tell you to spend last night texting my friends pretending to be me. Why did you send those pictures? I can't have a séance here at midnight!"

"Of course you can. Just tell your mom you're sleeping over at Brianna's. And she'll tell her mom she's sleeping over at one of the other girls.' And you all come here. I really want to meet your friends." Then she smiles this kind of secret smile. "And I know just how we can fool them. Do you want to do something . . . scary?"

She leans closer. "You'll be the most popular girl in school."

***

I keep my promise and play with Noah until dinner. Then I go through my phone so I can see all the texts, the posts, the comments. Rose sure was busy. But I can't really be that upset because she doesn't have a phone. Plus, she really is funny and clever and since Jenny and everyone thought it was me, I guess it's a win.

I pull out my sketch pad and my pencils, but I can't get into it. For the first time, the lines just aren't going the way I want, so I abandon it and lie back on my bed. I need to think more about what Rose said, anyway. And how we're going to pull off not just the séance, but everything that goes along with it.

I thought I might have a problem with Mom, but she's totally on board with me having a sleepover at Brianna's. I have a bad moment when she says she wants to call Brianna's mom and thank her, but the horrified look on my face convinces her how mortifying it would be for Brianna's mom to tell her my mom called, like we're five years old or something. After all, she met Brianna's mom before at some volleyball games. And I've never given her any reason not to trust me.

Until now.

It's Friday, the night of the sleepover, and Noah comes into my room.

"I don't think you should go," he says.

"To Brianna's?"

He shifts from one foot to the other. "I think you're going to that house."

"Come on Noah, why would I go there?"

Then the front door opens and we hear somebody come in, and Noah runs down the hallway yelling, "Dad's home!" and his worries about my plans are forgotten.

***

Mom drops me off at Brianna's. I jump out of the car and wave goodbye. Brianna's mom thinks we're going over to Jenny's, which is only a block away. It's my job to go early and make sure everything is set up. Then the rest of them will come.

The house looks scary in the dark, but I know Rose has the lights off in case any of the girls walk by. Plus, no one's supposed to be living there yet. I wonder where Rose's mom thinks she is tonight.

But when I go upstairs into Rose's bedroom I'm surprised to see the lights are on.

"Blackout curtains," she says, gesturing to the window.

But I'm just staring at her.

"Your hair," I say.

"Do you like it?" She reaches up and touches it. "It's exactly like yours, right? You said you didn't mind," she reminds me.

"Yeah, it's just, wow, we really look alike." I walk over to her. "Are you wearing contacts?" I would swear Rose had brown eyes. But now they look as blue as mine.

"What? Oh, no. My eyes are hazel. They change color all the time."

She pulls me over to the mirror on the old-fashioned vanity. I stare at our reflections side by side.

"We could be twins," I say.

"I know! It's so cool. And your friends are going to be, like, soooo scared. Come on, I'll show you."

***

I hesitate when I get to the steps leading down to what used to be the rec room. But Rose takes my hand and pulls me along, turning the light switch on at the top of the stairs.

"Rose, I don't know if you've heard about it, but something happened years ago down there. Something bad."

She looks back over her shoulder.

"Oh, Madison, of course I know what happened there."

I breathe a little easier when we get to the bottom of the steps. The wood paneling my mom described is gone, replace by white painted walls. There are just a few pieces of furniture. The candles and the circle and diagrams on the floor look just like the picture in her text.

"Did you bring a little flashlight like I asked?" Rose says and I pull it out of my pocket.

"Good. We'll shut the lights off when you go up to get them. Then once they're all in the circle you can light the candles.

"Where will you be?"

She points to a door next to the light switch by the bottom of the stairs. "I'll hide in the closet. I can moan or thump or something once things get going."

It's almost midnight when I go up to the front door and let them in.

"We've been standing out here," Jenny says. "It took you long enough."

I use my flashlight and they follow me through the house.

Chelsea stops when we get to the door to downstairs.

"Do we have to do this in the basement?"

"Come on," Sophie says. "It's spookier this way."

The room looks eerie now with just my small flashlight, and I shiver. It must be even scarier for Rose, waiting in the closet, in the dark.

"I don't want to do this," Chelsea says.

"Oh, shut up, Chels," Jenny snaps. "Or go home."

"I can't go home. My mom thinks I'm at your house."

Then we all sit in a circle.

"Should we hold hands?" Sophie asks.

"We have to light the candles first," I say, and pick up the box of matches.

As soon as the candles are lit, we can see better, and I turn off my flashlight. The candlelight makes strange shadows on the wall. It's just a game, I tell myself. We're just pretending.

Brianna, who's been Googling How to hold a séance all week, volunteered to be our medium. She says something corny about welcoming good spirits and warning evil ones to stay away. And then we all hold hands and wait.

I glance to the side and see the closet door open slowly. Wait, that's not right.

"Rose," I say, "what are you doing?"

"Who's Rose?" Brianna asks.

"The girl who lives here," I say pointing to Rose, who is walking around the circle now, toward me.

They all swivel their heads around in the direction I'm staring.

"Knock it off," Brianna says. "Stop trying to scare us. There's no one there."

Rose just smiles and kneels down behind me.

"Don't be afraid, Madison," she whispers, as she puts her both hands lightly on my head.

Then everybody gasps as a scream cuts through the air. It's a woman's voice.

"Rose! Rose! Please come home, Rose!" The voice is so full of pain and longing it turns my heart to ice. It's Chelsea screaming but it's not her voice, and there are tears running down her face. "Rose, where are you?" she sobs.

"Holy shit," Jenny says, and just then all the candles go out and the room is pitch black.

I have this weird tingly feeling starting at my head where Rose's hands are, and moving through my whole body. Kind of like I felt when she squeezed my arm that first day, or when she held my hand too tight. But it's stronger this time, so much stronger.

"Somebody get the lights!" Brianna shouts.

"Come on," Rose says to me. "We'll turn the lights on."

I stumble up, still feeling dazed and let Rose help me over to the bottom of the stairs, where the light switch is. Why didn't they see her? It wasn't that dark until the candles went out. I'm reaching for the switch when Rose shoves me, hard, from behind and I fall forward. A door shuts behind me, and I realize I'm in the closet. When I try to open it, the handle won't move.

I start pounding on the door. "Rose, let me out!"

I can see the thin line of light under the door as someone snaps the switch on.

"Thank, God," Sophie says.

Then I hear Jenny's voice. "No, thank Madison."

"No problem," Rose says, but it sounds like me. Did her voice always sound so much like me? I feel dizzy.

"Come on guys!" I yell. "This isn't funny! Let me out!"

Brianna says, "Are you ok, Chelsea?"

And I hear Chelsea ask her what she means, and they all laugh nervously and say doesn't she remember all the stuff she was yelling, calling for somebody named Rose.

"Who's Rose? You were talking about her too, Madison."

I start to call out again, to answer, then I hear another voice - Rose's voice - answering them.

"Didn't you know? That's the name of girl who died here. That's why they call it the Rose House."

"Creepy," Jenny says. "This was cool, but I kinda' want to get out of here. Let's go back to my house. We'll just tell my mom we were all texting and we decided to have one big sleepover together."

"Wait!" I yell, and bang on the door again. "Wait!" But even as I'm screaming I feel my voice getting fainter and fainter. I hear their feet going up the stairs, and then the thin band of light under the door disappears too.

Then I hear footsteps coming back down. Thank God.

"I'm sorry, Madison," Rose whispers through the door. "I really am. I just couldn't stay here anymore." Then I hear her steps going away.

"Rose?" I call. "Are you there Rose?"

Nobody answers.

***

I wake up suddenly, terrified, my hands gripping the sheets on my bed. Wait, my bed. I'm in my bed. What happened last night? I can feel the sun streaming in from the window and I wonder why nobody woke me up yet. Mom hardly ever lets me sleep in on a Saturday. There's always chores to do or I have to watch Noah or . . .

I sit up, rub my eyes and blink. I'm in my room. It's my room but something feels off. I feel strange, like I'm not all here.

I get out of bed and go over to the door to go downstairs, but when I reach for the doorknob I look down and pull my hand back. Instead of the smooth brass knob on my bedroom door, this one is glass. It looks old, like an antique. I reach out and touch it, close my fingers around it. It feels cold. And when I tug on it, try to turn it, the door doesn't open.

I run over to the window and look out at a yard with a wrought iron fence, a walkway lined with rose bushes. It's familiar, but it's not my yard. It's . . . I'm not sure. I'm trying to remember something, but it seems just out of reach.

I see a few kids walking down the sidewalk, with backpacks. Like they're coming home from school. But it's Saturday. Isn't it Saturday?

Now there's someone else walking by and they stop a second. Right outside the iron gate. It's Noah. And he's walking with me, but it's not me. Not me. Rose. It's Rose and she has my hair and she's wearing my favorite jeans and the new red jacket I got at the mall and she has her hand on my little brother's shoulder.

"Noah!" I scream. "Noah, it's me, it's Mad! Help me, Noah. Run get Mom!"

Then Noah looks up at the window and I catch my breath. Does he see me? I press against the glass. He's looking right at me.

I'm staring at Noah, at his eyes, like my life depends on it. I feel the fogginess start to lift. Something is shimmering through my body, getting stronger, flowing back into me.

Rose looks up at me then and just smiles and shakes her head. She grabs Noah's hand and she's pulling him after her down the sidewalk.

He looks back twice, dragging his feet like he's not sure what he's seeing, and I keep screaming and pounding my fists against the window.

My hands hurt from banging the glass so hard I'm surprised it doesn't shatter. But the pain is fuzzy. Everything is fuzzy, like I'm starting to slip away. My reflection in the glass is starting to fade. I can't let this happen. My name is Madison. My name is Madison. I keep repeating it to myself.

Then Rose stops and leans down and says something to him, and he nods and they go on down the sidewalk.

And this time, he doesn't look back.