"Some people I know swear something chased them from that old cabin off Belmont." Nolan's voice dropped as he leaned over the table in the noisy diner, arching an eyebrow. "They got so freaked out they bolted right past their car, all the way back to town—never even went back for it."

I scoffed. "Shut up."

"I'm serious! According to them, something big was there, big enough to make the whole house shake when it chased them away. They were lucky to get out, whatever it was probably wanted to eat them." Nolan popped a fry in his mouth.

"Okay. Who are these people?"

"My neighbor's cousin's friend went with his brothers. They used to live here back when they were teenagers."

Snickering, I shook the ice in my glass and took a sip of my sweet tea, wondering if Nolan made that story up, or if he was the gullible one.

He threw a balled-up straw wrapper at me that bounced off my forehead and fell to the floor. "So, I was thinking after dinner, we take the girls there to explore."

I picked the trash up and dropped it on my napkin. "You're nuts, dude. There's no way I'm doing that."

Nolan pushed his empty dinner plate aside with a smirk and glanced at the surrounding diners. "Why not? Are you afraid?"

"No, idiot." I chuckled. "It's just an old abandoned house, but trying to scare the crap out of Emily doesn't seem like a great first date."

"Come on, Bash. It'll be fun! The girls might freak out and need someone to hold." Nolan squared his shoulders, and as the waitress walked by, he shot her a cocky wink.

Smiling, she strode past with a tray of empty glasses, disappearing behind the swinging doors to the kitchen.

"Right, dude, you'd love that. But I don't have to scare my dates into touching me." I grinned.

He laughed, tilting his head toward the restroom, and my heart thumped as I turned to watch Emily and Lauren weave between the crowded tables. When Lauren took her seat beside Nolan, he leered dramatically, and she kissed his cheek before shoving him away with a giggle.

Then Emily scooted into the red vinyl booth next to me, and her sweet vanilla perfume enveloped us. Glossed lips curved up as she said, "Thanks for dinner, Bash."

"No problem! I'm glad your parents let you out for a date."

"I'll be doing whatever I want at college, so why keep me at home for the summer?" Emily shrugged and twisted her sandy blonde hair around her finger.

Lauren leaned against Nolan. "What should we do now? Let's do something fun!"

He cleared his throat and pointed at me. "Bash said he wanted to check out that old house off Belmont."

I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips into a thin line as Emily gasped."No way! The haunted place?"

"We don't have to do that. I'll do anything you want." I rubbed my palms over my legs and tried not to appear too eager. If she wanted to jump out of a plane, I'd jump, but it was probably best to keep some pretense of chill.

Emily's shoulders relaxed as she reached over and laced our fingers together for the first time. I ran my thumb over her wrist, and a pretty shade of pink tinted her cheeks.

"Aw, guys, don't be boring," Lauren whined and turned to Nolan. "I've never been there. Have you?"

"No, but I know some people that went and it's for real. There's definitely something spooky going on."

"I know!" Lauren's screech was accompanied by enthusiastic head nodding. "Some people my parents knew in high school went. They took a Ouija board with them and no one heard from them again."

Emily scoffed. "Maybe they summoned a genie and wished to get out of this crap hole town."

"Oh! I wanna meet a genie. Let's go! Come on; if it gets too scary, we'll leave. Pleeease?" Lauren pleaded with Emily and gestured to our joined hands. "I'm sure big, strong Bash will protect you."

Nolan wiggled his eyebrows at me as though his plan was coming together. A smile twitched at my lips as I held back a laugh, not wanting Nolan to think I was softening to the idea. If Emily didn't want to go, we wouldn't. Nolan could take Lauren and scare her after dropping us off at our houses.

I blew out a puff of air. Why the hell didn't I bring my truck?

Emily crossed her arms. "Alright. But if I turn up missing, you guys have to deal with my parents. My mom would lose it."

"I'll help her put up posters like people do for lost pets." Lauren giggled.

At the mention of missing person flyers my chest tightened, squeezing my racing heart. Crap. No, I was not having a panic attack. I refused, but my traitorous body trembled.

"Thanks, Lauren. I feel a lot better." Emily's voice and the conversations in the restaurant became a distant hum. My mind raced with memories of yellow papers plastered with Mom's picture.

"Are you okay?" Emily nudged my leg with hers.

Damn it. Was I panting?

"Yeah, fine. Give me a minute." I stood and stalked to the restroom with my spine tingling under my friend's stares. My knee nearly knocked a gray haired woman's purse off the back of her chair; I waved an apology and kept moving.

This place was too crowded. Silverware scraped plates, and conversation swelled to an intolerable level that seemed to press against me from all sides. If I didn't get some space, I was going to lose it right here in the middle of town, and everyone would hear about it by morning. Dad would worry, and people would start talking again—Poor Marc. Can't believe she ran off and left them. They seemed like such a happy family.

It'd been so long since anything hit me like this, I thought I was over it. Maybe I'd never be. The bathroom door creaked shut behind me, and I was alone. My breathing became ragged. I cringed at my pale, sweaty reflection.

My pulse pounded in my ears, drowning out all other sounds, and I struggled for breath. With my forearms resting on either side of the faucet for balance, I started the steps I'd hoped I'd never need again.

What were three things I could see? I concentrated on the black and white tile floor and the crack that went through the middle, disrupting the pattern, the dark brown laces on my scuffed work boots, and a wadded-up paper towel that hadn't quite made it to the trash.

What were three things I could hear? I focused on the high pitch of the water dripping in the sink beside mine. The speaker played staticky Phil Collins from forty years ago, and loud chatter seeped through the door from the dining area.

Then, I moved three parts of my body. I watched as I tapped my foot, squeezed my fists tight enough to make my knuckles blanch, and straightened my arms as though I was doing a push up against the sink.

I tried breathing again, relieved as air filled my lungs. Everything was good. It was just a joke. Images of Emily's photo printed on yellow paper sprang to mind, but I quickly shut them down. That wouldn't happen, and the steps worked.

Leaning over the basin again, I splashed handfuls of cold water on my face before patting it dry and swiping the stiff, scratchy paper towel across my neck. I stood and studied myself in the mirror. Tan skin replaced the sickly gray, and my blue eyes cleared.

There, that's better.

I brushed my hair into place with my fingers and took another deep breath. Now, my only worries were the nausea I knew would pass soon, and what my friends were saying about my abrupt departure from the table.

Lauren might not remember, and Emily didn't live here back then, but Nolan has been my best friend since we were babies. He knew everything, including that I hated talking about it, so he'd stay quiet.

I sighed. Who was I kidding? Nolan would answer any questions the girls had. All Lauren had to do was look at him to get anything she wanted.

As I entered the dining area, Lauren was dabbing a tear from her face with a napkin. Damn it. I considered escaping through the bathroom window, but I couldn't bail on Emily.

Nolan spotted me and lifted his chin, calling me over as he used the ends of Lauren's dark hair to poke her cheek for attention. She turned and pecked him on the mouth before saying something to Emily that had them comparing their nail polish. They were acting normal. Good.

The cushion gave as I slid in next to a grinning Emily and asked, "Did you guys decide what we're doing?"

"Yeah, dude. We're going to check out the spooky old house." Nolan rubbed his hands together.

I waited for Emily's reaction. Whether we'd go was up to her, and I didn't care what Nolan thought about that.

She nodded. "Yeah, it'll be fine. I'm sure there's nothing there."

"Nah, just an abandoned cabin. I promise I'll take you somewhere better next time we go out, okay?"

"I'll hold you to that." She smiled, and my stomach fluttered. She'd agreed to a second date.

***

During the thirty-minute car ride, we talked and made fun of Nolan as he sang along with the radio. He didn't concern himself with trivial things like pitch or lyrics, but he was enthusiastic and performed with emotion.

Regardless of the assault on my ears, I was grateful for the long drive—anything for more time with Emily. When her leg pressed against mine in the darkened backseat, I wished summer was longer and they weren't all headed to college in eight weeks.

Nolan turned off the main road and lowered the music, leaving tense silence. Dirt from the unused path flew up in a cloud around the sedan, and rocks pinged off the bottom. Emily squeezed my hand; maybe a date at a haunted house wasn't such a terrible idea.

Nolan navigated onto a narrow, one-lane trail that cut through the trees. "I think this is the driveway; it's just overgrown."

The car bounced over rough ground, and thin branches scraped the sides as we crept forward. An icy shiver ran through me when the headlights revealed the old cabin.

Cracked glass filled the window frames, the roof caved in on one corner, and the porch was missing half its boards. There was no front door, only an ominous dark space where one belonged.

The woods surrounding the place were so thick they blocked all the natural light. Headlights should've helped, but they made the spiderwebs shine, which didn't improve the overall vibe.

So, why was I suddenly drawn to it? A powerful urge to abandon the vehicle and get in there rushed through me. The car was still rolling, but I reached for the door handle before forcing myself to grip the seat instead. What was wrong with me?

"Are you sure it's safe? It's falling apart," Emily said when Nolan stopped.

We parked at the edge of what was once the front yard. Weeds, waist-high pine trees, and broken furniture littered the area. An old refrigerator lay on its side in the middle of the clutter.

"It'll be great. Don't worry. I keep a couple of flashlights in the trunk," Nolan said as he and Lauren hopped out of the car.

The house almost vanished with the headlights off, and Emily stared wide-eyed into the darkness. Now that I'd seen the cabin, a magnetic pull drew me there, needing to know what was inside. But I could come back tomorrow. "Want to wait out here and listen to the radio? I doubt they'll be in there more than a couple of minutes, anyway."

She smiled. "Nah, I won't be the boring one. How bad can it be?"

"Cool. Let's do it." I stepped onto the grass, and unexpected relief filled me. Seriously–why did I care about this place?

My focus shifted as Emily gripped my fingers and scooted across the seat, hopping out after me instead of using her own door. I smirked, raising my eyebrows.

She bit her lip and glanced at Lauren and Nolan. "I know there's nothing here, and it's ridiculous to be scared, but I'm going to hold on to you anyway, okay?"

I couldn't control the big, goofy grin spreading over my face. Leaning down to her ear, I whispered, "It's more than okay. You don't even need to give me a reason." She giggled and bumped me with her shoulder.

Nolan walked over and passed me a flashlight. "Told you this would be fun."

I gestured toward the forbidding structure. "Lead the way."

We crossed the yard at a sloth's pace, trying not to trip over the debris.

"Ouch, dang it!" Emily stopped.

I shined the light on her. "What's wrong?"

"My shirt's stuck on something and it's scratching me." She twisted around, attempting to find what caught her.

Thin, prickly vines hung from her clothes. "Hold still. It's just some briars." I lifted it, carefully disentangling the cloth from the thorns. Yanking the plant up, I threw it from the path we were creating.

"That stings." Emily pulled her top up enough to examine her injured side. "It's not bad though; I expected it to be worse."

I studied the red lines marking her otherwise flawless skin. When Emily caught me staring, I cleared my throat. "Just a few scrapes; they'll heal in no time."

She let out a little laugh and slid her soft hand into mine as we hurried to catch up.

Lauren bounced beside Nolan. "You'll protect me if anything's here, won't you?"

"Of course, baby. Nothing scares me." Nolan pulled her close for a quick kiss. Then he winked at Emily and me. "Don't worry; I'll protect you guys too."

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Any thoughts or favorite characters so far?