Chapter 19

Harlow

" Addie! "

Panic flooded through me, and I pumped my legs harder. My lungs burned, and my calves screamed for me to slow, but that wasn't an option. I'd get to her, even if it killed me. She'd be safe. She had to be.

I'm the one who's supposed to die here. NOT HER!

Weaving between the buildings and trees, I stumbled around the corner, hitting my knee hard against the ground but forcing myself to my feet. Nothing would stop me. Another scream rang out, and I followed it to the back of the house we'd searched, hastily hopping the wooden fence and crashing into the garden.

"Addie?"

"Harlow!"

Sprinting the final few yards through the overgrown grass and plants, I skidded to a stop, throwing my arms around the teenager and squeezing hard. "I'm here. Addison, I've got you. You're okay."

"H-Harlow…" Her voice quivered, and fat tears rolled down her cheeks. "You're okay?"

I pressed my lips against the top of her head, breathing in her cheap shampoo and reassuring myself she was alive. "Of course I'm okay, silly. It's you I was worried about."

Pulling away enough to brush her hair away from her face, I cupped her cheeks and really looked at her. Her skin was a deathly white, and she wouldn't stop crying. What the fuck had happened?

"You're alive…"

"Shh, it's okay. Let's focus on you right now."

"I saw you die!"

Neither of us moved. We could only sit there, staring into each other's eyes, both unbelievably grateful to see the other was unharmed, and yet we were terrified. Her nails dug into my forearm, clinging to me desperately as I held her face.

"They're over here," Ranto shouted as he sprinted to us from the house.

Footsteps stormed towards us, and we were swiftly surrounded by everyone asking if she was okay. Even Hendrix was here. Though he quietly remained separated from the group, his concerned eyes betrayed his composure.

"Hey! Everyone, stop talking all at once," I snapped up at them before turning my attention back to Addie. Her sobs had turned to sniffles, but she still clung to me like a lifeline. "What did you see?"

"I saw you die," she repeated, her voice cracking. "You were in front of me, yelling about a curse and someone called David? Or Donovan? I dunno. Then you started sparking the way you do when… when you think I don't see it and you let it burst outside."

A twinge pulled at my heart. I knew I wasn't hiding the sparks well, but to think she saw it when I've been at my most unstable. She could've been hurt—no, I could have hurt her.

"But it didn't stop. You screamed a-and…" Her words trailed off into sobs, and I held her tight. It was all I could do.

I knew this town was bad news. I'd begged her to stay home, where she was safe. This was all my fault. How was I supposed to protect her when I couldn't even look after myself?

While I panicked internally, Kylen kneeled beside us. He gently removed Addie's nails from my arm and rubbed small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. "It's okay. Harlow's right here. We're all here for you."

She sniffled, wiping her nose with her other sleeve. "It was just so real."

"We'll figure it out," he promised her. "Can you stand?"

I mouthed a ‘thank you' to him, keeping hold of Addie's other hand as we stood. Her legs wobbled, but we held her steady between us. "Wanna go inside?"

At her weak nod, we guided her towards the house. Best thing for her right now was getting away from this creepy jungle of a garden and finding her something to eat, followed by a nap. Curses could wait.

"Hold up a sec," Bruin called out, pointing at a woman in the corner of the garden. "Addie, is that who you saw?"

The fuck? I didn't see her when I jumped the fence. Actually, now that I thought about it, I hadn't seen any women in town. Just the motel.

So who the hell was she?

The woman turned, looking up at the house and… That was my face. But unlike me, she wore a modest, floor-length dress, with a flowered apron and—wait. The apron was plain.

I squinted, realizing the flowers were behind her, and I was looking through her .

Addie tightened her grip on my hand. "That's her."

Ranto slowly circled the translucent woman, careful not to touch her, but captivated by the resemblance. "She really does look like Harlow."

I shook my head. "No, that's not me. It's…"

"Levina Torann." Lindsay finished for me, reaching out and giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Harlow's great-something-grandmother, and from what I've read, the first victim of the Torann family's curse, after her brother."

"A ghost?" Ranto asked, rejoining the group at my side. "Can she see us?"

Hendrix shook his head. "Not likely."

Suddenly, the woman doubled over, wincing in pain as she waved her arm like she was pushing someone back.

"Get away!" she screamed, trying to back up and slipping on the grass. Sparks flew off her body wildly, her spine contorting with every bolt. "Run while you can! This happened to Donahue. It can't be stopped!"

"No. No, no, no, it's happening again!" Addie clung to me, her head buried in my chest with her ear pressed to my pounding heart.

I covered her other ear with my hand, unable to look away but still desperate to protect her from the screaming she was preparing for.

"It's too late for me, but you must save yourselves," Levina begged through her tears. "Find a way to break it. Don't let the curse take you and the children! Now RUN!"

The lightning came faster, firing off her in every direction as she writhed in the grass. She tried to curl up from the pain, but she was no longer in control of her body. All she could do was scream until the lightning hit her too frequently to take a breath between strikes.

In one final movement, Levina whipped up to her knees, mouth open in a silent, breathless scream, as her entire body was enveloped in electricity. It lit up the garden in a bright light, forcing us to look away.

By the time the light dissipated, Levina was simply gone.

"So, that's what death by curse looks like…" I muttered, thinking back to the family tree. Every death in over three centuries, leading straight down to me.

"Is it over?" Addie squeaked.

"Yeah, I think so. Let's get inside," I said, reluctantly loosening my grip on her.

"What the fuck was that shit?" Bruin growled, his eyes wide as Lindsay pushed past him, guiding Addie's shaking form inside before the ghost could reappear.

"Seriously? Don't you know anything?" Hendrix pushed off his spot against the wall, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry, looks like I skipped my ghost-busting classes in high school."

"It was a death loop. And a pretty bad one at that. It's something that happens to ghosts with significant trauma. They get stuck, constantly reliving a moment of pain and confusion."

Bruin scoffed. "Yeah, I'd say dying like that would be pretty fucking traumatic."

His eyes narrowed on me, and I avoided his gaze. As I looked around, everyone was staring at me. "Something on my face?"

"More like your face on someone else, Sparky."

Kylen stepped between us, blocking the jerk from my sight. "Lindsay said you're related?"

I shifted on my feet, the itch to burn off some energy quickly rising. "Yep. That was three hundred-year-old Gram-Gram-Levina. Never sent any birthday cards, but you can't deny her skill at traumatizing teenagers."

Kylen didn't rise to my comments, "What did he mean when he said the Torann family curse?"

"I think we all just saw what he meant."

"So that's going to happen to—"

"Stop it. I'm done with this conversation."

Spinning on my heel, I took the stairs two at a time to get back in the house, no Addie or Lindsay in sight. Good. The farther they got from here, away from me, the better.

"Harlow," Ranto called after me.

I was barely two steps inside when he pulled me back. The familiar, soothing buzz in my chest urged me to dive into his arms, but I couldn't. Not after what we'd just seen.

"No!" I snapped, lunging out of arm's reach before turning back to him, then away… I didn't know what to do.

My head spun as electricity crackled against my knuckles. I needed to punch something. I wanted to cry. To scream. To be held, and fucked, and loved, before it was too late. I'd seen my fate, and any moment now, Levina's death would begin its loop again. She would continue to repeat her most painful moment for eternity, and soon it really would be me dying in front of everyone.

Shaking the sparks off my hands, I made my decision. At least, for now.

"Leave me alone."

I ran.