Chapter Five

Annemarie never knew how sneaky she was until she was sure Lucy May was out of earshot. Then quickly, carefully she pulled out the diary. She was starving for more information as to who Lucy May really was.

Instead of reading the third entry, Annemarie found the last entry in the diary. She gaped at it.

The date said JANUARY 1st, 1980.

The date was all wrong!

Annemarie read the entry, not sure if she should confront Lucy May or not.

Dear Diary,

I died today! What a great New Years for me and my parents. Now I can haunt this house…with Callie…or even better, take human form and visit my twerpy little cousin and kill her, too. We've never met before.

What a perfect setup!

"Oh God, oh God, oh GOD!" Annemarie screamed.

She didn't want to die! She was too young!

How could Lucy May do this to me?

Suddenly Annemarie heard a very strange noise. Her door had closed, all by itself.

Or maybe not.

"Annemarie…Annemarie…"

Was she going nuts?

"I know what you're up to…I hate Lucy May, too."

"Who are you?"

"She killed me! And she'll kill you, too!"

"Callie?" Annemarie turned in a circle. "Callie?"

"Yes. Get out of this house, Annemarie! Lucy May is evil. She's the ghost, not me…not me…"

"Then where are you?"

"Here."

A blonde girl of about seventeen appeared out of nowhere. Her crisp blue eyes, as soft as the sky, her white dress as white as chalk…

"She wants to kill you." Callie didn't move an inch.

"But why?" Annemarie squinted at the pale girl.

"She was jealous of me. Mom and Dad hated Lucy May after I…died. So she killed herself."

"That doesn't explain why you are human now." Annemarie demanded. "How could you have faked being a ghost?"

"It's easy. But, back to my job. I'm here to help you. You need to escape."

"Can't it wait?" Annemarie moaned.

Callie couldn't answer. She jumped out of the way as the door slammed hard. Lucy May smiled softly at Annemarie. "Anne, I'm sorry about our fight. Do you forgive me?"

Behind Lucy May, Callie shook her head and whispered, "Oh, Lucy May…It's me…Callie…I'm here to pay you back."

Lucy May whirled around. "You!"

"Don't be a fake, sister. You're the ghost, not me. Tell Annemarie the truth."

"Nooooo!" Lucy May let out a howl.

Annemarie felt the ground shake, then crack. A gaping black hole stood in her bedroom. With another long howl, Lucy May fell in.

Then she disappeared in a wisp of black, thick haze, never to be seen again.