"Do I... hide somewhere, or...?"

"I said I'm sorry! I just- when else am I gonna get a chance to talk to her?"

"Maybe we can pretend I'm alive."

"No we can't! She'll never talk to me again!"

"Fucking hell, Thomas. You just had to tell some girl I was real."

"I was only trying to-"

"Could you both just be quiet?!" I yell. "I can't hear myself think!" Cas and Thomas clamp their mouths shut, both looking appropriately abashed. "Thomas, you idiot! What possessed you?"

"You left me alone with her," he mutters. "And can you please stop yelling? The neighbours are going to complain. And my grandfather will strangle me if that happens again." But why were they complaining in the first place? Ugh. Perhaps I'd be better off not knowing.

"I don't care. And besides, your only neighbour right now is my deaf old aunt. I think the people on the other side are out." There's no car in the driveway. "Speaking of your grandfather, where is he, anyway?"

"Not here. I dunno. He'll be back in a couple of hours, I think." His eyes suddenly widen in horror. "Crap!"

"What?" I ask, automatically reaching for the athame in my pocket. Cas stares at it, almost longingly, and I remember it used to be his. Funny how the knife that once served him is now that one thing that could end him. Fate can be cruel. Thomas looks at the weapon too and shakes his head.

"It's not that kind of problem. It's Carmel. She's just down the road. I just heard her thinking really loudly about ghosts." Cas and I look at each other in horror.

"What do I do?" He asks.

"I- I don't know. She'll know what you look like. You were on the news and in the paper." Thomas glances at me, panic etched across his face. "What do we do?"

"Don't give me that look. You got us into this mess. Get us out of it." I shoot him my fiercest glare and he looks at the floor. He mumbles something. "What was that?"

"I said maybe we could... you know..."

"No, I don't. Enlighten me." Something tells me I am not going to like this idea of his.

"Maybe we could... maybe... we could just tell her the truth." No, I don't like it.

"Absolutely not! I am not dragging someone else into this- this-"

"Shit hole?" Cas supplies helpfully.

"Yes, what he said! It isn't- how do you know she won't tell everyone?"

"Why don't you ask Cas?" Thomas says, lifting his head to face me. "He's the one whose neck is on the line. It should be his choice." Cas opens his mouth to say something. I'm terrified it's an agreement.

"No! I can't do this again!"

"Do what again?"

"Do you know what happens when ordinary people are pulled into my- my shit hole of a life?" Quoting Cas; things must be bad. "They get killed! They die! I can't let that happen again!"

"Just 'cause your mom and your stepdad-"

"It's not about them!" I shout. "I'm glad they're dead! But I have gotten so many people killed, and I did that in less than two years. I haven't let anyone get involved since I was fourteen! Remember I told you about my first ghost hunt? Well, the driver didn't make it out! And my next ghost- a local girl came to help me with it. Her dad was into the paranormal; she knew a few things about the dead. Do you know where that girl is now? She's six feet under! And she was eleven years old! And the hunt after that, where-"

"Anna," Cas interrupts. His voice is very quiet. "Who exactly is going to kill Carmel?"

"Ghosts! Ghosts kill people. Ghosts aren't human, not really. They go crazy, they think they're alive, then they try to get revenge by ripping up anyone who's fool enough to get too close. They're not people! They're monsters!" I'm screaming, hysterical. I won't get more people killed! I swore I was done with that. The others are quiet. Cas has gone rigid, frozen like a sculpture of ice. He's looking at me with something like- his eyes hold something that looks almost like betrayal. But that's ridiculous. I haven't done anything to hurt him. Then Thomas clears his throat.

"Uh... Anna? Cas is a ghost, remember?"

"What? No." No he isn't. That's-

Oh.

The full weight of what I've been saying crashes down on me like a tonne of bricks. No. How could I have been so stupid?

"Cas, I'm sorry, I forgot. I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't mean-"

"Save it," he snaps, his back to me, eyes on the wall. No. Cas, please. I didn't mean it. I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about-

About how he was before.

A choked sound escapes from my mouth and I spin away, bolting for the door before Thomas can stop me. Running away again. Leaving someone else to clean up the mess I created. Again.

That's all I do. Maybe that's all I'm good for.