I took a closer look at the chair. With all the creepy things going on, I couldn't help but believe in the supernatural. Could a ghost have been sitting there?

I started to shiver. I shook my head at the thought. Maybe Violet set it up to look that way.

Yeah, I'll go with that.

As soon as I decided to start looking for Violet again, I saw a man standing against the wall about six feet away from me.

My eyes widened. I looked away then looked back at him.

It was an old man with gray hair and a gray beard. His clothes were all stitched up. His fingernails had been peeled off and were bleeding. His head hung toward the floor, and blood leaked from a part of his face that I couldn't see.

"Gotcha!" Violet said, grabbing me from behind. "You couldn't have found me faster?"

I pushed Violet away from me, thinking she was something—or someone—else. I quickly looked away from her and back at the man.

He was gone.

I turned to Violet, who was now on the floor, staring at me angrily.

"I-I thought you were underneath the blanket," I stuttered.

She glared at me.

"I saw a man! He was bleeding!" I said louder, wishing she would say something instead of getting mad.

She stood up and brushed off her pants.

I looked at her for a long moment.

"Do you think they exist? You know, like ghosts?"

"Of course they do," she said.

I didn't think she'd agree with me. I thought she would say something like, "Of course not!" But that didn't happen.

"Don't you believe, Emily?" Violet asked, walking toward me.

I almost stumbled backward feeling lightheaded. "I don't know. I've seen so many weird things lately."

She stared at me. Her mouth opened and closed as if she wanted to tell me something.

"Violet?" I asked.

Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door.

"Viiiioleeeeet! It's meeeee! Opaaan the door!" Caroline yelled.

Violet went to answer the door, and sure enough, Caroline and Jasper were standing there.

"Emily! Hey!" Caroline greeted me. "Ya paler than a newborn baby. Are ya okay?"

I looked at her and smiled.

Violet stepped in front of me.

"She saw a ghost."

"Oh," Caroline said simply.

She nodded and looked at Jasper. It was odd. A girl her age should have been either extremely scared or completely freaked out. But she wasn't bothered at all.

"Well, that's unfortunate!" Caroline exclaimed, shrugging. "Can we play hide-and-seek? We almost got caught steal—"

Jasper placed his hand over Caroline's mouth.

"Shut up," Jasper said, looking at Violet. "We were just really bored."

Violet nodded.

"Sure. Shall we continue our game?"

"What about the ghost?" I asked, not sure if I still wanted to play in this house. I knew what I had seen today. I knew what I had seen in the garden. Things just weren't adding up or making sense.

"Emily," Violet said, walking toward me, "they say ghosts won't hurt you if you're not a threat to them. You have to, you know, ignore them."

"Yeah, that sounds super easy," I said sarcastically. "You don't understand. Since I got here, I've seen things. Strange things beyond comprehension."

Jasper was staring at me intently. So was Caroline.

"Were you hurt?" Violet asked.

"No," I admitted.

She smiled.

"Then let's play. Jasper is it. The first floor only, just until Emily is found."

For some reason, that last statement sent shivers down my back.

I quickly ignored it.

Jasper started counting. As he counted, I ran back into the room where the ghost had appeared. And you know what I did? I placed the blanket back on the chair and shaped it to look like a person. Then I hid right behind the entrance door.

"Nineteen... twenty."

Jasper was done counting and had started looking for us.

No one hid in the same room as me, and I was completely fine with that.

I heard footsteps coming my way. I slid farther back toward the wall, hoping he wouldn't be able to see me.

I hoped he'd walk over to the blanket, and while his back was turned, I'd run into the living room and hide there since he'd probably already checked it. Then I'd run back into the room with the blanket.

It was a great plan.

He'd probably say, "I thought I looked in there already. Wow, you're a genius."

I longed for a compliment from him. Not that I liked him or anything, but he was very shy and cute.

The footsteps grew closer, and then I saw him.

Jasper walked into the room facing me.

That's right.

He walked backward into the room with the widest smile on his face.

I nearly screamed.

Jasper laughed.

"Found you," he said, looking at me.

Then he glanced at the blanket on the chair. He snapped his fingers, and the blanket fell flat onto the chair.

"Don't be so simple," he said before walking away to find the others.

I watched him search for everyone else. He found all of them in less than two minutes.

Afterward, we all met in the living room. They were all laughing except for me.

"Cheer up, Emily. You'll get better at this," Violet said, gently punching me on the shoulder.

I gave her a fake smile.

"How do you guys do that? Hide so well? I thought I was good at hide-and-seek..." I looked at the floor. "I guess not."

Caroline placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Hey now, don't be so sad."

"Yeah," Jasper said. "You'll be better in no time. I promise."

"Okay, Emily, you're it," Violet said.

I wasn't really in the mood to play, but I did anyway.

I turned toward the front door and started counting.

As soon as I got to four, all the footsteps stopped.

How did they do that?!

I had been looking for them for almost ten minutes.

I looked everywhere—inside cabinets, in trash cans, under couches, and even inside cracks in the walls. I checked outside and searched the porch too.

Finally, I walked back into the living room, cupped my hands around my mouth, and yelled, "I give up!"

The laughter behind me nearly scared me to death.

My eyes widened as Caroline, Violet, and Jasper stood there laughing.

"But how?" I asked.

They continued laughing.

"Some professional," Violet teased.

"Hey, she's not that bad," Jasper said, winking at me.

I was steaming.

That "some professional" remark was enough to send me storming out the front door.

Violet called after me, but I ignored her.

I kept walking, heading back toward the Harmons' house.