Dancing with the Dead ✔

Chapter Twenty-One - Liar Liar Pants on Fire

"W-wh-what are you talking about?" I stutter.

I can see clear annoyance in his expression. "Just now!" he shouts. "Clearly, you were talking to someone!"

I scoff and roll my eyes, trying to hide my dismay in desperation. "Someone clearly needs a doctor."

I turn to my left, intending to run away from him by heading to the gym. I gasp when he presses his hand against the wall on both sides of my head, trapping me.

"Enough of this. Tell me now," he lowers his voice, sounding rather threatening, "or I'll tell Claire and everyone you know about what I just heard."

I grit my teeth, my eyes blinking rapidly while trying to figure a way out. I rack my brain for the right words to say, for a good lie. But I can't find anything.

What should I say?

When I turn to glance at the detective, my eyes widen when I see John's right hand rested on Lucas' mouth, ready to suffocate the man. The look on John's face tells me he's trying to protect my secret—or me, I can't really tell anymore.

"Should I knock him out?" John asks, his voice determined.

I quickly give my answer by rapidly shaking my head. Seeing my answer, John slowly retracts his hand, although his reluctance can clearly be seen on his face. But, as expected, the detective's face grows even more suspicious. His eyes are telling me all I need to know: He demands an answer, and he's not going to stop until he gets it.

He squints his eyes as if thinking the life out of him. "I always know there's something odd about you. I just can't figure out what it is," he continues, his voice curious.

His words lead me to believe that I'm just a puzzle he's eager to crack. A mystery he's eager to solve. A box he can't— well, you get the point.

I continue to bite my lip while weighing the options. What's the best way to stop a puzzle solver from solving a puzzle? One, throw away the puzzle, which means I have to run away from him. But at this point, that seems impossible. Or two...

I tip on my toes to glance at John, who's hand is ready to grab the detective once more. But... I don't know what John is really capable of. What if he's going too far?

I shift my gaze to the detective and start to consider if I should take the option that might put the detective's life at stake.

Hmm... Is there any other way?

Yes, there is. Hide the truth in plain sight.

"I can see ghosts," Evil Me takes over my voice.

He blinks once.

He blinks twice.

His face becomes pale in an instant, transitioning from full-on curiosity to great bewilderment, or rather shock. He closes his eyes and blinks rapidly, trying to process the information I just gave him.

"Wh- what?" He jerks his head back, his left eye twitches while he retracts his hands to his sides.

When I see the fear in his eyes, I can't help but feel a sudden flood of disappointment.

"See? It's impossible, isn't it? After all, there is no such thing as ghosts," Evil Me continues to babble with a surprising amount of calmness. "Relax." I wave a hand in front of his face. "I was just talking to myself. I do that sometimes, you know? To take out the stress. Surprisingly, my job has a huge amount of stress in it. I mean, earlier, a man almost died on the operating table and I was the one responsible for him. Can you imagine—"