Possessed: Book 3

Chapter 1: Long Lost Friend

The last few weeks had been a nightmare. But, after a long and terrifying exorcism, it felt like it was finally over. My brother, Jake, was sitting next to me and calmly watching the sunrise, and I couldn't help but smile. It was so good to have him back. So good to see his blue eyes and know that it was genuinely him. However, all of this madness had taken its toll on both me and Jake.

I could see the fear filling his eyes, and I shook as I acknowledged the dense knot that had formed in my stomach. Even if everything could go back to normal, our lives would never be the same. The demon had made sure of that. The time we'd been dealing with this, my eyes had been opened to a new world. A world of dark and light. Life and death.

"How're you feeling?" Jake suddenly asked.

"O- oh, me? I'm fine." I lifted my lips to try and grin, but they immediately fell back down. "What about you?"

Jake nodded, his expression going from calm to stressed.

"He's changed me, Reagan. Left pieces of himself in me." He whispered.

"No!" I grabbed his arm and glared at him. "You are nothing like him, Jake."

My brother let out a soft chuckle and grin as he shook his head. Meeting my glare with a comforting smile, he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"It's good to be back." He said, letting out a heavy breath.

I hummed in agreement, copying him as he turned his face back to the morning sun. It was beautiful if you looked at it with the right perspective. And when I watched it, it made me think of the turning of a page. The start of a new chapter. But that wasn't what mattered, Jake was important. I couldn't imagine what he'd been through. And I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

As Jake stood and walked inside, I followed him carefully. Reaching the doorway, I froze mid entrance as a girl with long black hair and sharp green eyes sat on the last step. Her face looked full of malice, and she grinned darkly as she noticed my stare. Disappearing like all the others, the girl left behind an oppressive atmosphere.

I didn't realize Jake was shaking me desperately until my eyes blinked repeatedly, and his panicked face came into focus. My heart racing, I walked to the kitchen and tried to cool down. It's all in your head, Reagan. I told myself. You can't see ghosts. You can't smell demons. And you can't tell Jake.

"Reagan, what the hell!?" He shouted fearfully as he ran to my side.

"I'm so sorry!" I cried, grabbing him into a firm hug. "It's ok! I'm ok! I just scared myself, that's all."

Pulling away from him, I could see the doubt in his eyes and unease on his face. I knew that nothing I said would calm him down, so I just relaxed as he watched everything cautiously. After a moment, Jake turned his gaze to me and frowned. Oh boy. I thought. Here comes the questioning. I released a sigh and put my hands on the cold counter as my brother leaned on it to look at me.

"What aren't you telling me?" He asked.

I met his accusation with a harsh rebuttal. "What? Nothing. I've told you everything. Why?"

"Promise me you aren't lying." He persisted. "Swear to me you're telling the truth."

"I promise," I assured him. "I'm hiding nothing. You know everything I know."

He swallowed deeply and took a deep breath. I didn't like hiding things from him, but in my defense, I wasn't keeping any vital information from him anyway. So what if I thought I was going crazy? Why should he bear that burden with me? And, if I wasn't nuts and I could see ghosts, why would he believe me? Right. Because the boy just got possessed by a demon, he won't believe in ghosts.