For Nevermore Season 1

iPad back to Tori. “You’re friended now,” she said, “on Facebook and in real life!”
    Tori laughed and thanked her. “Hey, I got an idea! You can use our phone to call Sam! There’s no way your uncle would know, and my mom wouldn’t care.”
    Noella almost said no, but then her knees went weak and her heart grew heavy. “OK.”
    Tori went to the kitchen, grabbed the phone, and brought it back to Noella with a big smile, “Here ya go!”
    Noella held the phone in her hand, thinking of what she should say, then dialed his seven digits as her heart thudded in her chest. As the phone rang, she felt the sudden urge to go pee. After five rings, the call went to voicemail. Noella’s heart started beating faster. She swallowed hard, then said:
    “Hey, Sam. It’s me. Sorry I missed all your calls and stuff. Just saw your messages on Facebook . . . Um . . . I just wanted to say sorry, and that I wish things were like they used to be, or better.” There was a long pause, and Noella nearly hung up, but instead she finished. “I pretty much love you and have since forever, so there’s that, too. Anyway, I’m sorry for everything. Talk to you later.” Noella pressed ‘end,’ then handed the phone to Tori, whose eyes were tiny dinner plates.
    “OMG!” Tori said.
    Noella’s heart was pounding fast, as she wondered over and over again: What did I do? What did I do?
    “You know,” Noella said, “You’re the only person I’ve ever heard actually say ‘O-M-G’ out loud?”
    Tori said, “It’s the future. You’re just hearing it early.”
    Noella laughed harder, again surprised by Tori’s wit and maturity. Her heart was still racing, but she didn’t realize her cheeks were flushed until Tori pointed it out.
    “You’re all red,” she said.
    “Am I?”
    “Yup. How are you feeling: worried, excited, happy, scared?”
    “You ask a lot of questions,” Noella said.
    “Well, are you gonna answer any of them?”
    Noella sank into the couch, silent for a minute, before she finally said, “I’m not sure what I’m feeling right now. All of the above. But I guess it’s better to get it out than keep it inside forever, right?”
    “I guess,” Tori said.
    Noella laughed at the realization that she was seeking love advice from an eight-year-old.
    “What do you think will happen?” Tori asked, “I’ll bet he loves you, too!”
    Noella rolled her eyes. “I doubt it. Becca’s like me, but pretty and rich. Why would he settle for me?”
    “Well, I think you’re pretty,” Tori said with her hands on her hips. “If he can’t see that, he’s just a big idiot.”
    Noella laughed again.
    “So,” Tori said, with a big grin on her face, “wanna play hide-n-seek?”
    Noella would’ve been lying if she pretended that she hadn’t been thinking about Sam’s room and the possibility of seeing Dante again. But on the other hand, she was also afraid of another hallucination. The last one had ended without incident, but could she be sure the next one wouldn’t result in a repeat of ‘the incident?’
    While the thought of going back to the playroom was slightly frightening, it also held the allure of the unknown. What if it hadn’t been a hallucination? What if she could go back? At the very least, a game of hide-n-seek would take her mind off the stupid message she left on Sam’s voicemail.
    She still couldn’t believe she’d just blurted out what she’d kept secret for so long.
    “Are you sure you’re not too sick to play hide-n-seek?” Noella asked.
    “I’m not that sick. Besides, mom says it’s probably just allergies. She just kept me home to be on the safe side.”
    “Okay,” Noella said. “Just don’t cough on me, okay?”
    Tori laughed and faked like she was going to cough on Noella, then went to home base at the front door to begin counting back from 20.
    Noella was afraid to rush immediately back to Sam’s old room, so she played three starter rounds with Tori first, hiding once and seeking twice. She hid in the laundry room, behind a tall mountain of sheets capped by a giant comforter Noella thought might have still been dirty from their old house. Tori hid in the pantry the first time, and in her mother’s shower the second. Both times she screamed when Noella found her.
    When it was Noella’s turn to hide again, she headed straight toward the mystery in Sam’s old room.
    “20...19...18...17…”
    Noella turned the knob and stepped inside, a wave of nerves stirring