The Guest House Hauntings Boxset by Hazel Holmes (novel books to read txt) 📕

You know you can talk to me though, right?” she said, looking at Clara with a skeptical look. “If there’s anything else going on, you can confide in me. I know we haven’t known each other for a super long time, but I do still consider us friends. I always try to be there for my friends. I wouldn’t want you to have to go through anything alone.”

Of course, Clara wasn’t going through it alone. Now she and Ezra were being honest with each other, they had each other for support each step of the way. Still, she was tempted to confide in Brittany. She longed to reach out to someone on the outside, who wasn’t so closely related to all this.

Ezra was trapped in this situation with her, which did make her feel less alone. Yet this house also felt like a pressure cooker of emotions sometimes. Without anyone on the outside aware of what was going on, experiencing the things they were experiencing, it sometimes felt like none of this was real. It sometimes felt like they were going crazy.

Besides, Brittany’s input could be helpful. She knew Richard, Lyla, and even Billy to some extent. If they told her what was going on, it was possible that she might be able to help them make sense of it. Perhaps she could provide some context, knowing how her friends felt and reacted to things.

Would she believe them though? That was the real question. Clara feared she would think they were crazy. Sure, Brittany had initially brought up the idea of ghosts in the house, but did she truly believe they were there? Or was it something she brushed off as a silly, unfounded fear?

“I appreciate that,” Clara replied. “But I’m okay, honestly. It’s just this house sometimes is… a lot. You know? There’s a lot of history that weighs you down a bit.”

“I understand that to some extent,” Brittany admitted. “There is a certain energy about the house that more sensitive people can pick up on. It must be tough to work with. But you are doing a great job with the transformation. You’re shifting that energy, so hopefully you’ll feel a bit more cheerful soon.”

Clara wanted to tell her it was so much more than the energy of the house. She wanted to tell her about the spirits living there. Perhaps Brittany would’ve even been happy knowing her friend was still close by in a way. Maybe she could get Lyla to come back and give them more information.

“Yeah,” Clara replied. “I hope so too.”

They all settled down at the table together to enjoy the delicious meal Ezra had made. Topics went the more casual route at first. They caught up on life, as they hadn’t seen each other much since the day they went snowshoeing together. Everything was rather lighthearted and typical for a dinner shared with friends.

Ezra and Clara thought they were doing well hiding their secret stresses, but their nervous glances, tired eyes, slumped postures, and overall worn-out look betrayed them. They tried to keep up those masks, but their guards were down under all the pressure and the truth was slipping out.

“So,” Sam said, leaning back in his chair, “you must tell us what’s going on.”

“What do you mean?” Ezra asked, suddenly on guard. Since they were already defensive, hearing anything that was confusing immediately put them on edge.

Clara’s mind went to the diary. Did they know about it somehow? Did they know about Billy? Did they know about the ghosts?

“The way your posture tensed right there,” Sam answered, followed by a chuckle. “That’s what I mean. You’re both obviously tense over something. You’ve seemed on edge ever since we got here. Stressed. Worried.

“I do understand opening night is coming up. But this seems like more than just opening day jitters. I’ve never seen new business owners this stressed over opening a business alone. From an outsider’s perspective, it seems everything is on the right track anyway. You’re doing better than most, looks like everything is falling into place. It doesn’t seem like you have a whole lot to worry about. Yet you look like everything is falling apart. You look exhausted.”

Maybe it was the exhaustion, but the confidence Sam had in his assumption made Clara suspicious. It was like he knew exactly what was going on, but how? Was it really that clear? Had other people dealt with similar experiences in the house? Did they just assume it would happen to them?

“We’ve been stressed,” Ezra admitted as he looked over at Clara. Neither knew how much they should share with their new friends. They hadn’t told anyone aside from each other what was really going on in their house lately. They didn’t think anyone else would believe them.

Yet Brittany was the one who brought up ghosts in the first place, and they were being persistent in their inquiry into what was going on. Having been stressed and isolated for so long, it was becoming more difficult for Ezra and Clara not to confide in them.

“Over what?” Brittany asked, once Ezra didn’t continue.

“A lot of things,” Clara admitted. Then she realized that though they couldn’t tell them about the ghosts, perhaps they could share what she found in the diary. She looked at Ezra who shrugged. Neither of them knew the best way to navigate this.

“I found a diary while going through some things in the attic,” she said. “Lyla’s diary.”

Brittany and Sam looked at each other, then back at Clara. Both looked surprised. She worried about how they would react. What if they thought she was intruding on Lyla’s privacy by reading the diary? Perhaps she was. However, she didn’t regret it. She already learned some information she suspected could be vital in the quest to clear their names. That was more important right now than a dead woman’s privacy.

“That’s surprising,” Brittany said, in a tone that suggested she was understating her feelings towards it. She sipped her wine, then reverted to her