The Follower by Kate Doughty (ebook reader with built in dictionary TXT) 📕

He rocks back and forth ever so slightly, still gnawing on his lower lip. “I—I did know. But it’s such a good opportunity, and don’t you think that houses like this deserve another chance? I knew that if anyone could do it, we could, and—” He falters. “It was the only property we could afford, Marie.”

“Later,” is all Mrs. Cole says. Rudy has never seen his mother’s jaw clenched so tightly before. She turns to the realtor. “What happened?”

Mrs. Armstrong starts slowly. “The . . . victim was a seventeen-year-old girl. From what I’ve heard, she was going through a lot of . . . pressure . . . with school. She jumped. Poor, poor thing. It was a horrible time for this house. It deserves so much better.” Rudy eyes her. He has the distinct feeling that Mrs. Armstrong isn’t telling them everything.

Rudy exchanges a look with his sisters. Someone had died in this house. Why would he want to do paint swatches and talk about crown molding when he could be telling a spooky story about the house’s history? Judging by his phone notifications, their followers are already excited about this break in normal renovation content. Rudy catches Amber’s eye and mouths a word to her: Viral. After a second, she glances at her own phone and nods back.

“That’s why it’s so lovely to have another family living here,” Mrs. Armstrong tries to start again, but Mrs. Cole ignores her.

She turns to her Amber. “I don’t suppose you cut before she mentioned the suicide.” Amber shakes her head. “Great.” Mrs. Cole sighs and runs a hand through her hair. “We’ll have to discuss what we’re going to tell everyone.”

“E—everyone?” the realtor asks.

“Their followers!” Mrs. Cole snaps. “On the livestream we’ve been doing this entire time—they have almost a million followers on Instagram—”

“Uh . . .”

“Of course we’re going to tell them, Mom,” Rudy says, trying to keep the pleading tone from his voice. “This could go viral.”

Mrs. Cole presses her lips together and looks to Amber, who nods. Cecily is silent. Mrs. Cole turns back to the realtor. “Will this decrease the value of the house?”

“Honey,” Mr. Cole says, finding his voice for the first time since Mrs. Armstrong broke the news. “You don’t get houses this big this cheap without a few . . . drawbacks.”

Mrs. Cole doesn’t look at her husband. “I said. We’ll talk. Later.” Rudy winces.

The realtor plasters on a smile. “It’s time to write this house a new history,” she says. “Besides, if your lovely children think that this could go viral . . .” Mrs. Cole gives Rudy and Cecily a look. They’ll discuss this later, after they finish editing and posting the video version of their livestream. “Why don’t we . . . head downstairs?” Mrs. Armstrong asks, ushering them out of the turret room and toward the main level. As the realtor goes on and on about mahogany wood and paneling, Rudy motions at Amber to turn the livestream back on. This is better than he could have believed. After a few seconds of pleading looks, she finally does. Mrs. Cole might want to be cautious, but he has other plans. This is his chance to create content that is actually interesting. And besides, Mrs. Armstrong had already exposed the death to the livestream, right?

Amber points the camera at him.

“So, what do you think?” Rudy whispers, grinning at the camera. “Did someone die here? Is our new house haunted?” He makes an exaggerated screaming face, holding it just long enough to be captured as a potential thumbnail. Amber gives him a thumbs-up; Cecily rolls her eyes. “Come on, Cece,” he says. “Think of all the supercool dead girl makeup looks you can do!”

Cecily doesn’t laugh. Rudy continues. “Leave a like, a comment, let us know—should we try to contact her ghost? Is there one?” He casts a glance toward Mrs. Cole at the front of the group. She hasn’t noticed that they’re filming. Rudy decides to quit while he’s ahead. “And, on that huge news, I think it is time for us to sign off—from a spookier house tour than we expected! Guys, we’re so excited about this new project—and we’re excited to show you everything, every step of the way. Thanks, Cole Patrol. And don’t forget to follow us! And, as always, have a great day! Bye!”

The second the camera is off he feels his face react, and experiences the usual wave of exhaustion that comes with being on. But instead of just being fatigued, this time he’s also excited. As soon as the realtor leaves, he’s going straight to the account to check the comments. He’s sure that the Cole Patrol is going to be as enthusiastic about the ghost as he is. He’s ready to stop with the renovation and start shooting something fun.

But once Mrs. Armstrong leaves, Rudy finds himself cornered by his mother. She’s seen his impromptu livestream part two. Rudy gets an earful, but he’s not listening to her going on about engagement or brand management. Instead, he’s thinking about the suicide. About what this could mean for the account.

“Don’t forget to take ‘before’ shots of all the rooms.” Rudy tunes back in as Mrs. Cole rounds out her lecture with advice on how to pivot back on-brand. Rudy nods absently. It’s a small price for staving off his mom’s irritation. And besides, Amber and Cecily will make it fun.

When Rudy and his sisters finish their mom’s photo assignment an hour later, Rudy grabs his guitar from its case and joins Amber in her room, where she’s editing the livestream footage. He sits against her bed and jams softly on “Blue Ghost Blues” while she edits photos. It feels appropriate.

After a while, he wanders back to his room, where his phone is charging. He puts away the guitar and picks up his phone, scrolling through the internet, making search after search. Across the hallway, he can hear Cecily cooing at Speckles. A quick glance confirms that she’s let the dwarf bunny out of