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The doctor opened the door with a practiced smile, motioning me to the couch.

“How are you feeling after Doctor T’s death, Asher? It must be overwhelming. He was your therapist before Doctor Sharma.”

I gave him a nod.

I’m feeling fucking fantastic. Except for the pest called Diya Sharma, everything is good.

“Do you still have nightmares, Asher?”

I do.

That had never been a lie. I often dreamed of Riley’s beaten up body, torn, broken, and she was always telling me I killed her in my dreams.

I nodded, and Doctor Stanley sighed.

“It’s your brain’s way of processing sadness and bad things. You have to talk about it, Asher. It’s normal to feel lost after witnessing something so traumatic. It’ll take time, but you've got to take the first step.”

I nodded again. “Okay.”

I’d heal myself as soon as I found the man or men who hurt Riley… and then I’d get out of this fucking haunted mansion and run from all of it. I’d fucking disappear.

“I spoke with the sheriff, and he asked about you. You were friends once?”

I nodded again, my lips flat. Vincent was poking his fucking nose where it didn’t belong. He should be careful, or I just might cut that nose… and cock off.

“Yes.”

I knew Vincent would be a problem. He knew me, for better or worse. He knew all my darkness and fears. Growing up together brought people together in ways no one could understand.

He was one of the reasons I’d staged a mental breakdown and checked into Hollowhaven. Doctor T was the most important reason, but I knew Vincent. I knew how he worked, how his mind worked.

Pretending to be a patient was the perfect cover, a way to stay under the radar while I figured out the truth. The facility’s security was a joke anyway, and it gave me freedom and an alibi.

“If you need anything else, you can always come to me, Asher,” he said, looking at the clock.

Nodding, I stood up.

Thanking Doctor Stanley, I walked out toward the yard when a familiar face caught my attention. I slowed when I saw who the man was looking at. Millie.

It had been years since I had seen Jonah Bricks.

“Jonah?” He jerked, and whirled around, eyes wide. “Hey.”

“Asher.”

“What are you doing here?”

“No-nothing. I came to see Doctor Stanley,” he mumbled, but his eyes kept darting past me, back to Millie, like he couldn’t help himself. His hands twitched at his sides.

The look in his eyes

“Bye, Asher,” Jonah said.

He threw one last look at Millie before he walked away.

Later that night, when the ghosts and the residents of Hollowhaven slept, I crept out of my room and walked toward Doctor T’s office. Everything was eerily quiet, except for the faint creaking of wind against the walls. I opened the door and walked in, my heart banging.

I was so close to finding another truth.