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“Did you want to watch me?” Nate pulled up a chair and sat. “I wouldn’t mind some company with my meal.”

Leo, meanwhile, didn’t move from his spot by the door. “You’re seriously weird.”

Nate picked up a slice of pizza, unbothered. “How so?”

“Inviting a ghost to dinner, really?”

“I suppose you can’t actually eat so I only invited you to watch me eat.”

“That makes it weirder.”

“Fair.” Nate took a bite and chewed. It was far from the best pizza he’d ever had, but it was warm and fatty and exactly what his body craved after a day of work. He wasn’t going to let the ghost in the kitchen stop him from enjoying it.

“Normal people are scared of ghosts,” Leo said.

“I’m not normal people.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

Nate ate for a moment in silence, considering how much he wanted to share with the redhead. It probably didn’t matter what he said, considering that Leo couldn’t tell anyone else. And in a few days’ time, Nate would exorcise him anyway.

“I grew up with ghosts.”

Leo blinked. “What?”

“My whole family can see them. Some more than others, but it runs in the line.” He took another bite, chewed again. “I’ve been interacting with ghosts for as long as I can remember. I used to think everyone could see them. Didn’t really catch on until the other kids started looking at me weird.”

“That’s...” Leo considered. “You must have looked like a freak.”

Nate almost laughed. “Yeah, I got that a lot until I learned to control my reactions.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed. “Like you did during the house tour.”

“Yes.” Nate finished the first slice of pizza. “In any case, I’m used to being around ghosts. When I was small, there was an old woman who used to sit in the corner of my bedroom and knit. She never said a word. I liked her.” He paused. “Others were less fun. There was one who used to stand at the foot of my bed every night and just… stare. My mom had to clear him out.”

“Clear him out,” Leo repeated.

“She exorcised him.”

Leo’s expression became guarded. “Your mom did that?”

“She’s a medium. That’s what mediums do.” Nate turned the pizza box slightly, choosing a second slice. “She got rid of all my ‘imaginary friends.’”

“How did you like that?”

“Not too much, to be honest.” Nate shook his head, remembering his younger self, sobbing because he didn’t understand why he could no longer play with the ghost of the kid who’d died by the crossing near his house. At least Georgie never said he was a freak. “It took me a while to understand. But by the time I graduated elementary school I learned how to do it myself. I was really good at it.”

“You weren’t that good the other night,” Leo quipped.

“I was fine the other night. You’re the one who’s broken.”

That was the wrong word to use. Nate realized it the second it left his mouth and Leo’s whole demeanor changed.

Nate hurried to correct himself. “I didn’t mean to say that⁠—“

“No, sure,” Leo cut him off. “It’s fine. You can tell me about your sad childhood all you want, but we’re not friends. You bought my house and you can’t get rid of me and that’s a problem for you, not a dinner conversation.”

Nate set the slice down.