Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 121578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
“No,” Margot says. “We weren’t.” She clears her throat. “I was falling asleep when I heard the loud bang again. April obviously heard it too, and we both met in the hallway.”
“Wait, your dad and cousin never heard it?” Trinity asks.
“Nope.” Margot shakes her head. “April thought I was messing with her, so she checked my room first.”
Lilly huffs. “She didn’t find anything, right?”
“Nope. This time, I didn’t bother checking all over.” Margot holds her hands up in the air. “We went straight to the viewing room.”
“Do not say that creepy doll was out again.” Ravage points a finger at Margot. “Don’t.”
Margot falls against me, laughing. “Unfortunately, yes.”
A chorus of disbelief echoes around the fire.
“I’m serious.” Margot presses her palms together like she’s begging them to believe her. “She was sitting on top of the casket again. But this time with the two coins that April had put in the woman’s hands.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding,” Z groans.
“Nope. April ran to get my dad—”
“Splitting up is a classic horror movie no-no,” Emily tsks.
“I know!” Margot shouts. “But I knew my dad wouldn’t believe us. He’d think we were playing a prank on him.”
Everyone’s silent and watching Margot now.
“I followed her up the stairs,” Margot says. “And we heard another banging noise, so we both ran back to the viewing room.” She waits, letting the silence further spook everyone. “The doll and the coins were gone.”
“Oh, come on,” Rav moans.
“No, seriously,” Margot says. “We opened the casket and everything was back inside—well, the doll wasn’t in her pouch, so I put her back in and tied it again.”
“I’m starting to think she didn’t like being in the bag,” Z points out.
“I think you had a bad Kikimora,” Lilly says. “She must have felt disrespected or insulted that she was taken out of the woman’s house.”
Z just stares at her.
I can’t decide if my president’s wife is trying to bolster Margot’s story or if she believes in this stuff. But Rav’s looking uneasier by the second, so it’s a win either way.
“You might be right, Lilly.” Margot closes her eyes briefly, as if it’s hard to relay this part of the story. “The next day at the funeral, I took the daughter aside and asked if she was sure she wanted us to bury the doll. This terrified look came over her face and she asked if anything weird had happened.”
“Uh, yeah!” Heidi says. “Did you tell her?”
“Well, I didn’t want to seem unprofessional, but I did end up telling her about the water and the doll getting out.” Margot glances up at the sky. “She was so upset and insisted we double-check that the doll was in the casket when we buried her mom. So, at the gravesite, we unfortunately had to do just that.”
“What’d your dad think of that?” Teller asks.
“He’s used to odd requests from family. We just had to make a few adjustments, so it was okay.”
“The doll was in there?” Ravage asks.
“Yup.” Margot nods. “And I stayed with the daughter while they buried the casket.”
Rav stands and brushes off his jeans. “Well, that was definitely spooky. Thanks, Margot.”
“Wait, I’m not done.”
Rav freezes in place, staring at her. “What do you mean you’re not done?”
“Oh my God,” Z mutters.
“Imagine my surprise that night, when I’m getting ready for bed…” Margot stops and takes a dramatic breath. “And find the doll sitting on my nightstand.”
Different people shout, “No!” or “No way!”
Margot holds up a hand like she’s swearing an oath. “I swear to everything under the sun.”
“There had to be more than one of these dolls.” Wrath’s smug face suggests he thinks he’s unraveled the whole story. “Right? This lady was just fucking with you.”
Margot tilts her head as if she’d once considered that idea, then discarded it. “I thought it might be a possibility.”
“There’s no way.” Teller frowns. “That’s fucked up.”
Look at Mr. Logic getting all flustered.
“I thought so too.” Margot’s lips twist with amusement. “I tried calling the daughter to ask about the doll—if she wanted it back.”
“And?” Hope prompts.
“Her number was disconnected.”
“What a bitch,” Trinity sputters. “She stuck you with her family’s creepy, haunted doll?”
“Seemed that way,” Margot agrees. “I’d had enough. I marched outside and threw her in the crematorium and cranked it high.”
Rav stands again. “Great story. Thank you, Margot.” He slow-claps.
Margot purses her lips, like she’s trying not to laugh.
I have a feeling she’s still not done.
“Don’t say it,” I mutter.
Margot turns her mischievous gaze on me, her lips curving into a faint, wicked smile. “Yup. It should’ve been burned to ash. But when I went back to my room, she was sitting right on my nightstand again.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Margot
I have to stop myself from giggling at the chorus of “bullshit!” the brothers yell at me.
“I’m serious,” I insist. “The back of it was charred a little but otherwise it was perfectly fine.”