“What Theo means,” I said, rejoicing inside when Savannah looked at me once more. “Is that after you’ve lived with the same people long enough, house meetings aren’t really necessary. You know more about each other than you could ever care to know.”

Savannah nodded, blinking slowly. She was tugging on a tendril of hair that had come loose from her bun, and I wanted to peer inside her mind and see exactly what she was thinking. How was she processing this insane situation? On the outside, she seemed completely calm.

I couldn’t stop myself from asking. “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”

She cocked her head to the side, as if to analyze me. It was disconcerting. I was used to being the person analyzing things, not the other way around. “I’m trying to figure out why I’m not more freaked out. Shouldn’t I be losing my mind? None of this makes sense, and yet my brain is just accepting what the three of you are telling me.”

“It’s the magic of the house,” Felix interjected, somewhat sarcastically. “Come and take a seat. I’m sure that’s not your only question.”

Savannah nodded and walked towards the couch. She brushed against my body as she passed, and I couldn’t help but shiver at the electric touch. I had obviously gone too long without human contact, and my body automatically responded. When I looked up, Theo gave me a funny look. Shit. I really needed to hide my emotions better when Savannah was involved, otherwise all three of us wouldn’t survive. If you could call what we were doing survival. It was a stretch at best.

“Doesn’t anyone come looking for you?” she asked.

It was something I had to wrap my head around too, when I first entered. How does no one realize we’re trapped in here?

I sighed, knowing she wouldn’t like the answer. “Felix explained it to me like this. If people care enough about you, they’ll be able to find you. Otherwise, people merely stumble upon us. Teenagers, mostly. Daring each other to step on the front porch. We’ve gotten pretty good at scaring them off.”

Savannah’s eyes shuddered. “Hence the haunted house rumors.”

“Exactly.” I knew what she was processing now, her mind scanning what I had just said. That no one cared about us enough to come find us. Maybe if we were lucky, she had a boyfriend who would come looking. Although, judging by the events of the basement, I guessed not.

Theo and I joined Felix and Savannah in front of the fireplace. Theo perched on the arm of the sofa, his foot propped up, his knee sticking out to bump Savannah’s shoulder. Their touch was so casual and easy…what was I missing? I took a seat in one of the old leather wing chairs that edged the room.