“Jesus,” Shane comments as the car skids off to the side. “Be careful, Brooke. Don’t you know how to drive in the snow?”

Not very well. I didn’t have a car back in Queens—I just took the bus where I needed to go. This Toyota is the first car I have ever owned, and this is my first winter dealing with serious snow.

“Maybe you could give me some tips sometime,” I say.

“Yeah, maybe.”

I drive slowly for the rest of the mile stretch out to the farmhouse. I must be going less than ten miles an hour. After a few minutes, the house comes into sight.

It looked bad eleven years ago, and if possible, it looks even worse now. The red paint has nearly completely worn off, except for a few little patches, and the steps to the front door have almost completely crumbled away. The roof is covered with snow, and it seems to at least be holding up, but I bet there’s plenty of damage there as well. This house is a little more than a fixer-upper.

Shane is staring at his old home, his hands clutching his knees. I can’t quite read his thoughts until he bursts out, “Look! It’s my old Chevy!”

Sure enough, Shane’s old car is still parked out by the house, covered in a healthy layer of snow but still recognizable. I’m sure the car will need as much work as the house to get it in usable condition. I pull over next to the Chevy, hoping I can still get my car out after this. The Toyota is not good at backing out of snowy areas.

“That’s where I used to live, Josh,” Shane tells him.

“It’s like a haunted house,” Josh comments.

Shane winks at me. “It might be.”

I wouldn’t entirely be surprised. After all, three people died here. It feels like Shane isn’t quite feeling the gravity of that. He actually seems happy to be here.

“Hey,” Shane says to Josh, “you want to see inside?”

“Sure!”

I open my mouth to protest, but Shane and Josh are already climbing out of the car. I’m so angry at Shane right now, I want to scream. We had an agreement. I told him I would drop him off here and then leave. But if my son is going into the house, I obviously can’t leave. So I have no choice but to hurry after them.