“I was never normal, but I liked to pretend that I was. It usually took a few months before everyone else caught on.”

“I froze, my hand on the wall, and listened. Someone was definitely upstairs. I reached into my pocket for my cell phone and took a step back toward the front door. I kept my eyes on the stairs and my hand on the cell phone. A light flashed across the hallway”

“I had learned how to leave a place behind without leaving a piece of myself along with it, but more important, I had taught myself how to be detached. I never joined teams or clubs, and I doubted my picture appeared in a single yearbook. I was, in a way, a ghost: no one could prove I had ever existed once I physically left a location.”

“Before we had left for Charleston, I had been shoved—hard—by and unseen spirit wreaking havoc in our house. I had been hurt, but it wasn’t nearly as serious as what had happened in Ohio.I tried to smile. “I guess I’m just a paranormal punching-bag.”

“I see her,” a man’s voice whispered. A chill spread through me. Shane played it again. Never had three little words terrified me so much. I see her.”

“I wanted someone to gaze at me that way, someone to share a truly incredible moment with. I wondered how long I would have to wait.”

“As we headed toward the living room, I couldn’t help feeling dread. It was as if I was being led to my own beheading.”