Stephan, Jake, and I jumped slightly as the door to the study room opened without warning. A short woman with dirty brown hair and bright red lips walked in and smiled at us. A badge on her shirt addressed her as the head librarian, and I felt the disappointment crawl up my back.

"Listen, kids, I'd love to let you stay, but unfortunately, it's four o'clock. And that means it's time to close." She said gently.

"Of course," I said, standing up as I helped Stephan and Jake organize the materials we'd gathered.

The woman watched in silence as we exited the room and headed toward the entrance. Making it to the checkout counter, Jake went to turn in the paper he'd borrowed, and I placed the books I'd found on the desk. Stephan and Jake met me at the front door, and we all left the library without saying anything.

Making it to my car, I shoved the books I rented into the backseat and felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. Scrambling to grab it, I panicked when I realized I'd missed the call. Not that I would've answered anyway. Not when I saw that it was from my aunt. What did she want? I wondered. After a few seconds, my phone alerted me that she'd left a message.

I could feel my grip tighten around my phone, but I closed my eyes to relax and then went over to the voicemail section. Ignoring the message left by Micheal, I put the phone to my ear and listened to my aunts.

"Hey, sweetie, just wanted to call and wish you a-" Aunt Gigi's voice chirped through the phone before being cut off by Jake.

"Hey, Reagan, isn't today your birthday?" He asked.

"Very happy birthday!" The message finished.

I rolled my eyes, put away my phone, and nodded. "Yeah. Apparently."

Stephan reached into his pocket, pulling out a small candy and holding it out to me. I gave him a confused frown but took it from him. I wasn't one to turn down candy. He gave me a small smile, and I found myself grinning back. The cold wind softly blew around us, causing me to shiver, but I brushed it off and put the candy in my front pocket.

"It's not much, but it's something. I usually keep tons of those on me when I'm studying." Stephan explained.

"Thank you," I said, looking down at the ground to avoid his gaze.

It was awkward to be around him again after our last encounter, but I tried my best to keep on a smile. In all honesty, it was good to see him. I was just socially awkward. It was hard to make friends since Jake and I had gotten here, but even harder to have a romantic relationship.

"I'll see you around, Reagan," Stephan said with a quick grin as he walked away.

"O- ok! Bye!" I yelled back.

I got into the driver's side of the car, and I could already feel the stare coming from my brother in the passenger seat. I turned the key in the ignition, avoided his gaze so I wouldn't have to hear his remarks, and drove away from Wisconsin Public Library.

During the drive home, I was waiting for Jake to say something. After all, it wasn't like I hadn't been giving him a hard time about him and Jaime. But, instead, he didn't make a sound the entire ride back. It was nice to have the silence to relax. Maybe he knew that I needed to keep some things to myself. I'd happily let him do the same as long as they didn't compromise his safety.

Besides, Stephan was new. I didn't know him all that well, and Micheal was another thing that kept getting in the way every time I tried to walk away. What he wanted, I didn't know. But I knew I'd have to call him back. And that was something I was dreading.

"So," Jake said when we made our way inside the house. "He seems like a nice guy."

"Jake!" I argued. "No."

"Oh, what, he's just a friend?" He asked, teasingly.

"It's complicated," I replied stiffly, my nerves shot.

"Reagan, come on. Everyone can see the way you look at him." He insisted. "What's so bad about having him around anyway?"

"I thought you didn't like him." I raised a brow at Jake as he sat down on the couch.

"I don't." He said with a roll of his eyes. "But, you do."

I walked to the couch and sat down next to Jake, more than ready to take my mind off of things. As I did, he leaned forward and looked at me with the sternest face I'd ever seen. After a brief second, he spoke again.

"Things may be... complicated. But, I do know one thing." He said earnestly. "He's a million times better than that other dumb brute you were seeing."

"Jesus, Jake, what is with you and Michael?" I asked in frustration. "What did he do to you?"

"That night, when I almost killed you, he was the first one that showed up. And, if you'd seen the look on his face, you'd feel the same." He said quietly.

"I'm sure it was bad, but that's not an excuse to go from liking to hating someone," I said. "I've given people dirty looks too."

"This was more than a dirty look." He argued.

Jake looked away for a moment and then glanced back at me. The look I saw showed me how much he'd changed. This wasn't the scared little boy I knew. He was brave, and wouldn't let anything stand in the way. I almost envied him a little.

Inside, I was still afraid. I was petrified, to be honest. In the matter of a single moment, my whole life had changed. Finding out that demons exist, that I could see ghosts and feel things that other people couldn't, was insane. But, despite being uneasy, it seemed like Jake was taking it way better than I was.

He eventually got up and walked away, leaving me with my thoughts. Usually, I wouldn't mind. However, I missed him. So, I followed him upstairs and sat down next to him on his bed as he pulled out his homework. A flash of the last time we'd worked on it together glossed through my head, and I trembled.

He set it down on his bed, looked up at me, and then got to work. I watched him answer every problem carefully, making sure to show his reasoning, and it brought me back. I remembered the days when I was in high school. And that took me back even further. Back to the days when we lived with our aunt and uncle. Back to when we lived with our parents.

"Jake?" I call. "Jake?"

He runs out of the playroom and dashes toward the front door at high speed. I chase after him, making sure to grab him before he can get away. Of course, he gives me that look. The one that means he's about to start crying and get me in trouble.

"You know you can't play out here without mommy and daddy," I say.

"Mom!" Jake screams.

"Oh, alright, hush loves," She says softly, wrapping her hands in our hair. "Your father specifically set these rules for a reason."

I'm not sure where she came from, maybe somewhere from the kitchen, but she's there comforting us gently.

"No fair! I'm a big boy! I'm three years old!" He argues.

"Jake! No!" Our mother scolds him lightly. "That goes for you too, Reagan."

"Yes, mommy," I reply instantly.

Jake sticks his tongue out at me angrily, a bright red forming on his cheeks.

I startled myself awake, blinking rapidly as I saw that the once bright outside was now dim as the sun began to set. I sat up, wiping tears away as they streamed down my face. Jake was now sitting against his bed frame, working silently on his homework.

"What time is it?" I asked, stifling a yawn.

"Almost 9:30." He informed me. "What were you dreaming about, out of curiosity?"

"Nothing!" I replied defensively. I hadn't meant to, but in all the years I'd known him, he'd never once asked about my dreams.

"It's just... well... you were talking in your sleep." He said. "And, you said things about mom and dad."

Fresh tears started to stream down my face as the dream became a memory. That was the last day we'd seen them, the last time I'd ever held my mother and told her goodbye. And, in the time since our parent's death, I'd never had that dream. But, I knew all too well what it was meant to be.

My father and mother had always forbidden us from going outside to play without their permission. They hadn't had many rules, necessarily, but that was the biggest one. If we broke it, we'd likely have our ears chewed off for weeks. I knew it was for a reason, but Jake, on the other hand, never followed the rules.

Whatever was so wrong about where we'd lived, why going out was so unsafe, I'd never know. I was just a little girl at the time, so I didn't have many memories. They were cherished since it was all I had left.

"Sorry, Jake." I apologized timidly.

"It's fine. I don't talk about them either. I mean, it's not like I remember them anyway." He said sadly.

"How can you? You were only three." I said.

"When they were alive, what were they like?" He asked suddenly.

"Mom was very loving. Or, I should say nurturing. When she was around, that is. Half the time, she was locked away in dad's study or bouncing around the house cleaning or something." I reminisced. "I don't remember much about dad. I guess he wasn't around as much. When he was, they sat together and talked a lot. I know he loved her. So much."

"You think they're together?" Jake asked.

"I don't think about it, Jake." I sighed.

With that, the air was hit with a heavy silence. There was nothing left to say. Our parents were dead when we were very young. It was getting harder and harder to remember them.

I tried to cling to everything I could, but I found my memory slipping. Some days it would be what color shirt our mom loved wearing, and other days it would be her voice.

As the night went by, Jake hardly moved from the place on his bed. I offered to help, but he laughed and assured me he'd be alright. So, with that, I left him to it, opting to go to my room where I could head to bed. Maybe I won't dream about that stuff tonight. I thought.

Climbing under my sheets after shutting out the light, I stared at my ceiling. I hadn't had a chance to think about mom and dad since Toto had started. The last time had been promising Jake we would visit them at the cemetery. And I knew we needed to. It had been way too long since we'd seen them.

"Reagan," A cold whisper brushed my cheek, bursting me awake.

"Who's there?" I whimpered.

The same girl with long brown hair that I'd seen before stood in front of me, her pondering expression analyzing me a bit. Even if she was a ghost, at least she didn't look like she wanted to kill me.

"What do you want? You aren't here to kill me, right?" I asked with a shaky breath.

"Kill?" She tilted her head slightly. "I don't want to bring harm, trust me."

"Then, what the hell do you want with me?" I grew a little louder.

"Your help." She said calmly.

"Help with what?" I sat up more, looking her directly in the eyes.

She faded away as my brother threw open the bedroom door. His scared eyes and shaking knees told me he'd probably heard the whole conversation.

"Ok. First, you go all Sixth Sense on me, and now this? Reagan, seriously, whatever's going on, you better tell me." He hissed.

I nodded, patting the spot on my bed next to me. It was late, but I figured he needed to know everything I felt safe enough to tell him. This was not how I'd imagined spending my birthday, but at least I wasn't alone, and I owed it to Jake. Well, happy birthday. I thought somberly.