Two teenagers she used to babysit were her current patients. And she wasn’t even on the clock.
(-- WHY is it always teenagers? She was positive she’d never been so self-destructive, ability to choose notwithstanding.)
Both boys were pale and very shaken -- but their injuries were minor.
“And WHAT have we learned about trespassing in ancient houses riddled with wood rot and termites?” They’d both gone through a rotten section of stairs and were lucky not to have broken anything.
“Don’t,” they mumbled, not quite in unison.
“Good. Now get home, both of you. Your mom sent me out to find you, and you ought to be ASHAMED of yourselves for worrying her when she’s sick.”
Now they looked a bit GRAY. If she knew the Volkov’s they’d have ringing ears for the rest of the night for sneaking out.
The two ran off back to the apartments down the road when she shooed them. And Clarke was inclined to follow -- she had an early shift in the morning -- but then a CHILL ran up her spine.
She looked back at the house. Surely it wasn’t actually HAUNTED... she’d been living here for years and never sensed anything before.
I’d really rather go to bed.
But her responsible nature nagged her into walking up the stairs and pushing open the door her ‘patients’ had recently tumbled out of.