Page 59 of Haunting the Deep

“It smells delicious, Mr. M,” Alice says with a scratchy morning voice, propping herself up on one elbow.

“Come on down when you’re ready.”

I slide out of bed, pulling my leg from under Broome, and put my feet in my slippers. My nondream comes rushing back to me, and I almost stumble. “You guys? I…”

Susannah slides out of bed in her green floor-length nightgown. Her wavy auburn hair is messy around her face instead of in its usual neat bun. “You went back?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s the third night in a row,” Susannah says.

“I know,” I say with anxiety in my voice. “I don’t understand how…but I saw Ada—you know, that little spirit girl? She recognized me and was so shocked I was there that she fainted. But before she did, she said something about me being inherdreams….”

Alice holds up her hand. “Back up. You’re saying the spirit girl was there last night and she somehow thinks when she visits you here in Salem that you’re inherdreams?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. She was a passenger on the ship, people knew her and were talking to her. How is that possible?”

Mary’s face pales. “Okay, that’s too weird.”

Susannah’s features scrunch together. “And what’s stranger is that in Salem no one can see her except you, but on theTitanic,everyone can see her.”

Alice leans against the bed. “Yeah, but she’s dead. That’s why we can’t see her here.”

“That’s exactly why I think it’s so weird that people there can,” Susannah says.

We all look at Susannah.

“What are you thinking?” I ask. “That everyone in her world is dead and that’s why they can see her?”

“Unless anyone can think of a better explanation?” Susannah says.

We’re all silent for a second.

“Can someone please say Sam’s not going to the bottom of the ocean with a bunch of dead people? I’m really not good with that,” Mary says.

“It’s not the sunkenTitanic,” I say. “It’s actually super bright and sparkly.” I frown. “I really don’t know why I just had a knee-jerk reaction to tell you how nice it is. Why would I do that? I don’t like anything about being on that ship.”

Alice eyes me. “I don’t know, but tell us if it happens again. We can’t let your confusion about that ship spill into your waking life.”

I shudder. “Agreed.”

“So if it’s not the wreckage you’re visiting, then maybe Susannah was right. Maybe you’re going to some kind of replica?” Mary says.

“A spell ship?” Susannah says.

I push my hair back from my forehead. “Remember what I told you guys yesterday about the two conflicting sides of my brain? Well, the accepting side definitely won this time. Until I saw Ada, I’d almost entirely stopped being suspicious. It’s like each time I go, I become more and more comfortable in that reality.”

Susannah watches me. “Maybe the spell from the dress never actually broke? Maybe you’re still under it? That could even be why you felt the need to tell us how beautiful the place is.”

“I wanna say no way, and that I would know, but I’m not sure what to trust right now.”

“Was there anything else, anything odd or any suspicious people?” Alice asks.

“No one strange but Ada.” I glance toward the door, which my dad left cracked open. “Let’s go eat before he comes back up here again,” I say, and they follow me toward the stairs.

We head to the dining room, which looks like it’s straight out ofPride and Prejudice.The walls are paneled in dark wood, the table is long enough to comfortably seat ten, and there is a brass chandelier with lights that resemble old candles. Jaxon is already at the table. I stare at him a second longer than I should. We don’t usually eat with the Meriwethers on the weekends. And even with Mrs. Meriwether here, I figured there was no way Jaxon would show up. My hands start to sweat. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe he’s here because he wants to smooth everything out.

Mary walks into the room behind me, gets a look at the table teeming with delicious food, and stops short.