Page 58 of The Scrooge Effect

“Maybe we should do that,” he agreed. “Now, would you like me to get you to the light?”

Did I want to float above the world with an ethereal creature? Not really, but I also didn’t want to walk through the snow and freeze to death.

“Fine, but just keep your hands above the waist.”

“How about I not put my hands on you at all?” the voice snapped.

I was lifted in the air and spun around a dizzying number of times before we shot off through the air at rocket speed.

“Oh shit!” I shouted, closing my eyes as we flew over buildings and swung dangerously close to a few water towers.

I opened my eyes just in time to see us come to a dead halt right outside an old house in a rundown part of town. My heart stopped in my chest as I stared at the wall, and then there was nothing holding me up any longer, and I fell two stories to the ground.

Landing with a thump, ice-cold snow sliced through my bare feet. Rolling over to the sidewalk, I got up, brushing the snow from my body.

“You couldn’t have set me down gently?”

“What would be the fun in that?”

The sidewalks hadn’t been shoveled, and the clumps of ice were almost worse than the snow pressed against my feet.

“Any chance you could get me shoes?”

A familiar buzzer sounded, and Zoe stormed over to me, shaking her head in disappointment. “We’re already behind. What took you so long to get here?”

“I—”

“Never mind. It doesn’t matter. You’ve already missed a good five minutes. You’ll have to hurry if you want to catch the scene.”

She grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward the house.

“What? No British flats for this scene?” I grumbled.

“Well, you weren’t on board with my first two scenes, so I didn’t bother this time around. Not that you would know a good setting if it smacked you in the face.”

Wincing as I stepped on a particularly sharp shard of ice on the stairs, I yanked my arm out of her grasp. “Do you think someone could get me some shoes? My feet are freezing.”

Looking down, she gaped at my bare feet. “Well, that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Spinning, she marched to the edge of the porch and called out into the darkness. “Can someone get some shoes over here!”

In a flash, a pair of bunny slippers appeared on my feet with little ears. “Seriously?”

“Hey, your feet are warm. Be happy about it.” She grabbed my arm again and dragged me to the window. “Now, we don’t have a lot of time. As I said, you’ve already missed part of the scene. Just go with it.”

“Go with what?” I shouted as she ran into the darkness.

This whole thing was ridiculous, but I’d learned throughout the night that it was better if I just went with it. At least it would be over soon. So, I pressed my face up against the window, then grimaced at the amount of dirt covering the glass.

Not that it mattered. I got the gist the moment I looked into the dim lighting of the living room.

“You can’t leave me!” a woman sobbed, yanking on a man’s sleeve.

He tore his arm away from her and stormed toward the door, picking up his suitcase. “I can’t live like this anymore.”

“I can change!” she cried. Mascara ran in rivulets down her skinny cheeks. Whoever this woman was, she looked terrible. Her clothes hung loosely from her body, and the mess in the house was enough to make anyone leave.

“Grace, you’ve said that a million times before,” the man sighed. “I love you, but I can’t keep doing this. You’re back on drugs, and the drinking is out of control.”

“Drugs?” I murmured to myself.