Free The Afterlife series Box Set (Books 1-3) by Willow Rose Page A

to them and in the next couple of hours we made big progress. And I actually had fun. It became like a small competition between us: who could be the first to find a piece we knew where to put. And as it turned out I was quite good at this. Several hours must have passed without us noticing it, when I felt Jason was staring at me intensely. I looked up and met his eyes. For the first time since I became a spirit I felt warm inside.
    “What?” I asked.
    “Look at you.”
    “What about me?”
    “You are sitting down here. On the floor. With me.”
    I was speechless. My hand wasn’t stuck any longer and I hadn’t even noticed. I realized I was sitting on the floor next to Jason putting the pieces on the cardboard. I had been so caught up in this puzzle, I had forgotten everything around me. Including the fact that I had to go back.
    “Wow,” I mumbled.
    “I know.”
    “Your mom was really right. This is the perfect distraction.”
    Jason smiled. Then there was a sound outside the bathroom. Someone was coming up the stairs. Jason froze. Suddenly I saw a strange fear in his eyes. He got up on his feet and shut the door, then he locked it. He looked at me with panic.
    “It’s my step-dad. He woke up. You’d better go now!” He kind of yelled and whispered at the same time.
    “Okay,” I said and approached the mirror. I heard the door handle turn, then heavy knocking.
    “Jason! Are you in there, you little rat?”
    “Go!” Jason whispered and signaled that I needed to hurry.
    “Who is in there with you? You better not have someone in the house without my knowledge.”
    “I don’t,” I heard Jason say, almost crying. “I was just talking to myself … in the mirror.”
    The hammering on the door got worse and all of a sudden I didn’t feel like leaving Jason here with that man.
    “Jason! Open this door immediately or I swear I will make you regret it,” his step-dad yelled.
    Jason shivered. He looked even more frightened than when he saw me for the first time. His whole body trembled while the hammering intensified.
    I looked at him and felt an ache in my heart. Then I floated toward him and took his hand. I squeezed it as hard as I could until I knew he felt it.
    “I will be back one day to build the rest of the puzzle, I promise,” I said. As I did Jason’s step-dad started kicking the door and now it cracked open.
    “Jason!” I heard him roar before I went through the mirror.
     
    Back in the cellar again, I found Abhik sitting asleep on the floor. He had been the only one to wait for me.
    I stood for a long time  just breathing heavily. I stared into the empty mirror as if I  expected to see what was happening in that bathroom after I left. But there was nothing to see. I closed my eyes and thought about Jason. I really wished that I could have helped him in some way.
     
     

C HAPTER 10
     
     
     
     
    D URING THE NEXT COUPLE of weeks I thought a lot about Jason. I felt horrible for not knowing how things ended with his step-dad and if he was all right or not. Several times I thought about going down to the cellar again alone to go through the mirror. But I didn’t even know if the mirror would bring me back to the same place. And I really was afraid to get caught if I tried again.
    I tried my best to keep my distance from Portia and her pack. Since they left me that night I didn’t care much for them. Instead I was hanging out with Mick in the kitchen during most of my free time while my mind was thinking of Jason and that angry step-dad. Jason had been so nice to me and I had a horrible feeling that he was in trouble. 
    I hadn’t told Mick about my night visit in the human house. One day we were sitting in the kitchen and he asked, “What’s on your mind lately? You have been so distant.”
    I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”
    He didn’t believe me. “I think it is something. It certainly doesn’t look like nothing to me.”
    I stared at him. “Is it possible for us to be