She's not supposed to be filming in the house.

She's filming anyway.

It's been three days since the wrap-up to their not-so-haunted investigation, and now shit is happening and Sunshine knows she has to tell her subscribers, damn her mother's rules.

So, well, the other night she was asleep—or awake, or half-awake, or maybe she was dreaming—and she sort of thought she saw Anna. Which, is weird, because she hasn't even been thinking of Anna. You know. Different house, all that.

Still. Sunshine has the feeling that something is going to happen soon.
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She can't get that dream-daze-coulda been real life-thing out of her head.

Was it a dream? Did it really happen? Did she really see Anna? She just thinks it's all so weird. The literal reason she and Mom moved was so that they could get away from all the ghosts.

And, yeah, okay, maybe Sunshine hasn't completely gotten over her exorcism, or the fact that Andrew disappeared and Mentor is dead and Victoria is missing. But her state of mind can't possibly have anything to do with all this.

Right?

The other thing is, she's been having this feeling. One she knows all too well, one that goes back to the old house—a creepy, unsettling feeling that buries itself in the pit of her stomach and doesn't let go until she screams at the air to go away.

Sunshine isn't stupid. She isn't naive. She knows what this means, but it still unsettles her. If the house is haunted, what does that mean for her now?

"Girl, you better not be filmin' in there," Kat calls from the other room.

Sunshine laughs to herself despite everything that's going on. "I'm at the designated wall! I didn't even flip it around, so they can't even see any of this room that I'm in! Or...you!" She glances at the camera. "She looks horrible, so it's fine."

"Oh, thanks," her mother says sarcastically.

Sunshine grins.

"They'll just have to trust that I don't look horrible. I look hot, thanks."

She rolls her eyes.

"You—seriously, though."

Her eyes widen. "I'm at the designated wall! We decided this was a perfect place."

"Okay."

"Blank and boring and... how come I can't film the rest of the house?"

Kat raises a brow. "Why do you think?"

"Don't know," Sunshine says innocently.

"Bald-faced lie, you totally know why."

Sunshine glares.

"What, do you—do you want to film, is that what you're saying?"

She nods.

"What do you want to film?"

"The rest of the house," Sunshine whispers.

Kat narrows her eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because! People deserve to know."

"They don't deserve anything."

Sunshine makes a face. "She's very cranky."

"I'm not cranky! And I look good, thanks."

"We'll discuss this later," Sunshine mocks her mother.

Kat just laughs.
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Holy. Shit.

She's freaking out.

Just a little bit.

Okay, a ton, actually.

Uh, so she was walking into the kitchen and she passed by a sliding glass door to the backyard, and Sunshine swears, like serious of seriousness, upon all things that are holy—Teen Vogue, for instance—that she saw Victoria. Like, one hundred and ten percent she saw her. Out there. Standing on the porch.

So, of course, she ran upstairs to grab her camera and when she came back Victoria was gone. What else did she expect? Still, she wants her subscribers to know.

And as Sunshine explains this long-winded story to the people of YouTube, she hears a set of footsteps and, "Are you kidding me?!"

Sunshine winces. "No...? Yes...?"

"Just tell me," Kat says, stomping up, "that that red light is not on."

"It is."

Kat looks exasperated. "What are you doing?"

"Filmiiiinnngg!"

"I see that—you're standing in our kitchen."

"Victoria was out therrreee!"

Kat makes a face. "Victoria was where?"

Sunshine points to the window. "Thereee. Right there."

A pause. "Are you serious?"

"Yes! Ask my Teen Vogue..."

Kat quickly walks over to the door and looks around, brows furrowed.

"She's not there anymore," Sunshine says. Obviously.

Her mother looks back. "What do you mean?"

"We need to film in the house! There's important things happening, clearly."

"No, there's not—"

"Yes!" Sunshine interrupts.

"—important things happening."

"Yes, there are!"

Kat sighs.

"No, we need to film."

"We'll talk about it," Kat says as she walks away.

Sunshine groans. "We will talk about it later, don't you worry."
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Well.

Sunshine heard a door slam upstairs.

At first she thought, hey, maybe it's just the wind. Maybe it was a draft, she could've left a window open. But, uh. Then she heard it again, so it's definitely not the wind.

Now she's sort of waiting to hear another one, and she's once again breaking the rules by filming in the house—Sorry, Mom—and it's kind of freaking Sunshine out, especially since she's home alone.

Should she go upstairs?

Sunshine thinks she probably shouldn't, but, hey. She's never really been smart about these things. Maybe she should just wimp out and hang out downstairs. Still, it's freaking her out.

So, against all better judgement, Sunshine passes through the snug, decorated living room nestled next to the open kitchen, and steps foot on the stairs leading the way towards both she and her mother's rooms. It's dark—incredibly dark—and the only source of light is from a lamp across the living room.

And, well, the stairs are just as creepy as the old one. Maybe Kat just really loves long, creepy stairwells.

At least this one doesn't have a spandrel.

She begins moving up the stairs, slowly and quietly, murmuring to the camera. Suddenly, there's a loud slam that sends her jeering to the side, ice flicking through her chest. The sound echoes off the walls and Sunshine breathes in, jaw quivering. Yeah. Definitely not the wind.

Still, she presses on and makes it upstairs, passing by the guest room and peering into her mother's. It's empty, so far, but Sunshine keeps looking behind her back, terrified that someone is going to be standing in the corner.

She stops at the door to her bedroom, which has been clicked shut. She definitely left that door open. Sunshine bites the inside of her cheek and shakily opens the door, glancing inside. The bedroom is spacious, surrounded by pink walls and posters on one side. Next to her large white bed is a tall, oak cupboard with a stack of books on top, and at the foot of her bed is a stuffed animal alligator.

Overall, entirely cozy. Also entirely empty.

"Hello...?" Sunshine calls hesitantly, not really wanting to step inside but feeling like she has to. She glances at her television and peers behind another cupboard, but no one is in here. Just her.

She wishes Kat would get home faster.

She'll probably call her.

this is short and sweet and exactly how i want it to be! this part won't be as long, probably around the same length as part two, but the short chapters are reminding me of when i started this book and it's oddly refreshing.

anywho, yep! not much happening here, but it's a start. next up more ghost activity...but unfortunately no nolan. we'll get to him in about two chapters! hang in there.