I come awake to a huge bang that seems to shake the house. Sitting bolt upright with my heart hammering out of my chest, I gaze wildly around. There’s nothing—just the usual bedroom lit by moonlight. I turn to Levi, expecting him to be awake too, but he’s lying peacefully on his side, one hand stretched out to me.

I lick my lips. What the fuck was that?

The house stays still and quiet, and slowly I relax, my heart returning to normal speed. It was just a dream. I’m lowering myself back to the sheets when the bang happens again. This time, I recognise the loud, echoing sound immediately. It’s the front door.

I leap from the bed and pull on my boxers, sparing a cautious glance at Levi. He’s still asleep, which makes all my warning lights flare bright red. I hesitate, unsure whether to leave him, but a repeat of the door banging makes up my mind.

After jogging across the bedroom, I race down the stairs and come to an abrupt stop.

The front door is closed.

I try the handle. It’s locked tight the way we left it. What the hell is going on? I shiver in the cold air and cautiously scan the space.

A line of light appears at the bottom of the closed lounge door. I look longingly up the stairs towards Levi.

He’s made so many changes in my life since we’ve been together, and I’m loved and safe now. But the one thing he can never change is that I am utterly alone at times like this. He can’t help me and never will be able to. But then, I’ve been alone all my life with the spirits. There’s nothing new here.

I exhale slowly, unsurprised to see my breath crystalise in the air. My nostrils fill with the scent of something burning, as if toast’s been left on the grill for too long. It’s my warning for spirit presence, which never fails, although it can be tricky at breakfast if Levi is in one of his dreamy moods and burns the breakfast.

Shaking out my hands, I step towards the door and push it open.

I’m intruding. It’s as if a party had been going on and everyone had hidden at my entrance. A sense of activity being hastily curtailed.

I snap the light on to look around, and my mouth falls open. Every picture hangs neatly upside down, the rug is rolled back from the fireplace, and the curtains have been hooked over the rail. Movement catches my eye, and I spin around, my heart hammering.

There’s an old clock that Levi found at an antique fair last year. Its hands are spinning rapidly around its face. I step closer. And they’re going backwards.