“No, being left behind is worse,” she amended.
“Yeah,” he whispered.
James saw how her lower lip trembled. “My mom taught me how to fly,” he said, without knowing why.
Lenora paused for a long time and then said, “My dad taught me how to feel.”
They both turned their faces to the moon.
“Coming here…I guess that was kind of dumb,” he said.
“I guess,” Lenora said.
“I mean, this place could be dangerous. Like, maybe weak stairs or floorboards.”
“Yeah,” Lenora agreed.
The wind blew and the chandelier tinkled behind them.
“It…was a bit…creepy…at times,” he confessed, surprised at his own admission.
“It was effing terrifying,” Lenora said.
“Really?” He looked at her. “You didn’t show it until the end.”
“I didn’t want you to know. And,” she added, “I wasn’t as scared with you around.”
“You know, I have some friends…waiting at the bottom of the hill somewhere for a full report on the tour,” he said.
“Oh, so you really did come up here on a bet?”
He paused. “Technically,” he decided. “I think I wanted to do the tour for some time, and this just gave me the excuse.”
“Really?” Lenora raised an eyebrow.
“Well, we’re not close to any other military families. And I knew the story of The House. And then I did that research and…it was as close as I could get to my own…story.” He stared at the steps. “Did you really come here on a bet?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, I just chose to come here on the night I thought would be the worst. You know, the biggest challenge.