Malcolm was right—there is way too much weird energy in this room. And it got one hundred percent weirder the second those words came out of my mouth.

"My GOD," Bundty squeals in delight. "This is your dad?! Priceless!" Bundty flips out her phone to try and snap a photo of Malcolm.

"Young lady!" Malcolm demands, using his giant duffle bag to hide his face. "You do NOT have permission to photograph me without consent or payment."

Jaxson is too busy gawking at Malcolm to respond to my comment. He's in shock—no, he's shook! I don't blame him.

"I really thought we had something," Maverick says, trying to sneak his way past Bundty to the front door.

"Really, Maverick?!" I yell, as all my frustration spouts out. "What gave you that impression?!"

"Da boob photo," Maverick shrugs back, looking genuinely disappointed the night didn't turn out as expected.

"I'm not even mad," Bundty wipes tears away from her eyes, "This is just too pathetic."

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" All eyes turn to see Jaxson's BIG MOOD. I think he might just explode with an overload of WTF. With wide, twitching eyes, he turns to me. "Vel, why are you running out of time? What is wrong!"

"Red Velvet Theory," Malcolm answers for me, taking out papers from his duffle bag. One at a time, he hands a paper to Maverick, Cece, and then circles around to hand one last paper to Jaxson. "The Shamrock red," Malcolm laughs to himself, moving his free hand to pat Jaxson's red-tinged curls. "This is a non-disclosure agreement. You all need to sign it. It protects myself as a celebrity. Don't worry. Your friends here alright signed it."

Confused eyes dart around to me and Jin.

"I'm not signing this!" Cece says, crumbling up the paper.

"Of course you will," Malcolm says, removing the same sage stone he used in the hospital parking lot from his pocket. He raises the stone to dangle before Bundty's eyes as she hurls insults.

"What the hell is—" Bundty's words stop dead as her eyes glaze over.

Malcolm removes a pen from his pocket and places it in Bundty's almost limp hands.

"Please sign this," Malcolm says in his typical unbothered voice.

We all watch in shock at the impossible sight of Cece Bundt, not saying a damn word, her hand singing the paper.

"Very good!" Malcolm says, turning away from Bundty, staring off at seemingly nothing. "Anyone else need help signing?"

"I'm starting to really like your dad," Jin whispers to me.

"What'd you do to my girlfriend?" Maverick says, scooting close to the wall behind him.

"She'll be back to her chipper self in a half-hour or so," Malcolm says, looking down at his watch. "I really must insist we hurry. T-minus five hours until your Red Lady comes."

"Red Lady?" Rina interjects, her eyes shooting over to Jin.

"Me," I say coyly, raising my hand, hoping to diffuse some of the tension.

"Signed it!" Maverick says, extending his long arm to hand Malcolm the pen and paper, keeping the rest of him as far away as possible.

"Sign it," I say to a flabbergasted Jaxson who grumbles, and swiftly grabs the pen Malcolm offers and signs.

Rina, in typical Rina fashion, follows Jaxson's lead and signs too.

"Really?" Jaxson says to me as his eyes watch Malcolm. "You're telling me this freak wearing a velvet suit is my grandpa?"

"At least he's not your dad..." I say, shrugging back as my head begins to throb.

"You're burning up again," Jin says, leaning down to feel my forehead.

"When are you going to tell me what's wrong with her?" Jaxson demands.

"Ms. Shamrock, tell me what's different," Malcolm says excitedly, ignoring Jaxson's concern.

"With the house?" I ask.

"Yes, tell me exactly what's been changed."

"The flooring is ripped up in the kitchen," Jin answers for me.

"The wallpaper is gone," I add, grabbing my head to stop the pressure.

"You!" Malcolm commands, running over to grab Maverick, who just so happens to be tip-toeing towards the door. "Do you have any carpentry skills?"

"For real?" Maverick says, trying to squirm away.

"You look like a strong, hearty young man. Do you know anything about flooring?"

"No!" Maverick responds.

"Well, it's your lucky day! You get to learn a trade today!" Maverick says, tugging Maverick along towards the kitchen.

"The wallpaper, my parents took it off in sections," Jin says, running towards the basement door. "Rina, come with me!"

"What?" She says, looking as confused as Jaxson.

"Just come on, Rina! It's a Code Red!" Jin demands.

Code Red. I'm pretty sure Red Lady is one hundred times worse than your average, friendly household ghost.

He has her attention because she scrambles off with him, leaving Jaxson and me alone beside Bundty staring off into space.

"Vel," Jaxson kneels down to hold my hand and pat at the sweat dripping down my cheeks.

"Jaxson," I say, as everything seems to hit me. "I'm scared," I whisper. "I'm trying to put on my big girl panties, but I can't. They just won't fit anymore!"

Anyone else would hear those words and think I'm crazy, but Jaxson of all people knows exactly what I'm talking about.

"Why do you need your big girl panties? Tell me what's wrong with you because I'm low key freaking out right now!"

"It's all so complicated," I say, not really knowing where to begin. "My soul is tied to this house. Malcolm calls it Red Velvet Theory."

"Like the fucking cake, your mom would always make?"

"Yes, like the fucking cake! Basically, Malcolm—my dad—says when I was conceived, my soul was accidentally tied to HillCrest house. THAT's why I'm sick. THAT's why the house is trashed."

"That doesn't make sen—"

"It doesn't make sense, but it's real. Jaxson, I'm telling you that every night since Maeve sold the house, I've woken up, and some spirit demon inside me, aka Red Lady, comes here and tries to kill everyone in the house!"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Just listen! The longer Jin's family stays and the more they renovate, the sicker I get! AND the worse part is that fucking Maeve knew something like this would happen, but she was too damn stubborn to admit that my Mom might not have been as crazy as she thought!"

"This is crazy," Jaxson says. "Like for real crazy."

"I know," I say back.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Jaxson asks, looking ashamed.

"So, you believe me?"

"Of course I believe you, you can't make something this crazy up. It's too crazy not to be true!" A small smile beams across Jaxson's face.

There it is. The Jaxson I know so well. He's my ride or die. Why had I not trusted him sooner?

"I'm sorry," I say, feeling like an asshole.

"No, Vel," Jaxson says, bringing his hands to make our heart symbol. "I'm sorry you've had to go through this alone."

"I wasn't alone," I say, as Jin's face pops into my head. "Jin's been there for me, and honestly, he's pretty freaking awesome."

"Vel Shamrock, in love," Jaxson taunts me as an embarrassed smile moves across my face. "I was for sure you'd die an old spinster."

I open my mouth to deny Jaxson's words, but for some reason, nothing comes out.

*Thanks for reading. Please don't forget to vote.