Amelia, ashamed of her actions toward Jack, properly invited him into the house and welcomed him. She gestured toward the coat hanger, and Jack took off his coat and hung it. As she went to make tea for both of them, Jack sat down and began to think.
"What was the real reason you asked me to come here?" Jack asked.
"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough," said Rita.
As Amelia poured tea for them, she apologized for her rude behavior and formally introduced herself.
"My name is Amelia Stones. I'm Ryner's older sister," she said.
"As I mentioned earlier, I'm Jack Crow, a friend of both your brother and the ghost, Rita," Jack replied.
"So, Mr. Jack, earlier you said you've been in this house before. Do you mind filling me in on the details?" asked Amelia.
"Please don't say anything crazy. We don't want to get Ryner in trouble," whispered Rita.
"Well, that's his problem. He shouldn't have invited me to do it here in the first place. The kid's got to take full responsibility," Jack said with a chuckle.
"The first time I came over, I performed an exorcism on a girl in Ryner's class. She was possessed by an old, evil spirit that had been draining her life force and causing her to suffer. But with Ryner and Rita's help, I was able to get rid of the spirit for good," Jack explained.
"An exorcism? In this house? So you're telling me that, apart from Rita, there was another entity here?" Amelia asked, glancing nervously around the room.
"Technically, yes. But that evil spirit is gone now. The other one is just a friend of Rita's," Jack reassured her.
"Oh… well, that's good news," said Amelia, relieved.
"The reason I'm here today is because Rita asked me for a favor."
"So, are you ready to share it with us?" asked Jack.
"Well, the reason I called you was to ask if you'd be a medium between me and Amelia. There's something I want to ask her," said Rita.
"That's seriously why you called me over? Why didn't you just ask Ryner to do it? I told you, I'm a busy man," Jack said, clearly frustrated.
"I would've asked him, but what I want to talk about is about Ryner himself. I couldn't think of anyone else to turn to but you," Rita explained.
Still a little annoyed, Jack reluctantly agreed to her request.
"Fine, I'll help you. In fact, I'll make it even better for both of you," Jack said as he pulled two small pieces of paper from his pocket.
"What are those for?" asked Amelia.
"I'll just place them on your forehead. Then you'll see what happens next. Be sure to close your eyes," Jack instructed, placing the talismans gently on her head.
"You can open your eyes now."
As soon as Amelia opened her eyes, she gasped in shock.
"No way… could it actually be you? I can't believe it," she said, eyes welling with tears.
"Wait, why is she crying?" asked Rita, confused.
"Those two items I placed on her head are the Visual and Vocal Talismans. They allow you to see and hear ghosts—but only for half an hour," Jack explained.
"Wow… I didn't know you had things like that," said Rita, impressed by Jack's inventory as an exorcist.
"It really is you… I missed you so much. The world wasn't the same without you, Rita. It was so cold, like a void in my heart that could never be filled. I'm so happy to see you again," Amelia said, running toward Rita and wrapping her in a warm hug.
Rita, overwhelmed and overjoyed to speak with her again, hugged her back tightly.
"You two can catch up later. For now, ask what you wanted to—remember, you only have thirty minutes," Jack said as he stepped out to give them space.
"Amelia, do you know anything about Ryner being bullied at school?" asked Rita.
"So… it's still happening to him? I thought they had stopped," Amelia said, her tone filled with concern.
"When he was a freshman in high school, there was this boy in his class named Tyler. Ryner described him as strong and dangerous. Tyler would bully anyone he could—stealing lunch money, beating kids up… he was merciless.
Ryner also told me how Tyler would try to charm the girls in his class, even when they clearly weren't interested. And when they rejected him, he'd threaten or harass them until they gave in… or transferred schools just to get away from him. It was awful.
After a few months of watching Tyler torment not only the freshmen but even some juniors, Ryner had enough and stood up to him. He told Tyler to stop what he was doing—or he'd make him stop.
But Tyler just laughed at him. Ryner didn't back down. He punched Tyler straight in the face and told him, 'If you're going to bully someone, bully me. I won't lie down and roll over for a punk like you.'
That made Tyler furious. He and his gang ganged up on Ryner and beat him badly. Of course, I wanted to get Tyler's parents involved and press charges, but Ryner refused. He said he'd take care of it himself.
It's been a year since then. I really thought the bullying had stopped. But now… now I see that I was wrong. I must step in this time. I won't let him go through this alone again," said Amelia firmly.