Happily Never After Read online

  “You can try but I don’t think even you could get a meeting right away.”

  “Wanna make a bet? Just watch and learn.” He pulled out his iPhone and began typing in some information. When I leaned over to peek, he hid it from me. After a few more minutes, he placed a call.

  “Hi. Magnolia Paranormal Society? My name is Jason Preston and I’m in town this summer filming a movie. Yeah, that’s me. I was wondering if I could set up an appointment to talk to one of your investigators. I think it would help me be better prepared for this role.”

  As he listened, he winked at me and I rolled my eyes.

  “Actually, would you be available today? I was hoping to get this done as soon as possible. I have a big scene coming up and want to get it right. Perfect, yeah I can find it. I’ll see you there.” He ended the call and said, “And that is how it’s done.”

  “I can’t believe it was that easy. It must have been a woman.”

  “What exactly does that mean?” He pretended to look innocent.

  “You know what I mean. You have to be aware of your effect on the female gender. My bet is you talked to a girl who just answers the phone. She found out it was you and is going to pretend to be an investigator. Simple.”

  “You’re pretty sure of yourself aren’t ya? We’ll just wait and see.” Jason stood and pulled me up with him. We approached his bodyguard, Isaac, hand in hand. “The investigator is meeting us in an hour.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Avoiding the more crowded parts of the downtown area, we slowly made our way to the small café where the investigator was meeting us.

  Jason and I arrived first and took one of the back tables.

  “I’m kind of nervous about this.”

  Jason leaned over and took my hands in his. “Why? I thought you decided this would be the smartest thing to do.”

  “I’m not exactly an open book kind of girl. Sharing this with you and Abby was different. This is some random person.”

  “I get that and I’m proud of you. Just keep your eye on the end prize, having your house to yourself once and for all.”

  We were silent for a little while before he asked about our investigations. “What’s the best piece of evidence you’ve found? I think those ghost hunting shows on TV have really brought stuff like this into the public eye, before it wasn’t as ‘cool’ to be interested in ghosts.”

  “You’re right, it’s become more acceptable. I think the best thing we’ve found was the dark shape of a person standing in a doorway at Moon River. It’s a video and you can clearly see it peer around the edge of the doorway. The stuff I’ve picked up at the house isn’t as good. That might be because I’m too used to what goes on there, but I'll never get used to the disembodied voices. A voice coming out of thin air is disturbing.”

  “I don’t even want to imagine the things you’ve seen and heard over the years.”

  No, he didn’t. I wished my ability to hear spirits was getting weaker instead of stronger. Maybe the person we were waiting on could help with that as well.

  A younger man in his mid-twenties stopped at the table. He had spiky blond hair and wore black framed glasses. For some reason, I relaxed even though I was expecting someone much older. I sat back and unclenched my fists as Jason elbowed me and whispered, “See, it's not a woman.”

  “Jason?” he greeted. “I’m Travis.”

  Jason stood up and shook the man’s hand. “Thanks for getting here so quickly, I really appreciate it. Have a seat.”

  Travis sat as Jason introduced me and I tried not to fidget too much.

  “Alright, I have to admit I’m very curious about what you want to talk to me about. You said it was for a movie?”

  Clearing his throat nervously, Jason admitted, “Well, I wasn’t completely honest with you on the phone. I do have questions but it’s not for a movie, or even for me. It’s about Quinn here. She needs some help.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell me that to begin with?” Travis gave me an uncertain smile.

  “That’s my fault. I thought if you knew who I was it would get us a meeting faster. It’s a serious situation and I have to say I’m a little worried about her being hurt.”

  “Hurt? I’m not sure I’m following you.”

  “Why don’t I let Quinn explain?”

  I took a deep breath and launched into the things that were happening to me. I couldn’t read the expression on Travis’s face but he was listening intently.

  When I finished, I watched Travis mulling over my story. I could tell some of the stuff took him by surprise, as well as Jason. I didn’t leave anything out and felt Jason tense up beside me as I talked about the incident with the grave.

  Finally, Travis spoke. “I’m glad you called me. This is a very dangerous situation.”

  “Yes, I’m learning today just how dangerous.” Jason directed towards me. To Travis, he said, “So is there anything you can tell us about why this is happening and how we can stop it?”

  “Actually, it might have been happening longer than you realize, Quinn.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked him.

  “With this kind of haunting, more often than not it’s a multigenerational event. Have any other family members been plagued by a spirit of some kind?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Both sets of my grandparents died when I was young and same with my parents. I have an aunt and uncle but they live on the other side of the country. Neither of my parents ever mentioned anything about spirits that I can remember. Mama always told me stories about the paranormal side of the city but I’m not sure if she meant anything specific with her.”

  Travis thought for a second. “Your dad was a Roberts, right?” I nodded. “And he was an only child?”

  “Yes. Mama wasn’t, though.”

  “Do you think this spirit only harasses the females in the family?” Jason’s question surprised me and lit my curiosity.

  “I’m not entirely sure but it’s possible. You said she mentioned wanting destroy you or the family. Maybe she’s been there all along but now she’s concentrating on you because you’re so vulnerable.”

  I tried not to make a face at Travis’ usage of the word ‘vulnerable’. As much as I hated the word and in no way saw myself as that, I understood what he meant. I was the last Roberts and Catherine had the opportunity to exact the ultimate revenge. Not that it made me feel any better.

  “I might be able to ask Margaret if she knows about anyone else being affected by Catherine.”

  They both shot me looks of disbelief before Jason said, “I should be used to this by now, I guess. Do you think you can contact her?”

  “Not sure, but it’s worth a shot.” I turned towards Travis. “Is there a way Catherine can be stopped?”

  “Yes, I believe so. It’s basically treated like a demonic possession. We have to force the spirit out of your stepmother. Somewhere along the line, your stepmother accepted or invited the spirit in, that’s the only way a possession this powerful could happen.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would Marietta invite this in? I’ve seen how it feeds off her. It’s draining the life out of her.”

  A picture of Marietta flashed into my head. Her pale lips, sunken eyes and vacant expression caused her to resemble the walking dead. There was no way she wanted that.

  “She probably wasn’t aware of what she was agreeing to. The spirit of Catherine might have the ability to alter a person’s sense of reality. You witnessed that yourself in the cemetery. Catherine could very well be keeping your stepmother in a state of illusion. When she looks in the mirror, she won’t see how it’s affecting her physically.”

  “That’s disturbing.” I figured he had to be right about the illusion. Any woman as high maintenance as Marietta would likely have a meltdown at seeing her reflection and her dark roots showing.

  “So basically in order to get Catherine’s spirit to leave Marietta, we also have to convince Marietta to allow that. Does that make
sense? This isn’t only about Catherine.”

  I must have looked worried because Travis continued, “This is going to be hard. I’m not going to lie to you. It might not even work the first time. What I need you to do now is find out as much as you can about Catherine and if she’s done this before. I’ll do some research on my end and we’ll meet back here in three days, on Thursday. Does that sound good?”

  Jason and I both nodded. I could tell Travis was anxious to get started and after he left I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

  Jason grinned at me. “See, I told you it would be a good idea.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  My birthday was a week away and my battered nerves were starting to get to me.

  Every time I closed my eyes to sleep, I expected Catherine to come at me with a vengeance. I kept looking over my shoulder, waiting for her to attack from behind. Each day that went by without incident or, at least a major incident, frayed my patience more.

  I felt like a sitting duck cornered in a dark alley with nowhere to go.

  I was on my knees in the dining room, trying to remove a scuffmark from the old hardwood floor when a chill settled over me. Goosebumps covered my arms before I noticed I was no longer alone. I smelled the foul river stench before I saw her. Marietta hovered over me but I saw no trace of her. This, I knew, was Catherine and I braced myself for what was about to happen.

  “Where did you get that?” Again, it was the strange, creepy voice speaking to me, only this time with tightly controlled anger.

  I glanced to where she pointed and my heart stopped. As I’d bent over to scrub the floor, the necklace Margaret gave me swung free from my shirt. It was right there in plain sight, twinkling in the afternoon light.

  Rising to my feet, I tensed my body to run. “I found it upstairs, in the attic,” I answered weakly.

  A strange, almost wistful look transformed her face. “I wore that on my wedding day, only I wasn’t marrying the man I always pictured when I’d think of forever.”

  “Jackson.” This was the only time Catherine hadn’t threatened me and I vaguely wondered if I had an opportunity to reason with her.

  Tears sprang up in Marietta’s vacant eyes and she clutched her chest. “Jackson. Yes, he was the man I should have married. I waited for him but my parents had other plans for me.”

  I swallowed. “No one could have known he was still alive.”

  “I knew. I knew in my heart he was out there, somewhere. The day of my wedding, I'd planned on running away. William was a monster but no one seemed to care. All they cared about was settling a debt with me as the price.”

  Her shadow swooped up and darkened, throwing the room into a kaleidoscope of light and dark.

  “It probably hurt your parents more than you know to marry you off to him.”

  Then it all changed.

  The room darkened, turning it to night. The shadows cast crazy patterns on Marietta’s face. It made me think of a scary clown in a horror movie. Then, the temperature in the room dropped. I saw my breath and my teeth started chattering.

  I remembered as a kid watching a movie alone one night called Poltergeist. It scared the crap out of me. What made me think of it now was the way the atmosphere in the house changed so quickly, exactly like in the movie. I half expected to see the chairs in the room stack themselves or the tree outside the window to come to life and try to devour me.

  Only now, it was Marietta who wanted to rip me apart.

  “They had a choice! They could have given him this house instead of their firstborn daughter. I was handed over to him like nothing more than a piece of property,” she screamed.

  Marietta’s hand reached out to grab the necklace. The minute her fingers grazed the gold pendant, it sparked.

  She wrenched her hand back and roared, “Give me that!”

  I shook my head in a quick movement and tried to inch my way out of the room.

  What little light was left in the room got sucked out and the house literally shuddered. An icy cold breeze sprung up around me and picked up force, placing me in the middle of a tornado.

  The river stench grew, thick and suffocating. My vision blurred as the wind intensified. I had no idea where she was. The darkness lightened some and I saw objects flying through the room, caught in the maelstrom that Catherine was fueling.

  In the corner Marietta’s body stood staring at the wall, an empty vessel swaying with the gusts of air battering her. Catherine’s shadow became a separate entity and rushed at me. Pain ripped through every inch of me and my skin burned. Invisible flames licked at my skin, spreading an intense pain over every inch of me. I came close to passing out.

  From what felt like a hundred miles away, I sensed George enter the room and move towards Catherine. I wanted to tell him to go, that she was too strong for him, but the agony of the searing flames locked my mouth shut and rendered me speechless.

  The shadow beat him back and his spirit disappeared. There was a loud crash and the sound of broken glass as the wind and the burning sensation intensified.

  Pain erased most of the thoughts from my head but I was aware of the fear. Whenever Catherine attacked me, I feared in my heart that it would be the last time. Twice now, I'd said my goodbyes and made peace with the death drawing close. Something always stopped it. I was afraid this really was the last time. I was also afraid it wasn’t and I’d have to wait for the next attack. I was afraid the relentless scorching of the invisible flames would chase away my sanity.

  Through the fog of my waning consciousness I saw the shape of Catherine, vaguely human in form, coming at me.

  This is finally it, I thought.

  I said goodbye to Jason in my head as the shadow moved to envelope me.

  It didn’t have a chance.

  A bright light burst into the room, same as before. The pain let up slightly and I knew Margaret was there. Catherine was forced back into a corner but she didn’t stay there.

  She must have gained power since the first time because she merely gathered herself back up and came at me again. I worried Margaret didn’t have the energy to hold her back twice and the tiny spark of hope I had of getting out alive, faded.

  This time, the shadow came up short. My thoughts clouded over as excruciating pain sliced through my body. On my left, I detected someone else in the room.

  Jackson.

  Little by little, the burning faded and the wind died down to a heavy breeze. I dropped to my knees and curled up, wrapping my arms around myself protectively.

  Jackson walked into the room and stopped in front of me, blocking Catherine’s advance. I watched as her shadow pulled itself together into the shape of a woman. Briefly, I wished I knew what she looked like. I got a sense of long flowing brown hair, but it disappeared as quick as it came.

  “Catherine, you cannot do this.” The soft voice of a young man echoed on the breeze.

  A quiet sob burst out. “Jackson, darling.”

  He cut her off. “You must stop. This isn’t you. The woman I loved more than life itself would not kill an innocent girl.”

  I was familiar enough with Catherine’s moods to realize that ticked her off.

  “How dare you stand there and judge me,” she snapped. “You can’t begin to imagine what I had to endure. No one cared at all about what he did to me.”

  Jackson took a hesitant step towards her. “I would give anything to change our past, you know that.”

  “I died trying to run away to meet you. He caught me and beat me and dumped me in the river like trash. You told me you’d protect me. You told me you’d take me away from him!”

  I wondered if this was the first time they were speaking of the tragic events surrounding her death. Their spirits appeared to exist under the same roof for so long. Were they aware of each other? Was this the first time Jackson was able to communicate with her? It made me sad for some reason.

  “Sweetheart, I would have killed him to save you. I would’ve gladly gi
ven my life for yours, but that has nothing to do with Quinn. She is an innocent.”

  The breeze picked up again and I felt her try to force him out of the room. Jackson did not move which only made her more irate. Once again, the house vibrated with her power and I believed it would come crashing down. Jackson stood his ground, though.

  Catherine screamed in frustration and abruptly, everything stopped. The silence was deafening. By the time I realized it was over, all I saw was Marietta walking out of the room, staring vacantly ahead.

  But I heard Catherine’s voice in my head. This is far from over. You will pay for this!

  Great, now she probably thinks her guy picked me over her. Not a good sign.

  I glanced in the direction of Jackson, finally getting a good look at him. He was gorgeous.

  His dark blond hair curled around the edges of his Confederate hat and even though he was a mere spirit, his blue eyes stood out from a chiseled face. He also had a few days worth of stubble and holes in his uniform. I could see why Catherine fell so hard for him.

  I had to have been in shock to even notice something that foolish after what happened.

  Jackson’s spirit faded dimmer and dimmer as I sensed him kneel down beside me. An intense wave of calmness rolled over me. My thoughts cleared, giving me the chance to double check whether or not I’d actually been on fire.

  When I felt strong enough to stand, I got a good look at the dining room. Or what was left of it. The glass doors of the hutch were busted and so was every piece of heirloom china inside of it. Glass shards scattered the floor and the hundred year old dining room table lay shattered in hundreds of pieces.

  I gaped at it in wonder, trying to figure out how I would ever explain this to anyone.

  Then, I remembered Jackson. I turned in his direction. He seemed heartbroken.

  “I can’t ever begin to thank you.”