Happily Never After Page 14

  He nodded sullenly and walked out of the destroyed room.

  Exhaustion picked that moment to come crashing down on me and I swayed on my feet. Every single ounce of energy was gone from my body. Instead of trudging up to my bed, I went to the broom closet to try to start cleaning up the mess.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I was sitting at the breakfast bar with a bowl of cereal when Anna came in and plucked an apple from the fruit bowl. Instead of turning and leaving as I wanted her to, she leaned against the counter across from me.

  With my spoon halfway to my mouth, I sat frozen, waiting for whatever would come next.

  She looked at the door to the kitchen, as if making sure we were alone and asked, “Have you noticed anything weird about my mom lately?”

  I looked in her troubled blue eyes and sighed. This was not a conversation I wanted to be having with her, mostly because she’d never believe me. The other reason was because I didn’t need anyone else involved or in danger.

  “Not really. What do you mean, Anna?” I saw she didn’t believe me and I didn’t blame her. My lie sounded very unconvincing.

  She moved closer to me. “I know you read a lot of books on ghosts. I’ve seen you with them. I think something is messing with her, something in this house.”

  Her voice reflected how uncomfortable she was talking to me. It took me by complete surprise. I had no clue how I was going to dodge or even explain this one. Before I could reply, she spoke again.

  “You don’t have anything to do with it, do you? I mean, Suzie has convinced herself you can do stuff like that, but not me. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt here.”

  I stared into my cereal bowl and thought over what to say. Anna was coming to me for help. Maybe she could be open minded enough to hear some of it. No way would I ever tell her all of it.

  “What have you noticed?” I asked her.

  “She’s not there anymore. She forgets things and sometimes won’t even recognize us. Then, sometimes,” she looked very nervous. “Sometimes I see this shadow behind her. I don’t know how to explain it. She even disappears for hours and we can’t find her. Then, there was whatever happened in the dining room yesterday. You cleaned it up, but she didn’t even bat an eye. The table and dishes were old, the kind of thing she keeps track of. That’s not how she would have normally reacted.”

  It was sobering to hear Anna talk about what was going on with Marietta. The fact that she could see the shadow surprised me, too. She must be more open-minded than I ever gave her credit for. As far as what happened yesterday in the dining room, Anna was right. Marietta should have blown a gasket at that. In fact, all morning I’d been waiting for it.

  I pushed my cereal bowl away, trying to come up with the best way to talk to her. “I can at least tell you it’s not the house.”

  “How?”

  “Look, I’d love to talk to you about this, but I’m afraid you’re only going to use it against me as usual.”

  Anna took a step forward as she said, “We’ve done some awful things to you and maybe one day we can talk about that, but this isn’t about you or me. It’s about my mom.”

  I wanted to believe her so badly. If Travis’s plan didn’t work, Anna and Suzie had a right to hear about how it would affect them. Whether or not they saw the truth in it was up to them.

  “I think I know what’s going on but I need you to be open minded. You’ve lived in this house long enough to know that there are spirits still living here. I’m sure you’ve heard them before.”

  “You mean the doors slamming and the footsteps and the shadows?”

  “Yes. What they do might be annoying but it’s never anything mean or harmful to you guys.” I paused and had second thoughts about how much to say. “But there are spirits or ghosts who are malicious and want to do harm. I strongly believe one of those spirits has some kind of um, influence on Marietta.”

  “What exactly do you mean by ‘influence’?” Her face paled and her eyes widened in fear.

  I took my cereal bowl over to the sink and leaned against the counter next to her. “I mean some kind of possession.”

  I thought she was going to pass out as the implication of what I said sank in. She struggled to speak and I saw her fighting tears.

  “Like the Exorcist?” She finally squeaked out.

  “No, no, nothing like that. That was a demonic possession. A demonic entity can possess a person but so can a spirit, a ghost. The shadow you mentioned, I think it’s what controls her at times. Can you tell me anything more specific about what you’ve noticed?”

  She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I’ve noticed it for a while now but always thought it was something temporary. It’s gotten much worse lately. The salon called the other day to see if she would be in. Apparently, mom hadn’t been in for three days. She forgets about the pageant and though it sounds selfish, I don’t mean it that way. Mom had this timetable and schedule of when our costumes and stuff needed to be done. You know how she was, one of those over-involved pageant moms. Now she doesn’t even care, even though I’m only doing it for her and Suzie.”

  Her words intrigued me. She always seemed as excited about the pageant as Suzie. I never would have imagined it was all a front. I wondered what else about Anna I’d incorrectly assumed.

  “The shadow around her gives me the creeps. She gets this vacant look in her eyes, like she doesn’t see me standing in front of her. There are times I don’t even recognize her. That shadow thing is cold and,” she searched for the word, “vengeful. It wants to hurt someone.”

  “Do you believe that, Anna?”

  “How can I not? You said it yourself, it’s hard to live here and not notice there’s more going on. If you repeat that to anyone, you’ll be sorry. Now please, tell me what is going on.”

  “The spirit controlling your mama is named Catherine Roberts. She is one of my ancestors, forced to marry a bad man who killed her and dumped her in the river. Catherine blames her family and in turn, blames me. She wants the life she was denied and to end the Roberts family with me.”

  “By ending your family with you, do you mean to kill you?” I nodded. “So basically, all this is your fault.”

  “No, it’s not my fault. I didn’t ask for this,” I said heatedly. “Catherine has tried to kill me three times already. I’m terrified that the next time will be the last. If anything, it’s Marietta’s fault for inviting this thing in.”

  “What do you mean? She would never do that.”

  “With this kind of possession she did. Catherine must have offered Marietta something tempting in return for her help. In all fairness, I don’t think your mama had any idea what she would be getting herself into. Catherine is strong because she feeds off Marietta. I’m worried about how much more she can take. Catherine grows stronger every day.”

  Tears streamed down Anna’s face. I wanted to offer her some comfort but the thought of it exhausted me.

  “How do we help her?” she asked.

  “I’m working on that. I've talked to a paranormal investigator who says he can help rid Marietta of Catherine’s spirit. We have to lure her to where the grave is. Regardless of what you think of me, I want to help Marietta.”

  “Quinn, I’ve been really hateful toward you all these years. It’s a little late to ask for any kind of forgiveness but know that I did feel bad about it, most of the time. I get caught up in being this person, especially in school and it’s impossible to get out. I’m not strong like you are.”

  “I’m not as strong as you think,” I said as I laughed ironically. “I’m scared to death about all of this. Believe me when I say I wish I could run away from here and never look back. But I can’t do that to Marietta.”

  She was quiet for a while. “How did it try to kill you, Quinn?”

  “Which time?” I tried to joke with her about it, but all I saw were her eyes widened in fear. Probably not the best approach to take with her. “The first time Catherine strangled me
somehow. I felt the fingers on my neck but it was only shadow. Next, she tried to bury me alive or at least give me the illusion I was being buried alive. Yesterday, she came at me in the dining room but one of the other ghosts intervened.”

  It was a lot for her to process and I instantly regretted saying anything.

  “So that’s what happened to the table?”

  I nodded, surprised. Apparently she believed me.

  “Let me help.” Anna said with a new determination in her eyes.

  “Help with what?”

  “With Mom, I want to be there. Maybe it will give her more to fight for. It makes sense, right?”

  She surprised me again. I was lost in this alternate universe where Anna and I were equals, maybe even friends. I considered her idea and saw the sense in it. Marietta loved her girls. It might be the right thing to compel her to fight.

  “It is a good idea but I’ll need to run it by the guy who’s going to be doing it. He might not want any outsiders there.”

  “I’m not an outsider. She’s my mom.”

  “You’re right and I’ll tell him I agree. I’ll let you know tomorrow or the next day.”

  Anna turned to leave but stopped. She looked over her shoulder and flashed me a sad smile. “Thanks Quinn. I’m glad I could talk to you about this.”

  Now I just needed to convince Travis when we met with him in a couple days.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Jason asked me to meet him a couple blocks from where the movie was filming. He wanted to explore the surrounding neighborhood and take in the unique Savannah architecture.

  The afternoon was sweltering. I passed a few sweating tourists strolling the area with their cameras and street maps. They looked miserable in the heat and humidity and I gave an encouraging smile to a mother who looked like she might drop at any second.

  Lost in memories of vacations, I reached the square where we were meeting. Jason was already there but he was laughing with a gorgeous blond.

  Frozen in place, I watched them. My instincts told me to walk away, to leave and pretend I didn’t see them together, but that felt a bit excessive. I didn’t have any special hold or claim on Jason. Jealousy wasn't what kept me rooted to my spot; it was curiosity.

  He was an entirely different person, so carefree and relaxed. We didn’t get much opportunity to laugh since we put a lot of focus was on my problems. I felt guilty and wanted to show him he could have fun with me, that I could be lighthearted when I wasn’t being haunted by a hundred-and-fifty-year-old ghost.

  The girl made me curious, too. She didn’t put up a wall the way I did. Granted, I had grown better since the ball but I was still wary of trusting him. Or maybe I was wary of trusting myself with him. I hadn’t quite figured that one out yet. Her laughter drifted back to me and it sounded familiar. Then, when she turned her face, disbelief washed over me.

  It was Anna.

  A heavy ball grew in the center of my stomach. It wasn’t that Jason was talking to another girl, which I’m certain he did every day. And it wasn’t because Anna was at least attempting to be civil to me lately. I think it had to do with the fact that even after all the time we’d spent together, I didn’t know much about Jason. And I wanted to. We kissed and talked as much as we could but there was more to him than that.

  I decided to make a conscious effort to learn more about him. If I wanted to start living my life, here was my opportunity. Life was about taking chances. Besides, I really didn’t like the idea of him with another girl regardless of who she was. It made me want to fight for him.

  They stood up and Anna ran her hand down his arm before walking away. He watched after her and shook his head. Then Jason searched the grassy area and saw me.

  I waved as I made my way toward him, a little embarrassed that he'd caught me watching him.

  “That girl you were talking to is one of my stepsisters.”

  He narrowed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. “Crap, Quinn, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

  “Where did you run into her?”

  “She cornered me about a block away and kept talking about that stupid pageant. I couldn’t get rid of her.”

  I shrugged my shoulder halfheartedly. “Anna hasn’t been that bad lately. Suzie’s still a first class witch but Anna has reached out to me a couple times. She’s worried about her mama and doesn’t really have anyone to talk to about it. She’s involved now anyway. I need to get used to it. Be thankful it wasn’t Suzie you ran into.”

  “You’re scaring me,” he joked.

  Not wanting to talk about Anna anymore, I changed the subject. “So what did you want to do today? See more of the neighborhoods, right?”

  “I did, but I think we should drive out to the ocean instead.” He held up a set of car keys. “I have wheels for the day. Do you have time?”

  I smiled. I had always loved the beach but didn’t get to visit much. As close as Savannah was to the ocean, it was a shame not to take advantage of it.

  “For the chance to go to the beach with you, I’ll risk it. We can go out to Tybee Island. There are beautiful beaches, forts and even a lighthouse. If no one is home, I’d love to stop at my house and grab my camera.”

  Jason beamed. “No problem. Let’s go.”

  I was lucky. The house was empty, at least of the living. I stopped long enough to leave a note for Marietta saying I’d be gone all day to Tybee Island with Abby and her mom. She might not like it, neither would Catherine for that matter, but I was grasping life by the horns. Spending a day at the beach with Jason would be worth the consequences when I got home.

  Jason’s car was a Ford Mustang convertible; a car I thought he looked perfect in. As we joined US-80 East, I leaned my head back and enjoyed the sun on my face and the wind in my hair. I turned towards Jason and lifted my camera to snap a quick, unguarded photo of him driving.

  “Hey careful now, that picture could be worth a lot of money one day.” He said as he shot me a quick grin.

  “Please, you have your trusty disguise on today. I doubt anyone would believe it’s you. Besides, maybe this movie will be the peak of your career.”

  The sound of his laughter warmed my insides. This was turning out to be such a different day than I imagined. I felt light and free. Worries about Catherine and the other things going on in my life were already trying to invade my happy space, but I didn’t let them. Today was about me.

  “There will be a turn coming up on your left for Fort Pulaski. It’s a really cool fort that was used to defend the city during the War.”

  “That sounds awesome. I love you say the ‘War’, like it was the only war fought.”

  “It was to those who live in the South.”

  I pointed out the turn-off and Jason crossed over a bridge into the Fort Pulaski Historical Monument. The old stone fort was surrounded by a water-filled moat and the sides still showed the deep gouges and pockmarks from Yankee fire.

  “Dylan would’ve loved this place. He was in that stage where he read about war and built models of battleships. In fact, he wanted to go on a family vacation to see each battlefield in the U.S.” Jason shook his head. I loved hearing him talk about his brother. The more he opened up, the more pieces I acquired of Dylan's memory.

  We spent about an hour wandering the grounds. Old places like the fort were a hazard for me most times, too many ghosts. I kept my walls up as much as I could but one snuck through.

  We were standing in the middle of the fort, on the green surrounded by the high walls. I felt a prickling sensation and turned to look. Up on the wall, staring out at the sea, stood an officer of the Confederate Army. He was still as stone and I got the feeling he'd never stopped watching and guarding the grounds since the war. He lingered until right before I got back in the car and we continued on to Tybee Island. I understood how he felt about protecting his turf and his sense of duty. It’s how I felt about my house.

  The small community on Tybee Island sat on the edge of the ocean, nes
tled among the marshes. Mama and Daddy used to bring me out to see the baby turtles hatching right in the sandy beaches. We’d walk out on the long wooden pier and Daddy would try to catch fish. I held the memory close to my heart.

  Hours passed as we explored the area hand in hand. The pier, the lighthouse, even the old museum all felt new to me when seeing them with Jason. He snapped a couple pictures of me and I hardly recognized the girl I saw when I held the camera and flipped through them.

  It was one of the best days I could remember in a very long time.

  The sun was sinking and the tide was going out as we walked through the surf away from the crowds. Everything else in the world felt so far away. All my problems, all the stress was a distant worry.

  “What were your parents like?” Jason asked.

  “They were wonderful. I used to think I was the luckiest girl alive. We did so much together. This was one of our favorite places to visit, actually. Mama was a historian so she filled my head with these amazing stories about the past.”

  “I think you get some of that from her.”

  “Thank you. Daddy was a big man. At least he felt that way to me. He was larger than life, ya know? He always had a smile on his face or a joke to tell. He lost a little of that spark when Mama died but he rarely let me see it. I still miss them both every day.” I took a deep breath, not letting the sadness and shadows of the past intrude on today.

  “I remember once we came out here to watch the turtles hatch. I must have been six or seven and we drove here in the morning because Mama had an event she was helping with for the Historical Society. We got to the beach across the island and the little turtles had just broken through their shells. They were so cute and tiny as they struggled up out of the nest and made their way to the beach. There was one egg though that didn’t hatch and I wouldn’t leave until it did. So we sat there all day and waited. Not long after the sun set, it broke open and the little guy made the trek to the water by himself. Mama missed the event she’d planned and never complained once. As a little girl I didn’t think much of it but now I understand what that meant.”