Anna drew back like Cee-cee had slapped her. “You’re lying.” Blood red wine sloshed onto the table as she set it down roughly to face Cee-cee with wild eyes. “Why are you saying this?”
“Because it’s the truth,” Stephanie whispered, tears already streaming down her face, unchecked. “The timeline matches up exactly. And she looks so much like you, Anna.” Stephanie reached for her phone. “I can show you-”
“No!” Anna shot back, pressing herself further against the cushions like a cornered animal. “I don’t want to see that. You’ve got it all wrong. It’s some sort of mistake. I was the closest with Pop. We had the most in common…everyone said how alike we were,” she murmured, reaching up to press her fingers to her temples.
Cee-cee could barely speak past the knot in her throat. “I know, sweetheart. I know. And I’m so sorry.”
“So you’re saying she lied to him…for all those years, she lied to him? Lied to us?” Anna demanded.
“Just us,” Stephanie said softly. “Pop knew. He always knew.”
Anna slumped then, like the wind had been knocked out of her.
“I’m sorry, but I need some proof,” she whispered. “I’ll take a DNA test…whatever I need to do, but I’m not just going to take some stranger’s word.”
Denial was a strong force. The sooner she accepted the truth, the sooner she could start dealing with the aftermath. “It’s not just her word, Anna. It’s ours, too.”
“And you’re okay with that? Just believing what any old person tells you?” Anna said, voice shrill and almost a shout now.
“Why would we lie to you?” Steph said, leaning in and gazing at their sister with pleading eyes. “Why won’t you accept what we’re telling you?”
“Because then Pop isn’t my father,” she snapped. “Because then Mom betrayed him. And because, if it’s true, then we’re not sisters, damn it!” Anna raged, shooting to her feet as the tears that had been threatening streaked down her cheeks. “You two are one thing, and I’m something else.” She swiped furiously at her face, and glared at them, nostrils flaring. “I’ve always been the oddball…the black sheep. So believe whatever you want. But I’m not going to sit here and let the two of you tell me my whole life was a lie.”
“Anna--”
Cee-cee halted Steph’s plea with a hand on her shoulder as their baby sister stormed toward the door.
“I need some time alone to think. I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk.” With that, and the slamming of the door, she was gone.
Cee-cee briefly considered going after her, but then stopped. Anna was in no mental state to listen to her right now. She was still in shock and trying to wrap her head around what they’d told her.
Stephanie looked at the floor, wiping her eyes as she shook her head. “Well, that couldn’t have gone any worse.”
“Nope,” Cee-cee said. “I knew it would be bad, but even I didn’t think it would be that bad. It’s going to take days before she’s willing to talk about it more.” That was Anna. When things got tough, her defense mechanism was to run.
“Of all the things I’d imagined she’d be upset by, it never occurred to me that it would make her question us,” Steph said miserably. “We’ve spent almost fifty years as each other's closest friends and confidants. Surely, she can’t think this changes anything. She is our sister, same as ever.”
“We’ll need to tell her that, when she’s ready to listen,” Cee-cee said. “But for now, I think we’ve done all we can. When she’s ready to reach out, we’ll be here waiting for her.” Cee-cee looked up and locked her gaze on Steph. Then, she spent nearly a minute in silence, trying to think of how to phrase what she wanted to say. “Steph, you’re holding up okay, right? It’s a lot of stress. You’re not going to...relapse over this, are you?”
Her sister took a deep breath, shaking her head slowly. “It gets harder, I won’t deny it. I’ll probably go to a meeting tonight, just for the support.” She paused for a moment, standing up a little straighter and wiping away the rest of the tears. “I’m still feeling strong, though. A lot stronger than I did a few months ago, so you don’t worry about me. I was lucky that I recognized I was in trouble early. You and Anna helped me with that, and I know it’s made recovery much easier than if it had gone on for years and I’d grown truly, physically dependent. I’m going to be all right. If I’m in danger of slipping, I promise I’ll tell you.” She shot Cee-cee a probing glance. “What about you? How are you holding up?”
“I’m good,” Cee-cee assured her. “You and Anna are going through a lot right now and I’m the big sister. It’s my job to be here for you.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “Just make sure you save a little of that love, support, and time for yourself, okay?”
“I will,” Cee-cee said, knowing her sister was right. She felt a lot of responsibility, especially since Pop had passed, and maybe a little time for some self-care was in order. She reached down to pick up the gift bag that Anna had given her. “On that note, I think I’m going to head out. Mick should be home by now and he’ll want to know how it went. Plus, I could use a pizza, a snuggle and a mindless movie right now. Will I see you at the shop tomorrow?”
Stephanie nodded. “Bright and early.”
Cee-cee grabbed the empty wine glasses, headed to the kitchen and set them next to the bottle. Her phone chimed as she made her way back into the living room and she let out a groan as Nate’s name appeared on the screen.
Wanna have dinner tonight, talk about shower planning and catch up? I could get us a table at Intermezzo.
Cee-cee frowned, pocketing her phone without a reply, and then pushed him from her mind. She had enough problems right now without her ex coming back to haunt her.
“I love you, sister,” she said as she made her way back toward Steph, who was waiting in the foyer. They stepped closer and exchanged a long, hard squeeze.
“You too,” Stephanie replied, pulling back. “So much. And I promise you don’t need to worry about me, okay? I just texted Ethan and he’s coming back. Once we spend a little time together and I fill him in on how it went, I’ll go to my meeting. It’s going to be okay. In a few months, this will be just one more thing we’ve gotten through as a family. I’m sure of it.”
Cee-cee nodded and then made her way out the door, praying that her sister was right.
Because the thought of things being different between the three of them? The thought of losing Anna, and the relationship they’d always known?
Would be like losing a third of her heart.
18
Sasha
“The room should be ready in another five minutes or so,” Ian said as he poked his head into the former living room that served as the lobby for the repurposed old mansion.
He ducked out a second later and Sasha smiled, tugging absently on the metal links she’d found sitting on the table beside her in an attempt to separate them.
“I have to admit, when Max told me he bought this place I was skeptical. It always looked so creepy and rundown. He did a great job on the renovations,” Gabe said, looking up from his own puzzle to glance around and take in all the cool little details of the space.
“Agree. It’s still a bit creepy. Just not bodies-in-the-basement-and-bats-in-the-attic creepy. Which is perfect for an escape room business, I’m guessing.”
Gabe rewarded her little joke with a half-smile, and a rush of warmth coursed through her. Keep your expectations realistic, she reminded herself. This was just the first step, not a magic pill, after all.
The puzzle he’d been working on clicked open and he nodded in satisfaction.
“Good job,” Sasha said with a wide grin. He tipped his head in thanks, and then set the puzzle down.
Okay, so they still had some work to do before conversation flowed easily between them. That was all right…she was up for the challenge.
She turned her focus back to her own puzzle as Gabe grabbed another from the table next to him.
Their conversation on the ride over and when they’d first gotten here had been stilted and awkward, but having something else to focus on definitely helped. She couldn’t imagine sitting in a room, side by side, just listening to the second-hands of a clock tick by.
Way to go, suggesting we do something fun and active, Leslie.
“It’s typically in a normal-sized room and we aren’t actually locked in,” Gabe assured her, the sound of wood rubbing against wood punctuating his words, “although, sometimes one room will have a secret door that leads to another. We’ve just got to really work together on this because I did a couple rooms when I was on vacation in Colorado and even with six people, we got out with just three minutes to spare. With only two of us, it will be even trickier.”
Working together sounded good to her.
“We make a great team when we put our minds to it,” Sasha said, turning the metal carefully in her hands. Just one more turn and… click. She raised the two metal rings into the air triumphantly, “Yes!”
“Nice.”
Once, there was a time when Gabe would’ve teased her about taking so long or gotten fake competitive about the next one, but those days were in the past. She shook her head, taking a deep breath to refocus herself. If she followed the therapist’s advice and did this the right way, they could have that closeness in the future, as well. She turned, trying to decide which puzzle to take next, but was interrupted as Ian reentered the room.
“We’re all set up in there now,” he said, rubbing his hands together with excitement. “I have you guys in our third room, which isn’t yet open to the public, so you’ll be my guinea pigs. No one has seen it yet, other than Max and I. It’s designed for smaller groups, so I thought it’d be perfect for the two of you.”
“I’m excited to try it,” Sasha said, a shiver of anticipation running through her.
“I’ll start off with a little explanation of the rules. First, nothing you need in the room will be so high up that you need to stand on other things to get to it. Second, you won’t need to use a lot of force to do anything within the room; this means you don’t have to move anything heavier than a few pounds and you won’t have to tug too hard to get anything open. If you have to pull with more strength than you have in your two fingers, it wasn’t meant to be moved.” He looked back and forth between them. “Any questions on that end?”
“Nope,” Sasha said, shaking her head in unison with Gabe.
“You only have sixty minutes to escape, so you might need help at some points in the room. I’ll also be watching on camera, so if you have any questions or need help, just look toward one of the cameras and wave your hand around a bit to get my attention. I’ll pipe in and ask you if you want a clue. If you say yes, the screen in the room will light up and you’ll be able to read the hint I type to you. One thing to keep in mind with escape rooms, and this one in particular, there is nothing in there that’s going to hurt you. So, for example, you receive a clue that says to mix two elements together and, if you get it wrong, it will explode?” Ian winked. “Obviously, that’s not going to happen. So if something feels like the right thing to do, do it. Any questions?”
“Nope, sounds good,” Gabe said, standing.
Ian beamed, and it made Sasha smile back. He was so clearly in love with his new occupation, he was practically vibrating with excitement.
“Let’s get into the room and get you started, then.”
Sasha and Gabe shuffled after him, going down a short hallway before they arrived at a large wooden door.
Ian reached into his pocket and pulled out some kind of small remote control. The sounds of a saxophone-heavy jazz song filled the room as he tapped the button on the center of it. “Here is your backstory, along with your mission. The year is 1924. A childhood friend who’d done quite well for himself came back into town and invited the two of you to his house, which turned out to be more of a mansion, for dinner. You drank and ate your fill, laughing and reminiscing about old times. As the night went on, however, you began to sense something strange happening. Your eyes were getting blurry, and you both felt very groggy. The last thing you saw before blacking out was your old friend stepping toward you, a grim expression on his face and a length of rope in his hand.”
Ian pushed open the door to reveal a sizable room that looked like a parlor belonging to Jay Gatsby. It brought to mind the roaring twenties and, with the music playing in the background, Sasha half expected a flapper in a short beaded dress to enter, stage left, doing the Charleston.
Ian herded them toward two wooden chairs at the center of the room, which seemed somewhat out of place given where the rest of the fussy, velvet furniture was situated.
“You awoke a short while ago and managed to untie your ropes, but now, you’ve got to get out of this place, before he returns…exactly one hour from now,” he said. He gestured for them to sit and then backed away slowly toward the door they’d come through. “Good luck!” he called with a puckish grin as he closed the door with a snap.
A large, digital clock on the wall beeped and the number 59:59 appeared, lit bright red.
59:58
59:57
“Holy cow, we’ve got to get moving!” Sasha stood, surprised at the sudden rush of adrenaline.
Did they get any instructions on how to begin? What were they even supposed to-
“We need to find our first clue. Let’s start by getting the lay of the land here,” Gabe said, shooting to his feet and making his way over to a nearby table with a lamp sitting atop it.
She headed straight for the door on the opposite side from where they’d come in. “Not getting out this way yet,” she said, looking down at the massive padlock
“Does it open with a key or a code?” Gabe called, inspecting a piece of paper that’d been on top of the table.
“Key,” she said, giving the door a final look before moving on to the fireplace.
“We have some kind of cipher here,” Gabe said, coming up behind her and tapping her shoulder.
She spun to see a sheet of laminated paper with a strange grouping of characters on it.
“Typically, that would be the key to decoding some sort of message that is likely hidden elsewhere in the room.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “I’ll start looking.”
She scanned the fireplace and, almost immediately, she noticed something sticking out of the grate. “There’s something here,” she said, leaning down slightly to grab a partially burned note that’d been hidden inside. It contained a short line of text followed by a series of symbols and the letters and numbers they represented, though the letters past “S” had been burned away.
Memorize the contents of this letter and then burn it. We’ll use this code to communicate about your progress.
“Perfect,” Gabe said, stepping back up to her, “do you want to work on translating the note or should I?”
“I will,” she said, “you keep looking around for more clues.”
He nodded, handing her the piece of laminated paper. “This was with it,” he said, pulling out a marker and handing it over to her, “you can use it to write on the plastic.”
Sasha nodded, then got to work. Translating each letter and number of the document took about five minutes to finish but she was fairly certain she’d gotten it right, though the missing letters made it a little bit more difficult to tell. She cleared her throat, reading it aloud so Gabe could hear.
You’ve disappointed me. You have until the end of the week to give us the offerings you promised. The jewelry box contains everything you need, so get to work. The code is 6524.
“I found it a minute ago,” Gabe said excitedly, moving a few feet over and reaching for an elaborately decorated jewelry box on the floor. It was held shut wit
h a number lock.
He began entering the code and the box clicked open a moment later. Sasha stepped closer and they began examining the contents.
A short plastic dagger, a key, as well as an instruction sheet detailing the proper method for a sacrificial killing.
She chuckled. “I guess our old friend is supposed to sacrifice us or something. Some friend he is!”
But she couldn’t deny, all the props and awesome set building made it hard not to get swept up in the spirit of it. She risked a glance at Gabe to see he looked as exhilarated as she felt.
“Come on, we’ve got the key for the other lock now, I bet!”
For the next thirty minutes, they continued moving around the room and each puzzle led them to another puzzle or hint. She squealed with excitement when a painting on the wall slid open to reveal another key, this one for the padlocked door she’d been inspecting at the very start.
Sasha wiped her forehead and was surprised to find a light sheen of sweat there. “We made it!”
Part of her was excited that they’d done so well, but another part was sad it was over…
“Not so fast,” Gabe murmured as the door swung open. Instead of taking them out of the room entirely, it led to another, smaller room decorated in similar fashion but with two metal panels on either side. “I think we still have a long ways to go,” he added with a chuckle.
They dove right in, finding clues, unscrambling words, and revealing codes written in ink that could only be seen once they found a hidden black light. In a flurry of activity, they finished puzzle after puzzle on their own, without any need for the hints that Ian had offered. Some of the puzzles were visual—clues hidden in the wallpaper, or grouping colored items together—which Sasha excelled at. Others relied on word play, or unscrambling letters, and needed Gabe’s mind. Ultimately, their efforts led them to a piece of laminated paper with a short but perplexing riddle written on it.
The connection has been broken
But if what is severed can be cured
Finding Forgiveness: A Bluebird Bay Novel Page 12