My mind swirled with a million different thoughts. Dad stepped into the waiting room. He was still in his suit, having rushed to the hospital from work.
“Is she okay?” I asked, pulling my attention away from the hypnosis of my phone.
“She needed a couple of stitches on her forehead, and she’s pretty scratched up, but she’s going to be okay.”
“Did she have to get a rabies shot?” I asked.
He nodded. I’d heard those hurt, and felt sorry for my little sister.
“She’ll be fine,” Dad assured me.
But his sigh on the way down to sitting in the uncomfortable chair next to me gave away that worry still plagued him. It was just the two of us in the waiting room. Helen was in the middle of playing a field hockey game, and Mom had suggested that Mae stay at home—she didn’t want her coming to the hospital if she didn’t have to.
“What do you think happened?” I probed, wanting to see if he would shed any light on the situation.
He bit the inside of his cheek, mulling it over. “I’m not sure yet,” he admitted.
Although I hadn’t heard him say anything directly, he seemed less than pleased that Mae was still staying with us. I’d noticed that he and Mom hadn’t really been speaking to each other, and I was sure it was the issue of Mae that was causing the rift.
Mom stepped into the room. Her face was a mask of worry.
“She’s going to be fine,” Mom assured, trying to calm herself as much as us. “The stitches are small, and Dr. Pfizer said she’d be able to perform in the musical.”
Mom headed over to the vending machine. “Anyone want a snack?” she offered.
I shook my head. Dad declined too. Mom got herself a granola bar and tore open the wrapper. She ate the snack like she was looking for a distraction, rather than actually being hungry.
“Dr. Mathis,” came an authoritative voice. A woman in a bad pantsuit stood in the entryway. She saw me and Dad.
“Peter, Julia,” she said, nodding.
I wasn’t sure exactly who she was, and her lime-green blazer and slacks were way too bright, but I said a polite hello.
“Nice to see you, Joanne,” Dad returned.
The woman looked to my mom. “May I have a word?”
Mom nodded, then started to follow her out. Dad touched her arm as she passed.
“Everything okay?” he asked, concerned.
Mom put her Everything’s Fine face on. “Yup, all good,” she answered, then continued out.
I looked at Dad. I could tell he knew my mom was being avoidant with him, and it bothered him. He stared down at the buffed waiting room floor.
And so did I.
CHAPTER 34
JOANNE LED SUZANNE TO A QUIET AREA OF the hallway. “I’m very sorry about what happened to your daughter,” she started.
Suzanne took a bite of her granola bar. “I appreciate your concern.”
“It’s difficult for me to tell you this now, knowing the stress you’re under at the moment. But I thought you should know.”
Suzanne’s face darkened. “Know what?”
“Why don’t we go into my office,” Joanne suggested.
“Why don’t you just tell me what you have to tell me right here?” Suzanne challenged her. Whatever this was, she wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
“Very well.” Joanne glanced around to make sure no one was in direct earshot.
“The thing is, I know what you did.” Joanne’s eyes narrowed at Suzanne.
“What I did?” Suzanne scoffed. “My daughter just got mauled by a puppy. You think I had something to do with it?”
“Of course not. This isn’t about that.”
“Then what is it about? I’d like to get back to my daughter.”
Joanne pursed her lips at Suzanne’s attitude, then revealed, “I know you broke into confidential patient records. For Victor Peterson.”
Suzanne tried to keep her face still so that it wouldn’t confirm that her boss was absolutely right.
“And,” Joanne added with emphasis, “you used Nurse Connie’s login. It set off an IT security alert when you accessed such an old, confidential case. I wondered why in the world Connie was pulling up records of a boy who came in here over a decade ago, so I decided to have security pull up the video feed.”
Suzanne folded her arms, as if trying to fend off guilt.
“And the other issue is that you’ve been missing appointments lately.”
Suzanne didn’t say anything. She couldn’t deny it—she had missed an appointment here and there, but she’d been so busy taking care of Mae and trying to figure out how she could build a case against the cult.
“I’m not sure what’s going on here,” Joanne continued, “but if you want to keep your job, you’d better watch yourself. I can’t have this kind of behavior from my staff.”
Suzanne was about to protest, but Joanne wouldn’t allow it.
“Whatever you say, it doesn’t matter, Dr. Mathis. You’re under review by the board.”
Being a seventeen-year veteran of the hospital, Suzanne was too shocked to reply.
Joanne shook her head. “I’m sorry about this, I really am, but it’s the way things are.”
Joanne turned to head back to her office.
“Oh,” she remembered before leaving. “Since you’re on review, Dr. Brenner will be representing the hospital at the psych conference in Chicago in December. I hope your daughter feels better soon,” she concluded.
Joanne clacked off down the hallway.
Suzanne stared, lost in her thoughts. After a moment, she pulled out her phone and hurried off in the opposite direction. She was now determined to get Detective Nelson on board with Mae’s case no matter what.
CHAPTER 35
“EVERYONE HAVE ENOUGH POPCORN?”
It was a few nights later and Dad was making a huge attempt to play Completely Normal Family.
Mom, Dani, and Mae were sitting on the couch. I sat across the room in the armchair.
Mae was being super friendly to me at school and everything, and I had agreed to go to the Halloween party with Zeke. He was nice enough, and everyone else had dates. At least I’d have company, so I wouldn’t look like a complete tag-along loser.
But I was starting to count the number of creepy events that were piling up around Mae—the running out in the middle of the night, the chanting seizure, and most recently the puppy attack on Dani. The amount was high for a girl who had just appeared in our lives a month and a half ago. I still wasn’t sure if that had anything to do with Mae, and when I tried to bring it up with her she blew it off, saying it was just a stray puppy who got scared and attacked. However, she had been the one who said the cult would do things to get her back.
“Dani, you good? More butter or anything?” Dad double-checked. He was being extra caring to Dani in the wake of the dog mauling. Her stitches from where the puppy had bitten her were healing well, but she still had a bandage on her forehead.
Dani smiled. “Thanks, Daddy.”
“Jules, have enough popcorn? Mae?” She and I both nodded, each holding gigantic bowls.
“Suzanne? All good?” Dad asked, a slight edge in his voice I could tell he was trying to hide.
Mom gave a tight smile. “Thank you, Peter.”
He moved on. “All right!” He clapped his hands together. “Now it’s time for our favorite Mathis family pre-Halloween tradition!”
He stepped over to the DVD player and discreetly slipped in the disc. Dad always kept the film a surprise to us. He turned back to his captive audience.
“And now for our feature presentation! Jules, drumroll, please,” he requested, dimming the lights.
I felt silly, but I wanted to go along with it, so I drummed my palms on my armrest.
“This evening, I present to you—the classic American cult film: Carrie!”
I couldn’t help a grin. It was my favorite thriller, and my father knew that. The new remake vers
ion was okay, but the classic version was where it was at. I appreciated the small effort Dad had made to try to do something nice for me.
As the movie started, Dad stepped toward the couch to sit down. I noticed Mae scoot over, making room for him. Dad looked at the spot next to her, then pulled a wooden chair over from the corner, claiming it was better for his back. I thought I saw a flash of emotion cross Mae’s face, but it was too quick to read. I wondered what that was about …
But this was one of my favorite movies and a Mathis family tradition—I wasn’t going to let anything ruin it. I ate a handful of popcorn and stared at the screen, ready to sink into the comfort of the story.
ZZZZZTT, buzzed Mom’s phone. She quickly reached into her pocket and scoped the caller ID.
“’Scuse me,” she whispered as she launched herself off the couch. “Thanks for calling me back…” Her voice trailed off as she pressed through the kitchen door to take the call.
Instead of wondering who was ringing Mom so late at night, I let myself be swallowed by the dark coziness of the living room and got ready to enjoy someone else’s problems.
CHAPTER 36
“WHAT’S THE EMERGENCY?” CAME DETECTIVE NELSON’S VOICE FROM the other end of the line.
Suzanne perched herself against the kitchen counter, ignoring the murmur of the movie playing from the living room. “I need your help.”
Detective Nelson sighed heavily from the other end. Faint music drifted in the background.
“We don’t have any more time to lose. We have to go and question Victor Peterson. I found him in Tisdale.”
“You went to Tisdale?!” Detective Nelson balked through the line.
“Yes, I followed him there.”
“Dr. Mathis, you can’t be going to that town by yourself,” he cautioned. “You shouldn’t be going there at all.”
Suzanne pressed on. “The point is, we need to talk to him, question him—build our case. These people might have attacked my daughter.” Suzanne told him about what had happened with Dani and the puppy. He said he’d check out the report—he hadn’t been on duty when it happened.
“You think the cult might have done this?” she pressed.
“It’s hard to know. Or more important, hard to prove.”
“Then we have to go after Victor. We can go back there and question him. With him and Mae, we’ll have two witnesses. Then we’ll have a good case and can get these people locked up.”
Detective Nelson didn’t say anything. She thought she heard some laughing in the background. She guessed he was probably outside a bar.
“You’re going to help me, right?” she stated more than asked.
There was a brief silence from the other end. Suzanne paced nervously across the kitchen tile.
“You want my advice, get that girl into a shelter, away from you, or at least with another family. You’ve done your part. You have to let this one go, Suzanne.”
Suzanne wouldn’t hear it. She was furious that no one would help her.
“If you won’t do anything about it, I will,” she snapped, clicking off the phone.
CHAPTER 37
MY HAIR PARTED RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE FELT different. I’d used the straightener to get it as flat as I could, like Sissy Spacek had her hair in Carrie, and I thought it actually came out pretty good. Looking in the bathroom mirror, I gave myself a small smile.
The narrow dress straps on my shoulders made me feel, I don’t know, sexy, I guess. I never showed that much skin, and it felt adventurous to wear it, even though it was only a costume.
The dress was actually lingerie, which I’d gotten at Goodwill and washed thoroughly. I’d taken the bus the other day after a volleyball game, where I didn’t play once. The slip I’d found was cheaper than a real dress and looked like it would do the trick, so I bought it.
I ran my hands over my hair one more time to smooth it down. All I needed to do was drizzle “blood” onto my dress and I’d be set: Carrie.
Stepping into the hallway, I stumbled into—
“Jules! You look adorable!” Mom complimented me, her voice rising.
“I was going for creepy, but thanks.” I was annoyed at her for being so spacey lately and spending so much time with Mae. But whatever. My gaze fell to her hands.
Mom was holding a long blond wig.
“What’s that for?” I asked. Before she could answer, Mae exited her room into the hall.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“What the hell?” I nearly yelled.
“What?” Mae returned calmly, looking down at her outfit. She was wearing a long white dress, almost exactly like mine.
“It’s my costume. I’m like you!” Mae smiled.
My breathing had become shallow. How could this be happening?
Mom held up the wig. “Mae is going to be Carrie too!”
I felt my face scrunch with fury. This had to be a joke. First Mae stole my guy, now she was stealing my Halloween costume?!
“Not exactly,” Mae explained.
“What do you mean?” I challenged her. “You’re dressed exactly like me,” I said accusingly.
“Well, you’re the Carrie from the old movie, right? The one we watched the other night?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I’m the Carrie from the other movie. The new one! I looked it up on the internet. There’s another version of the film that’s more recent,” she proudly informed me—as if I didn’t already know that. “I’m the New Carrie!” Mae smiled.
No. Effing. Way.
Carrie was my favorite horror movie. And now Mae was copying me? She was a total imposter! She was taking over my life! This was some Single White Female shit.
Mom held up the wig and shook out the flaxen, synthetic hair. She placed it on Mae’s head, completing the outfit.
“Looks great, Mae!” Mom beamed. “You girls are twins! I always wanted twins.”
I stared down Mae, my anger prompting a loss for words. She had stolen my costume and one-upped me by being “New Carrie.”
I couldn’t deal.
“Where’s Dad?” I demanded, turning to Mom. She suddenly became focused on smoothing out a strand of hair from the wig, avoiding eye contact.
“In the garage,” she mumbled, then returned her attention to Mae. “Let’s run a brush through this hair!” she suggested, heading into the bathroom with Mae.
I stomped outside and headed over toward the garage. I wondered why Dad was out here.
I knocked on the metal door.
“Dad?”
No answer. I stepped inside. The musty room was lined with shelves of cardboard boxes and some old tools—mostly crap that no one ever used and probably never would. I noticed that the ladder that led to the upper part of the garage was pulled down.
“Dad?” I called again, heading over to the ladder. I climbed to the upper floor, careful not to get dust on my white dress.
Up in the small, attic-like space, Dad was sitting on a cot. He looked up at me.
“Hey, Sweet Pea,” he said. He hardly ever called me that anymore. Under normal circumstances I didn’t love being called my sappy childhood nickname, but at the moment I didn’t mind.
My eyes caught a pile of clothing slipping out of a duffel bag near the bed.
“Are you—sleeping here?” I ventured.
Dad glanced down at the unfinished wood plank floor.
“Uh, just for a little while,” he admitted.
I knew my parents didn’t seem to be particularly getting along these days, but I had no idea that they were sleeping in separate places. This was not a good omen.
I’m sure Dad could see it on my face that my brain was spinning.
“It’s nothing to worry about, Jule-Jule; sometimes people just need some space. Clear their heads and all.”
I supposed that made sense. I certainly needed space from Mae.
“Your costume looks neat!” he congratulated me, forcing himself to sound upbeat.
&nb
sp; “Thanks,” I answered, remembering why I had come in here in the first place. “I need some help pouring blood over my hair. Mom was too busy helping Mae,” I added.
I could see a flash of annoyance cross Dad’s face, or maybe it was disappointment. Whatever it was, he quickly stood up and clapped his hands, a habit he had when trying to shift gears.
“Let’s pour some blood on your hair!” he rallied with enthusiasm.
Outside in the driveway, Dad dripped the fake blood over my straightened locks so it spilled down onto my white dress, exactly like I wanted it to. I felt the sticky red liquid sink onto my skin through the thin fabric of the dress.
For a brief moment, I thought about what Mae might have felt when blood from the cuts on her back dripped down her skin …
I quickly brushed off the thought.
“Sure I look okay?” I asked Dad, seeking reassurance. I wasn’t sure why I was feeling so insecure. There was no one to impress at this party. I didn’t care what Zeke thought of me, Sebastian liked Mae, and my costume had already been outdone.
Dad looked at me, then carefully reached over and pushed a strand of blood-clotted hair off my cheek.
“You look great, Sweet Pea,” he smiled.
CHAPTER 38
THE BACKSEAT OF SEBASTIAN’S PARENTS’ VOLVO WAS ROOMY, but I tucked myself against the door, trying to place myself as far away from this whole situation as I possibly could.
Zeke had already been in the car when Sebastian had picked us up. He was dressed as a Dwarf Paladin, which he explained was a Dungeons and Dragons thing. He wore a long cape and held a stick of wood, which he insisted was a staff. It seemed like a costume he already had.
Mom had been overjoyed when the boys arrived. Seeing me and Mae together, both with dates for the party, made her extremely happy, as if she was vicariously living through us. I mustered as much enthusiasm as I could. My tactic was to lay low, go along with everything, and just get through the effing night.
Halloween was my favorite holiday—most years. Usually I celebrated with Isaac, marathoning scary classics at home and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, although we didn’t get that many on my street since it was far from the main road. Isaac and I would try to prank-scare each other throughout the evening, seeing who could outcreep the other. One year when we were eleven he had slept over, and in what had been an extremely calculated and time-consuming move, he hid out in the bathroom all night to scare me when I went to use it. However, I had been so tired that I’d slept through the night, and found him asleep in the tub the next morning. I wondered what Isaac was up to tonight. I had to admit—especially with all this awkwardness with Mae—I missed him.
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