Looking around the bathroom, and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Tori, nevertheless, shut the door. She knew it was a silly thing to do, since there was no one in the house but herself. She just felt more secure with the black hallway being shielded from view.
Preparations for bed became more frenzied as Tori wanted to just get out of the bathroom to search the rest of the house. Rationally, she knew there was no one else there and nothing to harm her. Psychically, she was beginning to feel as if she wasn’t alone.
Pulling her bathrobe over her wet body, Tori opened the door cautiously. Droplets of water made a spattering noise on the varnished floor of the hall as she peered into the darkness. She heard a moan that rooted her to the floor, until she realized she was the one making the sound.
O God, why didn’t I leave the lights on?
Taking a deep breath, Tori raced to the end of the hall, slamming her hand against the light switch. Instantly, the hall and part of the living room were bathed in welcoming light. Feeling a little braver with illumination, Tori rushed through the house, turning on all the lights. Only then did she take time to search each room completely, with her largest butcher knife in her hand, held behind her back so she could use the element of surprise against an invader.
Deciding that, indeed, the house was empty, Tori dropped the knife back into the kitchen drawer. She leaned against the cool tile of the counter top and laughed at herself. One of those movies that had scared her so badly a few years before flashed through her mind. She recalled how a psychic had been called to rid a house, and its occupants, of a mean-spirited ghost. Smoothing her hair back in imitation of the small-statured woman from the movie, Tori made a declaration to herself.
“This house is clean.”
She forced herself to extinguish the light in the kitchen, but allowed herself the luxury of leaving every other light burning. She hurriedly dried her hair, just knowing that the blow dryer was covering up the sound of someone sneaking up on her. She brushed her teeth as she stared in the mirror for the shape of a man coming into the room. Her nerves were twitching and adrenaline pulsed through her veins, causing her heart to race.
I can’t go to sleep when I can feel the blood pounding in my ears.I wonder if I still have one of those sleeping pills Mom insisted the doctor give me after my divorce.
Opening the medicine cabinet, Tori found the bottle of prescription drugs next to the aspirin. Her hands were shaking as she struggled to open it. Dropping one into her hand, she got a drink of water; the glass chattering against her teeth as she swallowed. Setting the glass back down on the porcelain sink, gently, she felt as if she had escaped the bathroom, rather than simply just leaving it.
Tori sat in her chair, picked up the remote control and started flipping through the channels. One of the local stations was showing an all-night special on the artists of Motown. Tori pulled her throw blanket over her legs and sank into the cushions of the chair in contentment.
Within minutes she realized she wasn’t going to be able to stay awake, which was fine with her. She turned up the television volume and folded the blanket over the chair arm. Staggering, she eventually made it to her bedroom, where she collapsed on top of the cover.
When she was deeply asleep, the blanket was lifted to cover her shivering body. The right side of the bed showed no depression where Avery lay beside Tori. He was turned on his side so he could stare into her face.
He lovingly caressed her cheek, and in her sleep, Tori unknowingly smiled at the feather-light touch of her own creation.
Chapter Five
Tori was jolted awake by bitter cold hitting her face. Sunlight poured into the bedroom window but it did little to heat the room. She stood, pulling the blanket with her, and wrapped it around her shoulders. She shuffled into the hallway and peered at the thermostat with sleep-puffy eyes.
“Oh, now, that’s just marvelous! The stupid furnace isn’t working and it’s only fifty degrees in here. No wonder I’m shivering.”
Her feet became entangled in the blanket several times as she was trying to pry the door loose from the furnace. Once she had it free, she dropped the metal covering to the floor where it landed with a tinny clang. Her knee joints popped in the quiet house as Tori knelt to check the pilot light.
“Yeah, sure. I knew it, I just knew it! I hate it when this happens and I have to risk life and limb to relight it. I’m gonna blow myself up someday just trying to stay warm. Where the heck did I put those long kitchen matches?”
Stumbling through the house, the blanket was now more of a nuisance than a warm friend. Irritation followed the course of the comforter as Tori threw it across the room.
She looked in every logical place she could think of, and a few illogical ones, as well, but couldn’t find the matches. She was exasperated to the point of tears when she heard the familiar whoosh! of the furnace kicking in.
Ah, now, that’s impossible! The pilot light was off, I saw it myself; not working. A furnace does not relight itself. Or can it? Maybe I had better call a repairman. I don’t want the thing to explode while I’m asleep less than fifteen feet away! Man, oh man, this is just too weird!
Right on the heels of this came yet another irritating revelation.
God, I’ve got one hell of a headache! That sleeping pill was just a cheap excuse for a hangover. Whew! No more of those dastardly little devils. Now, where’s my aspirin? I think I need about twenty of them!
The ring of the telephone sliced through her head like a knife—a dull knife. The pain and annoyance was etched clearly on her puffy face.
“What is it with these people? Don’t they ever sleep? I have one agent, and one mother, and they both get up with the chickens!”
Snatching the phone and banging her forehead in the process did little to temper Tori’s foul mood.
“Yeah?”
Sharon’s usually sunny voice sounded confused, and unsure.
“Tori? Are you okay?”
“Yes, Mom. Why shouldn’t I be?”
“Well, it’s silly, I know, but I had a terrible nightmare about you last night. I’ve been up for hours, just waiting until I thought it was late enough to call you. I’m sorry, honey. I hope I didn’t wake you. I was just worried…”
Instantly sorry for her curt response to her mother’s concern, Tori quickly apologized.
“Oh, Mom, I’m sorry. No, you didn’t wake me. I took one of those sleeping pills the doctor gave me and woke up feeling wiped out. And when I got out of bed, I walked into a freezer. The pilot light was out on the furnace.”
“Tori, honey, come over here. We’ll call a repairman. While you’re waiting for him, I’ll fix you breakfast.”
“No, that’s sweet of you, Mom, but I’m fine. For some weird reason the heat came back on, all by itself.”
“Tori, that’s not possible, dear.”
“I know that, and you know that, but evidently the furnace doesn’t know that. Anywho, that’s what happened. The temperature’s already up to sixty-five, and climbing. I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll just hang out here today and get some writing done.”
“Alright, dear, if you’re sure. As long as I know you’re okay, I’ll stop worrying. I know you’re a grown woman, Tori, but to me, you’ll always be my little girl. I guess I get a little silly sometimes.”
Knowing her mother wanted to be reassured, Tori obliged her.
“No, you’re not silly, Mom. And I would be hurt if you ever quit worrying about me. I count on it. It means a lot to know that I’ll always have someone who loves me, no matter how grouchy, or crazy, I get. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, sweet Tori. Good bye, honey.”
“Good bye, Mom.”
Let me see, it’s only seven o’clock in the morning and I’ve already hurt the sweetest woman in the world! For an encore, maybe I can get in my car and run over a few innocent kids on their way to school! I’m really a piece of…
The thought was never completed.
Behind her, Tori heard what sounded like a hand, a very heavy hand, being slammed down on the kitchen counter. It was an expression of anger.
Not bothering to dress, Tori grabbed her clothes, shoes, and purse, and ran to her car. Her hands were trembling so badly that she had difficulty putting the key in the ignition. Once she got the car started, finally!, finally!, ohthankyouGod!, she pulled away from the house, tires squealing. But she ran over no children on their way to school.
She pulled into her mother’s driveway, for once reaching the door before Sharon could get there. Her whole body was shaking and her mother made a worried exclamation when she saw her daughter’s face.
“Oh, honey, what’s wrong? Hurry up; get in the house. Do you want a cup of coffee? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”
There was no humor in Tori’s dry laughter.
“Well, Mom, I didn’t actually see a ghost, but I’m pretty sure there’s one in my house!”
Sharon spun around in her small, but efficient, kitchen. Her expression was of complete, and utter, disbelief.
“Tori! You can’t possibly really mean that! Honey, you know there’s no such thing as ghosts. It’s just your wonderful, but all too vivid, imagination, darling.”
Staring into her mother’s eyes, Tori began to slowly shake her head.
“I don’t know anymore, Mom. There have been some… how should I say this? I’ve had a few strange things happen to me in that house. I may be a writer, and I’ll admit my imagination gets pretty wild, but not even I could imagine this!”
Sharon put the cup of steaming coffee on the bar in front of Tori. Her own hand was shaking. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew she was worried about her child.
“Tell me about it, Sweetheart. All of it, and hold nothing back.”
Tori put her hand over her mother’s, a gesture of reassurance.
“I’m really not crazy, you know.”
“No, of course not, honey.”
“Well, you’re wearing your ‘my daughter’s a raving lunatic’ face. If I tell you, it will only scare you more. Maybe this is something I have to work out for myself, Mom.”
A look of stern disapproval marred Sharon’s lovely face and Tori almost giggled at her mother’s intensity. If she hadn’t been so frightened, this whole thing might have been funny. But it wasn’t; it was scary.
Tori thought about just leaving, not bothering her mother with tales of ghosts and ghouls. But she was afraid that, despite her mother’s age, she would field-tackle Tori before she reached the door. Now, that was funny. The visual image of Sharon jumping her made Tori, in spite of what had happened, laugh out loud.
“What’s so funny, Tori? You are one strange kid. Practically hysterical one minute, and laughing the next. Hmmm, I wonder if you’re mentally sound.”
“Hey, hey, hey! I came here for emotional support and you’re making fun of me. What kind of mother are you, anyway?”
“Emotional support? I’d think you need emotional therapy! Aw, come on, Tori, lighten up, will ya? I’m only trying to cheer you up.”
“By insulting me? Listen to me! Of course that’s what you’re doing. That’s the way we’ve always done it, right? It’s just that, sometimes, our insulting type of humor gets on my nerves.”
Sharon walked around the counter and put her arms around her only child. She urged Tori to move, by gently pressing against her shoulders.
“Let’s go in the living room where it’s more comfortable. We’ll drink our coffee and you’re going to tell dear old Mom what’s been going on in your house.”
They talked for over two hours. Tori would relate an experience with her “ghost” and Sharon would answer with a logical explanation. Both women were getting annoyed with the other one for not seeing things in their proper light.
The end result of their long conversation was to go back and visit the scene of the crime. Each woman was smugly certain the other one would be proven wrong. Sharon believed she could convince her daughter that there were reasons for each oddity and Tori just knew her mother was an unbelieving ninny.
The house was suffocating. The thermostat that Tori had turned up now registered eighty degrees; they started shedding clothes as they walked.
The first room they inspected was the kitchen. Tori was about to explain the slamming sound that had driven her from the house when her mother snorted.
“Could this be what you heard, dear?” She held up a very large, heavy cookbook that was lying face down on the counter. Tori had gotten it when she was into her “I want to learn how to cook” phase. The book had been standing on the microwave oven since the first day it came into the house.
“I didn’t see that earlier! How did it get there?”
“I think that you were so busy getting out of here that you didn’t stop to look, Tori.”
“But, why would it fall? It’s been on the microwave for… I don’t know how long. Why would it, all of a sudden, just fly off?”
“I really don’t think it flew anywhere. An old house settles, Tori, and everything in the house shifts when it does. That book’s probably been on the verge of sliding off for a long time. One final shift, or the movement of your step, and wham! There it goes.”
“Well, what about all the other stuff, Mom? What’s your rational explanation for those?”
Sharon hugged her daughter to her, and kissed her forehead.
“But, Mom, what about the cold wind on my face waking me?”
“Well, the furnace was off at the time.”
“Okay, what about feeling someone standing behind me, in the computer room?”
“Your imagination. Everything that’s happened to you can either be explained, or you imagined it.”
“Humph! Not everything in this world can be explained, Mom.”
“If it is in this world, Tori, it most certainly can be explained. If it isn’t in this world, well, that’s a different story. I’ll admit that there are many things in this universe that I can’t explain, and neither can anyone else, at least not to my satisfaction.”
Tori was somewhat pacified by her mother’s admission that there were oddities with no rational answer. But that didn’t stop her from being scared. All the logic in the world would only go so far and then pure terror could set in. But, for the moment, Tori was more than happy to accept Sharon’s theories. She didn’t want to believe there was something strange in her home.
Maybe it truly was her cursed, over-active imagination. Even as a child, Tori had always enjoyed being melodramatic. Could this be an example of believing her own hype? If so, she needed to make that call to a therapist-soon!
What Tori didn’t know, couldn’t know, was that the events that had happened were far from logical. There definitely was a presence in her house. It wasn’t a monster, and it wasn’t exactly a ghost. It was a being with form, but no substance. It was a being that was growing stronger with each day. It was a being that was angry with Tori when she degraded herself, or her capabilities. It was an entity that wanted to be physically near Tori, and was getting closer to that desire with each passing day.
Chapter Six
…her hand trembled as she reached out to trace the outline of his provocative mouth. He took her hand and brought the palm to his lips, softly kissing it, and she felt his breath waltz along her wrist.
He laid her upon the fragrant grass, then encircled her body with his strong arms. He nuzzled her neck, reaching out his tongue to trail sweet fire along her shoulder. He lowered his face, softly nipping at the warm hollow of the valley…
The concentrated frown deepened between her eyes. Tori sighed, then snatched the phone from its cradle, still focused on the computer monitor and the sensual words waiting there.
“Um… yes?”
“Tori? Hi, it’s Jim.”
Four simple, innocent words that tightened her chest, and made her lose all concentration on what Avery was about to do next. This was a voice she hadn’t heard in over a year.<
br />
“Jim! Hello! How are you?”
“Well… Actually, I’m doing great. Things are going so well in my life; I couldn’t stand it if it were any better.”
Her fingers twisted the phone cord into knots, nearly tugging the phone off the desk. Her pale complexion reflected back to her from the computer screen.
“Wow. That’s really good to hear, Jim. I’m happy for you. Has something happened to bring about this wonderful change?”
Momentary silence met her question. Tori couldn’t understand how Jim could be so happy, yet so reticent to talk about it. She was just about to change the subject when she heard him take a deep breath.
“Tori, I’m getting married.”
It was now her turn to be speechless. A hundred thoughts flitted through her mind, burrowing themselves into her heart. She was angry with herself to realize a tear had slid down her cheek.
“That’s fantastic! Congratulations. Anyone I know? When’s the wedding?”
“No, no, you don’t know her. She just moved into the area about a year ago. She’s a nurse, working at one of the hospitals here in town.”
“A nurse, huh? I’ll bet that’s interesting. So, you’re getting married when?”
“Uh… well… next week.”
“Gosh! Next week, huh? Have you been thinking of a big church wedding?”
“No. We’re just going to Eureka Springs, Arkansas and find a chapel. We’re not worried about a big, splashy affair. We’ve been living together for a few months, so this is really just a formality. We were going to wait a while longer, but felt it best to do it now.”
“But, why? If you’ve been together all this time, why not just wait and let her have a nice church wedding? Surely she’ll want that. What’s the hurry?”
Another long stretch of heavy silence, at last broken with his monotone answer, as if he were striving to make his voice noncommittal, devoid of any happiness.
Through the Shadows Page 5