I shook my head and opened my mouth but no words came out. The hurt and betrayal from Suzie’s lies numbed me. She finally got her revenge for the destroyed dresses. Of all the things they had ever done to me, this was the worst. I’d never be able to show my face around town again.
Marietta must have taken my silence as an admission of sorts. She smiled smugly but it did nothing to improve her looks. She was so pale and withdrawn and withered, death was staring her in the face. Catherine was killing her. I took some reassurance that this was Marietta talking now, all on her own.
“Don’t count on it lasting. You have absolutely nothing to offer him. Take a good look in the mirror.” She paused. “I have the worst headache. It must be a migraine. I thought I’d take some of my pills and have a nap.”
I watched her leave. Catherine seemed to linger behind, reaching towards me. I shrunk back against the counter but she slithered out, leaving the room bright again. As strange as it sounded, that didn’t go nearly as bad as I'd imagined it would.
Sure, I was angry but it felt small compared to everything else going on.
Then panic welled up in me. I had to get Jason out of the house. The last thing I wanted was to cause him any harm. His being here with me could be a catalyst. I took the newspaper with me to show him, hoping it would convince him to get out of here.
Walking past Suzie’s bedroom, I fought the urge to smash and rip and tear everything apart that she owned. The ticked off part of me wanted to get back at her but the cool, logical part said being happy with Jason would be payback enough.
I made my way up to the room as quiet as I could and found Jason sitting on my bed. He stood up as I came close.
“Everything okay?”
I handed him the paper and walked over to gaze out the window. Different emotions flitted across his face and I was relieved when the final one showed anger.
“I don’t believe this. Who do they think they are? I can have my people release an actual statement. I’ll make sure this is retracted and everyone knows the truth about us.”
“Jason you don’t have to do that. I mean, I’m upset, too, but it’s not worth it. We have more important things to worry about in the next couple days.”
“You are the most stubborn person I’ve ever met, do you know that? I’m not letting this go. We’ll do it my way once your birthday has passed. I wish you’d budge on the little party we have planned tomorrow. I don’t like it.”
“Jason, you just don’t get it. This thing has attacked me more than once and continues to hurt me. You’re starting to sound like a broken record.”
He looked sharply at me. “What do you mean continues to hurt you? You told me things have been quiet.”
“They have, kind of. There were a couple incidents but I’m fine. I’m still here, aren’t I? Did you ever stop to think that I’m just trying to protect you as much as you’re trying to protect me? I don’t want to be responsible if something happens to you. I can’t live with that.”
He silenced me with a kiss. Taken by surprise, I hesitated for a split second before finally sinking into it. It made me forget about everything else but him. I knew he’d freak out if I told him about the blood incident last night, so I didn’t go into detail. No need to worry him any more that I already had. It was almost over.
My moment of nirvana came to an abrupt halt when I felt Jason being ripped away from me with savage force. I watched in horror as he slammed against the far wall and landed in a heap.
Catherine’s presence exploded into the room, making it so dark that I couldn’t see where Jason was. Like all the other times, I wasn’t able to move. I never knew what to expect. Her attacks were never the same but this time I wasn’t worried about myself.
“Jason!”
The darkness parted and I saw him standing there, his face twisted into fright. Then I watched in horror as a shadowy hand swiped across his body, leaving a bloody trail. There were now four long ragged wounds on his chest and one across his face. He didn’t make a sound, only stared at me with horrified eyes.
I screamed and Catherine’s laughter echoed back at me.
This time, the shadow went right through him. The large hole it left behind in his stomach oozed and dripped blood onto the floor of the attic. I tried to get to him but I couldn't get close enough.
I screamed hysterically as I watched him bleed to death. His eyes never left mine and the look on his face pleaded for me to help him. Slowly, his skin grew pale and grey. The light in his eyes faded. I was so scared and so ticked off.
“Your fight is with me Catherine. Leave him alone,” I yelled.
I heard her in my head. Always remember this is what I can do if you start thinking you can get rid of me
Suddenly, she was gone. The light returned to the attic and my terror trickled away.
Jason got up off the floor where he first fell and sprinted over to me.
“Quinn, are you okay? I heard you screaming but I couldn’t get to you.”
Running my hands over his chest and face, I searched for the horrible wounds that I’d seen only seconds ago. There was nothing wrong with him.
It didn’t make any sense. I saw him bleeding and dying. What was that? The thoughts jumbled in my head so I backed up and sat on the bed. Jason was still talking.
“I’m guessing that was Catherine.” He turned my face towards him. “You are so pale. Please say something, Quinn.”
“I saw you,” my voice trembled, “she hurt you. And, and you were bleeding.”
The image popped back, vivid and frightening and I burst into tears. Jason wrapped me in his arms and rocked me. It was safe and comforting but my shaking didn’t stop.
“Shhh, you’re okay. I’m here and I’m okay.”
I don’t know how long we sat in that position but eventually I turned my face towards him and kissed him sweetly on the lips.
In a hush I said, “You have to go.”
He stood up and put his hands on his hips. “I’m giving you two choices and you're not going to argue with me. You’re leaving here with me now. I’ll get you a room at the hotel. Or I’m staying here with you all night.”
“You can’t be serious.”
Jason leaned down inches from my face. “I’m very serious, Quinn. Pick one.”
The romantic part of me loved how he was trying to play the knight in shining armor. It made me want to swoon, like in an old fashioned movie. The stubborn side of me, the side that was independent and used to fighting her battles, got prickly.
“This is stupid, Jason.”
He remained unmoving, giving me a hard stare.
“Fine. I’m not going anywhere. I won’t run from it. This is my house. So, if you want to stay, stay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You have to keep yourself up here and stay quiet. Marietta would kill me if she found you in the house.”
I briefly wondered if I meant that literally or figuratively. Marietta, the stepmother I originally cared about would ‘kill’ me in the sense that I’d be grounded for life. Marietta, under the influence of Catherine, was a whole other story.
It made me shudder.
“Okay, I’m glad that’s settled.” He kept the businesslike attitude but his eyes softened. “Don’t worry. I understand what we’re up against now. That scared the crap out of me. Once you walk out of here I’m going to curl up in a corner and start conversing with some higher powers.”
He made me grin. Even though he joked, I saw the lingering fear on his face. All of a sudden I felt awkward. Where the heck was he going to sleep?
“I’ll go get us some food.”
Walking as softly as possible, I went downstairs. As I passed by Marietta’s room, I noticed her laying there sleeping, unmoving. While Catherine terrorized me upstairs, Marietta must have slept through it. I wondered if she’d been aware of what happened. I remembered the day I heard her talking to Catherine about how she felt everything done to me. Did she feel it in her sleep as well?
&
nbsp; To make it even stranger, I didn’t sense Catherine anywhere around her, which meant she still roamed the house somewhere.
Luckily, I made it back up to the attic with my arms full of food without running into her.
I didn’t like Jason being there. Not because I was nervous about being alone with him, that was certainly part of it. It was the vision Catherine showed me. I didn’t want it to come true.
Later that night in Jason’s arms, I listened to him breathing. In all the nights I spent in this room alone I’d never been as afraid as I was right now. Flashes from the vision Catherine forced me to see earlier kept playing across my mind. Afraid for Jason’s life, I spent the night concentrating on the life-giving air flowing in and out of his lungs.
Chapter Thirty-Six
I woke up full of nervous energy.
Jason snuck out sometime in the early morning and I wouldn’t be too far behind him. With all we had riding on today, I needed to stay as far away from Marietta and Catherine as possible.
Nothing could derail our plans. Today, everything changed.
A sickening feeling took root in my stomach as I gathered my things. If I ever set foot in this house again, especially with Catherine around, I would not survive it. My age and subsequent ownership of the house didn’t magically negate the fact that Catherine wanted me dead. She wanted to end our family and it wouldn’t matter if it happened after my birthday or not.
Tiptoeing downstairs, I took a long, loving gaze at the house. There was no denying that what I was about to do was dangerous. It was a very real possibility I would not, in fact, make it to my eighteenth birthday.
I saw George and Jackson standing on the stairs and offered them brave smiles. Ignoring the looks of hopelessness and sadness they wore, I turned towards the front door.
Hearing voices outside, I paused before opening it and peeked out the side window. There were eight or so reporters waiting with their cameras. A couple even held microphones. I moved before they could see me and hit my head gently against the wall in disbelief. This could not be happening.
I hastily snuck out the back. It bothered me, seeing them camped out on the lawn, hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl who may or may not be a witch. The press would believe anything if it sold more copies.
Jason and I were meeting Abby at her house to lay low all day. The last thing we wanted was to be out in public any more than we had to right now.
They were already there and ready to dig into a huge pancake breakfast Abby’s mom had made. Jason came over and kissed me, an act I didn’t think I'd ever get used to. He laid his forehead on mine for a minute or two before leading me over to the table.
Over breakfast, I told them about the reporters. Jason’s reaction was the same it had been last night, to have his people issue a statement. Again I told him we should wait. We had more important things to worry about today.
Abby seemed to read my mind because she said, “I can’t believe we’re going to attempt to trap and cleanse a possessed person tonight who has a penchant for physical harm. Jason told me about what happened last night.”
“It all comes down to tonight. We can’t back down. I just hope we can lure her to the cemetery.”
Jason took my hand and stared at me hard. “I really want you to think this through. We can get Marietta out of the house without any harm coming to you. I have some great lawyers who would love to throw a crazy woman out of a pre-Civil War mansion. I’m not comfortable with you putting yourself in danger.”
“You have no idea how much that means to me. I have to deal with this now. If Marietta leaves, Catherine is just going to go with her, or worse, find another host close to me. We have to make her go away for good. Not only for my sake, but Marietta’s too. Catherine’s driving her insane. I can’t watch it anymore.”
“You wouldn’t be you, Quinn, if you weren’t thinking of someone else,” Abby said. “Besides, you’re right about getting rid of Catherine once and for all. Maybe if we put her to rest she can finally find some peace.”
“And more importantly,” Jason added, “you can get on with your life.”
Despite his cool demeanor, I got the distinct impression he was having a difficult time forcing himself to be calm about the situation. After witnessing Catherine’s power last night, he probably wasn’t looking forward to going up against her.
It was Abby who also brought up the other obstacle in our way tonight.
“Are you absolutely sure we can trust Anna there, Quinn? I mean, I’m not cold-hearted. I understand why she wants to be there. But, to be honest, I still don’t trust her.”
“Especially after the article in the paper,” Jason added.
“I think that was all Suzie. You guys are only watching out for me and I appreciate that. Anna sent me a text earlier wanting me to meet her at Baubles this afternoon so she can talk to me. I’ll see what she has to say.”
“I’m going with you.” I started to shake my head but he continued, “Don’t shake your head at me, either. It kills me that I haven’t been able to really do anything. Yesterday I felt so helpless watching Catherine attack you and hearing your screams. I hated that feeling.”
“You help me more than you can possibly be aware of. I have to do this with Anna alone. Plus there is the possibility it really is a trap and there will be mass amounts of reporters there. Stay here, please. It won’t take long. If you’re there, it will distract her.”
He didn’t look happy but he reluctantly agreed.
Abby left for a while to run some errands, leaving us alone on the couch. He drew me into an embrace and, in a matter of fact way, said, “You’re scared.”
“I’d be silly if I pretended I wasn’t.”
He shifted so he could look me in the eye. “Quinn, I’ve never met anyone like you before. Being with you has been one of the best times of my life.”
Here was the goodbye I’d been dreading. There were only a couple days of post-production left on his movie and then he’d be out of here. Even if something bad happened to me, whatever this was between Jason and I would be over. I wanted to make this easier on him.
“Jason, don’t,” I started. “I know what you’re going to say and you’re right. It’s been great but, one way or another, this is going to end. We’d be smart to say our goodbyes now. It was a summer fling and it was great.”
He started laughing and it confused me. I didn’t see anything funny about what I just said.
“Do you really think I was working up to a ‘thanks it’s been great but see ya’ kind of speech?” I nodded uncertainly and he held my face in his hands. “Well, I’m not. I was going to tell you that I’m falling hard for you. When the movie is over I’m sticking around for a while to see where this thing with us goes before I head to Colorado to see my parents.”
At first I wasn’t quite sure of what he said. Slowly, as it sank in, I became speechless. Something I never dared to dream of was suddenly close enough to reach out and touch. All I wanted was a chance with him under normal circumstances. Here he was giving me that chance, and a whole lot more.
“W—what about your career?”
He flashed his dimples and shrugged. “It’s not going anywhere. I can take some time off, help you get adjusted to life after Catherine.”
“I haven’t thought past my eighteenth birthday in weeks. It felt dangerous to dream about what comes afterwards. I could die tonight. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I do Quinn. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s why I needed to tell you this now. You have so much to fight for. I would leave here with you today if you said the word and take you anywhere in the world you wanted to go. You’d be safe.”
I started to speak but he continued, “But you won’t do that. It’s one of the things I admire about you. You’ll do what’s right for that crazy family of yours.”
Hearing him say that, I knew I did love him. I think I’d loved him since the moment I saw him as the cocky actor with all the hidden
layers. It only seemed to grow as I saw more and more of who he truly was.
So, why was admitting I felt the same way a more terrifying thought than the one of facing Catherine head on? I took a deep breath and let some of my emotions out. “I’ve got very strong feelings for you, too. You snuck in no matter how hard I tried to keep you out. I can’t wait for this to be over and it's not hanging over our heads all the time.”
We didn’t really do much the rest of the day. We didn’t have to meet Travis until nightfall so Jason and Abby did their best to keep me distracted. Still, it felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders. Jason’s declaration of love armed me for the battle I was walking into.
As I left to meet Anna, I only hoped it would be enough.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
After the article in the paper, I was reluctant to meet Anna but I wanted to ask if she had any idea how Suzie knew about me and Jason. In light of everything else going on, I realized it wasn’t that important, but my curiosity was winning over. I thought we’d been so careful.
When I arrived at Baubles, she was already there surrounded by the remnants of ruined dresses. Even now, knowing it was Catherine, I got an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. The amount of energy and hate put into doing this, well, it wasn’t something I wanted to think about today of all days.
“Suzie is still absolutely convinced you did this.” She looked up at me with a sad look on her face. “She and I are close in so many ways but lately I don’t like who she’s becoming.”
I was unsure of what to say to her. For years, I'd witnessed the tight bond between them and never imagined anything getting in the way of that, especially me. I wanted to tell her it might only be a phase and not to give up on her sister, but I started to explain, she cut me off.
“I didn’t have anything to do with the article, Quinn. I swear to you. Suzie didn’t even tell me. I read it in the paper and it made me sick. I can’t believe she did it. It was mean and uncalled for.” She crossed her arms over her chest and asked, “So, is it true? About you and Jason Preston?”
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