This would have given Logan the perfect opportunity to explain why reading was so important, why his younger brother had made a mistake in not trying to succeed in school, rather than do enough to pass each year without learning much at all. But now was not the time for that.
Logan reached out toward him. “Come on down,” he said past the knot of discomfort in his throat. “I’ll explain it to you in a little bit.”
Tyler heaved a sigh, glanced at his sister, and then turned around and made his way down the ladder.
Logan stood at the bottom with his arms out, ready to catch his brother if he faltered. For the first time, he felt like a father, someone who had inadvertently crushed the hopes and dreams of those he cared for. That sensation came to him because he’d felt the same way when he discovered that his father had committed suicide. At that moment, Logan felt angry, betrayed, sad, guilty, and too many more emotions to recall. But his father obviously hadn’t stuck around to deal with the fallout, despite having the best intentions.
Despite the circumstances, Logan was glad to finally know why his father had killed himself. Long ago, he’d assumed his father had committed a selfish act by thinking of himself rather than those who depended on him, but now Logan realized his sacrifice was nothing but selfless and admirable.
When Tyler reached the floor, Logan had second thoughts about speaking with him, not because he didn’t want to, but Ashleigh was crushed, and she needed him more at the moment. He took the pages from his hand and handed them to Eloise. “Would you take him inside, please?”
She nodded. “Of course.” Her eyebrows lifted and she took in a breath, perhaps to say more, but she ended up lowering her gaze to Tyler. She placed a hand on his shoulder and without a word led him back into the kitchen.
Logan watched them go until Eloise turned to meet his gaze for a moment with glistening eyes before closing the door between the kitchen and garage. It left Logan with the sound of Ashleigh crying softly in the attic.
He looked up the steps, but he didn’t see her, so he began his ascent. The more he closed the distance between them, the quieter Ashleigh’s weeping became. He understood. Like him, she didn’t want anyone to see her in pain.
When he reached the apex, he clambered into the attic.
Ashleigh, sitting on the ground with her legs folded under her, dug her hands into the fiberglass and scooted her body around so she didn’t face him. A second later, she began scratching her knuckles, first on one hand and then on the other.
Rather than attempt to kneel beside her and encourage her to speak, Logan took her cue by not trying to meet her stare and sat a few feet away. She obviously didn’t want to see him right now, and most probably didn’t want to hear from him either, but Ashleigh was a stubborn girl. The longer he waited to talk with her, the longer she would withhold from him. During situations like these, he’d often pass her in the house and she’d avert her eyes. If he asked her a question, she’d maintain her silence for hours, sometimes even days.
They didn’t have that luxury now. Not with the supernatural creature haunting them.
“I’m sorry,” he said, knowing he had to break the silence.
Irritated, she blew a pocket of air between her lips. She took in a quick breath and her throat gurgled.
“I didn’t know.”
She nodded. An almost imperceptible sob left her mouth. She sniffled. “I’m not mad at you,” she wheezed more than said. “I’m angry with Dad for leaving without telling us. I’m mad at his dad. And more than anything, I want to kill Abner for doing what he did. It’s too bad he’s already dead.” She inhaled deeply through her nose. “The psycho kills three people because the girl he liked was kissing someone else? Fucking asshole!”
Logan went over and sat beside her.
“And that’s our great-grandfather,” Ashleigh continued. “We came from that piece of shit!”
It felt incredibly gratifying that they felt the same way about an ancestor that had murdered three people. Logan trembled at the thought that a murderous strand of DNA could have gotten handed down to him. Was he susceptible to committing such violence? Then an egregious thought occurred to him: what if he’d inherited a gene with the propensity for suicide?
Logan didn’t want to consider that solution. After all, three generations of fathers before him had succumbed to that quick fix, yet the curse remained intact. He wanted to find a way around that course of action. Scratch that. He needed to break the curse. He couldn’t let it continue to decimate his family line for eternity.
“I can’t blame the witch for being angry or sad beyond anything we can imagine,” Ashleigh said. “Who could? What Abner did was unthinkable. Inhuman. He deserved to die for that. Throw him in the electric chair. Strap him in. Let the sparks fly!” Despite her impassioned response, her tone had softened. Perhaps she had accepted the situation they now faced.
Logan could work with that, but he didn’t want to wallow in sadness or pity. He was more concerned with the issue at hand: dealing with the supernatural element and hopefully crushing the spell, so they wouldn’t have to neglect their future partners by sharing such an important, intimate gesture of love.
“We may have to deal with the fallout of his choices,” he said, “but we’re better than him. So was Dad.”
“Totally.”
“Totally,” he agreed.
She chuckled with barely a shred of humor. Then she turned toward him. The rims of her eyes were red, and streaks of mascara lined her face. “We need to end this curse, Logan.” She got to her feet, and a determined glare settled into place. Ashleigh’s hands bunched up into fists that rested against her thighs.
Seeing her bold stance shot a fresh dose of courage and obstinacy through Logan. “You’re damn right.” He stood up beside her. “And we will.”
20
Logan led his sister into the kitchen, where they found Tyler and Eloise sitting at the table, both silent, contemplative. He took a seat while his sister did likewise. Then he spent the next twenty minutes explaining to Tyler and Eloise what he and Ashleigh had read. Afterward, they talked for over an hour about the consequences and speculated about the past and what that might mean going forward.
With everyone in agreement that they should attempt to end the curse, Logan was full of energy, despite not getting a wink of sleep last night. He set his gaze upon Eloise. “How do we get started?”
She bit her lower lip and looked at the Monopoly board. “I…don’t know.”
“But you know about curses,” Logan said, feeling all of his excitement turn to dread. “You don’t have any idea how to move forward?”
“No.” Eloise wouldn’t meet his gaze.
Ashleigh plucked the pair of dice from the Monopoly board in her hands and shook them. “She may have been a witch, but she’s dead now. That means she’s a spirit, and you’re a ghost-hunter, so—”
“It’s not as simple as it sounds,” Eloise said. “Spirits that linger behind often want to communicate. In this instance, if this is a ghost we’re dealing with, which we have to assume it is since it can appear and vanish at will, she might not want to be convinced. She might just want vengeance.”
“But it’s been one hundred years,” Tyler said. “Won’t she get tired of hating people for so long? She doesn’t even know us.”
“Ghosts are not entirely in this dimension, so time passes differently for them. Spirits are nothing but thoughts and emotions. When you’re dealing with someone filled with so much rage, they’re difficult to reason with. They don’t want to hear common sense. They’re so angry that they can’t see past their hatred.”
Tyler grabbed the property cards and shuffled them. “But our father and grandfathers are all dead. She wanted them dead, and they’re all gone. Her three brothers died, and our three fathers died. That’s a fair trade, right?”
Logan wished that was the case, but he presumed that Lucretia didn’t have that opportunity in death to adjust the curse, eve
n if she’d wanted to. And while Logan had lost his father, he’d never known his grandfather and great-grandfather, whereas Lucretia lost her brothers, all of whom she’d obviously loved. For that reason, he didn’t think it was quite the even deal Tyler had stated.
“Once I encounter Lucretia,” Eloise said, “I might be able to communicate with her. It’ll give me a better understanding of what we’re dealing with and the strength she can harness. I don’t believe she is very powerful. At least not now. Otherwise, given the circumstances of this curse, I’d imagine it would’ve been more active.”
Ashleigh tapped one of the dice against the game board. “But can it attack us beyond just touching or grabbing us?”
“Technically,” Eloise said, “yes, it can hurt us.”
Logan’s heart skipped a beat. “We have to assume the witch is working her way up to that. But there might be another way to break the curse. How can we go about finding out what that might be?”
Eloise rested her chin on her balled up hands. “We’d need her to visit again, so I can try to communicate with her. Hopefully, she’ll appear sometime soon.”
Logan didn’t like the sound of that. “But she wants to kill us. I don’t mean to be condescending, but what makes you think she’ll stop and chat with you?”
“She anchored her spirit to this curse. She only appears when it’s broken. Do you think any of your ancestors knew a medium who tried to communicate with Lucretia?”
“Probably not,” Logan conceded.
“Exactly. Not many people can communicate with ghosts,” Eloise said. “Lucretia might be surprised and decide to start talking. We just don’t know what she’ll do…until she does it.”
Ashleigh sat back in her chair and folded her arms. “I don’t like that idea.”
“Me neither,” said Tyler.
“I agree,” said Logan. “But we’re going to do it.”
Ashleigh scoffed. “What?”
“Do you trust Eloise?” Logan asked her.
She nodded.
“Then we’re doing this her way.” He turned to his brother with a stern stare. “Got it?”
Tyler settled an elbow on the table and leaned forward as if all his energy had seeped out of his pores.
“We’re all in this together,” Logan said. “We need to be on the same page. Do you understand?”
“Why do you get to choose?” his brother asked. “You’re the one who started all this. It’s your fault we’re in this mess.”
“Ty?” Ashleigh said. “He didn’t know, remember? It’s not his fault. Just say it’s okay.”
“Fine!” He rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
Logan hated his brother’s irritating little outbursts, but he was glad they had all agreed to let Eloise try to make contact and see where it led. “Now we’re going to play this board game until we’re done.”
“Now?” asked Ashleigh, knitting her eyebrows together. “What for?”
“We’re waiting for Lucretia, right?” he asked, still uneasy with that course of action. “We’ll all be together. And it’ll get our mind off of all this negativity.”
“That’s stupid,” said Tyler.
Logan slammed a fist onto the table, forcing the board and its pieces to jump an inch in the air before settling back down again. “We’re playing the damn game. Now find a game piece, and let’s get this thing started.”
Ashleigh and Tyler stared at him with shocked expressions. Without a word, they averted their eyes and picked playing pieces as requested.
Eloise looked over at Logan with a raised eyebrow. “That was,” she whispered, looking a little breathless, “so forceful and commanding!”
Logan’s shirt had ridden up his hips a little, so he pushed it down. “Damn right!”
A mischievous smile appeared on Eloise’s lips. “I kinda liked it!”
Four hours later, after midnight, Logan landed on a Boardwalk that was filled with hotels. He handed all of his money and properties to Tyler, who despite struggling to keep his eyes open, had amassed a fortune in both. Eloise had seven dollars left and still owned two properties.
Ashleigh had gone bankrupt over an hour ago and had been reading articles on her device. “Hmmm. Black lipstick might look good on me.”
“Yeah, if you want to live in a coffin,” Tyler said, waving good-naturedly at his brother. He turned to Eloise. “Should we just end the game now? Or do you really want me to take everything from you?”
Eloise narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re right. It’s past your bedtime. Even tiny moguls need their sleep.” She slid her assets over to him.
Tyler yawned and from behind the palm that covered his mouth, he said, “Clean up, will you, Ash?” He tossed his sister a five-dollar bill. “Here’s a tip for your troubles.”
She frowned at him. “Give me a real five-dollar bill, and you’ve got a deal.”
He reached in his pocket, withdrew a quarter, and flipped it in front of her tablet. “Work as hard as me, and you’ll have that black lipstick in no time.” He winked at her. “Thanks, kid!” He shot to his feet. “Think I’ll get a nightcap. Logan, where’s the scotch?”
“The butterscotch candy,” Logan said, “is in the cabinet where it’s always been.” He glanced at Eloise and they started laughing. It felt good to release some of the pressure they’d been feeling since their mother had left for her trip.
After Tyler left the room, Ashleigh, not removing her gaze from her device, scooted away from the table.
Logan was surprised his sister didn’t want to clean up, but he didn’t want to pester her about it. “Remember,” he called out to them, “we’re all sleeping in the family room tonight, so get your stuff and come right back down.”
When he spotted the shiny quarter on the table, he swiped it with a grin. “Sweet!” He motioned toward the game board. “Looks like I get to do the honors.” He caught Eloise’s eye. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you help.” He squinted at her as though she was untrustworthy and raised the quarter. “But this baby is all mine!”
Eloise shook her head, smiling. “Your sister is right. You’re a dork.”
He assumed her playful voice told him it was okay to mess with her. “Good thing you have a thing for dorks.” Logan began separating the money.
“No, I don’t.” She collected the property cards and placed them in a tray. “Maybe just…one dork in particular.” The smile stayed on her face, even though she wouldn’t meet his gaze.
That comment made his heart soar, and it felt good to have that confirmation. Logan took in that cute smile, and for a brief moment, everything seemed perfect. Then Lucretia’s image entered his mind.
“What’s wrong?” she asked with a curious expression.
After that amazing kiss, Logan wanted more, but if this witch was intent on ruining his life, that might extend to Eloise as well. Thankfully, she seemed quite capable of handling herself. And while he would be at her side the instant she needed him, Logan felt that he had to make his siblings a greater priority. They were younger, defenseless, and they trusted him. Plus, he’d gotten them into this jam. He had to do everything in his power to end this curse.
And that meant facing Lucretia. He just hoped he kept his cool when staring down the ghost to keep it from haunting his family for the rest of their lives.
21
Logan got some extra bedding materials for Eloise while his siblings set up camp downstairs. Since no one could sleep, he put on a boring black and white film, hoping it might serve as a sleep aid.
Ashleigh and Tyler fell asleep with an hour, his sister taking the couch, while his brother slept in front of the flat screen. Logan figured the emotional rollercoaster they’d been on lately had assisted their quick descent into sleep. He also believed that they trusted him and Eloise to keep them safe if the ghost appeared while they were slumbering. After he’d told Eloise about his recent difficulties sleeping and his need to get some shut-eye, he appreciated that she planned to stay up th
e entire evening.
Logan set up his linens between his siblings, while Eloise took the spot beside him. Being so close to his family, he found it inappropriate to even attempt to kiss Eloise again, but he interlinked his hand within hers while they propped their heads in their free hands and used their elbows to support their weight.
Logan felt like he had started on an important journey, one that would influence the rest of his life. It comforted him because every time he looked into Eloise’s eyes, he felt like she laid herself bare, like she would be brutally honest. That scared him because he wanted to do the same thing, but at the same time, he found it refreshing, exciting.
“So now we wait,” Eloise said.
He nodded. “I’ll stay up as long as my body will let me.”
She glanced around the room silently and eventually made her way back to his gaze. She immediately looked down, and her mouth turned into a frown.
“No reason to get sad. I’m sure she’ll show up.”
“It’s not that.”
Logan found it disconcerting that she hadn’t followed up on that remark. “What then?”
“Before I found out that I had psychic abilities and could communicate with spirits, I had a very adept sense of how others felt at any given time.”
“How does that work?”
“I think it depends on the energy another person is giving off. The stronger they feel and the more they think about whatever they’re dealing with, the easier it is for me to feel it and connect to them. Sometimes, I can’t disentangle from it, and it’s like I’m caught in a loop I can’t get out of. It’s difficult. I’m getting better at it, but it can still be tough.”
He hoped that she could feel his sincerity and trust, but at the same time, he didn’t want to ask to double-check. If she wanted to share that, she would. Besides, there were some things people should keep to themselves, and for Eloise to be inundated with that without any choice felt like an incredible burden. He supposed she needed to be very understanding and patient to deal with such a strong responsibility without losing her sense of self, which really fit with her personality.
The Descendants Page 15