Megan leaned over and touched her mom’s knees before gripping them. Mrs. Hansen’s face didn’t show any amount of shock or response to it. She didn’t know that her daughter was here all this time, holding her when she needed it.
“Please, tell her to be strong and not do anything stupid,” Megan begged.
I told her and Mrs. Hansen nodded bravely.
“Will she be okay? Will she move on?” she asked.
Megan shook her head. “Not until he has paid for those he hurt. In the meantime, I am always with them.”
“Mrs. Hansen.” I took her hands in mine. “She can’t move on just yet. Not until the man that killed her is caught. But, she is okay as long as she is with you.”
She gripped my hands and smiled. “I actually feel like a weight has been removed. Thank you so much Brylee.” She stood and hugged me tightly. Her embrace felt nice. It was like my nerves left and I realized why I had agreed to come here tonight.
“But, wait,” I exclaimed before Mrs. Hansen left.
“Yes?”
“Why is it so easy for you to, you know, walk away now?”
I found it odd that the only thing she wanted to know was who killed her daughter. That knowing she couldn’t move on didn’t seem to bother her.
“I can say that I know in my heart the man responsible will pay for what he has done. I just wanted to know if Megan was okay. She will move on when that horrible man is taken care of.”
A chill ran through my body at the words taken care of. I didn’t know what she was going to do, or how, but it wasn’t my business. Mrs. Hansen left the room and Megan followed, waving goodbye. I felt sad for her, but she seemed to be content where she was. I couldn’t help her move on, but I felt better knowing that I had helped her connect with her mom.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Jones sat stock still in her chair. I smiled gently at her. I hadn’t seen anyone approach for her. “Mrs. Jones, do you have an item?”
“No. I had hoped he would come through, like that girl did. But, you don’t see him, do you?”
“Nope. No one else is here,” I said somberly. “That doesn’t mean anything bad. Maybe he moved on.” I wasn’t sure who he was, but I assumed it was her husband.
“It doesn’t seem like him to stick around,” she admitted. “Thank you anyway. I do feel a bit better myself.”
I stood as she did and asked, “Why’s that?”
“I feel like I can sleep at night knowing he isn’t stuck here. That he went somewhere better.” And with that she left.
Hala approached me after seeing Mrs. Jones out and I stared at her, still in shock after my progress tonight. The smile on her face was a clue that she herself was pleased.
“How did it feel?” she asked me.
I thought on it for a moment before giving her an answer. How did I feel? I wasn’t happy, because I had met a girl who was murdered. But I wasn’t sad either.
“I suppose I’m proud of myself. Is that silly?”
“No, of course not. Having gifts like this can be very rewarding, while at the same time it can become daunting. If you are proud that is simply because you are growing.”
I was growing. Not only was I getting less involved with my own problems as a teenage girl, but I was able to help people selflessly.
When I had first moved here. I was still a girl who cherished the normality of teen life. Now, after only being here a year, I came to love a boy who was both strong and courageous and made real friendships that would last even after death. The selfish girl my grandmother warned me of becoming had vanished.
A girl who stood tall with the powers to see the dead and help those in need appeared in her place.
Chapter 4
Ephraim knew I hadn’t eaten so he took me to get some food before we went home. While I ate, I told him everything, of course. There wasn’t anything I didn’t tell him, not really. He wasn’t shocked that I had seen Megan. He actually was happy I had helped, even though I didn’t feel like I had. Honestly, if Megan could have seen the light and moved on like Ethan had, I would have felt better.
It was the first time in weeks I had thought of Ethan. I missed him so much, but now that wound was mending because I felt he was happier. He wasn’t stuck here. No one deserves that.
“So, what do you want to do for our one-year anniversary?” Ephraim asked, catching me totally off guard. I choked on my soda and tried to come up with an answer. I hadn’t realized it was coming up. Did people my age celebrate that sort of thing?
“I don’t know. Anything you want to do I suppose,” I offered. “Do we have to do something?”
His face fell and his words became a little stilted. “We don’t have to. It’s not like it’s a must. I just thought you would want to.”
Now I felt awful. I hurt his feelings. “Eph, you know the only place I feel happy is in your arms. I don’t care what we do, as long as I’m with you.”
I leaned in and kissed him gently. Our first year had gone by so quickly. I felt like our relationship was so easy, and I was more comfortable with him than my own parents. I mean, they didn’t even know about my gift and Ephraim knew it all.
“How about I plan something nice?” he asked, rubbing my hands tenderly.
“Plan away, my love.”
Untitled
I crawled into bed after the days crazy events and felt the cool sheets beneath me. They were so soft and calming. There was really nothing better than lying in bed. Except maybe lying in bed with Ephraim. Usually he would sneak up to my room in the middle of the night so we could snuggle. Since I have the whole second floor to myself, my parents hardly knew what went on.
But tonight I asked to be alone. I didn’t want to have to worry about him getting up early and sneaking out before my dad went to work. He was totally okay with it and kissed me goodnight at my door.
Now, as I lay here, I thought about Kayla. She had missed a few days and that worried me. She never had problems with memories anymore. When I first met her she did. But since we became friends, it just didn’t happen.
As I drifted off to sleep, I tried to think of what could be going on. I didn’t get to think long because sleep took hold of me and pulled me under.
The winds were whipping around outside and I heard a branch slam into my window. I sat up in fear and shock, my heart pounding through my chest. It took a moment for me to realize what was going on. Finally, I got the nerve to look out the window. The winds were ferocious. I had never seen anything so violent in my life.
Before I knew it. I saw a tree sway and in a breath, it ripped from the ground and fell onto the grass with a thud. The whole house shook like an earthquake.
“Brylee!” My dad yelled for me. I ran up the stairs and met him halfway.
“What in God’s name was that?”
“Dad, a tree!” was all I could say. I was speechless.
He moved passed me and I followed him downstairs to the living room. He picked up the remote and turned on the news.
I didn’t know what the hell they were saying. All I got was Hurricane Reno is headed our way, soon.
“Don’t panic,” Ephraim told us. He explained that the hurricane could pass our town entirely. He also told us that it hits the shoreline the worst and we were more inland. We may feel some of the effects from it, but not have the whole storm hit our town. No matter what he said, I was terrified. Hurricanes were all new to me. I didn’t know what to do!
“Well, looks like school’s still in session,” my mom announced. “Get dressed and get your butts there. I’ll do what I have to do in order to prepare for this storm.”
I nodded and scurried upstairs to get a shower. A few minutes later, which was superfast for me, I was ready to go. Ephraim insisted on driving me to school before his class started. We were silent most of the drive. I didn’t know what to think about a hurricane hitting New Jersey. Things like this didn’t happen back home. Sure, maybe an earthquake or two, but this was terrible. I was terrified.
“Perfect! Now I get to run in the rain!” I pulled the heavy door open and Ephraim reached out for me.
“Is Lynley here?” I had forgotten all about Lynley! Between us getting home so late and the chaos later in the night, she had completely slipped my mind. I wasn’t able to see her now.
“No. She may not come with me. She might not be ready to go through the pain again. The first day was hard enough on her.”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” he said as he leaned in close for a kiss.
I kissed him fast and ran to the doors. By the time I got in to school, I was drenched.
“Perfect!” I exclaimed.
I spotted Sophie ringing out her long brown hair. The boys were practically drooling over her while she fussed with her hair and makeup in her locker mirror. I approached her and tapped her on the shoulder.
“What?” she screamed as she jumped. Upon realizing who was there and that her tone was off, she smiled at me, but something about it was mildly suspicious. “Oh, sorry. You startled me.”
“I didn’t mean to. Sorry. Just seeing if you heard about the hurricane that’s coming our way,” I said.
“Oh. Yes, I have. I’m not scared, you?”
I nodded noncommittally, not wanting to admit that I was scared out of my wits. She seemed so strong for a Parisian girl who had lived in the city her whole life. How could someone new here not freak in the face of a power beyond our control?
The bell rang and we scurried off to first period. While Miss Hailey droned on and on about how school would not stop for Mother Nature, I felt the lull of sleep pulling at me. I had been through a lot in the last forty-eight hours and I was feeling the effects of it. Besides, where was Lyn? She gave us our privacy and then went missing. I feared that she might be stuck in the other plane she spoke of and if that was the case, how did I get her out?
“Branson!” Miss Hailey shouted at me from the front of the room while tapping her black ballet flats harshly against the floor. I hadn’t listened to a thing she had said, of course, so I just smiled at her.
“Yes Miss?” I said in the sweetest, most innocent voice.
“Why are you in my class if you’re not going to pay attention?”
Whoa! Ephraim was totally right about her being strict. “I love this class Miss. I was just worried about the storm is all. I have never experienced anything like this before,” I lied.
“Well,” she sighed. “I will forgive that. No one likes hurricanes, but they don’t stop the learning process.”
“Unless the hurricane kills you.” I looked up to see Kayla sitting on top of the teacher’s desk. I fought back the urge to laugh when she walked toward me. I sure hoped she wouldn’t mess with me now. She sat in the empty seat next to me and tapped her fingers on the desk.
“I always hated her, did you know that?”
I shook my head. How did she expect me to communicate with her in public?
“I’m here to talk to you about something important. Can you give me five minutes?”
I raised my hand to excuse myself to the bathroom and Miss Hailey obliged. I speed walked to the girl’s room as Kayla skipped behind me. I pushed open a stall and threw my hands up in the air. “What the heck Kayla? Here, at school?”
She laughed.
“Seriously? I know something’s up, but why not wait until after school?”
She leaned against the stall and sighed. “I told you things are weird with me lately. I don’t know what’s happening but I can feel a change coming. I … I …” Her mad rush to speak was suddenly interrupted by a choking sound coming from her mouth.
“Kayla!” I rushed to her and my hands went through her body. She wasn’t solid like normal. Something was wrong! Kayla had always felt like flesh and blood to me. Never like a ghost.
Suddenly her mouth opened and water poured out onto my feet, splashing my shoes and legs. I still tried but failed to help her. She was choking on water and, if I wasn’t mistaken, she was drowning. I was helpless and didn’t know what to do. Then before I could come up with an answer she uttered one word, “Diary.”
“Diary? Okay, where?” Any clue besides diary would have been perfect, but I was helpless now because she suddenly vanished.
The rest of the school day was unimportant to me now. I had a diary to find. I had no idea where to find it and no Kayla to tell me any other clues. Sophie tried to talk to me during lunch, but I was not tuning in. I felt bad about it but I had important stuff to deal with. It dawned on me that this year wasn’t going to be easy. Not only was I a student looking to get into college, but I had people to help at the same time. I ate my lunch and tried to pay attention to Sophie’s stories of her day.
When the final bell rang I ran outside to Ephraim’s truck. The rain had stopped, thankfully. Yet an eerie calm had settled over the fields. Everything was still and silent.
“The calm before the storm,” I said to myself. It was true. Something was coming and it was going to be terrible.
Chapter 5
Still no sign of Lynley.
Ephraim and I paced my room, thinking of a million things at once. Where was she? Why did Kayla re-drown in the girl’s bathroom? What was in this diary?
“It has to be something major, or else she wouldn’t have told me about it,” I told him. “She never talked to me about it before, nor has she ever been so ghostlike.”
Ephraim nodded in agreement. “Maybe, she’s crossing over?” He was only guessing but I couldn’t help feel he might be right. When Ethan crossed he had become transparent to me. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what it all meant yet.
The doorbell rang and threw me for a loop. I didn’t know anyone that was supposed to be visiting me. I ran downstairs with Ephraim on my heels and answered the door to find Sophie’s smiling face.
“Hello, I came to visit,” she said in her very French accent. “I hope I am not interrupting a lover’s spat.” She smiled.
“No.” What would give her that idea? It instantly struck me as odd, as well as the fact that she had shown up unannounced, and knew where I lived. I invited her in and she looked around the house with intense interest.
I know how everyone in town feels about my house, but no one ever just stopped by to gawk. Sophie hadn’t been here long enough that she could possibly be aware of the history of it yet, right?
“Can I get you something to drink?” Ephraim asked her. He was always the perfect gentleman.
“Yes, please Ephraim. I’ll take a spritzer if you have it,” she said as she sat on the couch, making herself at home.
“What’s a spritzer?” Ephraim asked me in the kitchen. I shrugged and handed him a glass of bottled Perrier. I had heard of Spritzers before, but something made me think alcohol was involved in making it. Why would she ask for that?
He took it to her and she smiled adoringly at him. Now my nerves were frazzled. I wasn’t sure I liked Sophie that much anymore. Sure, I was befriending her because she was new and all, but popping in and making eyes at my man wasn’t going to fly.
“So, this is the haunted home, eh? Looks normal to me,” she said as she tapped her manicured fingers on the glass. “Some of the kids told me about it. I heard there is a room that is locked, and you can’t open it. Is this true?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Did you come here for a look around the house or for something else?” I knew I was being rude, but at this point I didn’t care.
“Yes, I came to see you silly,” she laughed. “Americans. So touchy.”
Ephraim stood abruptly at this and left the room. I wasn’t the only one she had struck a nerve with.
“Sophie, I don’t mean to be rude, but Ephraim and I were in the middle of some important work. Can you and I maybe catch up later?”
She squinted her eyes at me and bit her lip. “Oui, yes. Of course. Another time.” She left her bottle on the table and hugged me while kissing my cheeks twice
. “Au revoir.”
She left in a blur and I locked the door behind her. I felt unsettled about something, but couldn’t put my finger on it yet.
I found Ephraim sitting in his room, reading a book for his photography class. He was the only person I knew who loved to study for school. I sat with him while he read and soon felt a rush of wind blow past me. I turned and saw Lyn sitting at his desk.
“Lyn!” I ran to her and grabbed her around the neck, squeezing tight. “Where have you been? It’s been forever it seems!”
“I couldn’t come here, I was blocked by something. I don’t know what it was, but I was sort of trapped. Then, like a switch, it turned off and here I am!” She beamed at me. I quickly filled her in on the last forty-eight hours and Kayla’s mystery.
Finally, I ended with Sophie’s visit. She harrumphed at how rude the girl was for stopping in like that and asking about the rumors. I could only agree with her on all aspects. It seemed Sophie was not what I thought she was.
Then a crazy wild thought came to me. “Lynley, was your block the same as the one at school?” She looked up from picking at her frayed nightshirt.
“You know, now that I think about it, it was. I was here one minute and then shoved away the next!”
It may have been coincidence, but both times Sophie Parsons had been around. Yet she had been gone for nearly two days and Sophie only came by today. I wouldn’t forget about it though. For now, I changed the subject and told her about my visit with Hala.
That night Ephraim and I studied at the table together while my mom cooked lasagna and my dad sang along to the radio, off key. Ephraim looked over his laptop at me and smiled. I laughed because I knew what he was thinking: my dad shouldn’t be singing.
“Brylee, Ephraim, we need to talk to you guys for a sec,” my mom announced.
The White Door Page 3