I told them I could see all of the dead that had walked the halls of our home. How they spoke to me and tortured me. All the while my parents stood still, listening intently to me. Ephraim listened too, like it was his first time hearing it.
“The house didn’t burn just because they hated us personally. It burned because people in this town knew that the house held something they couldn’t understand. They blamed the house on Kayla’s death. Even though Violet was the reason Kayla died, it wasn’t out of spite or because she was evil. It was an accident. People don’t understand that,” I paused, catching my breath. “The house is gone now and so are all of the spirits. They moved on in that room.” I pointed to the room that stood in the middle of the burnt mess.
“That’s the whole truth.”
My mom shook her head and at first, I was worried about what would come out of her mouth.
“Ephraim, did you know about this?” she asked him.
“Yes. I did.” He stood tall and proud by my side.
My dad pulled me into a hug, whispering, “I always knew you were special, kid.”
“Thanks dad.”
My mom stood off to the side, not saying a word. She needed more time with accepting the facts about me. That was fine. For now, at least they knew.
“What’s this?” she asked, pulling something from the ruins. She lifted it up just as the sun hit it.
“The key!” I pulled it from her grasp and ran my fingers over it. It was meant for me to have. I just knew it. I placed it in my pocket and felt like things were finally right.
Later that night, after we ate dinner with my parents, Ephraim took me to see Hala. She enveloped me in her arms right away. She pulled back from the hug and smiled at me.
“I’m so very proud of you, Brylee.”
I hadn’t seen much of her while I was recovering and finishing school. Summer came and her shop re-opened as the boardwalk customers became more frequent. We were both busy, but not tonight.
She pulled me into her kitchen and gave me a cup of steamy tea. I thanked her as she gave Ephraim his.
“So, how was graduation today?”
“It wasn’t bad. I am just happy to be done with that part of my life and ready to start college,” I admitted.
She nodded and fixed her own tea. “Don’t be in such a rush to hurry through your life.”
“Yeah, I know.” Why did adults say this so much?
“I know because I have been there. I want to know what you are going to do now?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“With your gifts. What do you plan on doing to harness them?”
Sure, I had thought about it, but I hadn’t really made any solid plans. She had offered me a job with her at her shop, but I turned it down. I didn’t want to spend my last summer at home with Ephraim before college working at the boardwalk. I would miss her help, but I needed a ghost free summer.
“As far as the summer, I will just be spending time with Ephraim,” I told her. Ephraim sipped his tea and talked with Hala’s daughter. He loved coming over and talking with her. She reminded us both of Lynley.
“For the future, who knows? I want to do something to help people, I know that. But I don’t know any jobs that offer mediums work.” I could be on T.V as a ghost hunter, but I figured that wouldn’t work out. I didn’t want to have a shop like Hala or a website where I helped people rid themselves of ghosts either.
“I know something you can do,” Ephraim said, surprising us both.
“What?”
“You can work at the station and help the detectives with unsolved murder cases,” he suggested. I laughed out loud, then quickly realized he wasn’t joking.
“You’re serious?”
“It’s not a bad idea, Ephraim,” Hala said.
I shook my head. “I’d be a joke. People would all know who I am and what I do. Some people in this town don’t take the stuff seriously or think it’s witchcraft. Do you not remember my burned down house?” The people who did it had been charged with arson and attempted murder, since Ephraim and me were still in the house at the time.
“Babe, it’s not a joke, what you do. Sure, people may not understand it,” he stopped and grabbed my hands. “But I think you’d really be helping some of the detectives.”
He had a point. Rich did say that what I was able to do for him with the homicidal mother had helped them phenomenally.
“He has a point, Brylee. You should talk about it with that detective.”
I shrugged. Who knew what my future job would be. Sure, this was an option but was it one I was ready for? So I promised them I would call Rich in the morning. For now, I wanted to enjoy my tea and not think about ghosts.
Epilogue
“Are you packed?” Ephraim asked me as I pulled the biggest of my suitcases outside.
“Yes, all done. No thanks to you,” I said, heaving the big bag down his front steps.
“It’s a girl’s job to pack, not a guys,” he teased. He took the bag from me and kissed me. “But, it is my job to load and carry all the heavy items.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
I took one last look at the house we had shared for the summer. I would miss it, but I would be back on the weekends. That was our promise to each other. I would stay in the dorms and focus on college while he stayed here and worked during the week. Then, on the weekends, we would be here together.
His internship had turned into a job and I couldn’t be more proud of him. He got all his college credits in and was hired first out of thirty applicants. I loved the fact that he would be working close to home. I did not love the fact that he would be taking crime scene photos instead of the beautiful photos he used to. The way he put it was, “I can still take beautiful pictures any time I want. Taking these pictures might help solve a crime or help someone.”
I couldn’t argue with him. I had enjoyed helping Hala that one time. I wanted to continue to help others and that’s why I had, in fact, talked with Rich. At first his response was a little shocked, but a few days later he called me. I was on my way to the store to buy new clothes for college.
“Hello my ghost finding friend,” he said when I answered. I laughed because he was such a dork.
“Hello Detective.”
“So, I looked into your offer to help and this is what I found out, per my Captain. You can, in fact, help us. A lot of Detectives are using mediums to solve cases, they call them forensic mediums or psychics.”
“Huh, who knew?”
He laughed into the phone. “Yeah, it’s a thing. My suggestion, and the Captain said this too, is to take some science programs that focus on forensics. But you don’t need to major in anything like that to get the job.”
“So I can still major in Art?”
“Wait, you’re majoring in Art? That’s sorta perfect!”
His excitement scared me. Rich wasn’t your normal guy, he was a bit on the docile side. So to hear his excitement shocked me a little.
“Why?”
“You could get hired as a forensic artist. We won’t need one in our department, but you never know. That’s a job you could use as a front, ya know?”
I wasn’t following. “A front?”
“Yeah, so you don’t have to go public with your job as a forensic …”
“Medium!” I finished for him. “That would be perfect. I could work part time as a sketch artist and help with investigations as needed. Oh my goodness, it’s perfect!” I squealed.
“Ah, my ear, Brylee!”
“Oh, sorry. Thanks for the information Rich. Let me know if your department needs any help, okay?”
I had just offered my services up without realizing what his reaction would be.
I was pleasantly surprised when he said, “Well, there are a ton of cases. If you get some free time in between school and studying, stop by.”
“I will. Thanks.”
The conversation couldn’t have gone better. And I would s
top by the department once I had some free time, but for now I had to focus on school.
I got into the car and buckled up; Ephraim was in his truck behind me. He would help me set up and then leave. I swallowed hard at the thought of saying goodbye to him at the dorm. Even though I would see him on the weekends, I would miss him.
As we drove, tears streamed down my face. I was going to be separated from him for the first time since we met. I was used to seeing his face every single day. I loved waking up with him and having him make me breakfast. When we pulled into the student parking lot, butterflies went crazy in my stomach.
I got out of the car and ran into his arms.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, wiping my tears.
“Maybe I shouldn’t stay here in the dorms, maybe I should be with you,” I sobbed. People stared at us, but I could care less.
“Brylee, I’m all for whatever you want. But this was your decision to live here for the first year. You wanted the freedom to grow. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think it’s a good idea for you to be on your own for a while.” He leaned down and kissed my nose. “I’m going to miss you like crazy, but your home is my home. Forever, okay?”
“Promise me right now that you won’t fall for some beautiful cop at the station.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “I promise. Now promise me that you won’t fall for some hot football player here.”
I copied his eye roll before replying, “Promise.”
“Good. Because we’re getting married after you graduate, remember?”
How could I forget his constant asking over the summer? I made a promise that it would happen after school. I would keep that promise. I would be his wife, someday.
“I would never forget, Ephraim. I might even let us become engaged soon,” I told him.
He pulled me up in his arms and kissed me. All the people around us whistled. My cheeks flushed red. It wasn’t the best college entrance, but at least everyone knew I was in love.
I would have a fresh start here. I wouldn’t be the girl whose house was haunted. I wouldn’t be the girl whose best friend had died.
I could be whoever I chose to be.
The White Door Page 15