Shadow Bound (Wraith) (20 page)

“Approved areas only for right now, I promise.” He placed his hands on both sides of my head and kissed me again, still sweet, but this time I felt the fire burning underneath. I missed him and it was like our time apart fast-forwarded us a little. The lines we established before crumbled as he pressed against me. He wasn’t desperate this time. More like a man on a mission.

I pulled away. “I’ve got to meet my family. They’re waiting for me.”

He nodded in understanding, but kissed me again.

Light hearted for once, I let him continue because I was tired of the bad. I wanted some of the good. And boy, kissing Connor Jacobs was definitely considered part of the good.

&

Just before noon, I knocked on Aunt Ruth’s partially open door and let myself in. To my surprise, she stood by the dresser in a floral dress, brushing her hair. She spotted me in the reflection and said, “I was wondering if you were going to make it.”

I glanced around the room, looking for my mother and grandmother. I’m the only one here, but I stupidly asked, “Me?”

“Who else?” She clipped glassy sliver balls to her earlobes. “Shut the door.”

I followed her curt directions, closing the door with a quiet click. “We don’t have much time,” she said. “But I see you found the connection between the two girls.”

“I did. That man killed them both. We’re trying to figure out how to put him in jail now.”

“That angel of death won’t go so easy.” I watched her fold several pieces of clothing and place them in her drawer. Her steps were spry, but her words carried that tone of delusion I heard last time.

“Does she have a choice? Evan would have stayed to say goodbye if he could have. Ellen would have seen her kids once more. Once the issue is resolved, the passage happens immediately. I’ve seen it.”

“That angel, she’s got the devil on her side. More anger than hope. She won’t go peacefully. She’s hoping to jump.”

I humored her. “Jump?”

“Switch bodies. Jump into yours.”

“Umm... what?”

“That girl isn’t ready to leave and there’s something here she wants. I suspect she’s been trying to take whatever it is with her, but really she wants to stay here. She’s trying to claim your body. Creep like a shadow.”

“What? No. How is that even possible?” But her words rang true. Like I’d heard them before. Read them even.

“There is so much we do not control outside this life, but you have to fight for it every day. Don’t let her take that from you. It’s not your time.” She stared at me with faded blue eyes.

Her crazy talk, combined with the revelations of every ghost in Atlanta that day, forced me to stop listening. I moved to the door. “They’re gone. Both of them. Once I found out the truth and agreed on a resolution for the both of them, they left. Like all the others.”

“Heed my advice, young lady. This isn’t over,” she said as I ran from the room, slamming into my mother a few feet away.

“Jane! Are you okay?” my mom asked, pulling me into a hug. “I know, honey. We’re all going to miss her. She was a wonderful lady. I know you felt a connection to her.”

“What?” I asked, wiping my face on my sleeve.

“Ruth’s death is sad, but she suffered for a long time.”

I looked back at the room and saw the door wide open from when I rushed through moments earlier. The room was empty. The dresser clear. Ruth was dead.

“What time did it happen?” I asked.

“About 30 minutes ago. Jeannie and Bebe were with her the whole time. She died peacefully. Jeannie had to go sign some paperwork, and your grandmother and I went to get her some lunch. She hasn’t had a full meal in days. I’m sorry you missed her.”

“Me, too.” I stared at the empty bed and thought of the woman I just talked to. The dead woman and her final words to me. I shuddered and my mom wrapped her arm around me.

&

The following days passed in a blur. Funerals, even the expected ones, required a lot of work and preparation. My parents closed their shop for a couple of days and my mother and grandmother assisted Jeannie with all the details. My mother gave me a job, collecting the flowers and cards sent in condolence so we could send appropriate thank yous later. I made a spreadsheet, listing names and casseroles – anything I could do to keep busy and out of the way. Anything, I knew, to keep Ruth’s final words out of my mind.

“Dad, we may have to eat this one,” I said, sliding a chicken and something casserole across the kitchen counter. I’d just spent 30 minutes trying to shove 15 plastic containers with enough food to last us for months into the freezer. “Dad?” I called. He and I had been left at home while the others left early for the funeral home. I heard his voice in the front hall and I followed the sound, hoping whoever was speaking with him had not brought another casserole. I crossed my fingers hoping for cookies.

“Oh,” I said when I saw him standing next to Connor. “Hey.”

“Hi,” he said. Connor looked handsome in his suit and tie. Shaggy hair pressed down on the sides. The blue in his tie caught the color of his eyes, and with everything going on the butterflies in my stomach seemed inappropriate.

“Your mother called,” Dad said, rushing past me. “She wants different pictures for the display or something. I’m just taking whatever she left on her desk. Connor said he would give you a ride.”

“All right,” I said. Dad leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“See you in a bit.”

“Okay,” I called but the back door closed with a slam. He was gone. “Things have been crazy around here,” I told Connor.

“Yeah, I can imagine,” he said, slipping an arm around my waist. “Anything else?”

Neither of us wanted to say her name, so I shook my head. “Not a water tower in sight.”

“Good. Maybe your aunt was just as crazy dead as she was alive.”

I made a face. “That’s a terrible thing to say.”

“Maybe so, but I hope I’m right. Either way both Tonya and Char have been quiet for close to a week. Maybe she was wrong.”

“I hope so.” I picked up my bag and wiggled on my shoes. “You ready?”

He scrunched his nose. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Tell me about it.” I wrapped my arm around his waist. “Thanks for coming with me. The idea of hanging out in a cemetery is less than appealing.”

“What? This should be our idea of the perfect date or something.” He gave me an elusive, mega-watt smile. “In an emo, ghost channeler kind of way.”

“Shut up.”

“Oh, I got you something,” he said. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small purple velvet bag.

“What’s this?” I took the bag and loosened the tie. Inside was a round piece of metal on a string. It was the same symbol Connor had on his arm.

“For protection.”

“Does this really work?”

He shrugged. “At this point I’m willing to accept any help we can get. Charlotte may be gone, but there’s always another ghost around the corner.”

As we walked out the front door, Connor nudged me and gestured to the house next door. I looked up in time to see the curtain drop.

“Wait for me in the car?” I asked.

“Sure.”

We parted on the driveway and I ducked through the bushes and knocked on Ms. Frances’ door. She must have been waiting because she opened the door right away. “I heard about your kin,” she said, shaking her head in sorrow. “She died in her own time though and that is how it’s supposed to work.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I wasn’t sure what else to say.

I noticed then she had a bundle in her hands. She held it up. “I have something for you.”

I opened the cloth wrapper and found a mixture of leaves and roots. I looked up at her in question. “What do I do with this?”

“You’ll know at the time. Keep it with you. Tonya will show you how.”

“Tonya’s gone,” I told her, but she had already closed the door. I sighed and turned back down the steps toward Connor’s car.

“What’s that?” he asked when I got in the car. I shoved the bundle in my purse. “These crazy women. It’s just like Ruth. They have all this information but it comes out in cryptic terms. I can’t ever tell what’s important and what’s senile.”

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“For a funeral in a cemetery?”

He laughed and started the car. My life was crazy, but at least I had someone who understood to share it with me.

&

I hadn’t been to many funerals. My grandmother, Bebe, had more energy than I did. My father’s parents lived across the country, golfing and gardening and living a generally active life. The idea of dealing with their deaths took on a different perspective now that I knew that when they died, they weren’t necessarily gone. Ruth passed over though. I knew this. I felt it in my bones. Wherever she existed now, it wasn’t in the church or at the cemetery. She had her final words with me in the hospital. After that, she was ready to go.  

“It’s not exactly creepy,” I said to Connor as we walked from the car to the rows of chairs set out by the funeral home. The afternoon air felt sticky and hot, just like every other day this summer.

“No. I think you and I moved beyond creepy a while ago. It’s almost like cemeteries are a ticking time bomb. Like, how soon before someone will show up or something like that?”

“Pushing our luck.”

“Right.” I squeezed his hand. “Well, me at least. The drugs should work here, too.”

Connor squeezed my hand back and led me over to my family. We walked over the stone paths between headstones. The graveside service only included my family and the minister from the church. I doubt he even knew Ruth, seeing as how she had been in the hospital for so many years. I sat next to my mother, who gave me a quick hug and Connor a tight smile. “Thanks for coming,” she said.

He lifted our tangled hands off my lap. “Of course. I know Ruth was important to the family.”

I ignored the look of concern on my mother’s face. Her worry was justified. Connor hurt me, but now that Charlotte had moved on, I felt confident we would get back on track.

“Good afternoon,” the minister said. He mopped the sweat off his forehead with a white handkerchief. “I know Ruth had a special place in this family. She struggled for many years with her health and well-being. During our many talks, she always made it clear you each held a special place in her heart.” He glanced up and smiled. “Especially you, Jeannie. You filled her with so much joy and she was so proud of your accomplishments.”

Apparently, I was wrong about the minister knowing Ruth. No one in our family had much connection to religion as far as I knew, so hearing Ruth spent time with the minister proved surprising. My mother clasped Jeannie’s hand and they both blotted away tears. Fumbling in my purse, I pulled out a pack of tissues. They had barely left my hand for my mother’s when I saw her.

Charlotte.

Leaning against a statue across the cemetery. Her eyes narrowed in a hard stare, but her mouth quirked in the slightest of grins. She posed innocently under a large, stone angel. On instinct, my fingers tightened around Connor’s.

“What?” he whispered under the minister’s words. His eyes flicked in the direction of the angel, but registered nothing.

“Um...” I stumbled, looking back and seeing nothing. She had disappeared. “Just being weird, I guess.”

I shivered and Connor wrapped an arm around me, rubbing my arm. Ruth tried to warn me. Charlotte had not passed over. Solving the mystery of her death did not release her. She wanted something more.

&

There?

Hey

I’m outside

Where?

Outside, outside.

Here?

Either let me in or come down.

Hold on...

Connor continued to type as he opened the door. I sucked back a cough at his appearance. In the shadows, I noticed his threadbare T-shirt and plaid cotton pajama pants, hung just a little too low on his hips.

“You okay?” he asked, leaning one arm against the side of the door and yawning.

I nodded. “Yeah. I just needed to get out of the house. Too many relatives. Is this okay?” I glanced around the porch. The lights were off when I drove up, all but the one by the backdoor.

“Come on.” He took my hand and led me through the dark kitchen, past the living room and up the stairs.

“Where are your parents?” I whispered.

“Out. A fundraiser or something. Don’t worry though. They won’t notice. Plus, Emma’s asleep.” I followed him quietly through the house. When we got to his room, he shut the door to his behind us. “I’m glad you came over – whatever the reason.”

He wrapped one arm around my waist while his hand stayed on mine, fingers woven together. I peered over his shoulder at his room. The only light came from his stereo against the wall and the open window. It was completely trashed this time. My unannounced visit didn’t give him time to clean up. I looked up at Connor and saw the intensity in his eyes. The difference from my last visit and now vibrated between us, in the energy coming off our limbs and the flickered, fluttering of my heart. We weren’t the same people as we were two months ago. Things had changed us. Charlotte changed us.

His hands grasped my face and he kissed me. A little sloppy and rough. Breaking the tension of our time apart. I kissed him back, feeling the coarse hair on his chin scratch against my mouth. This made me kiss him harder, wanting to feel something other than the nightmare I’d been floating in for the last several hours.

Charlotte did not pass over. I saw her in that cemetery and Ruth’s final words to me were correct. She wanted something from me. My body. She wanted to take possession of my body and continue on in this realm. I was replaceable.

Connor ran his hands down my arms eliciting a chill that traveled from my neck to my back. “Can I stay here tonight?” I asked. I just wanted to be near him in case tonight was our last chance.

“Sure,” he said. I turned away from his questioning look and climbed into his bed. Forward, but what did I have to lose? This may be my last night alive as a human, I wanted to spend it with him.