The Crimson Key (18 page)

I stood up and looked her in the eyes. “You can move home
, but I won’t be joining you. I told Dad the same thing.”

“Brylee
, I … I don’t know what to say really. I don’t want to leave you in New Jersey alone. You are getting older, and I understand you fell in love with Ephraim, but—”

“This is more than loving him
, Mom. This is the fact that you dragged me out there, and now you want to drag me back. You both have to understand I am not a piece of furniture. I need a home. I can’t be tossed around, I won’t do it.” I ran my hands through my hair. Talking to her like this made me nervous. I had to stand up for myself, yet I didn’t want to push too far. Although I didn’t like this decision, I had an immense amount of respect for my mom and I hated to have to be so brutally honest with her.

I knew why my dad wasn’t with us today; he was on a job interview. She was in here trying to convince me to move back here.

“We bought the house in hopes of making a home, Brylee. I tried to make it one, but your dad and I miss it here. We both grew up here you have to understand that,” she begged. “We want what’s best for you. But if your dad gets this job we will be moving back.” She stood up and placed her hands on my shoulders. “I hope you will come with us.”

“I
won’t,” I said sternly.

If my dad got the job I would be on my own. I would not be coming home. She left the room and I fell to the bed. I didn’t have any clue what I would do. Ephraim lost his job
, so moving in with him would not work. I needed a solid plan. I had to finish school and I wouldn’t let that slip. I would have nowhere to go. I wanted my decision to be final, but with the circumstances the way they were, I may not be. And
that
was causing my heart to break piece by piece. I quietly cried into the pillow hoping my mom wouldn’t hear me.

I spent the rest of the day in my room, avoiding everyone. I heard my dad come back from the interview. I even heard him talking about how great it went. I just punched the pillows and tried to fall asleep. When sleep didn’t come I decided I wanted to be alone. I emerged from the bedroom, finding everyone talking in hushed tones in the living room. They were talking about me no doubt.

“Bry
, can you come in here so we can talk this out?” my grandma asked. I couldn’t deny her, so I joined in. I slumped into the chair and listened to what they had to say. It was all a bunch of crap. California was their real home. This job could mean living the life we used to. I could finish my senior year at my old school.

“You don’t get it
, do you?” All heads turned in my direction. “I don’t want to be that person anymore. I was snobby and stuck up. I was mean. I don’t want to live the high life anymore. I like being mediocre. I don’t need the
stuff
anymore. I am finally happy with the person I turned out to be, and you want me to go back to being the old Brylee?”

They all look
ed at each other, as if determining who could come up with the best comeback.

“It’s not that we want you to be like that anymore
, Bry,” my dad said. “We just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy. Don’t you get it?” I stood up. “I am happy in New Jersey. I found friends that really like me for who I am
, not for what I have to offer them. I love our old drafty house. I even love how strange it is.”

My mom put her head in her hands
, but my grandma had a smile on her face. She was the only one in the room who understood. I knew she would. She liked the person I was today. She didn’t like the person I used to be. She was the one who had once pointed out that I needed to wake up and see how mean I was to people.

“Look
, I don’t know how I can pull it off and live there by myself. All I am asking is that you let me finish my senior year there and then you guys can move back here.” It was the only option.

“But this job
, Brylee, it’s a chance of a lifetime, kid. It won’t wait a year. I may not be able to find anything else like this again,” Dad said.

“Moving to New Jersey was a chance you took
, Dad. I went with you guys; no arguments, I just did it. Finding Ephraim was
my
chance of a lifetime. I will never find anyone like him again.” I took a breather. “I know you all think I am too young for love like that, but I know how I feel. I love him and I won’t leave him. I refuse to live here without him.”

“So this is about Ephraim?” my mom asked.

“Not entirely. It’s more about my chance in life. I need to be there. I just want you guys to understand and do this for me. Please.” They looked at each other. My grandma stood up and took me in her arms. She understood, she always had.

“What Brylee is trying to say is that she is growing up and she needs you both to let her live the life she wants to live. She wants you both to give her this last year and let her make the choices she wants. You can’t make her move around so much
, it’s not good for her.” Thank you, Grandma! Finally someone stood up for me.

“Okay
,” my dad said as he locked eyes with my mom.

“Okay?”

“Brylee, you moved away with us with hardly any complaints. You blended in and started a new school with no protests either. So we will give you your last year in school,” he said. “But promise me that you will go to college instead of running off and getting married.”

I didn’t know what my future was going to be. I knew I would go to college
, I just didn’t know if Ephraim would be part of that. I smiled even though I felt like crying.

“I promise I will go to college
, but you both have to understand Ephraim is a huge part of my life now. I don’t know what that means for my future, but he will be part of it somehow.” I left out the fact that he might be in my life as a ghost who will haunt our home from time to time. They didn’t need to know any of that.

We ate dinner that night,
my mood changed for the better. We didn’t talk about the future of my dad’s job that night. It was something he would have to deal with at a later time. My parents loved me and wanted what was best for me. I think my grandma had to remind them that their actions affected my life, too. I wasn’t a little kid anymore. I had grown up and forged a life for myself.

After I cleared the dishes and cleaned the table
, I joined my family in the living room to watch old home movies. It was nice to sit with them and look back on old times. I saw the differences in myself immediately. I
had
changed. My phone ringing saved me from seeing a video of me as a baby. The last thing I wanted to see was naked baby videos. I left and went out on the patio. Checking the screen, I saw the call was from Hala. “Hi, Hala I finished your grandmother’s journal today.”

“So you learned about what and who you are dealing with
, did you?” she asked.

“Yeah
, they’re evil. I am surprised Aliah got away with leaving them like she did.”

“That’s the thing. She may have lived for a while and had children
, but they came for her eventually.”

My skin grew colder and it wasn’t from the chill in the air. The rain poured down around me and I struggled to hear Hala on the line. “What do you mean?”

“They killed her. She knew too much. But before they took her life she gave that journal to me,” she said solemnly. They couldn’t just let her be, they had to take her life as well? That was horrible. I hated them even more now. I didn’t ask Hala how she died, but I was sure it wasn’t pleasant. “That is why I told you I will not get involved with them. They may be dead, but that means nothing. They were strong and still are. You your friends are in danger. My grandmother was like you, a medium, and they wanted to use her for many things, especially connections to the dead.”

“I read that
,” I told her.

“Yes
, and she left the country to avoid having to be used by them. She hid for many years and finally when I was born she realized I had gifts. My gifts are not as special as yours, Brylee. I can read Tarot cards and see visions.” She paused. “I could always sense evil. So when they were coming I had a vision of them. My grandmother gave me her journal and we had just enough time to get away before they came for her.”

What a terrible way to die. You know the women who are the most evil are coming for you and you have no way to change it. She must have been terrified.

“I’m sorry, Hala,” I said.

“Me
, too. Now you understand why I do not want to go near that place?”

“Yes
, I do.”

I didn’t want to hear how wicked they were. My head already hurt from all the other things that went through my mind on a regular basis. I couldn’t protect everyone
, especially while I was here.

“I didn’t call to scare you.”

“Then why are you calling?” I asked.

“I found a photograph that I have of one of the sisters. It was taken well after the curse on the Brown family occurred.” I had no idea how she would come across a picture of them. I was curious
, though.

“How the heck did you find a photo of them? Who is it of anyway?”

“How I found it is not important. I have my connections to people who can help me with things like this. And since you promised me your help in the future you can consider this payment.” Sure I could go with that.

“Who is it of?” I asked again. She was being sort of cryptic with her answers.

“I emailed it to you, it’s of Evangeline Barclay,” she told me. “Check your email.”

I knew who Evangeline was
, I didn’t need a photo of her. I just didn’t have the heart to tell her that searching for a photo of her was worthless. “Okay, I will check my email. I have it on my phone. Hold on,” I said as I scrolled through my phone. She waited patiently on the line as I found the attachment. It downloaded slowly, but as soon as it did my heart stopped. The photo on my screen was not of Evangeline Barclay. It was Carole Mayhew, Ephraim and Lynley’s mom. “There must be a mistake,” I spat. Carole wore clothes that did not look from this time period. Yet even though she was dressed from some time in the past, she looked just as she did today; the same stringy hair and pale face. It was her, there was no doubt in my mind.

“There has got to be some sort of error
, Hala, this picture … it’s of my friends mom.”

She didn’t answer right away
, but when she did there was assurance in her voice. “There is no mistake.” I hung up the phone and my mind raced. When I had first met the pale-haired ghost in my house, what was it she said to me? ‘Who told you that is my name?’

Come to think of it
, she never introduced herself to me or mentioned her sister’s name. She always referred to her as her sister. I only assumed that her name was Evangeline because Lynley told me she was talking to Evangeline. Evangeline was ‘helping’ her. But the woman in this photo was not Evangeline, she was Carole.

The ghost in the field
, the male, had told me that I had to find the one that survived, didn’t he? One of them still lived.

My hands shook as I struggled to hold the phone. The light dimmed and I sat down and stared at it some more. The time period was way off. The car she stood next to was definitely not a car she would drive as a teenager. 
As I scrolled in and enlarged the picture I saw the house that stood in the distance behind her. The Barclay house. I didn’t know how, but Carole Mayhew wasn’t who she said she was. She was either a spitting image of Evangeline or she was her. That would explain why she hated me so much.

I dialed Ephraim’s number and it went to voicemail. Frustrated
, I yelled at my phone, willing him to pick up. It must have been late there, because it was super late here. I glanced at the time and knew I had to get rest. I couldn’t do anything right now. I slid into the bed, pulling the covers around me.

Eggs, bacon, and potatoes for breakfast and I couldn’t eat a single thing. My stomach was in knots, churning with worry. I had tried to call Ephraim, even Lynley, and got no answer. As I sat at my grandma’s kitchen table I could only think of them. I had to find a way to get the answers I needed without them for now. I pushed my plate of food in front of me and my mom took it from me.

I faked a stomach ache
, hoping I could go back to the hotel. The lobby had Internet and I needed to use the computer badly. My grandma grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug.

“I know you are going through something you don’t want to talk about
, but remember I am here if you need me,” she said.

“Thank you.” I said simply. My grandma was a huge influence in my life
, much like Hala’s had been. I was lucky to have an ally like her. She talked my dad into driving me back to the hotel room. Once we got there, and I assured him I would be just fine, he left to join my mom for lunch. I quickly dressed and went to the lobby. I found an empty computer and I searched Carole Mayhew. Not much came up except for their address information. She wasn’t in the news for anything and I fell back into the chair. There wasn’t anything I could do to help them from here. It was worthless. It had to wait even though I was super impatient.