“What do you see?” I asked.
“Are those people?” he asked, pointing to figures appearing in the courtyard. Sure enough, frame-by-frame followed their progress to the tree. They were huddled up together for most of the frames, until the final few pictures where they strung Laria up.
“You’re shitting me,” he said, leaning in even closer. “Is that someone hanging?”
His eyes went wide. “Oh my God, you actually caught her hanging on film.”
“A hanging that happened over two hundred years ago,” I said. “I didn’t just take this picture by chance. I felt like I needed to take pictures of the hillside and the castle during the storm.”
“I had read about residual energy of Gettysburg soldiers being caught on film. Looks like you have something similar happening here.”
“Did you look through all the pictures?”
“I did, but the ones at the castle are the only ones I saw anything in.”
He flipped through the pictures a few times. “Would you mind getting me a pop?” he asked.
I didn’t want to, but I went anyway, running to the kitchen. I flipped on every single light as I went along.
I grabbed the pop and ran back into the office. He was now sitting in the chair and he looked over his shoulder at me. “You’re not going to believe this.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
“What?”
“I don’t know if I should show you.”
“What do you mean?” I said, setting the pop beside him.
“Look at the final frame. Picture one ninety-three.”
I kneeled down beside the chair and moved the mouse to picture one ninety-three. I sat back on my heels and squinted. The castle was barely in frame. It was taken directly out my window. “What am I supposed to be seeing?”
“There’s a reflection. Do you see it?”
At the same time he lifted a finger to show me the outline, I saw it. The hair on my arms stood on end. I was in the photo, holding the camera to my face, my image reflected back at me in the glass. And directly behind me stood someone.
Laria, pale as I’d ever seen her. Her eyes were almost hollowed out, and she looked nearly skeletal. Her hair and clothing were wet and she had a hand on my shoulder.
Had I felt anything while I’d been taking those pictures? How had I not felt that?
I glanced at Shane. “This has got to stop.”
He enhanced the picture further, and as he brightened it, we both gasped. Another figure stood in the room. Randall Cummins, along with several dark cloaked figures.
“I’ll never sleep tonight,” I said, knowing that image would haunt me for the rest of my life.
“I’ll crash on your floor.”
I nodded. There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to decline that invitation.
He unplugged the camera and handed it back to me, then saved the file onto a USB drive. We couldn’t keep these on Dad’s computer; he’d freak out if he saw them.
Actually, there was a part of me that wanted him to know.
Chapter 13
Saturday morning I woke at seven o’clock to rain pounding against my bedroom window.
Great. Just what I wanted to do—trudge miles uphill in the rain.
Apparently the storm hadn’t let up. I went to the window and opened the drapes. There was so much fog, I could barely make out the incline of the hill, and forget seeing the castle.
“Oh shit, is it raining?” Shane asked, sitting up on his elbows.
‘Oh shit’ was right. “Yeah, it’s really coming down, and the fog is so thick I can’t see past our backyard.”
He let out a groan, stretched and stood. He walked to the window, looked out at the torrential rain and glanced at me. “No way we’re going out in this fog.”
I’m sure my friends would be elated they wouldn’t have to go out in the crappy weather.
“I’ll text my friends. Will you text Milo and Richie?”
“Done,” he said, sending the texts off with lightning speed, and a second later he grabbed his pillow and blanket. “Since we’re not going, I’m crashing for a few more hours. You all right in here alone?”
“Yeah, thanks for staying with me.”
“No problem.” He had one foot out the door. “We’ll have peace, Riley,” he said, sounding more confident than I felt.
I snuggled under my covers, texted my friends and Kade, and waited for them to respond. Within five minutes all had written back. Kade said he’d be coming by this afternoon. I texted him back and told him to bring his laptop. I was anxious to share the pictures I’d taken.
When he showed up at one, he had Cait with him.
Shane downloaded the pictures I’d taken onto Kade’s laptop. Cait actually jumped the second she saw the pictures of the hanging. “No way.”
Kade controlled his emotions a little better. He glanced at me, and I clearly saw the concern there. “So is this like residual energy that was feeding off the storm? I read that traumatic events can be imprinted into the surroundings.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It could be.”
“Check this out, though.” Shane brought up the final picture, and Kade leaned in closer. At first he didn’t see anything. Then he sat up straight, his eyes wide. “What the hell…”
If anyone still had any question that I was haunted, this picture would eliminate that.
Cait leaned closer. “I don’t see what you’re talking about…”
Shane pointed it out and she put her hand to her mouth. “Oh my God.”
Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea to show them.
Kade set the laptop aside and reached for me. I sat down beside him and he slid his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. “We need to make it to the hill. We’ll go tomorrow.”
“If the fog is bad, we can’t go,” Shane said. “I mean, let’s face it—if we can’t see two feet in front of us down on the valley floor, then what would it be like in the hillside forest?”
He had a valid point.
“Are we overlooking something here? I just don’t want this affecting you any more than it already has,” Kade said, looking at me. “It’s not fair.”
I loved that he cared so much.
Downstairs the front door opened. “Kids!”
“Dad’s home,” Shane said unnecessarily. He glanced at Kade. “Dude, you’d better put the computer away before he sees it. He’s kind of a dick about us having computers in our rooms.”
“I wondered why neither you nor Shane had laptops,” Cait said, following Shane to the door.
“Let’s just say that Dad working in the computer field hasn’t exactly been to our benefit. We’ve never been allowed to have computers in our rooms, and we can only use the family computer in his office. Nothing sucks worse than having your Mom or Dad walk in when you’re Googling po—,” Shane’s gave shifted to Cait, who watched him with lifted brow, just waiting for him to finish the sentence.
Shane grinned sheepishly.
Kade cracked up and my heart missed a beat at the sound. I loved hearing that laugh, seeing that smile. I just wanted to crawl into bed with him and not wake up until tomorrow.
But that definitely wasn’t happening, especially with Dad home.
We walked single file out of my room and down the stairs. Shane stopped short of the last step, and glanced into the parlor.
Dad was home…and he’d brought company.
Cheryl.
My stomach dropped to my toes. What the hell?
Dad’s overnight bag was sitting in the entry, and so was a ridiculously expensive-looking suitcase. What was she doing—moving in?
“Hey kids,” Dad said, nodding at Kade and Cait. “You remember Cheryl…”
Kade squeezed my hand. “Of course,” I managed, and Shane made a grunting noise.
“Hi, I’m Cait.” Cait stepped forward and extended her hand. “I’m Riley’s friend.”
“And my friend, too,” Shane said, and Cait blushed.
Dad lifted a brow at that remark.
“Nice to meet you, Cait,” Cheryl said with a warm smile.
I nodded to Kade. “This is my boyfriend, Kade.”
Kade glanced at me and grinned. I think he liked the boyfriend label. He walked over to Cheryl and shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Cheryl replied. There was a sheen of sweat on her forehead.
“I’ll ask Miss Akin to make us an early dinner. Cait and Kade, if you’d like to stay, you’re most welcome,” Dad said. Surprisingly enough, he actually looked like he wanted them to stay. Maybe he thought we’d play nice that way.
“Thanks,” Kade said. “I’ll give our parents a call and see if that’s okay with them.”
***
The dining room was dimly lit and Miss A had gone out of her way to make the room cozy and inviting.
Dad and Cheryl sat down, and I took the seat furthest away.
Shane gave me a look that said “kill me” and took the seat across from me, forcing Miss Akin to sit to Dad’s right once dinner was served. Cait sat to Cheryl’s right, and put her napkin on her lap. She stole a sympathetic glance at me, while Kade squeezed my thigh beneath the table.
Cheryl asked a million questions of Cait and Kade. It was very obvious she was nervous. Truth be told, I was more nervous than anyone. It was tough to make eye contact with her. I hadn’t really just stared at her. I’d been too pissed in Edinburgh and preoccupied with the dream I’d had about Kade and Dana. Sitting at the dinner table was a bit different.
What I hated more than anything was that Dad had just sprang her on us. It was one thing to keep her in a hotel room in Edinburgh, but to bring her home to your family, that was too much, too soon in my book.
I glanced up at Shane. His jaw was clenched and he stabbed at the spaghetti. For someone who had been pretty accepting of Dad’s new girlfriend to begin with, he didn’t seem too thrilled to see her now.
Miss Akin was her jovial self, going out of her way to make everyone comfortable. The spaghetti may as well have been sawdust for all I tasted of it. Dad was trying his best to be a comic. I actually had forgotten how funny he could be. Kade and Cait genuinely laughed at what he said. I hadn’t seen this side of my dad for so long, it kind of surprised me.
Cheryl ate the salad and took a few bites of spaghetti before setting her fork down. She wiped her lips and looked up at me. “I am glad you are recovered from your fall, Riley. What a terrifying experience. Your dad has been so concerned about you.”
My throat tightened. How much had Dad told her? I wondered. I waited for her gaze to shift to my arms…but she held eye contact. Then again, why would he tell his new girlfriend that his almost seventeen-year-old daughter was a cutter? No doubt Cheryl’s perfect boarding school raised son would never do something so rash and horrifying as harm himself.
“Thanks for your concern.” I reached for the bread and nearly knocked my milk over.
Kade steadied the glass and gave me a reassuring smile.
I felt Dad’s gaze boring into me.
“Tomorrow Cheryl and I are going to Loch Ness. I thought maybe you kids would like to come along. We’re even taking a boat ride…rain or shine.” His gaze jumped between me and Shane. “Cait and Kade, you’re welcome to come as well.”
“Sorry, I have homework,” Shane said, taking another bite and chewing slowly.
Dad’s gaze shifted to me.
“Yeah, I have homework, too.”
Cheryl actually looked disappointed. She sat up a bit straighter and pressed the napkin to her lips. “Miss Akin, would you like to come with us?”
Miss A nodded. “Indeed, I would like very much to go. It’s been years since I’ve visited the loch.”
If the weather was crappy again tomorrow, then there was no way we’d be able to head up the hill…but I had no desire to take a boat ride around Loch Ness with my dad and Cheryl in the rain and fog.
Dad proceeded to tell a story about when Shane was six and I was seven, when we’d gotten on the wrong city bus as my mom’s back was turned. “For some reason, they were under the impression she was going to meet up with them at home.”
“That’s what happens when you have a couple of blonde-haired kids,” Shane said flippantly.
Cait laughed. “Didn’t you think it was strange when your mom wasn’t with you?”
Shane shook his head. “I was too busy with my Game Boy, and Cait had discovered her iPod, so she wasn’t paying attention either.”
“Their poor mother was beside herself,” Dad said. “She ran ten blocks after that bus. Damn near caught up with it, too.” His smile faded and he looked down at his plate. “Those were good years.”
Maybe he missed Mom more than we knew.
“She was an incredible mom,” I said. Shane met my gaze and smiled.
“She sounds like quite a woman.” There wasn’t a tinge of jealousy in Cheryl’s eyes. “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. My husband died of cancer a couple of years ago. He was a good dad, and I like to think that he’s watching me. That he’s with our son, and that he realizes we’re doing our best without him.”
Dad reached out and squeezed Cheryl’s hand. She smiled at him. I saw so much pass between them in that stare, and felt the comfort Cheryl had given him. There was no denying they had both suffered tragic losses.
As silence fell over the table, Dad pushed back his chair. “Well, that was wonderful, Miss Akin. Thank you.”
Shane met my gaze, lips quirked. Dad was definitely on his best behavior tonight. Normally he left the dinner table without saying much of anything. Miss A seemed pleased with the compliment, though, as she stood and started clearing the table.
Dad and Cheryl followed us into the parlor and sat down on the loveseat.
Kade and I sat on the couch beside Shane and Cait.
Kade slid an arm around my shoulders. He must have sensed my uneasiness because his thumb brushed along the back of my neck.
“What are we watching?” Dad asked, remote in hand, browsing the channels. He ended up on a documentary about Stonehenge.
Shane glanced at Cait and they laughed under their breath, and promptly excused themselves.
“So, Kade, I understand you’re on the football team with Shane,” Cheryl said, hands folded in front of her. Dad put a hand on her thigh and I had to look away. It would take some time to get used to seeing him with a woman other than my mom. And intimate touches and kisses were just too much to stomach.