It smells like moth balls, mold and dust. The wooden floors are dusty. Everything looks like it hasn’t been touched in years. A staircase is centered in front of us leading up to the second story. Everyone huddles together in a tight circle in the middle of the floor. I feel like I’m in Casper. I’m tucked under Tanner’s arm and there is no way in hell I’m going to let go.
The floors squeak and the wind blows the broken shutters against the house with loud bangs. “This is fuckin’ creepy,” Tanner whispers into my ear.
“That’s the family that was killed,” someone says, pointing toward a huge portrait hanging over the fireplace behind us. The woman sitting looks down at me, her dark eyes smiling. Her husband looks like a young Steven Strait, only more serious. Their two kids are grinning ear-to-ear. It makes my gut twist.
“Who wants to go upstairs?” Eric asks, hauling Cassie onto his back again. No one answers, but we all follow him anyway. I’m sure it’s because we don’t want to stay by ourselves. It has nothing to do with actually wanting to go upstairs.
Someone steps on the back of my foot and I whirl around. Jake is behind me, eyes glues to my ass. “Excuse you,” I grit through my teeth. His eyes lift toward mine and he shrugs.
“Sorry,” he mumbles.
Yeah, really looks like it. When we get to the top of the stairs there are two different hallways. Eric takes the one of the left and some of the other counselors take the one on the right.
“Which way?”
“Left. Come here, you’re fine.” Pressing his mouth to my head, he kisses my hair. The hallway is narrow, several doors line the way on each side. A few pictures hang on the walls, dust covering them. I lift onto my toes and run my hand across the dust, leaving a path. The picture is of the two children. Who in the hell can kill a kid? And this guy killed two. But, I’m the one to know that scorned lovers will do anything to keep their lover away from anyone else.
The thought disturbs me, but I step back. “Sad isn’t it? That someone could murder innocent children.”
“I can’t imagine.”
“Come on, let’s go so we can leave. This place is freakin’ me out,” Tanner says, pulling toward the first opened door. The room to our right is a bedroom. A small pink bed sits in the corner, the sheets halfway off. A small wooden chest sits against the end. A piece of fabric blows from the opened window.
The wind is colder, my heart pounding. This isn’t right. Something is off. My leg is jerking in short spasms. “I want to leave,” I say.
“Okay, let’s go tell Eric we’re leavin’.” Tanner doesn’t question me. He leads me out into the empty hallway. “Where the fuck did they go?”
“They better have not left us.”
I hear a giggle from downstairs and sigh. “I think that’s Cassie. Let’s go.” Tanner moves forward and trips over his shoe.
Tanner fumbles in the dark but bends down to tie his shoe. “These damn boots,” he says.
A soft squeak against the floor draws my attention to the other hallway. At first I don’t see anything, then I do. The silhouette of a person stands in front of the end door. The shape shows me it’s a large man, and he’s not moving. “Tanner,” I try to whisper, but my voice is so low I don’t think he hears.
The shape is familiar. Lifting one foot, he takes a step toward me. The lighting of the window cast a faint glow over his face, showing strong features… and a white polo hat.
My voice returns and a scream rips my throat, echoing against the walls. All the way down the stairs. “What’s wrong?” Tanner asks, bounding up from tying his shoes. I’m staring at the figure. When I blink he’s gone. Tanner furrows his dark brows. “Darlin’. What happened? Who did you see?”
“I want to go now,” I mumble out. “Right. Now. Tanner.”
He pulls me down the stairs. Cassie and Eric are kissing on the couch. I nearly vomit. Who the fuck can be horny at a time like this?
“Who was screaming?” Jake runs into the room shouting. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
Ugh! “Nothing. Let’s go,” I say again. Tanner interlocks our fingers and pulls me toward the woods. We’re running. I’m not sure from what. Because I’m not sure what the fuck I saw. It looked like him. He seemed so real. The white hat covered his face, but he always wore that polo hat. Always. Tanner is slapping branches out of our faces, still dragging me through the brush. I’m starting to get worried we’re not on a path, when I see Tanner’s blue pick-up gleaming from the moonbeams.
I sigh once I’m inside, and the doors are locked. “Now,” Tanner says through ragged breaths. “What happened? What did you see?”
I glance up at him. I want to tell him so badly. Will he believe me? Or think I’m crazy like everyone else had in school? “Tanner,” I screw my eyes shut. “I saw him. He was standing at the end of the hallway. I know we’ve talked about it—he’s in jail. But it looked just like him. Why am I hallucinating? Why can’t I just forget about him?”
Tanner grabs my chin and makes me stare at him. “Aubrey, you’re hurt. He hurt you badly. He took away the one thing that you loved more than anything. You’re going to think you see him. You’re going to hurt. But—goddamn it—if I have anything to do with it, it’ll slowly drift away. I’ll help you get rid of him. He won’t have any more control over you, I swear. You’ll be all mine like it’s supposed to be.”
I grip his hair and bring his mouth to mine. His kiss is demanding, hard and it feels like he’s marking me with it. He’s going to rectify me, just like I’m going to heal him.
Tanner’s woodsy scent makes my thighs warm with scolding heat. He’s snoring lightly in my ear, his arm draped over my stomach. Cassie got back a few hours after us. I pretended to be asleep even when she tugged on my leg.
Now she’s tucked in her bed asleep. It started raining last night, and it’s not supposed to stop until tomorrow night. The camp activities are canceled for tomorrow, and Tanner says he wants to go out to the lake. It’s supposed to rain, but he doesn’t seem bothered by it. I had made progress with him carrying me into the water. But now I’m going to have to get in. Actually get in. My nerves are everywhere. Not only for tomorrow, but because of tonight. I saw him. It was different this time. It wasn’t the ghostly hallucinations I had right after it happened.
He was full, whole. He seemed so real. My fingers twitch around the covers, and I pull them from me. Tanner moves onto his stomach and smashes his face into the pillow. I grab my cell from the nightstand and go into the bathroom.
The prison is on my speed dial. I’ve never actually called, but it’s there just in case. A woman answers on the first ring. “Hi, I need to check on an inmate.”
She clicks around on the computer. “Name?”
Twisting on the closed toilet seat, I grip the edge with tight fingers. “Michael Powers.”
More clacking against the keys. “He’s here. You want me to get them to check?”
A crack of thunder crashes against my ears. “Yes,” I whisper, bringing my knees to my chest.
“Please hold.”
I’m on wait for ten minutes. I trail my thumb up and down my shin and fiddle with my loose ponytail holder. “Ma’am are you still there?”
“Yes.”
“He’s in his cell asleep. Is there a reason why you called?”