“OK, all right, everyone is alive, thank God,” Ryan says, visibly stunned. His hair is a mess and his tie is missing. He wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Beth, are you sure you’re OK?”
I’m likely in shock. “Fine, yes, it could have been much worse. Where are the kids?” I ask.
“We need to find them,” Ryan says. “I’m worried the house isn’t structurally stable given what’s happened. We need to keep everyone in this original part of the house—here in the living room is best—until the roads are cleared and power is restored and we can call for help. I never should have allowed Roxy to invite all of you here. This weekend has ruined everything. I tried to warn you.”
“What? Warn me? I haven’t spoken to you for decades. What are you talking about?” I ask, but Ryan takes off down the hallway without answering. I follow behind him, holding on to the back of his coat for comfort and closeness. As we walk through the darkness, the air thick with dust, I wonder what Celeste and Zach have overheard tonight. Were they listening to our dining room conversation? I wonder what Ryan has heard, what he thinks, what he knows. There’ll be time for that, I suppose, but first we need to find my daughter.
As we pass by the dining room my eyes try to make out the shape of the table, but all I can see is the large silhouette ofthe tree. And something else through the haze of dust and tree limbs. It’s a face, a woman’s face, staring at me from on top of the table. She is lying on top of the tree, on top of the table. Oh my God.
“Ryan!” I yell. “Someone is there. In the dining room!” I yank on his jacket, and he finally stops. He shines the light of his phone into the room, and a surreal sight appears amid the swirling dust. I catch a glimpse of a woman with long blond hair, green eyes, wearing a green dress and a sparkling tennis necklace.
42
Beth
“Oh my God,” I say, backing up, backing away from the horror in the dining room.
“What is it?” he asks, turning the light to shine into my eyes.
“It’s dressed like her, like Sunny, the night she died,” I babble, my head spinning as I step away, holding my hand up to block the light from his phone.
“Relax, Beth. You’re seeing things. Stress will do that to some people, drive them crazy,” Ryan says. “We need to find the kids.”
I turn back to look at the dining room, to find the woman, to find Sunny, but without Ryan’s phone flashlight, it’s too dark to see her. Something is very wrong. With everyone in this house. I need to find my daughter, and we need to get out of here.
“Celeste!” I yell, coughing and choking on dust as we make our way to the kitchen. “Celeste! Where are you?”
“Mom!” Celeste yells. “We’re in here. Inside the pantry.” Wewatch a door open, and she and Zach are revealed, wide-eyed but fine. Celeste gives me a big hug and takes my hand. “I was so scared.”
“So was I, but we’re going to be fine. We need to stay together,” I say.And we need to get out of here as soon as we can, I don’t say.
“OK, let’s get you back to the other part of the house,” Ryan says, wrapping Zach in a hug and leading the way. “I’m not sure this addition, this part of the house is safe. It may have been compromised when the tree fell through the roof.”
“Wow, that’s what happened? The noise was crazy. See, I told you we’d be fine,” Zach says to Celeste. “Your mom and my dad to the rescue.”
“Let’s take them to my room; it’s part of the original house, right?” I ask Ryan. I’d like to avoid going the same way we came because I don’t want to seeheragain. A chill runs down my spine, but I stay strong. For Celeste. I also don’t want to go back to the living room with all my so-called sisters and the dead body adorning the piano. I want to get to our room, find my car keys, and hit the road—travel warning be damned.
“Sure, yes, that works. Let’s go to your room,” he says, and we walk quickly in a tight group to get there. When we finally reach the door and hurry inside, it’s a surreal world of calm on the other side of the hallway.
I turn on my phone flashlight and shine it at Celeste, making sure she’s unharmed. Her pink dress is now coated indust and dirt like everyone else’s. I have twigs and leaves in my hair, scratches on my arm. But we’re safe.
“Well, looks like this engagement party is over,” I say as a wave of relief fills my heart. “Maybe I’ll host one for you. Back home. Nothing fancy, full of friends and love. We can take our time. No rush.” I’m still not sure what’s going on here, with Ryan and Gentry House, but it’s creeping me out. Did I really see Sunny darting through the dining room? No, it was my mind playing tricks on me, it must have been.
“Sounds good to me,” Zach says. “This weekend was all my mom’s idea, as you all know.”
“A bad one,” Ryan says with a frown. “As usual.”
I look at Ryan, his face uplit by his phone’s flashlight, distorted by the light, half illuminated in the darkness, and for once, I see him as a stranger. I don’t want to stay in this room with him. I don’t want Celeste in here, but it’s safer here than near the collapsing roof. And Zach is here with her. He loves her, or does he? I’m having my doubts about him, and about this entire family.
I walk to the bathroom and splash water on my face, cleaning the grit and grime from my eyes, nose, and mouth as much as I can. I dry my face with a washcloth. And that’s when I see the letter, taped to my mirror. It’s typed.
Dear Beth,
Oh, how I’ve missed you all these years. You were my best friend, the one person I could trust no matter what.But now, everything has changed. This is all your fault. You never should have come here. To my home. You weren’t there for me the night I died, were you? No, you weren’t. I know where you were. And now you come to my home and ruin everything good and pure. Do you feel guilty, Beth? Do you? You should. You took everything from me, but you won’t do it again. Go away, Beth.
My hands shake as the note drops to the bathroom counter. My stomach clenches when I see the scrawled signature at the bottom of the letter. My heart races.
Love, Sunny
