“I know Sunny’s dead,” I tell her. “I caused it.”
“We both did,” Jamie says. “Where else did you see her?”
“There was a photo in my bedside table,” I say, my voice shaking. “It was of a young woman, wearing a tiny bikini like Sunny’s, sitting by the pool, kicking her feet in the water. It was black and white, but still you could tell it was her.”
“From spring break?” I ask. “That was like the postcard in my room. I thought it was her.”
“No, it was this pool. The Gentry House pool, so it couldn’t be from spring break,” Roxy says, her eyes huge. “I screamed when I saw the photo and slammed the dresser drawer. I ran to find Ryan, to ask him if he placed it there. He looked at me like I was crazy. Really, the way he has looked at me for the last few years. With contempt. When I finally convinced him to come see the photo later that evening, I opened the drawer, and it was gone.”
The four of us are silent, wondering what all of this could mean, what we should do.
“We need to get out of here,” Beth says. “I don’t know what’s going on, but we should all leave, as soon as we can. Ryan’s playing tricks on us, for some reason. He might have a hologram projector, or who knows what else? Let’s get going and figure things out later, from the safety of anywhere but here.”
I agree. “But what about the engagement weekend?” I ask, but this time I smile. And start to laugh. At myself. At everythingI’ve been holding on to for too long. At the illusion of a perfect marriage, the illusion that this house was for us, when it was all for Ryan. And Sunny.
“What’s so funny?” Amelia asks. “This is all spooky, if you ask me. I don’t want Sunny’s ghost haunting me.”
“Well, since you didn’t do anything to her, you’re fine,” Beth says and then eyes me and Jamie. “Jamie, any strange notes or ghost sightings? Or were you too busy planning Brett’s demise to notice?”
“Funny,” Jamie says, shaking her head. “There was one thing. A towel on our outside lounge chair.”
“Let me guess,” Beth says. “Pink-and-white-striped like they were at Desert Sunrise. And all the towels here at Gentry House are white, with blue trim.”
Jamie nods. “I didn’t say anything because, well, how do you explain something like that?”
“You can’t,” Beth says.
“But there has to be an explanation. Ghosts aren’t real,” Amelia says. “Someone is messing with us.”
“Yes, someone has been messing with us,” Beth says.
“He never wanted us to come here, to his place. I realize that now,” I say, meeting Beth’s eyes. “We should leave, as soon as it’s safe, and never come back. I’m sorry I dragged you all here.”
I’m sorry for all of it.
46
Beth
I want to tell them about the life-size mannequin dressed up like Sunny lying on top of the dining room table, but I’m not sure it was real. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I decide to keep that rather creepy image to myself. I think we all know now what is going on.
“I need to go find Celeste, and we’re leaving as soon as we can. All secrets stay between us, right? It’s time to leave Ryan to his delusions,” I say, looking them each in the eye. “And let’s not get together again anytime soon.”
“Good idea,” Amelia says. “Bad things happen when we’re all together. We need to forget all about what’s happened here. I know I plan to. Maybe I already have.”
“You’re in no shape to drive, Amelia,” Jamie says. “Greer and I will give you a ride home, as long as you keep your mouth shut.”
“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Amelia says with a deep chuckle. “I’m fine to drive; I really am.”
“I’m alone as of this weekend, if you change your mind,” Roxy says, her voice tinged with pain. “I can’t believe my marriage imploded like this, in front of you all. But I’ll be fine, I think. I hope.”
“You’re stronger than you think you are,” Jamie says. “I hope to prove I am too.”
Roxy smiles. “You will. As for Ryan, I think it’s for the best.”
“Definitely for the best,” I say. “OK, let’s get going.”
I find Celeste and Zach in my room where I left them, but Ryan is gone.
