“Did you ever talk to my great aunt Mary? She lived in the house before me.”
“Oh yeah, a bunch of times.” Tiana takes another drink.
“Really?”
She nods, swallowing another gulp of her drink. “She was really involved in the community. She hosted charity events in that big house of yours. I was only allowed to go to one since I was a kid.”
“What was it like?” I blurt, knowing she’s drunk enough to tell me pretty much anything right now.
“Boring, since I was eight. But, uh, neat. Though she was a little obsessed with cherubs. The whole house was decorated with them. I’m glad to see it’s not anymore.”
I laugh. “What kind of charity events?”
Tiana shakes her head. “I don’t really remember. My parents were on some sort of board or something and they donated monthly. The one I went to was for hungry children, I think.”
Keri finishes mopping up the spilled drink and tosses the wet towel in the sink. “Did you not know your aunt before?”
“No,” I say, and cast my gaze down. “I didn’t.”
“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.”
I shrug. “It’s fine. But I do find it interesting to hear anything about her.” I look back at Tiana, knowing she’ll spill even more now that she feels sorry for me. I take another drink, liking this weird concoction more and more. “Do you remember anything else about her?”
“She got pretty quiet as she got old, though she always kept to herself. A bunch of kids would try to sneak onto her lawn on Halloween night. It was rumored that those creepy gargoyle statues would come to life at midnight.”
I almost choke on my drink. “Really? How funny.”
Tiana laughs. “I know, right? I’m so glad you got rid of them. They clashed with the original house and were, well, creepy!”
“Wait…did you see the house before the gargoyles were there?”
She shakes her head. “Not that I can remember, but I know they weren’t always there. My mama remembers the day they arrived. Said it stormed for a week and swore something evil was in the air.” Tiana rolls her eyes. “She’ll randomly bring it up.”
Jacques tenses next to me. Finding out where they came from before, and whose possession they were in, could be monumental for figuring out how to break this curse.
“So whatever happened to your aunt?”
“She died.”
Tiana’s eyes widen. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. I didn’t know her, so…”
“Right.” Tiana takes another gulp of her drink and my liver hurts watching her down that thing. A new song comes on outside, and her face lights up. “This is my jam. I’ll catch up with you ladies later.” She hurries outside, leaving the three of us alone in the kitchen.
“Should we go back out?” I ask, motioning to the door.
“Yeah, let’s go!” Keri tops off her drink and slides the bottle of vodka back on the counter. We go out, and after mingling for a few minutes, Jac and I find a quiet place to sit. I’ve finished my drink by now, and take Jac’s. He doesn’t like it and isn’t going to drink it. But I will.
“Your aunt liked cherubs. She can’t be evil,” he starts, pulling my hair over my shoulder and letting his fingers trail down my back.
“If you knew what a house looked like when decorated with cherubs, you’d say otherwise.”
Jac smiles. “You heard what she said. Your aunt did charity work. She’s not evil. Your family isn’t evil. There’s no need to worry about what Marissa said.”
“I know,” I agree, breath leaving me.
“And even if they were evil, it doesn’t mean anything about you.”
