Page 80 of House of Ruin
“Until you apologize.”
“Well, that might take a century and then some. You sure you want to carry the burden for that long?”
“I assure you, it’s no burden—”
“Okay! Enough!” Alecto chimed in, lifting her palms. They were going to go at each other’s throats all day long if they had the chance. “This weekend is about getting away from college and having some fun, for fuck’s sake.”
“That’s what I was promised,” Blaze said. “Would you be so kind and point me in the direction of said fun?”
Alecto narrowed her eyes but resisted the urge to snap at him. From the way Blaze’s lips curled into a wicked grin, he seemed to read her inner struggle just fine.
“There is a sauna and hot springs in the basement floor,” Alecto said. “Or we can go outside and opt for the experience of a warm pool in the winter’s cold. Whichever you prefer.”
“Both,” all three of them said at the same time and then laughed.
“Perfect.” Alecto rolled her eyes. “Your bags are in your rooms. You’ll find them on the second floor. And there is also a big entertainment room there with a balcony that faces the ocean. There’s a pool table and some other stuff.”
Andro and Blaze were on their feet immediately, running out the kitchen door while play fighting.
“Would be nice if you wouldn’t break anything,” Alecto murmured, but of course, they couldn’t hear her.
Jolene and Val chuckled.
A Crahen entered the kitchen, going for cleanup, and the girls strolled out of the kitchen after the boys.
“You dad has a bar?” Val asked as they climbed the stairs.
“In the entertainment room,” Alecto said. “Help yourself to whatever you feel like. It has a spell that never allows the spirits to end.”
“Sweet,” Jolene said, chuckling.
Alecto waited at the top of the stairs for the girls to find their rooms. Andro’s and Blaze’s voices were coming from somewhere down the corridor. With the others occupied, Alecto had the time to do what she needed.
Slowly, she walked over to the main bedroom, where her father slept. Where her mother had slept before she’d taken her life. Alecto hadn’t entered the bedroom since that night she’d found her mom on her bathroom tiles, her own blood pooling around her.
The taste of iron remained in Alecto’s nose and the back of her throat. She could still feel the warmth of the blood on her palms and her knees, the coldness of her mother’s body seeping into Alecto’s chest while she hugged her as if holding her close would make it all better.
Would make it something other than the truth of the situation.
It took Alecto a long moment to muster the strength to turn the brass knob and open the door. But finally, she managed. Even if her hands shook. Even if her legs felt wobbly.
The king bed still stood in the middle of the room, covered with the familiar baby-blue bedding, the same one Alecto remembered from her childhood. The large pastel-mint chest of drawers stood by the wall on the left, a large brass mirror hanging above it.
There were pictures plastered around the edge of the frame. Alecto’s legs were moving before she knew it, and she looked at three small Polaroids.
In one was Alecto’s mom and Alatar. Both smiled as they stood in front of a rocky canyon.Grand Canyon, August 1966, the scribble underneath the picture read.
Next picture was of the three of them. Alecto didn’t remember the day, but she was sitting on Alatar’s lap, her mom right next to him, and they both were looking at each other with so much love, it was hard to believe it was Alatar.Alecto’s second birthday, November 2003.
The third Polaroid was only of Alecto. She did remember the day it had been taken. It was a week before her mother’s suicide. Demitria took Alecto to this new ice cream shop in Upper North West, and after getting ice cream, they’d spent the whole day in the park.Day out in the sun, June 2007.
Alecto forced herself to walk away, her chest heavy. She wanted to take the last picture with her, but Alatar would notice. And then he’d know she’d been in here.
On the right, there was a door that led to the bathroom. Alecto avoided that side of the room, not even daring a glance. Instead, she opened the double door on the left wall and entered a large walk-in closet. To her surprise, it still smelled like sunflowers and foundation pearls, the subtle hint of the perfume her mother used to wear.
When Alecto looked to her right, she realized why.
That whole side of the wardrobe was still filled with her mother’s clothing. The dresses she’d wear to the park were all still there, the blazers and suits she’d wear to the city hanging next to them. Everything was untouched, hanging heavily from the hangers as if time had stopped inside this room.
