Page 97 of The Guests on South Battery
“Yes, Melanie’s here. And so am I,” Ginette said, her voice intense. “You’ve been fighting Anna by yourself. Let’s show her now what the three of us can do.”
We stood with our hands gripped together tightly, the whir of sheets tumbling in the air and filling the space between raindrops and thunderclaps.
My mother’s voice was quiet at first, and then seemed to gain strength from some unknown source. I felt the power through our clasped hands, the untapped strength of this delicate-looking woman. “Anna, release Hasell so she can move on to a better place. To a place where she can rest and find peace. If you ever loved her, let her go.”
The darkness around us vibrated with an unknown entity, a dark emotion I’d yet to experience and knew I never wanted to. The sheets above us whipped at the ceiling and the wall, seeking something. Someone.
My mother continued, her fingers icy cold in mine as if she were directing all her energy to communicating with the dead. “We know you didn’t mean to kill her, Anna. That it was an accident. Was it your guilt that made you hang yourself in this room? Was it? You can find no forgiveness for what you did. But we forgive you. We know the truth now, and there’s no reason to keep Hasell here. We forgive you, so you can move on, too. Move on, Anna. Move on from this house and let Jayne live here. It is her rightful home. Let her be.”
A frigid wind whipped past us, a long strip of sheeting wrapping its ends around and around my neck, gradually getting tighter and tighter. I knew my mother was watching, could feel her hold on me tighten. “We are stronger than you,” she chanted. “We are stronger than you.”
Jayne joined in. “We are stronger than you. We are stronger thanyou.”
I was gasping and choking the words, but I managed to speak them, feeling the strength of my mother and sister surge through me.
“Let her go,” my mother shouted. “Move on from this place. You are forgiven. Go seek your judgment.”
The sweet, pungent smell of pipe tobacco wafted over us, my brain clinging to the scent as bright bubbles of light popped in front of my eyes while the sheet grew tighter and tighter.
“Sumter’s here, Anna. To show you the way. He loved you. It was always you. I know you didn’t believe it—couldn’t believe it—but it’s true. And now he’s here. He wants to help you. To guide you. Please, Anna, let him. Give us all peace.”
“Let us go,” Jayne said. “Don’t let your anger bind you to this place of sorrow and regret. Go be with your husband and daughter. Be together again.”
Mama. The word wasn’t spoken out loud, but I felt it inside my head, and surrounding me. The sheet around my neck loosened slightly and I gulped a lungful of air.
Mama. I love you. Come with us now.
The sheet slipped from my neck as Ginette and Jayne gripped my hands to keep me standing. The entire room crackled with static, my hair lifting and hovering around my head like a halo. A glow formed in the corner where the snow globes had been, a small pinprick of blue-white light growing and expanding until it encompassed the entire room. Before it disappeared completely, I saw three people, a man and a woman with a little girl between them, holding hands. They were facing away from us, but they glanced back once before they disappeared completely.
The lights flickered on and I felt a surge of power as if the entire house had suddenly become alit. My mother and Jayne tried to guide me to a chair to sit down, but I was focused on the doorway to the hidden staircase, only allowing myself to truly breathe when Jack appeared at the top, holding a notebook upon which rested an assortment of small bottles and syringes.
He set it down carefully on a low chest and ran to me. It was only then that I allowed myself to let go, to relax into his arms, and believe that everything was going to be all right.
“Hello? Is anybody up here?”
We all looked in surprise as Detective Riley appeared at the top of the stairs, his head nearly brushing the top of the doorframe as he stepped into the attic. “I know you’re going to find this hard to believe, but someone using the landline from this house kept calling my cell and hanging up. I figured I’d better come over and check.”
Maybe it was the fear and exhaustion, but I started to laugh hysterically, soon joined by Ginette and Jayne. Thomas looked at us in confusion until Jayne raced over to him and threw her arms around his neck. “You’re a sore for sight eyes,” she said, burying her face under his chin. She pulled back and shook her head. “I mean, it’s good you’re not there. You’re...” She clenched her eyes, her forehead creased in concentration. “Here,” she finished.
And before she could say another word, Thomas bent his head and kissed her, and I knew I hadn’t imagined the soft sigh of relief from everyone else in the room.
CHAPTER 34
Istood next to Nola, frosting the two small birthday cakes, both with dark chocolate icing. Despite the fact that the twins had inherited just about every characteristic from Jack, their love of chocolate was all mine.
“That’s not vegan,” I said to Nola, catching her licking a finger.
“Pretend you didn’t see that,” she said. “Or this.” She stuck the knife in the remnants of the frosting still clinging to the glass bowl and licked it.
The doorbell rang. I looked at the kitchen clock, relieved to see it was back to telling the actual time. “It’s a little early for guests, isn’t it?”
“I’ll get it,” Nola said, giving her hands a quick wash in the sink. I wondered at her enthusiasm at the early arrivals until I saw her smooth her hair behind her ears. Alston and Cooper were expected to attend the twins’ first birthday party, what Nola had dubbed “the social event of the season.” I told her to hold that thought until we threw her sixteenth birthday blowout, not to mention Jayne’s first birthday party, since she now knew the actual date of her birth. Thomas was already helping me to plan it.
Jack passed her on his way into the kitchen. He smiled and moved in front of me. “You have chocolate icing on your mouth,” he said.
He held back the hand I’d started to lift and instead gently licked my lip. “Not as good as vanilla, but it will do.”
I locked my hands behind his neck. “Are we good, Jack?”
