Shadow Bound (Wraith) (19 page)

“Guess you’re ready to hand Connor over then?” I said to the empty room. Usually, the ghosts just appeared when I’d rather them not. Now that I finally had the information to help her pass over, she could be free of this life and Connor and I would be free of her torment. I figured my house should be as good a place as any since I’d officially bailed on work and no one else was home. I went to my room though, just in case someone came home unexpectedly. No need for anyone to walk in while I rid the house of a volatile spirit.

“Charlotte,” I called again. Annoyed and tired, I sat on my bed and waited. “I need to talk to you.” The room remained quiet while I waited. I wasn’t sure what to expect from her. She may not even cooperate.

“You summoned, your highness?”

She materialized in the middle of the room with a snarky expression and mean eyes. I ignored the attitude. I went straight to the punch. “I know what happened. I understand now why you’re here.”

“Do you?” she said. “Enlighten me.”

“I know about your uncle and what he tried to do, and what he did do.”

She snorted. “I knew he couldn’t keep a secret. Connor’s always been weak. It’s why he’s so easily manipulated.”

“He told me some of it, but I figured out the rest from someone else. I think the reason you’re still here is to help her.”

Her eyes narrowed for a second, but then her face smoothed. “Help who?”

“Tonya, the dead 11-year-old next door. She’s been waiting 30 years for someone to find out the truth.”

“And lucky for her Jane The Girl Who Talks With Ghosts moved in next door and figured it out.”

I shrugged, irritated at her suspicion. “Well, yeah. Your uncle killed her.”

“Huh,” she said and crossed her arms over her chest. Not exactly the reaction I expected.

“Are you ready to tell me what happened?”

“God, you people are so nosey.” She rolled her eyes but sat on the end of the bed, crossing one leg over the other. “Whatever. It’s not like you haven’t figured it out. Parker had always been my favorite uncle. At least before that night. He’s funny and smart. He talked to me like I was an adult. When I was a kid, he slipped me candy, later booze.”

“Sounds healthy,” I said.

“Not everyone comes from the perfect family, Jane,” she snapped. I fought a moment of guilt but she had already moved on. “We were at a typical family dinner. Typical means everyone was wasted by dessert. Parker spent half the night talking to me and playing games. I was stupid though, I led him right to my room, dying to show him my new video game. I showed him how to play it, both of us messing around on my bed. Something we had done a million times before. He was my uncle for Christ’s sake. I’m not sure when everything changed. I thought he was just being silly when he climbed under the covers and pulled me with him. I stopped thinking that when he reached under my dress.” She turned her face away and said, “Too bad for him I wasn’t willing to be a passive victim. I fought back and he was sloppy drunk so it wasn’t that hard to get away from him.” Her voice sounded hard and bitter. I didn’t blame her.

“That sounds horrible,” I said. I’ve had enough of this type of story today. “Connor said he confessed to doing something like this before?”

“Yeah, he started crying and begging my forgiveness. I refused and he sobbed some story about another girl, and how he loved her so much. Then he got creepy quiet and said that he did something wrong and hurt her and how he promised himself he would never do it again.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope. While he was on his knees in my room crying like a baby, I ran.”

Her aloofness surprised me, even though I supposed it shouldn’t. I decided to be direct. “He killed that other girl.”

She raised an eyebrow. “How?”

“He choked her when she fought him.”

Her hands flew to her neck. “That sounds like him.”

“What happened next? Did you tell anyone?”

“No, I didn’t tell,” she said. “I didn’t think anyone would believe me. Not my parents, for sure. Everyone loves him, he’s a big-wig in the community.”

“You should have told.”

“Doesn’t matter. I got my revenge. I used his dirty secret against him and threatened to drag his name through the mud. It worked, too. He gave me money and sent me to Europe and Mexico on school trips. He bought me a car on my 16th birthday. He treated me like a princess and I deserved it after what he tried to do.” Her tone carried an unmistakable sense of entitlement.

“How did you end up in the hospital?”

“Just because I had the upper-hand doesn’t mean I’m not messed up. Drugs and sex became an easy way to feel good and get attention. My parents got tired of spending lawyer fees at juvenile court and the judge was fed up from seeing me in his courtroom. Ninety days residential treatment.” She gave me a smug smile. “That’s where I met Connor. Handsome, optimistic Connor. He has a soft spot though for girls in trouble.”

“I can’t argue that.”

“Don’t worry, I never tainted your precious Connor. He was too weak for me then. When I got out, things had changed. My parents used my time away to enter therapy and decided to push some kind of ’tough love’ crap on me. Part of that included forcing Parker to stay away from me and shutting off the gifts and money.” She looked at her fingernails, acting bored. “I wanted my money. I went to him and tried to blackmail him. It didn’t work. While I was in the hospital, he’d told my parents about that night but changed the story, making me the bad guy.”

“What? How?”

“He told them I came on to him and then blackmailed him. He told them he was only trying to protect me by spoiling me. He turned this whole thing back on me, like I wasn’t the victim. Like he was the one hurt by all of this.”

“Oh my God, Charlotte. I’m so sorry.” I watched as her tough veneer faltered a little.

“I went to Connor’s to talk to him about it, but he didn’t care. He was wrapped up in you. Telling me about how perfect and wonderful and beautiful you are, and how you understand him,” she took a deep breath. “As though I didn’t.”

“I’m sure he didn’t realize…”

“Save it,” she said. “I went home that night and plotted my next escape. I was 17 and could go out on my own. I loaded up my suitcase with all the jewelry and clothing I could sell. I was leaving – for good. There was no reason to stay. Everyone thought I was a liar. Connor didn’t care. He had you. I was on my own. Why not be on my own somewhere new?”

“I was halfway through packing when Parker showed up at my house. He was drunk. Again. Imagine that,” she snorted. “He tried to talk me out of leaving and I told him he was a pathetic, disgusting pervert, and to go to hell. He lunged at me and I slapped him. He slapped me back and we fought one another until he had me on the ground. I bit his hand and he pressed his arm across my throat to hold me down and to shut me up. His red, angry face was the last thing I remember.”

“He killed you?”

“I’m a freaking ghost, aren’t I?”

We stare at one another for a moment. “I’m so sorry,” I said, again

“Too little too late, Jane.”

Even at her most vulnerable, she was unbearable.

She fixed me with a cold stare and said, “That’s it. Everything you wanted to know. What do we do now?”

“I figure out how to put the jerk in jail. You go on to wherever you guys go. You and Tonya should both be free to pass over. The rest is up to me.”

“That’s it?”

I stood up and walked to my desk, writing a couple of notes before I forgot. “Should be. This thing seems to be about righting wrongs. I can do this for you both.”

“I don’t know if it’s that easy. Just walking away.”

This time I held her gaze, refusing to back off. “You don’t have a choice. It’s time. You and Tonya both need to go. This isn’t about me or Connor. It’s about you.”

“I guess,” she said.

“There’s no guessing.”

Charlotte lets out a dramatic sigh. Even after her whole story, she’s still caught up in her self-absorption.

“Ugh. You’re right.” She grimaced as though the words hurt her. “I apologize for being such a bitch. I was just confused and lost, I guess. Jealous of Connor. Not because I loved him really, but because you two had what I couldn’t seem to figure out. A healthy relationship.”

“I’m sorry you had so much pain in your life. I’ll make sure Parker pays for what he did to both of you.”

Charlotte shimmered in front of me, on the verge of disappearing, but suddenly became visible again. Confused, I simply watched as she lunged at me and her arms were around me in a tight hug. The embrace seemed awkward, even for Charlotte. Not only awkward, I felt something different. My insides tugged, like my soul was being pulled from the inside out.

“What are you doing?“ I mumbled into Charlotte’s hair. I felt our bodies merge, combined in the space outside ourselves, just for a second before she looked up at me with a frown. Then she disappeared, not with a shimmer but with a definitive yank to the other side.

I searched the room but Charlotte was gone. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and fell to the floor with a wail. I cried for her and Tonya and the horrible things they went through. I cried because my insides hurt like I’d just been torn in half.

&

I wailed so loud from the pain that my mother and aunt ran up the attic stairs to my room, rushing in without knocking.

“Jane!” my mother cried. She met me on the floor, gently looking me over for injuries. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“It hurts,” I choked out between sobs.

“Where?” she asked.

I released the hold I had on my stomach because I knew there would be no scars. Nothing to prove Charlotte tried something. I’m not even sure she did. My mom poked and prodded, checking every inch of exposed skin and I caught my breath.

Satisfied I wasn’t hurt, Mom handed me a towel off my desk chair and I wiped my face.

During all of this, Jeannie roamed around the room, her forehead creased with worry. She waved one hand into the air as if clearing smoke.

I don’t read auras, but I could only imagine what kind of negative residue Charlotte left in her wake.

Jeannie stopped in the middle of the room. “Who was here? Charlotte?”

“Yes,” I said. “She’s gone now.”

Jeannie gave me a skeptical look and sniffed the air.

“Who’s Charlotte?” my mother asked, ignoring her cousin.

Jeannie and I shared a look. “Tell your mother what’s happening.”

“Charlotte is Connor’s friend. The one that died,” I explain. “She’s been coming to me. It’s why Connor has been such a mess and why he and I have been fighting.”

My mother brushed my hair behind my ear. “What does she want? Is it like the other times? Does she just need help?”

“She did and I helped her. She’s gone now. Crossing over or whatever.”

“That’s good, right?” My mother tried her hardest to understand this gift I had inherited from her family. Tried, but often failed.

“Yes, but just before…” I stopped. Just before what? What did she do? How did I explain what it felt like to have my soul ripped from the inside?

“Before what?” Jeannie prompted.

I swallowed and made a fast decision. I lied. Kind of. “Just before you came up here, I found out the truth about Charlotte.” I looked at my mother. “Her uncle hurt her. And Ms. Frances’ daughter. A long time ago. He needs to go to jail.”

Both my mother and Jeannie looked shocked. Jeannie recovered first. “What did he do?”

“He killed her. Well, he killed Tonya, too. But he also hurt her when she was younger.” I was too tired and disgusted to explain more. I told my mom, “I need your help to make sure that happens.”

“I can do that,” she said. “I can make some calls. I still have some friends in the DA’s office.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mom asked.

“I’m just exhausted and relieved she’s gone.”

Unconvinced, Jeannie said, “Nothing else? She didn’t hurt you did she?” I saw her look me over for injuries.

My mother frowned. “Hurt you? How?”

“No one hurt me,” I told them. I stood up and pulled my mother with me. “I’m fine. It was just scary for a minute. And, like I said, exhausting. I’m just hoping Charlotte found peace and we can put her uncle in jail before he hurts anyone else.”

My mother gave me a hug, wrapping her arms tight around my neck. “You’re doing so many good things with this gift,” she said. “I’m proud of you.”

Over her shoulder, I saw the disapproval in Jeannie’s eyes. She’s disappointed I didn’t tell her about being shadow bound, but I can’t. Not yet.

I
stopped at
Connor’s house on the way to the hospital to tell him about Charlotte. Jeannie called and said Aunt Ruth had taken a sudden turn for the worse. Mom, Bebe and Jeannie were all with her, waiting for the inevitable, I suppose.

“Charlotte’s gone.”

“Just like that?” He asked, pressing his back against the porch railing. I tried not to feel hurt over the sadness in his eyes. She had been his friend at one time, or so he thought. He should mourn her death.

“Yeah, now that we know the truth, the real truth, she and Tonya should be on their way to the other side, or wherever it is they go.”

“You okay?”

“I am now, I guess. I told my mom and aunt everything. I thought maybe my mom could use some of her old contacts to figure out how to deal with Parker.”

He laced his fingers with mine. “Good idea,” he said. “How did they handle everything you told them?”

“Okay. Mom’s dealing with everything. Jeannie being there helped. They’re both preoccupied with Ruth, so they feel guilty I slipped under the radar a little.”

He leaned down and touched his forehead to mine, kissing me, this time without the anger or tension. Like before all this mess started.

“I should go,” I said, not moving. His hands felt nice on my hips and, when I laid my head on his chest, he smelled clean, like soap. “My family is waiting for me at the nursing home.”

“Okay,” he said, kissing me again. “I’ll be around here for a while. I’m supposed to meet Matt at the Ruins later tonight.”

I kicked his ankle monitor with my toe. “You think you should be tagging right now?”

He cocked that eyebrow and smiled. That one look says everything about the boy I’ve chosen. He’ll always be a risk-taker and an artist. The meds dampened his spirit. This was the last thing that he could truly call his own. I had to accept this side of him even when I wasn’t sure it was the smartest choice. “Just don’t get caught.”