The Truth of Yesterday (39 page)

     Micah sat quietly for a minute after I had finished. My stomach knotted up as I waited for him to say something.

     “I think it's good that you're getting some sort of training,” he said at last. “You need to at least understand what's going on so you aren't so freaked out.”

     “You mean you aren't freaked out?”

     “Not really. I mean I was there for
Amalie
, remember?”

     “Yeah, but...”

     “If seeing dead people didn't freak me out, why would this? Give me a little credit.”

     I sighed. “You're right. I'm sorry. It's just that I've had such a hard time dealing with all this, I just figure everyone else will too.”

     “Not everyone has as hard a time accepting new things as you do, Kill.”

     “You think I have a hard time accepting new things?” I was a little offended. His only answer was a raised eyebrow. “Do I?” I asked again, almost to myself.

     He smiled and patted my hand. The waitress brought the check over and Micah grabbed it before I could.

     “This'll be on me,” he said as he pulled out his wallet. He left the money with the check and stood up. “I have to get back to work now, but I'll call you tonight, ok?”

     I nodded and smiled up at him. I was glad things were back to normal between us, or at least as normal as anything ever got with me. He smiled back and then suddenly leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. I felt my eyes fly open wide and I looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching us. It was the first time he'd ever kissed me in a public place. A waitress at the counter was smiling in our direction. When her eye caught mine, she winked and turned away. I felt a blush creep up my face.

     I looked back to Micah to find him grinning down at me. “You going to survive that?” he asked playfully.

     I nodded and giggled a little.

     “Good. Get used to it. I'm tired of sneaking around like we're doing something dirty.” With that, he turned and walked briskly out of the diner.

     I giggled again, feeling like a school girl on her first date. I pulled myself together and started to follow him out.

     “You've got a cute one there, Hun,” the waitress said with another wink as I passed her. “Better hang on to him.”

     I blushed all the way to my car.

* * *

     The Haven meeting was uneventful that night. The meeting went pretty much like the first one I had attended and the same bunch stayed after again. We chatted for a while and then the group broke up and everyone went their separate ways. Noah didn't ignore me, but he didn't go out of his way to talk to me either. I wasn't sure of I was relieved about that or disappointed. Even though I had patched things up with Micah, there was no denying that I was still attracted to Noah.

     I came home once again to an empty house. I was beginning to think everyone else had moved out and forgotten to tell me. It had been a couple days since I'd even seen Adam or Steve. Micah called me later that night as he'd promised and we talked about nothing in general. It was a nice change of pace. I was still on the phone with him when I heard someone knocking at the front door. I said goodbye to Micah and hurried down the stairs. I peeked through the side window at was surprised to see Judy standing in the yellow glow cast by the bug light on the porch.

     I opened the door. “Judy, what are you doing here?”

     “I came to get you.”

     My heart leaped into my throat. “What's wrong?” I demanded.

     “Don't panic. Nothing is seriously wrong, at least nothing that hasn't been going on for some time now. Steve called me a little while ago;
Amalie
is on the prowl again. This time apparently she woke up a couple who was staying there. Their screaming brought the whole place running and all but one couple checked out.”

     
“Oh, my God.
Wait, why are you here for me?” I had a sinking feeling that I knew exactly why she was here for me.

     “It's time to start your training,” she said.

     “What?
Now?”
I felt my body tense up.

     “No time like the present.”

     “But I don't know anything yet.”

     “Haven't you ever heard of learning by doing? Besides, what do you need to know how to do? You've seen
Amalie
before,
you've even talked to her.”

     “She didn't answer back.”

     “Not verbally, but she did take us to the basement where we found her baby.”

     “I'm not ready for this.”

     “Yes, you are. And more importantly, Steve needs you. So does Adam. She's been getting worse and worse, they've hardly slept the last two nights.”

     I sighed and my body slowly released some of the tension as I gave in. “What will I have to do?”

     “Talk to her again. Try to find out what's wrong. We have to get her to stop.”

     “Why can't you just have an exorcism?”

     “Steve doesn't want to; he wants to lay her to rest somehow.”

      “What if we can't?”

     “Then we'll deal with it some other way. Are you coming or are you going to stand there and argue all night?”

     “I'm coming, but I don't like this at all.”

     “I'm not asking you to like it.”

     We drove to the bed and breakfast in almost complete silence. As Judy pulled into the drive, her headlights washed across the beautifully painted sign that Adam had surprised Steve with just before the grand opening. It was hand-carved and painted; a large oval about three feet across with a picture of the house on one side with the creek running across the bottom and the name
Amalie's
House above that. It occurred to me how appropriate that name was. Even though she'd been dead for almost a century and a half, it was still without a doubt her house.

     Judy parked in front of the front door since guests weren't exactly an issue at this point. Steve and Adam looked surprised when I reluctantly followed Judy through the front door.

     
“Killian!”
Steve exclaimed.

     “I'm glad you came,” Adam said with a tired smile.

     They both looked much older than they had ever looked before. They were haggard and worn with dark circles under their eyes. Suddenly I realized how selfish I was being by not wanting to come. After all that Adam had done for me, how could I not do this for him? I felt deeply ashamed and almost burst into tears.

     “What do you want me to do?” I said, turning to Judy. I read approval in her eyes.

     “We're going to try and contact her,” she said.

     “And do what?” Adam asked.

     “I want Killian to ask her why she is here now that the baby is gone. I'm hoping she'll communicate in some way.”

     “And if she doesn't?” Steve asked.

     “Are you still opposed to an exorcism?”

     He sighed. “Not as opposed as I was before tonight, but if we can find some other way...”

     “I'll try,” I said, sounding more confident than I felt. “How are we going to do this?
In the cupola like before?”

     “It's as good a place as any,” Judy responded.

     “Can we come?” someone asked from the stairs, causing us all to jump and turn towards the voice. A man and a woman stood on the stairs. They looked to be in their early to mid-thirties, fit and lean. They looked enough alike that they could have been siblings, but the way she had her hand resting on his shoulder seemed more intimate than a sister and brother. They both had short brown hair and dark eyes, and I thought they were roughly the same height, although it was a little hard to tell since she was standing on a higher step than he was.

     “I'd forgotten you were still here,” Adam said in a surprised voice.

     “We're Alan and Carla Moss,” he said as they walked down the rest of the stairs to join our little group in the foyer. “I guess you could call us ghost hunters. A friend of ours had heard that the house was haunted and we came as soon as we could both get off work. We were really excited when we heard about the sighting tonight, but disappointed it wasn't us that the entity appeared to.”

     I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Were these people for real? I looked around at everyone else and judging by Adam and Steve's expressions, they at least must have been having the same thoughts.

     “Well, I guess that explains why you didn't join the exodus when the others left,” Adam said dryly.

     “I appreciate your interest,” Judy said, “but I don't think it would be a good idea for you to come with us.”

     
“Why not?” the man asked, disappointment written clearly on his face.

     “First off, you might not be
sensitives
; have you ever seen a ghost?”

     The couple looked at each other. “Well, no,” the woman admitted after a moment.

     “
Amalie
is unpredictable. She might not want to perform for an audience and we really need to make contact with her right away.”

     “Why the rush,” the man said with a frown. “You're not going to get rid of her are you?”

     “She's not exactly good for business,” Adam drawled.

     “Hey, we're here,” the wife said.

     “But no one else is.”

     “I'm sorry, but it would be best if you just returned to your room. Maybe she'll feel like dropping by for a visit later tonight.”

     The couple didn't look happy, but they turned and went back upstairs.

     “Weirdoes,” Adam muttered under his breath.

     “Are you ready?” Judy asked me.

     “As I'll ever be,” I responded.

     “Then let's go.”

     
“You're doing this for Adam and Steve. You're doing this for Adam and Steve. You're doing this...”
I chanted to myself as I trailed along behind her as she started up the stairs. I was not looking forward to a reunion with
Amalie
.

Chapter 17