Happily Never After (3 page)

The minute I thought her name, a pressure
pushed down on my chest. There wasn’t anything but darkness. No
light, not even the window or my computer screen was visible in the
room. This was darkness on a whole other level and it terrified me.
The sickening scent of old water from earlier pushed in from all
sides. It made me realize I knew this darkness.

The weight on my chest got heavier. Then, to
my horror, cold fingers slowly wrapped themselves around my neck. I
wasn’t sure at first if the cold stole my breath or the invisible
fingers were choking it out of me. I panicked. No matter how hard I
tried, my arms and body resisted, refusing to do anything. I was
frozen and not just because I couldn’t move. A chill, colder than
anything I’d ever felt, shrouded me in its embrace. White puffs of
my gasping, waning breath stood out in stark contrast next to the
blackness.

My mind wanted desperately to fight, but all
I managed to do was open and close my mouth like a dying fish,
struggling to get air. Even the silence pressed me down. My effort
to draw breath made no sound at all. I thought my imagination had
taken over because for a second I heard a raspy female laughing,
but it flitted in and out of my consciousness too quick to make
sense of.

I sensed my body shutting down. I had no idea
how much time passed. Inside I screamed, wanting to live, but all I
was aware of were those icy hands on my neck and everything fading.
I knew the precise moment I stopped fighting because a strange
peace came over me, and I almost welcomed the spots in front of my
eyes. It meant I wouldn’t have to stare into that horrible darkness
any more.

Before I gave myself over to death, a bright
white light flashed out. It lit up the entire attic and for a brief
second, I saw what held me down. There weren’t many details that I
caught in the quick flash, but I saw eyes and a mouth both darker
than the mass itself, endless voids into another place. The light
expanded and blinded me, forcing me to close my eyes. After another
second, it was over.

I opened my eyes and took a heaving breath. I
still felt the after effects of the fingers on my neck but at least
I could breathe again. The deep, ragged gulps of air calmed me and
my heartbeat slowly returned to normal.

The light faded and dimmed. Whatever came
into the attic and saved me was already leaving.

“Wait,” I managed to say, the word sounding
like a weak gasp. “Who are you?”

Nothing answered me. The normal nighttime
darkness returned to the room and I sat there, savoring the ability
to breathe and listening to the sounds of the house. The thing that
attacked me must have left or at least it had been beaten back by
the light. I had no idea what just happened. My mind wasn’t able to
grasp the fact that I’d almost died.

The reality hit me almost as hard as the
presence had. Sobs ripped through me and I curled up in a ball on
the bed. All the suspicions I had recently pondered about something
dark in the house became blindingly real.

Fear forced me up off the bed and around the
attic in a panic, turning on every single light. I went back to bed
and threw the covers over my head, like a terrified child. For
hours I fought exhaustion, I didn’t want to be asleep and
defenseless. The last thing I remembered before my eyes closing was
whispering ‘thank you’ into the brightly lit room.

Chapter Three

I tried to avoid asking Marietta for
anything. More often than not she shot me down before I even
started. But I needed to get to the Georgia Historical Society to
do some research. I had a hunch that if I found out more about
Catherine and William, I’d discover who or what I might be dealing
with. There was no arguing they were connected. I just needed to
find out how.

Whatever happened yesterday scared the crap
out of me and I wanted answers.

At eight o’clock, I went down to the kitchen
and found her sitting at the breakfast bar, sipping coffee and
reading the paper. The dark shadow swirled, expanding the farther I
walked into the room. Even the faint smell of the river, which I
was getting used to, reached out to greet me. I remembered the
shadow looming above me, holding me down and I fought my instinct
to turn and run. Something told me that’s what it expected but I
wouldn’t give it the satisfaction.

“Good morning, Marietta. Can I get you
anything?” As much as it made me sick to even pretend to be nice, I
wanted to keep her in a good mood. It didn’t help matters that my
whole body tensed and I held a fight or flight stance.

“You don’t have to play the good girl, Quinn.
If you want something, just ask.”

This took me by surprise so I blurted out
some of the truth. “I wanted to spend some time at the library
today. If it’s okay with you, of course.”

Suddenly, the shadow grew behind her and the
air in the room changed. It became cold and charged, how it is
during a thunderstorm. I froze, fully expecting a repeat of the
attack. Before I knew it, all the cabinets and drawers in the
kitchen slammed open and shut, making me jump and squeal. Marietta
sat there passively as if nothing happened.

I barely had a chance to consider running as
half a second later the air changed back to normal and quiet
settled over the room, probably because Suzanna and Annabelle chose
that moment to appear.

“Don’t you have something to do besides
bother us?” Anna asked as she sauntered past. She left the smell of
strawberries in her wake and I found it funny considering it was
such a pleasant smell coming from someone so unpleasant.

“I was asking Marietta a question,” I replied
softly. Today wasn’t the day I wanted to attract their attention,
not with the dark presence so close.

“Then get out of here. I don’t want to ruin
my breakfast,” Suzanna said as she walked by and rammed her
shoulder into mine.

“Omigosh, I forgot, did you hear about the
movie they’re filming here this summer?” Anna blurted out as she
grabbed a banana out of the fruit bowl.

Suzie shook her head while Marietta kept her
eyes focused on me.

Anna continued, “They’re filming a movie
right here in Savannah! A vampire movie, you know based on all
those books? And guess who’s going to be Brandon, the dark moody,
vamp? Jason Preston.”

This time Suzie squealed and grabbed her
twin. I rolled my eyes at them as they started jumping up and
down.

Everyone knew who Jason Preston was and even
I allowed myself a half second to go all dreamy. Tall, dark, and
mysterious, he played the black sheep in the long running family
drama, Home. He had this cocky smile that made every girl want to
find out what he was thinking.

I shrugged away the frivolous thought. What
the heck did it matter?

“You may go to the library,” Marietta
announced loudly, “just keep your phone on in case I need you. The
girls and I are having a mother-daughter day with shopping and
lunch and a movie. Sometimes you need to be with family.” Another
dig aimed at me. “Also, we’ll have lasagna for dinner tonight so
make sure you’re back early enough to make it.”

Not wanting her to take it back, I scurried
out the door as the girls protested against letting me have any
free time. More and more Marietta had been forgetting to have me do
my normal cleaning and housework. Granted she, or the thing
controlling her, possibly wanted to kill me, so who cared about
chores?

Finally, outside in the bright morning air, I
was able to take a deep breath.

Whenever something paranormal happened in the
house, Marietta’s first reaction was to scream and cower in another
room. She had sat there while the cabinets opened and closed
without batting an eye. It confirmed she must not be aware of what
was happening to her.

I texted Abby and told her to meet me at the
Historical Society, that I had some interesting things to tell
her.

I truly believed something I found last night
triggered the violent response from the shadow. I needed to figure
out what and why. The vaguest hint it had something to do with
Catherine tickled the edge of my mind. She died and her husband of
barely a year disappeared without warning. Something didn’t add up.
Plus, there was the female voice I thought heard.

The Georgia Historical Society was located in
the WB Hodgson Hall on Whitaker Street and housed over four million
manuscripts, 100,000 photos and thousands of portraits and
artifacts from the very beginning of Georgia’s history. The light
brown building didn’t look like much from the front but the inside
it was a site to behold. The high vaulted ceilings made the reading
room feel even bigger than it already was. I always loved the smell
of history in the air, the musty pages of books guarding their
secrets.

I walked up to the information desk and asked
for records on Catherine Roberts or William Jennings from the
1870’s to 1890’s.

Abby arrived as I began sorting through the
stacks of material a library aide had set down.

“I’m here, what are we looking for?”

I quickly took her through the events since
leaving her yesterday, trying not to make a big deal over the
attack. Abby saw right through my vagueness.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You have to get
out of that house, Quinn. What’s it gonna take for you to get
that?”

“It’s my home, Abby. I don’t know how else to
explain it. I need to be there for something. I only have to make
it a couple more months. You understand more than anyone what the
house means to me.”

She sighed heavily and leaned closer. “I do
but I’m worried about you. I think you’re expecting magical things
to happen when you turn eighteen. We’ve both learned life doesn’t
turn out that way.”

“I’ve spent the last five years of my life
scared to stand up for myself. If I don’t learn to do it now and
find out what exactly is going on, I’ll never escape it.”

“That completely makes sense Q, but what
you’re forgetting is that something might be trying to kill you.
You get that, right?”

Instead of answering her, I concentrated on
the reading in front of me. She got the message and started in on
what appeared to be a stack of ledgers.

We sat in silence for a long time and then
Abby straightened in her chair, waving to get my attention.

“Quinn, I found something about Catherine
Roberts. It’s the meeting notes for a group of women who called
themselves Saviors of Savannah. They were dedicated to getting the
city back on its feet after the War. Anyway, they made mention of
Catherine’s body never being found and the officials finally
issuing a death certificate. She had been a member up until she
married then ‘dropped out of sight’, abandoning them for a ‘life of
pampered Northern privilege’.”

“They never found her body? One of the
letters last night mentioned her husband was suspected in her death
before he disappeared.” I didn’t know what I expected to find but
something didn’t feel right. “I wonder if either Catherine or her
husband, William Jennings, is controlling Marietta?”

Abby’s eyes got real big. “That’s quite an
assumption to make.”

One of the things I loved and hated about
Abby was she always had to be the voice of reason. It didn’t matter
that she believed in ghosts as much as I did or considered herself
an amateur ghost hunter; she still looked at things from a very
logical angle.

“Marietta didn’t turn into a crazy person
until Daddy was gone. Before he died, she was annoying and spoiled
but never malicious towards me. I didn’t notice the presence
hanging around her until after, which makes me think there’s
significance there. Plus, it’s getting worse, resulting in an
attack on me last night after I found papers talking about William
Jennings and his suspected involvement in his wife’s death. His
wife, who happened to be a Roberts.”

“Okay, I’ll admit it makes sense the evil
spirit in your house could very well be this Jennings guy but I
don’t see the connection of it being Catherine.”

“I don’t either yet. I heard a creepy female
voice. Maybe she had a strong connection to this house like I do.
Maybe he killed her and her spirit is looking for some kind of
revenge. It still doesn’t explain why I wouldn’t be seeing my next
birthday.”

“It’s possible. I think we need to do more
research first.”

We didn’t find much else, except for records
of Jennings’ business deals and more mentions of Catherine’s
disappearance and how it affected her family. One thing was
extremely clear. In a time when most of the South was bankrupt
William Jennings had been one of the richest men in the country.
Jennings had his finger in everything from real estate to shipping
to manufacturing. During the War, when the ports were blockaded,
his ships were the only ones allowed in and out because of his
contacts in the North.

He would have made a fortune in the South had
he lived.

I left Abby and rushed home to get dinner in
the oven. Marietta ordered it to be ready at a certain time and I
didn’t want to push my luck today, not so soon.

It wasn’t until nausea had me in its grips
that I realized I’d passed in front of the house with the green
trim. My mind had been so occupied I forgot to block the sight I’d
see otherwise. Now, all I could do was put my head down and not let
it take me over.

An icy blast hit me and I knew she was there
– the woman on the lawn. Her whimpers drifted into my
consciousness, but I did not turn to see. The heartbreak wafting
off her was almost enough to bring me to my knees. She’d haunted me
since I was a little girl, not because she followed me, but because
the front of her nightgown was stained with blood. Her wrists were
slashed and the image was seared into my mind forever. I didn’t
have to look to feel her desperation.