I couldn’t believe my eyes as I stood before the full-length mirror in the bedroom. Brandon had called a stylist to take care of my hair and my makeup for the party. And now that I’d added the outfit we’d picked the day before, it was like seeing another person in the mirror. Hand to heart, I had no idea I could look so pretty.
He came to stand behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders, looking up and down my reflection with his warm smile.
“Look. That’s my favorite top model ever,” he whispered in my ear.
Before I could argue, he produced his phone and circled my waist with his arm, sticking to my side for the classic mirror picture.
He turned to me and his eyes slid down to my lips. “Fuck. I should let you at least get to the party with your makeup untouched, right?”
“You better,” I replied, dying to kiss him.
He raised a finger and hurried to his bag, from where he came back with a longish black velvet case. My frown made him s
Mike had cleaned the driveway all the way to Greenwich Road, so Brandon didn’t have any problem driving past the gates to park only a few steps away from the Manor.Good thing I recalled turning on my speaking app even before climbing down from the truck, because the front door opened by itself a moment later. Brandon hesitated, so I took him by the hand to make him keep walking.“Happy New Year!”“Hey, twins! Happy New Year!” I looked around. “Trisha isn’t home?”“Not yet.”“Come, come.”“In a minute.”Brandon had stopped with one of his suspicious frowns. I let go of his hand and opened the SLS app on my phone. It showed two sticks figures standing on the porch by the open door. Two adults. I showed him the screen.“Bet those are Ann Marie and Edward,” I said. “A formal welcome to the Manor.”
Saying it was a rough patch would be the understatement of the century.Trisha found me two days later in bed, where I’d crawled in after Brandon left, and where I still was when she came back home, doing nothing but crying. I would only get up to go to the bathroom, and on one of those quick trips, I spotted the corner of the fat quilt escaping the closet door. The quilt that had covered Brandon and me the first time we’d slept together, just before setting Kujo free. So I spread it open on the bed and curled up under it to keep crying.Lizzie showed up to check on me a couple of times, until I turned my phone off.Susan didn’t come anywhere near my room, no matter if it was the day to vacuum the master bedroom or change sheets or whatever.When I refused to get up, eat or even speak, Trisha decided it was time to call on the cavalry and texted Amy. She arrived the next day, Thursday. She didn’t ask any questions. She sat on my be
BOOK 2: THE HEART OF THE HAUNTERWe’ll keep on coming till we get it rightThis place, we’ve seen it a million timesI won’t forget youCan’t remember me without youBut I can’t call you mine.—Daughtry, Call You Mine**The bad weather delayed the inspection until the first week of February. The representative of the Blotter estate arrived in a lavish Mercedes Benz that came splashing in the slush down Greenwich Road on a bright winter morning. I went out to wait on the porch, and the driver stepped out to open the backseat door. Oh, well, Mercedes and a driver? Rich much? The man helped out a woman in her early sixties, wearing a sober black dress under a long black coat with fur collar and cuffs. Tell me about old fashion fancy.She looked over at the closed guesthouse on her way to the porch, then turned to look up at me and smiled, starting u
Pennhurst, at last! It’d been almost two months to the date since I’d last been there, and I had to stop myself from flooring my car in my impatience to get there. And now I had it in sight up ahead!“Easy, girl,” said Amy. “It’s still early to go see Kujo anyway.”I didn’t bother to reply. Of course Brett had requested Amy’s presence, and of course Amy had absolutely nothing better to do than come with me. But this time, we went in my car, so I wouldn’t need to hold my breath, grab the handle above my door and press my feet to the carpet, praying to survive this curve or that stretch, because Amy didn’t have a sports car just for the looks.Brett waited for us outside the main building, and took us to his small office, set in what had been a patient’s room. And they thought I was weird because I lived with six ghosts!“I’m so happy you guys are here,” he said, bring
“I don’t like what you said about souls.”Amy showed out of the bathroom in our hotel room, toothbrush in her mouth and a questioning frown shadowing her eyes. I got in bed before facing her.“All that about reincarnation, souls traveling in packs, and your son in one life being your father in the next one.” I shrugged. “It’s like, in the end, you have no saying in anything. You get drawn to this or that person because your soul knows them, even if you don’t remember.”Amy hurried back into the bathroom to wash her mouth and came back out, now pouring facial cream on her fingers.“Like, that’s why you and I get along so well, despite the age gap? I mean, you’re my mom’s age. Was I your daughter in some other life? Or were we sisters? That’s why you’re able to put up with my temper?”“You’re not talking about you and me,” she replied, co
It was a harsh winter, but a short one. It stopped snowing by the end of February, and long-term forecasts predicted no more blizzards or winter storms for New England. I went to Boston on the first week of March, to have some fun with my best friends Jenkins and Lady Audrey at the lawyer’s office, in order to get the guesthouse repairs started. When the time came to talk about money, they seemed surprised I hadn’t spoken with Brandon about anything.“He said we should do as you say and send him the bill,” Jenkins said.“Oh, okay. Well, then, when do we start?” I asked.“The contractors can be there next week,” said the lady.“Make it two weeks, please.” I almost laugh in their surprised faces when I dared to change their plans. “I’m taking a few days away from the Manor next week.” Any problem with me having a life?“Oh, sure.” Lady Audrey checked her calenda
New York was… Wow! It was New York. Enough said. To my utter surprise, we would be staying in Manhattan, just one street away from Central Park. It was a cheap hotel, and I would be sharing a bed with Trisha, while Amy took up the other one all for herself. The décor was standard cheap, the bathroom almost didn’t make it past the restroom category and our window opened pretty much to the kitchen of an apartment across the street. But who the hell cared —it was fucking Manhattan!We went out for a stroll around, had dinner and came back to have our first out of five nights in the Big Apple.The next morning, Amy and I left Trisha sleeping and grabbed a taxi to go meet with her famous mentor. Hugo Walker was one of those babyboomers that had gotten way before the rest of his generation that they didn’t need to be a ruin when they turned seventy. He was seventy-five, and I could bet my right hand he would beat me on a sprint from the Manor to the Quabbin any given day. Not at all what I
The only one who didn’t freeze was the Barbie. She looked at us from over her sunglasses, raising her eyebrows like asking what was wrong with us that we didn’t jump out of the elevator to let her in. I couldn’t help X-raying her. Fake blonde, surgery boobs sort of contained in a top so low cut, it went down almost to her navel, elastic jeans so tight they looked like body-painting and ten-foot high heels.Don’t ask me how my brain works. Already told you it’s a little weird.It may have lasted two heartbeats, maybe three. Looking her up and down was like a splash of cold water on my face. My heart stopped racing and my cheeks didn’t burn anymore. That was no rival. That was his usual fit. I’d been a one-off, and proudly so.I faced him with a quick smile, praying it wouldn’t ooze all the sarcasm I was dying to show. He was still frozen with a mild frown on me, shadowing those beautiful blue eyes. I could see his p
The traveling crews came back to Los Angeles for the holidays a couple of days later, and Brandon decided he felt brave enough to host a dinner for all of them at one of the restaurants they used to go to.It would be like his big comeback to society, leaving behind almost four months of reclusion and darkness. And to mark the occasion, he warned me that Cake had leaked the date and place to a few reporters.“Meaning my friends will be there?”“Guess so. The problem is that ban on you. I don’t want them to leave you out of the report. The other way around: I want everybody to know we’re together.”I looked up at him with a heartfelt sigh. But like it always happened over the last week, meeting his eyes focused on mine made me so happy, I couldn’t refuse. So I called Greta Arbosky, who said she would take care of letting them know about this one exception. I disconnected and faced him, raising my eyebrows.&
Against all odds, Brandon was the easiest, most complying patient in history. I think the scare of almost losing all his sight gave a whole new meaning to this opportunity to restore his eyes to full health. He never complained about the awful cream he had to apply directly on his eyeballs, he never missed drops or meds time, he slept on his belly, and kept his eye shields on around the clock.The first week was the hardest, of course, while he still wore the dressings. However, his determination to walk the line, no matter how hard, annoying or frustrating, helped us find our way around it faster than I’d ever expected. Just like the doctor had said, Brandon had been so stressed up over the last two or three weeks, he was plain exhausted, so he slept a lot over the first three days.My hovering tendencies kept me always within a few steps from wherever he was. At first, I thought he would soon get sick and tired of my relentless watch over him, but it was actual
I jumped to my feet when I heard Brandon move. His fingers flickered slightly and I covered his hand with mine, my heart hammering my chest. His head tilted a little toward me and his lips parted.“Hey,” I whispered. “Easy there.”He tried to speak and frowned.“It’s okay, Bran. The surgery worked alright.”He frowned deeper, trying to press my fingers. I took his hand to my lips to kiss it.“It worked, Bran,” I repeated, just in case. “You’re gonna be fine.”His shaky sigh told me he’d understood. His other hand came slowly up to brush the dressing covering his eyes.“That’s gonna stay there for a few days.”“Did it?” he mumbled, as his fingers explored the dressing further.“Yes, love. It worked. If we do what the doctor says, you’re gonna be fine in a few months. Maybe even better than before the inf
We woke up early the next morning. Brandon couldn’t have breakfast before surgery, but we were both too anxious to even feel any hunger. Cake arrived as we were coming down to the first floor, looking rested and ten years younger than the night before. On the way to the hospital, I took advantage of being alone in the backseat of the car to send a few texts. To Amy, to let her know I’d gotten to LA fine and everything was peachy. To Isaac, to let him know I was already in town, going with Brandon to the hospital, and I’d text him how the surgery had gone as soon as I found out. And finally to Harry, to ask him to remind Hugo to send all his light and all his angels to come lend a hand.“Who are you texting to?” asked the control freak from the passenger’s seat.“The press, obviously. Your NY Barbie and her gossiping friends will be waiting for us at the hospital.”He turned in his seat, frowning at me from behind h
I woke up at about three. Brandon was sound asleep, so much so that I was able to sneak between his arms without him even flinching. Back from the bathroom, I heard noises downstairs. Then I remembered the disaster zone the living area was when I’d come into the house. I got dressed and headed to the first floor, still trying to tie my hair in a ponytail.Guadalupe had arrived while we were upstairs, and her grin when she saw me threw me off. She and Cake had sort of cleaned up the living area, but the place still looked like the guys from A Clockwork Orange had dropped by to say hi. The kitchen was still a mess, with a lot of glass and smashed mugs all over the floor, wine and all kinds of things spilled on the floor. And when I say all kinds of things, I mean even mayonnaise. So I wore an apron, put on rubber gloves and set to clean up disaster zone number two.Guadalupe and Cake materialized in the kitchen, looking spooked. I faced them with
I had a glimpse of the whole living area completely trashed, like a hurricane had blasted through it, but I couldn’t care less. I rushed to the stairs and up to the second floor, to storm into the master bedroom. I froze just past the doorway. My heart, which was about to crack my chest open, suddenly stopped, and everything spun around me.Because Brandon was lying on his bed, unconscious, a bleeding cut on his forehead that had sprayed blood all over him. Cake was right by his side, lifting his limp legs up to the bed.“He tripped in the kitchen and hit his head with the isle,” Cake managed to say, panting after carrying Brandon all the way upstairs.I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move.“Fran! Bring me a wet towel!”His shout made me snap out of my shock. I dropped my bag on the floor and ran around the bed to the bathroom, where I grabbed the first towel I
I sneaked out of the sleeping bag the moment Brandon left his seat.“Gina!” I called, crawling on all fours out of the tent.“What is it, Fran?”“Gina, I’m so sorry, but I can’t stay to come tomorrow night,” I said, wiping my tears away just to make room for more to rain down my face.“It’s okay, Fran. Don’t worry about us.”“Kujo protect,” he said, coming to stick to my side.“You guys sure?”“Yes. Go do what you have to do.”“Okay,” I mumbled, and got back into the tent to grab my phone.The first morning flight from Philadelphia International to LAX was scheduled to live after six AM. Shit. It was hardly past midnight. Whatever. Better late than never. I bought a ticket online, already doing the math. I could check in about five thirty, so I had to leave Pennhurst
Brandon walked across the Manor garden in the sunset, hands in his pockets, looking around absentmindedly as he spoke.“I had to watch the footage to actually remember what had happened, and her words shocked me. She called me a puppet. She knew what was going on. Back then, I only understood they wouldn’t let me get to her, especially when Isaac turned his back on me. I couldn’t believe it. He’d betrayed me! My best friend! How powerful could this demon be to turn the man who had been my best friend for the last twenty-five years against me? I was trapped, all alone. I might have to fight for my life.” He looked at the camera. “You must be wondering if I stayed. The answer is yes. Why?” He let out a bitter chuckle. “The truth is I have no idea.” He shrugged. “I was so out of my mind that night, I can count at least half a dozen reasons why I stayed. And none of them make any sense.”They cut back to the
“Here she comes,” Brandon said, his voice reflecting exactly the same as his face. “The little witch comes to protect the demon. Not this time.”I felt Kujo brush his face against mine and realized I was holding my breath, still shaking from head to toe. His warm touch helped me snap out of it.Brandon kept taunting and provoking Kujo until I got there, trying to burn him with his holy water. And then he’d come at me, triggering Kujo’s reaction. After Kujo attacked him, hurting me in the process, I saw him jump back to his feet and try to fight Kujo with his bear fists, punching through him like a madman, almost stomping on me, ‘cause I was pretty much unconscious at his feet. Amy stormed down the stairs as Isaac managed to pull him away from me, and forced the camera into his hands to carry me up the stairs in his arms, while Amy kept Brandon at a safe distance.“Kujo mad.”“But y