Keep an open mind, Lauren. A quick theory is a dangerous way to answer important questions.”
Dr. Parker offered me a ride home, but even at midnight, Wisteria was a safe town to walk through. When I arrived at Aunt Jule’s, the music was off, the torches out, and the cars gone, all but Nick’s. Only Aunt Jule’s sitting room light shone from the street side of the house. Since Holly was always turning off unused lights, I figured she and Nick were cleaning up on the river side.
Halfway along the path that ran between the two gardens I discovered I was wrong. Nick and Holly stood just beyond the roses, kissing. I stopped, transfixed, watching where Nick put his hands on Holly’s back, studying how she put her arms around his neck. I tried to read the expression on his half-hidden face to see if this was the most spectacular kiss he’d ever had — the way his kiss had felt to me. I noticed he didn’t suddenly pull back and look at Holly surprised. She was good at it, and he kept kissing her.
Her long dark hair looked gorgeous next to his blond. I saw him softly touch her hair. I felt as if I had swallowed glass, my heart cut into a million sharp pieces. Thankfully, they were too immersed in each other to notice me. Then Rocky barked.
Holly and Nick turned quickly and caught me staring.
Rocky bounded toward me, his tail wagging, pleased he had spotted me. Holly smiled. Nick seemed stunned to see me and pressed his lips together. I could feel his displeasure from fifteen feet away, and I focused on Holly.
“Lauren,” she said, “I was worried about you. We both were.”
Both? I winced at the white lie.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“Nowhere special. I just went out for a while.”
She studied my face. “Is everything okay?”
“sure.”
Holly’s arm was around Nick’s waist, her thumb hooked in his belt loop. “After you went in,” she said, “I was afraid I had been insensitive, that I should have realized the boys were going too far. You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you go?”
“To see a friend. Listen, I’m going to bed. We can clean up tomorrow.”
I turned my back before she could detain me with further questions. Once inside the house I rushed through the hall and up the steps, slowing again when I reached the top to walk quietly past Aunt Jule’s room. When I reached my own, I eagerly reached for the doorknob and turned it, but the door wouldn’t open. Remembering that I had let out Rocky, then locked both the porch door and this one, I pulled the old-fashioned key from my pocket and inserted it.
The door swung inward, swung into darkness. I was sure I had left on the bedside lamp. Bulbs burn out, I told myself, and flicked on the overhead light. My chest tightened.
Everything was in knots — everything that I had untied before seeing Dr. Parker.
I strode across the room and checked the double doors.
They were still locked from the inside. My skin prickled. No one, nothing could have gotten in, except a power that wasn’t stopped by walls. I nervoulsy plucked at my bedsheets. I could untie the knots a second time, but then what? Even locked doors wouldn’t keep me safe. I felt powerless to stop Nora from whatever she wanted to do to me.
I walked across the hall to the room that had been my mother’s, wondering if I’d find knots there. The photos and other things pertaining to my mother had been removed by someone, but nothing else had changed. I saw Holly’s door was open and checked her room from the hallway.
“Looking for something?”
I jumped at Holly’s voice.
“You’re awfully edgy,” she observed. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“Something is wrong,” I admitted. “Go look in my room.”
She did and I took another quick look at hers. Nothing had been disturbed.
“I don’t believe this!” I heard Holly exclaim. She returned to the hall. “What is going on, Lauren? When did this happen?”
I told her about the knots that I’d found and untied earlier.
“So it’s happened twice tonight?” She rubbed her arms.
“That’s creepy.”
“Do you remember the summer my mother came, how she kept finding her scarves and jewelry knotted?”
Holly nodded. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.”
“That makes two of us,” I replied.
She turned suddenly and pounded on her sister’s door.
“Nora!” she shouted. “Nora! I’m coming in.”
Aunt Jule came hurrying from her room. “What’s going on?”
“Look for yourself, Mom. Look at Lauren’s room. I told you before, but you wouldn’t listen to me. Nora is out of control.”
Aunt Jule entered my room, and Holly opened her sister’s door. Nora stood before us in a frayed nightgown. Her dark eyes darted between Holly’s face and mine.
“I’m losing my patience with you,” Holly said. “You’re way out of bounds, Nora. Get in there and straighten up Lauren’s room. And don’t try something stupid like this again.”
“Just a minute,” Aunt Jule said, coming back into the hall.
“How do you know Nora is responsible? There were lots of kids going in and out of the house tonight.”
“Oh, come on, Mom,” Holly replied, but then she turned to me for backup.
“I found the knots earlier,” I explained, “untied them all, then locked both doors to my room. When I came back, the knots were tied again in the exact same way.”
As I spoke, Nora slipped past us and entered my room. I followed her and watched from the doorway as she touched the knots in the sheets, then the knots in the curtains, fascinated by them, admiring them.
“Did you keep the key with you?” Aunt Jule asked.
I turned back to her. “Yes.”
Her eyes flashed. “So why do you think Nora had a better chance of unlocking the door than anyone else?”
I glanced away. If I talked about poltergeists, I would probably lose Holly’s support.
“It seems to me, Lauren, that if we want to start accusing people, you’re the most likely candidate for this prank,” Aunt Jule went on. “You’re the one who has the key.”
“But that doesn’t make sense!” I protested. “Why would I mess up my own room?”
“For attention. You’re a girl who is used to a lot of attention.”
I saw Holly glance sideways at me; she was considering her mother’s suggestion.
“I didn’t do it!” I insisted.
“Someone else did it,” Nora whispered, emerging from my bedroom. Her face was as white as a wax candle, her pupils dilated.
“Nora, you look ill,” Aunt Jule said.
“She is ill!” I screamed. “And you’re cruel not to get her the psychiatric help she needs!”
Aunt Jule gave me a stony look, then said in a gentle voice, “Nora, love, I want you to sleep in my room tonight.”
Nora slowly followed her down the hall.
I shook my head, amazed at how my godmother could twist things to accommodate whatever she wanted to believe.
Holly sighed. “Come on, Lauren, let’s take a walk. Then I’ll help you undo this mess.”