Despite my life of hardship, I had been blessed with two mothers, though both had been ripped from me. As I sat there, I never felt more alone. It was just Iris, George and I now. George, whose absence never felt more impactful. Did I have George? No. Sarah did. I conjured her ordinary face in my brain, feeling my teeth grind and anger wrack my body.
Even the faces of Mr. Worthe and the magistrate failed to stoke such ire in me, despite their parts in Malvina’s demise. It was Sarah who stood in the way of my complete happiness. Sarah whose very existence relegated me to mistress, fighting for scraps of George’s time.
Sarah. Sarah. Sarah.
Chapter 14
Kat
We are all laying on the couches minutes later. Cara lays with her head on Kayla’s lap as she strokes her hair tenderly. Her scalp is raw and bloody in some areas, and she is sobbing quietly.
I am nestled into the hollow of Erik’s chest and arm, where it lays casually across the top of the couch. The aftermath sees us all stunned into silence.
We’d immediately turned on every light and extinguished the candles as Juniper carefully placed the infernal Ouija Board back into the box and then deposited it straight into the fireplace, where it’s now crackling, melting and finally contributing to warmth.
We’d coaxed Cara off of the floor and she’d emphatically denied medical attention, and just crawled into a fetal position as Kayla whispered soothing words to her.
“How are you?” I address Juniper, who sits still in her chair with her eyes closed gently.
“Trying to accept that this nightmare may be over,” she admits. “I’ve never been an adult without her here, controlling my life and causing pain and death.”
“Why didn’t you contact us before now?” I ask gently.
“You weren’t ready to hear it before now,” she answers with a slight nod. “You and Kayla have become so far removed from here, with full lives and careers. You’d even convinced yourself that it wasn’t real. Would you have listened?”
I think about her words and know the truth in them, even if it brings shame. “No, I probably wouldn’t have. I’m so sorry,” I whisper contritely.
“You have nothing to apologize for. You acted like a reasonable person and you did the right thing at the right time. I always knew that the day would come where we would all converge and do this. Instead of accepting an apology, I’d like to extend my gratitude.” Juniper smiles radiantly, and her shoulders are slack for the first time since I’ve been here. Relaxation was a commodity she hadn’t been able to afford before now.
“I’d say ‘my pleasure’, but you know, that might have been the least pleasurable experience I’ve had in eleven years,” I snort. “But you are welcome. You won’t accept an apology, but please know that I do wish I’d come earlier.”
“So that’s an evil spirit the last two times you’ve seen Juniper,” Cara interjects from the couch, still laying with her hands over her eyes. “For a bad time, call Juniper.”
We are all shocked when Juniper begins to laugh. A chuckle at first and then it morphs into an uproarious guffaw. I look at Erik in surprise and he just shrugs while his good natured eyes shine with wonder. It’s written all over his face that he has not seen her laugh like this in over a decade.
We all join in, save Cara, who is peeking through her fingers bemusedly at the ruckus.
Through our merriment a steady rapping begins to echo through the house. Like trained animals we all stop abruptly and listen, fear replacing amusement on our faces swiftly. We are all leaning forward, listening carefully as it increases in tempo and strength.
“It’s the door.” Juniper’s relief washes over us all like a calming wave and we all chuckle.
“Who could be here so late?” Erik asks, getting up and striding out of sight to the door.
“Maybe the Avon lady heard we’ve recently exorcised the house and are in the market for some dank lipsticks,” I say with a shrug.
I settle back and then jump right back up again at a familiar voice in the house, steadily getting closer.
“Kat,” Ian says, rounding the corner.
“It would be an understatement to call this a surprise,” I smile, walking forward for a brief embrace, and I can’t help but notice the look on Erik’s face even though the hug is awkwardly chaste.
“As I told Erik, I am so very sorry to interrupt you all at this hour,” he begins, dark eyes earnest as he nods at each person in the room amiably. “But I was quite worried.”
“About what?” I say, taking a seat.
“There is a man who has appeared at the hotel, twice now in my presence, looking for you. His behavior has been bizarre and erratic.” He notes my confused expression and continues. “He was talking to himself outside of the hotel earlier today, cursing and spitting out your name and then this evening he came into the bar aggressively asking where you were.”
“Who was it?” Erik questions from the doorway he occupies handsomely.
“I don’t know his name, but he is gigantically tall and broad,” Ian offers.
“Mario?” Kayla asks from the couch, where she still cradles Cara. “Did he have dark hair and green eyes?”
“Yes, that’s right. You know him?” he asks, looking at each of us questioningly.
“We all do,” I answer. “We went to school with him.”
“Do you have any reason to believe that he may want to harm you?” Ian’s voice is worried and his eyes are searching.
“It’s a bit complicated, but if you’d asked me a few days ago I would have had reason to believe, but....” I trail off.
“But no longer?” he clarifies, shaking his head, causing his unruly curls to fall out of place.
“No, we saw him at the reunion and he was weepy and drunk,
