Happily Never After (21 page)

“We are but not in the way you’re imagining.
Each of us is here for a reason; whether it’s because we can’t let
go, like Jackson or because we’re trying to atone for something
horrible we did, like me. We’re not roommates. Each of us exists in
our own bubble so to speak. When I pass Jackson on the stairway I’m
aware of him, but I have no need to interact with him.”

Thinking of Jackson waiting for Catherine
made me sad. “Why won’t he just leave, move on? It’s so sad.”

Margaret shook her head and said, “I think he
likes being near her. He remembers who she was, the girl he fell in
love with, and hopes that one day she will be that girl again. He’s
going to be waiting a long time.”

“How long has she been in this house?”

“I don’t rightly know, sweetheart. I don’t
think she was able to remain here until your stepmother came
along.”

“That doesn’t make sense though and it’s
something I wanted to ask you. Why, Marietta?”

“I wish I knew. Your stepmother allowed her
to come into her body and into this house. That is all I’ve been
able to learn. Catherine saw an opportunity and took it.”

It was the same thing Travis mentioned but it
still didn’t add up. Marietta always appeared to be a smart woman,
not the kind who would forge some kind of agreement with a
ghost.

“So Catherine hasn’t been here all along
like, George, and Jackson?”

“No. She’s tried to force herself in with
other members of our family, but she was never strong enough. In
your stepmother she found a willing host. In all the years she’s
been trying, she couldn’t find a person weak enough to allow her
in. She must have come to Marietta at a very vulnerable time.
Forcing herself on someone could, and has, had disastrous
results.”

The hair on my neck prickled. “What do you
mean by disastrous results?”

Margaret was quiet for a minute or so and I
got the feeling she was hesitant to tell me something. Whatever it
was, I knew I wouldn’t like it.

“Catherine has presented herself to others
before and tried to gain control of them. A couple of those times
have resulted in the unexpected death of her intended host.”

I felt my eyes widen. “What do you mean by
unexpected death?”

My breathing picked up. Right when I thought
I knew as much as I needed to about Catherine, it got worse. The
hesitation on Margaret’s face made me want to shake her and force
her to say the thing she was holding back. Finally she spoke and my
world came crashing down.

“I mean the person appeared to be in perfect
health before they died. Not every death was her fault but some
were.”

She said the words so slowly and so
carefully. The second the meaning of her words hit me, I almost got
sick.

“Mama? Daddy?” I shook my head back and
forth, trying to dislodge the possibility from my mind. It was too
horrible to even imagine.

Margaret reached out and laid a cold hand on
my arm. Normally, her touch or presence calmed me. I didn’t even
notice it right now.

“Not your father but I’ve always suspected
Catherine’s involvement with your mother’s passing. Diane was in
perfect health, in the prime of her life. In the weeks and days
leading up to her death, I felt Catherine around the house. It
doesn’t mean anything but I’ve always wondered if it was more than
coincidence.”

I expected tears to come but all I felt was a
rush of anger. Looking back, I couldn’t remember anything about
Mama’s behavior that would have hinted she was being bothered by a
ruthless spirit. Of course I was a child then, what did I know?

Other than anger, all I felt was a spreading
numbness and sense of defeat. I realized how fruitless I was in
thinking I could possibly stop Catherine. She was more powerful and
evil than I ever knew.

“I didn’t tell you this Quinn so you would
shut down. I told you this so you would fight. If I’m right, she
took something very special from you. Catherine deprived you of a
mother. You can’t let her get away with it again.”

“But what’s different now?” I asked sullenly.
“What makes this time any different from the others? I’m nothing
special. She’s made sure of that from the beginning. Plus, she’s
even more powerful now.”

“The difference is that now you’re aware of
her. You know what she’s up to and where she is. You know her
weaknesses. That will be the key.”

I wasn’t sure I believed her. Realizing
Catherine might have had something to do with Mama’s death cut me
to the bone. My heart ached and my chest burned in rage. I wished I
had an outlet for it. It’s not something I’d ever experienced
before and I couldn’t focus. Logically, I knew I needed to keep a
cool head and not lose sight of our goal; to get rid of Catherine
once and for all. That would be the best revenge possible.

I was terrified of how I would react next
time I saw her, though.

“How do I keep this all in, Margaret?”

“Oh sweet child, the smartest thing you can
do is lock away the pain and anger you’re feeling right now. We’re
not even certain it’s true. It’s always been a suspicion. If you
let those feelings interfere, you might lose everything. If you
give in to them, you give in to her.”

She was right. “I’ll try as hard as I can to
not let it slip. I don’t even think I can tell Jason. It’ll scare
him and he’ll try all over again to change my mind about going up
against Catherine. There is no way I’m backing down now.”

Her cold hand touched my cheek and turned me
to face her. “I agree you shouldn’t tell him yet. But don’t close
yourself off to him, baby. He is your future.”

If I even have one, I added silently.

Chapter Thirty

The next morning I met Jason and Travis at a
small diner for breakfast.

I felt incredibly out of it today. The
revelations from Margaret last night bounced around in my head. I
knew I shouldn’t think about Catherine’s possible involvement in
Mama’s death. A brain aneurism is a quick and often unexpected way
to die but that didn’t mean anyone caused it. The image of Mama
crying out in pain as a dark shadow tried to force its way into her
body kept flashing in front of my eyes.

Locking it up, as Margaret told me to, was
one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

Jason, complete in his disguise, arrived
first and sat down beside me. He gave me a quick kiss and pulled
out the menu.

“How are you? How have things been since I
called yesterday afternoon?”

Clamping down the urge to cry on his shoulder
about Mama, I sipped my juice before saying, “It’s been
interesting. I’ll wait and fill you and Travis in at the same
time.”

We ordered breakfast as Travis came in and
sat down. Again I wondered if we were right to be laying something
this dangerous at the feet of someone so young.

After the preliminary greetings and Travis
ordering pancakes, I fill the guys in on the events of the last
couple days, leaving out anything to do with Mama. When I was done,
Travis was the first to speak.

“So she’s tried this before but never
succeeded. It’s because she has a human host now that she’s so
strong.”

“I don’t understand how that makes her
strong.” Jason said as the waitress delivered our food.

“An entity has to draw its power from a
source. Many paranormal investigators believe ghosts are forms of
energy. In order to manifest and manipulate things they need to
take energy from whatever is around them. They can take it from the
air, which results in cold spots. The air cools as energy, or heat,
is taken from it. It’s a sure sign an entity is nearby. Often on
investigations we’ll experience battery drain on all our electrical
equipment. It’s the same thing. They take the energy coming from
those instruments.”

“Some investigators have even started using
pumps to supply the energy for the ghosts. This pump will give off
bursts of electromagnetic energy in order to help something
manifest,” I added.

Travis flashed an impressed smile in my
direction. “Exactly. So now, we can go one step further. What is
the human brain but one big superconductor? The amount of electric
charge put off by the human brain is staggering. It’s a perfect
source of power to draw from. That’s what I believe Catherine is
doing and why your stepmother is getting weaker and weaker.
Catherine’s taking a lot of energy to do these things. Emotion is a
powerful tool.”

I’d never thought of it that way before.
Marietta’s brain was probably an all-you-can-eat buffet to
Catherine. It was a very disturbing thought.

“What happens if Catherine drains too much
energy from her?”

“Then she’ll keep growing weaker until her
body can’t handle it anymore,” Travis answered. “But that won’t
happen. Somewhere, deep inside, Marietta still has free will. She
can force Catherine out. We only have to figure out what will make
Marietta come back to herself.”

He gave me a perfect opportunity to bring up
Anna.

“I think I have an idea about that. Her
daughter, Anna, has noticed what’s happening. She’s even seen
Catherine’s shadow hovering behind her mom. If we bring her with
us, she might be able to get through to Marietta. More than
anything, Marietta loves her girls.”

Jason stared at me hard. “Are you sure we can
trust her?”

I nodded.

“That might be a good idea. We needed
something that would jolt Marietta and using her daughter might be
the edge we've been looking for. I’ll want to meet her first and
make sure she’s absolutely aware of what we’re attempting to
do.”

“No problem, I can set that up.” My birthday
was in a few days so I needed to make sure it was soon.

During the rest of the meal we talked about
that night and Travis shared more of his thoughts. My job was to
keep Catherine focused on me. If she had her sights set on me, they
had the opportunity they needed to deal with Marietta.

Travis said goodbye after we walked out into
the heat of the day. He had a good plan and it calmed my nerves
some. For a while it kept me distracted.

Jason swung his arm around my shoulders,
chasing away the dark thoughts crowding in. “Look, I have to run
but I want you to come by the hotel later.” I looked up at him.
“I’ve told you about what I sense in my room and I want to see if
you do too. It might help keep your mind off things.”

From any other guy, this would have made me
suspicious. Inviting the local girl back to the hotel room was a
line I bet a lot of actors or other guys used. Jason wasn’t like
that.

“Sure, I don’t mind. When do you want me to
come?”

“How about seven? Do you think you’ll be able
to get away?”

“I think so. She lets me have more free time
now. It makes me nervous, but I still take advantage of it. She’s
not paying attention to much lately. Either way, I’ll be
there.”

He stepped back and put his hands in his
pockets. “You have no idea how much better I feel when you’re not
there.”

Hearing his concern made me decide against
telling him about what happened in the dining room. He was having a
hard time not rushing in and being the savior. I could tell he was
the type and maybe once this was all over, I’d let him do it
occasionally.

Jason kissed me goodbye and left with Isaac.
I watched him walk away and felt Margaret beside me, a cooling
presence that I almost leaned into.

He’s a wonderful boy. Always remember that,
Quinn.

It was nice to get away from the house that
night. I spent the entire time avoiding Anna or even looking at
her. I was afraid that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to keep my
mouth shut. Even with all their good looks and popularity, I never
envied Anna and Suzie because I knew they were pitiful.

When I left the kitchen, I heard Suzie
whining about how much time I’d been gone lately, and how I didn’t
do as much housework as I used to. Marietta’s reply was ice in my
veins.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. She won’t be here much
longer.”

I walked outside and instantly the stress and
the frayed nerves abandoned me. Not even my beloved house comforted
me the way it used to.

The hotel Jason was staying at was located in
the Riverfront district, an old hotel with a lot of character.
Dwelling on the fact that I would be in Jason’s room with him,
alone, made my stomach roll in slow, lazy turns.

I walked through the lobby knowing I looked
guilty. I worried my face was an open book screaming out the fact
that I was going up to Jason Preston’s room. He told me the
security was pretty lax which surprised me. After all, he was a big
movie star. I figured girls would be clamoring to get up to his
room and take a peek at him.

I passed Isaac as I stepped off the elevator.
He stood stationed at the end of the hall between the elevators and
the door to the stairway. No one would be able to get past him.

“Hey Quinn,” he greeted with a wink. I lifted
a hand in reply since my mouth was too dry to speak.

Before I knocked on Jason’s door I sucked in
a large gulp of air as I lectured myself for making a bigger deal
out of this than it actually was.

He opened the door with a huge smile but
blocked me from coming in. “I’ve got something to show you and I
can’t wait for you to see it.”

I noticed then that he was bouncing in place
like a little kid.

Curiosity got the best of me. “Well, can I
come in?”

He snuck a glance behind him but didn’t move.
“Close your eyes.”

I did as I was told while he took me by the
hand and led me forward into his room. Reaching out with all my
senses, I tried to pick up hints of what he was up to.

“Okay, you can open them.”

Jason’s entire suite had been transformed
into a mixture of a Christmas wonderland and a child’s birthday
party. A small, lighted tree stood on the table in the corner,
decorated with lights and ornaments. There were even presents under
it. Christmas lights were strung around his window and a big,
stuffed snowman sat in the desk chair. Across the wall hung a
‘Happy Birthday’ banner and balloons of all shapes and sizes
floated in the room. To top it all off, a small round purple cake
with candles on it sat beside the Christmas tree. It was the most
beautiful and magical thing I’d ever seen.