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“I know that, Cassie. I know. But listen, they dropped everything for you, and you were a good sport for a while—”
“A good sport?”
Laura kept going as if she hadn’t been interrupted. “But you kicked them out of your life. You kicked all of us out. We’ve all been hanging by threads for the last couple years, and I’m tired of it. I want my family back.”
“I didn’t go anywhere.”
“Yes, you did. And I get it. You’ve been through so much, and that takes a lot of time to heal. A lot longer than a few years.”
“Are you using your psych degree on me?”
“So what if I am?” Laura laughed, her voice still quivering. “Cassie, I think you’ve come a long way in the last ten years. From the few conversations we’ve had, I think you’ve done a lot of healing. But you won’t be able to close those wounds until you talk to Mom and Dad.”
“What about you?”
“Me too, if you can squeeze me in.”
“Yeah, I can.” Cassie gasped. “Is this an intervention?”
“Definitely not.” Laura’s laugh was stronger. “Mom and Dad have their own issues to sort through, too. They spent a long time keeping us as close as possible. I had to move to California to grow up. You had to almost die. Twice.”
“Thanks for reminding me.”
“The point is, I think we need to go home.”
“That sounds terrifying. But--” Cassie said, “--I want to see mom. I want to make sure everything is okay. I do want to fix this, Laura.”
“Good. Me too.” The sound of rustling papers filled the phone for a minute. “My next appointment will be here soon, but do me a favor? Look at your calendar. Let me know when you can get away for a week. I’ll fly into Savannah and we can have some sister time before we head to Charlotte.”
“You know, I’m the big sister,” Cassie said. “You’re way too mature right now.”
“We all have to grow up some time,” Laura said. “But if it makes you feel better, I’ll let you be in charge when we’re around Mom and Dad.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Hey,” Laura said. “I love you.”
Cassie’s throat tightened with emotion and she recalled the hands wrapped around it less than twenty-four hours prior. “I love you, too.”
“Call me soon, okay? Promise me?”
“I promise. Thanks for calling me.”
“You’re welcome. Bye, sis.”
“Bye.”
Cassie hung up the phone and was consumed with a well of emotion. While Laura had sounded casual about their mother’s prognosis, it was not easy to hear that kind of news. The idea of reuniting with her family was terrifying, but Laura had a point. They couldn’t stay like this forever. They’d have to talk about their problems one day.
But the major question was whether Cassie would ever feel comfortable confiding in them about her abilities. They wouldn’t try to lock her up in an insane asylum, but she also didn’t want to make matters worse.
Only time would tell.
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Cassie looked around one more time and headed back to the front of the house. She couldn’t see the ghost of the little boy anywhere. Why had he shown up now? Why here? It was the first time she had seen him out of her house and it didn’t make sense. Langford was a killer, but so far, his entire demographic of victims was grown women. The little boy didn’t belong.
Cassie reached the front of the house and met David at the entrance.
