AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Relief washed over her face as she told me what she’d accomplished while I was gone.
After I did laundry and some long overdue deep cleaning, I realized it was almost time for me to meet Claire. I grabbed a bottle of water and stepped out into the August heat to walk to my apartment.
When I stepped onto the third-floor landing, I stared at the now bare front door. It looked naked without all the symbols Collin and I had marked on it.
Claire was waiting for me in one of the plastic chairs on the front porch, watching me with a wistfulness I hadn’t expected.
“I forgot about those chairs,” I said as I moved toward her. “I’m not sure I want to drag them several blocks to the house.”
Claire shrugged, lifting a bottle of beer to her lips. “Toss ’em in the dumpster. They cost less than ten bucks at Walmart, not to mention they’re tacky.”
“What are you doing outside? You have a key.”
She stared the door for several seconds. “It’s too sad and creepy in there now that it’s empty.”
“Creepier than my father’s house?”
She cocked an eyebrow, her dark brown eyes bright with amusement, but there was some heavier emotion behind them. “That’s a telling phrase right there—yourfather’shouse.”
I released a sigh. “You know what I mean.”
“Why are you doing this, Ellie? You hate that house.”
“I don’t hate it. It just makes me uncomfortable.”
“Well, no shit!” she shouted, waving her hand into the air. “Maybe you should listen to your instincts. Your mother was murdered there. You recently found out that the killer had you trapped in your closet. You were eight years old, Ellie. Eight!” she said, her eyes blazing. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because someone needs to take care of the inn.”
“That’s bullshit. What’s the real reason?”
“Because Daddy hid notes to me in the house and I have to find them.”
“And have you found any since you banished those evil badgers?”
I scowled. “No.” I turned toward the door and put the key into the doorknob. “We need to clean my apartment. I want to be home when David gets back from work.”
“Ellie. It’s me. Claire. I know you better than probably anyone alive. What’s the real reason?”
Tears filled my eyes. “I let Daddy down, Claire.” My voice broke. “I have to try and save it.”
She leaned forward and grabbed my wrist, guiding me to the chair next to hers. Then she reached under her seat and grabbed a paper bag that I hadn’t noticed. After pulling out a second bottle of beer, she popped the top off and handed it to me. “Here.”
I took a long sip, then placed the cold bottle against my chest to help me cool off. “You came prepared.”
She took a drink from her bottle and shrugged. “I was going to make you talk one way or another. Getting you drunk was Plan B.”
“And Plan A?”
She grinned. “Askingyou.”
I chuckled softly and took another drink. Claire was right. She knew me better than anyone. Being best friends with someone for fifteen years wasn’t for nothing.
“You seriously think you let him down?” she asked.
“Of course I did. In every conceivable way. I refused to relearn the curse after Momma’s murder. If only I’d listened to him—”
Her hand covered mine, her eyes pleading. “Ellie. Enough. We’ve rehashed this every which way left of Sunday.Woulda,coulda,shoulda.We all have things we wish we’d done differently, but what good does it do us to dwell?”
