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And Mother? Well, let’s just say she had a colorful life. Too colorful to keep up with two children who got in the way of her five marriages.
But I was around for Emma. And she was around for me.
Until life happened and I left. The guilt—that would live inside me forever. I didn’t think I could ever walk past it or resolve how angry and conflicted it made me feel.
I shook my head.
She was sleeping inside while I sat in the living room, a cup of lifeless latte cooling before me.
The room was dimly-lit. I stared out the window at the bleak, dismal scene outside. The Hudson was shrouded in a thick fog, her murky waters churning and roiling beneath the rain’s relentless pattering.
It was one of those nights when the storm had turned the world into a desolate Poe poem. Everything looked empty.
Even the neighbouring properties loomed like dark, foreboding monoliths under a leaden sky.
I began dozing as I shuffled through paper after paper.
Scandal Involving East Harbor English Lit Student.
Student Caught Trying to Frame East Harbor’s Distinguished Head of Admin Affairs!
Counselor Tied to the Summer of Harbor Scandal Fired From Her Post!
Counselor from East Harbor’s Most Scandalous Student-Teacher Liaison Killed in an Accident.
The air was thick with the scent of wet asphalt, amplified by quiet undertones of wet earth. A sense of foreboding settled over me, as if I were trapped in a rapidly closing world.
My inner turmoil was reflected in the storm, and I could almost see it opening its cavernous mouth and consuming me whole.
A sharp knock ricocheted like a gunshot through the room. The sound reverberated and tossed off the walls, shattering the somber pitter-patter of the rain. My heart almost jumped into my throat. I wasn’t expecting anyone.
But just four days ago, I’d rescued my sister from muggers. I didn’t think they wanted her money. They were there for blood. That’s when I took her away from our NYC studio apartment and brought her back to this godforsaken mansion.
The knock came again, louder this time. Was he sending people? People to finish what he had started?
Slowly and with caution, I made my way toward the door. My footsteps sounded like bricks falling on glass. The air was thick with tension. Chills ran down my spine as I tried to quiet the thudding of my heart.
My hand grasped the doorknob. Who could be on the other side? Another robber? Worse?Him?
I took a deep breath and silenced the hammering of my heart. Only one way to know. I pulled the door open.
A shiver ran down my spine when I saw the man standing outside. He was drenched. And he looked like he had been living with a ghost.
I used to know him in another life when summers were longer and sweeter. I met his wife and him when she called us over to their place for dinner during Emma's first year at East Harbor.
Lovely home. Adorable little girl.
Jovial, brilliant man. He knew his books and had his heart in the right place.
The person in front of me was shrapnel.
I could only think of one thing to say. “I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry I couldn’t come to her funeral.”
He actually smiled. It made things worse.
“It’s okay. You can do something else.”
The Present Day
