by Jill Cooper
Chapter Fifty-Two
Jessica: September 18th, 2020
I avoid Cameron and Ryan over the weekend. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my newfound knowledge, but I’m afraid to do anything. I just want to settle into a nice routine. Go to school, do homework, and eat buckets of snacks. Is it really too much to ask?
Instead, I meet Martin Alistair at the downtown coffee shop so we can talk. I’m not sure what there is to talk about, but he buys me a coffee. We sit outside at an iron table beneath a striped umbrella. The air is cool, and I’m in a cozy sweater. Neither of us says anything while we drink our coffee, and finally, he draws his attention to me.
He places a brown paper bag on the table and offers it to me. “I thought it would be best if you had this.”
Curious, I open it and peer inside. I see an old, broken tiara. My eyebrows raise with surprise.
“I picked it up that night on the cliffs. I thought I was saving Amber, and she was going to jump.” He shakes his head. “For years, I thought she committed suicide, and I blamed myself. For what I did. I drove her to the brink. I know I did and…” Tears fill his eyes, and his chin quivers. “I reveled in it, at the time. I wanted to hurt her so badly for rejecting me. For telling everyone I raped her.”
“Did you?”
Martin sips his coffee and doesn’t answer. “I thought if you came out of that union, maybe there’d be a silver lining. Didn’t work out though, did it? Now I’m back to just living with my guilt. I tried to destroy Amber.”
“But you didn’t. She was stronger than you thought. Stronger than anyone in this town gave her credit for. Carolyn killed her for it, and I’m angry at her. Not you.” Even though I think he’s a piece of shit. Bonus, he seems to feel bad about it.
“I wish you would be.”
I shake my head. “Sorry, someone else will need to punish you. It won’t be me. Not my place…but maybe be there for Ryan. I think he’s trying to be nicer. Maybe you could both figure it out together.”
Martin sits back in his chair with an astonished eyebrow raise. “I haven’t been a good example. I guess I owe my kids and my wife. Thanks, Jessica. I know you need distance and that’s good. Maybe say hi once in a while.” He stands up from his seat and buttons his blazer back up.
I won’t hold my breath, but I smirk anyway. No reason to end things on bad terms. You never know.
“There are no excuses for what I did as a kid. I was wrong on many levels, but maybe I can start to make approbations for it. Maybe I should start at home.” He nods and heads off across the street.
Monday. A new school week, and I’m filled with dread. Yet, I’m excited, too. No one ever said emotions weren’t complicated.
Mom drops me off at school before work like always, but things are different. Jackson will pick Winnie and me up for a sister date while Dad hunts for a job in town. My life’s gone from normal to crazy in sixty seconds, but I kind of like it. (Minus the possible-psycho-almost-boyfriend, that is.) As I walk through the school, I get more attention than I used to, and I actually don’t hate the school uniform anymore.
Talk about weird.
People wave. Kids say hi. A few guys check me out. At my locker, I take out my science lab book. “You make a really cute schoolgirl.”
I turn around and smile at Ryan. “There you are.”
He splays his hands. “It’s hard to get through all your new friends in an attempt to say hi.”
“What can I say? My press needs me. Until some other horrible tragedy strikes the town.”
Ryan raises his eyebrows. “There’s an optimistic viewpoint.”
“I’ll be upbeat tomorrow. Today, I just want to get by and survive. Maybe have some ice cream.”
We walk together down the hall, an uncomfortable silence lingering between us.
Ryan nods. “Homecoming is five days away, and I get it if you don’t want to go. I really do. I promise I won’t tell anyone your secrets. I won’t try to ruin you. I’m turning over a new leaf. I’ve done some…horrible things, and I have no excuse.”
“Ryan—”
“No, let me finish. Hear me out, okay? I liked you and wanted you. Wanted you bad. I was an asshole punk. If you can’t forgive me, at least don’t hate me. All of this made me realize, life’s too short to turn it into a game.”
My heart widens looking at his puppy dog face. “I don’t hate you. It’s just that…” I glance over my shoulder and see Cameron walking our way. I’m filled with confusion and fear. I don’t know what his game is, but I need to put distance between us. “I’ll go to the dance with you. I think it’d be really nice.”
Ryan’s eyes sparkle. “Really?”
I nod to him but keep my eyes on Cameron. He startles and freezes in place. I sling my arms around Ryan’s neck to send Cameron a message. The message is received loud and clear as Cameron storms off in the other direction.
“No good dress deserves to hang in the closet forever, Alistair.” I hip check him. “And you deserve another chance.”
Ryan nods. “Sure. Yeah. But I don’t think I do.”
“Maybe we all do.” I smile. “And we go slow. No rushing into anything. I’m going to need time.”
“Time I can definitely give you.”
“Good.” I smile and hug my books to my chest. We turn away from the lockers, and I see Cameron. He’s standing there, smoldering with intensity, his cheeks puffed up. When I feel like cowering, he abruptly turns and bolts down the hall.
“I wonder what’s gotten into him?” Ryan asks.
“I’ll worry about it tomorrow.”
Ryan takes my hand, and he laces his fingers between mine. “So, this is what it’s like, huh? Holding hands, walking you to class…I’ll ask you about your day.”
“You make it sound like a bad thing.”
“No,” he whispers and tucks some of my hair back. “I think it’s a nice thing. A really, really, nice thing. My dad…let’s just say I don’t have the best role model in the father department. The way he churns out women and doesn’t even pretend he’s not doing it…” Ryan shrugs, and I feel bad for him. He looks so sad. “He said he’s going to try harder. He said things to my mom and me I never thought I’d hear.”
I guess Martin was trying to keep his word. “That all sounds great. I’m happy for you guys. We’ll figure this out together. One step at a time.”
He smiles. It’s soft and tender. I think I’d like to kiss him, but I know it’s way too soon. When I hear the sound of high heels clicking against the floor, I turn my head. I see a tall, slender woman in a tight black suit coming down the hall. Her red hair is immaculately styled, and her makeup is flawless. She’s one of the most stunning people I’ve ever seen.
“Class children, class,” she says as she walks by but doesn’t slow down. She just keeps going.
I raise an eyebrow. “Who is she?”
“Mrs. Mirren. She comes from some highbrow school, higher brow than this one. She’s the new Mr. Davis.”
“Good look for him,” I say and laugh.
Ryan hooks his arm around my waist. “Never a dull moment around here. Come on, let me walk you to class.”
I pass by the homecoming memorial display and see Amber’s tiara has been returned to its rightful spot after I handed it off to the new chief of police. I smile, and for a split second think I see her smiling at me through the glass.
But it’s probably just me.
Next time…..
Jessica Chase’s life has changed in dozens of ways.
A new family and a new boyfriend lead to a constant stream of struggles but the biggest is right around the corner—a haunted mansion. Jessica will open pandora’s boxes when it comes to the Sinclairs home. She has a father and sister who want to get to know her and a grandmother who still wishes her dead.
But at night the halls come alive and no one is allowed in the south wing. For that’s where danger lurks. And that’s where evil awakens.
To stop it all and release the curse from the Sinclairs, Jessica is going to have to dive deeper into history and solve an ancient crime. Before history claims them all.
