“Handsome, tempting…sexy,” she responded, coquettishly in a low tone.
“Ummm…really?” he asked, with his head tilted to one side, as he mused on at her with the damning thought of, his father’s worst fear for him coming to pass. He was already caught up in the whole, love thing, as Emery despondently put it.
“I have a question, where’d you get this?” She asked, holding up the fancy oval stones that dangled from her hand. He looked at her, taking the jewelry.
“Oh! This, you know the strangest thing happened. I was walking away from the scene of the fire, after Justin and everyone had left and this homeless man came running up to me. Poor man, he was in pretty bad shape – he kinda just ran up to me and wanted me to have this here band, or whatever it is. He said, it was mine.” Avery explained.
“Really?” she said, with her eyebrows raised, and arms folded.
“Yeah! He insisted I take it, I told him to keep it, but he wasn’t having it! So, I gave him some money, I thought he’d go away, but he didn’t. The man kept insisting that I take the thing.”
“Well, that’s strange, indeed,” she said.
Avery looked at it once more. He didn’t realize that the jewelry was real and probably quite valuable. All the little details were impressive. “I don’t know why he was so determined for me to have this, I mean – huh, I guess he needed money,” he said.
“Obviously! You’re sooo naïve to everyday, regular life situations! Congrats – you just bought a hot piece of jewelry – you know, stolen goods? If you ever get approached by someone who’s selling ya this stuff – just ignore them and keep on walking!” Laurie said, bemused.
“Come on now, you really think I don’t know what, hot means in terms of something being stolen? I may be from a, a well to do family, but I’m not stupid – woman, geez!” Avery scowled, walking away.
“Well, why’d you even entertain him? You should know better!” she said, laughing once more.
“Look, enough on that, okay?” he said.
“Well, obviously, he must’ve stolen it,” she declared.
“You’re right – I know, I shouldn’t have taken it. But, I also didn’t want to stand there and argue with someone like, him; in situations like that, you pick your battles! And, I took the thing, what’s done is done. I’ll probably turn it in to the police tomorrow,” he said.
“Oh gawd! You’re not serious? Tell me you’re not going to get Bryan involved again!” she said, with a crazed look on her face.
“If you keep this up, I just might give him a call!”
“Uh – no!” she said, as her lips curled.
“I’m kidding. I’m not getting him involved in anything again,” he said, looking at the jewelry. “What type of stones are these? They’re multicolored – birthstones maybe? They’re probably synthetic, but then again, I’m no gemologist,” he added.
“The oval shape and cut of the stones is so, detailed– really different, hmm, they’re quite, solid too.” Laurie said, squinting. “Avery, come look, there’s some sort of letter in each stone.” She said, as her green eyes came to life, examining each stone, twirling and feeling each with her fingertips.
“Yeah? Lemme see that,” he took the string of gems from Laurie, holding it up against whatever little light was available in the château, “Yep – they’re letters!” he exclaimed.
“What? Give it here!” Laurie said, grabbing the other end of the bracelet. “It does, oh wow it does!” they each held and scrutinized the bracelet like two leprechauns, hypnotized by a piece of gold.
“It has an, s in this stone, and another s, a, n, d, r, a? Ssandra? Oh, wait! It spells, Alessandra!!!” Laurie blurted out, tracing three stones back with her fingers.
“Hey, it does,” Avery chimed in.
“I don’t understand why someone would approach you, demanding that you take something like this? It’s so – personal.”
“He had a, hot piece of jewelry that he needed to get rid of – remember?” he said, winking at her.
“It’s very feminine looking, why would he approach, a man with something like this and not a woman?” she continued her interrogation.
“Because, the man may have a – girlfriend, a wife, a significant other,”
For a moment, the only audible sound was rain, pelting the awnings and windows of the old chateau. Avery bit the side of his cheeks and gazed at the gemstone bracelet, regretting his decision to take it.
Laurie searched his face, perhaps, for something his words weren’t telling her. Maybe for guilt. Maybe the bracelet belonged to someone else, someone he’d met when he visited, Houston for the week he was gone. Who was, Alessandra?
“Look I know the past few days were like, the freaking, Twilight Zone! I lied to you, and I admit, I should’ve been honest – I was wrong. But, you should know that I’m not hiding anything else from you, I swear, a guy – a homeless guy came up to me and handed me this bracelet, and I hadn’t looked at it until now.”
“So, you’re trying to tell me that somebody walks up to you and gives you something, and you don’t even take a look at what it is? And you, want to get on my case for not scouring my forested backyard for strange things?” she said, with her hands on her hips.
“Listen, I stuffed it into my pocket and just continued walking. My main focus was coming here, to see you, so we could possibly take a look at what’s in the shed when the rain stopped. I swear, that’s exactly how things happened. I didn’t know about this, bracelet before today, it’s – crazy, like everything else. Now, who’s, Alessandra?” Avery asked.
“Good question – who’s, Alessandra? Huh, all I know is that, you have her bracelet!” she said, raising her eyebrows and forcing a smile.
“Don’t even think about going there – don’t accuse me of being, unfaithful! I’ve been by your side ever since this crap started!” he said scoffing, while shaking his head.
“Well, do you blame me? I don’t know what to think either, nothing makes sense!”
“I know!” he admitted.
“After I thought about my ordeal. After you told me about your nightmares as a child, it’s evident that something’s happening that, we can’t ignore.” she said, gnawing away at her thumb. “I’m not buying it – that we’re the only ones who know about this, and that there’s no way of finding out or getting to the bottom of what’s going on. Maybe you should confront Anya about this ghost – I hate to tell you, but, she knows more than you realize.” She said, caught in a conundrum that was bigger than anything she could imagine.
He listened to her deepest fears and couldn’t deny that she made great sense. Anya, was the only person who he could approach with something of this nature. She was the one who took him to Baba Yaga when it all started, when he was a teenager. They had to find a way to get answers; their problem showed no indication of going away any time soon.
“No sane person will believe us unless, we have proof to back up our stories! The only person who was able to relate to what I was saying was, Mr. Pierre and he’s a hundred and eighteen years old!” she said, with her hands on her waist. “God bless his soul but, what if he was making everything up? What if he has, dementia?” a sour feeling rose in her gut, the thought suddenly made her ill. He was her only hope.
“Even if he does, it doesn’t change the fact that we saw the same ghost. Well, I’d very much like to talk to this, Mr. Pierre, I mean, I want to meet him if that’s possible,” he said.
“Of course, it’s possible, but first, I think we need to find out what’s in the shed – there may be nothing, but then again, there may be a host of information. After I spoke with Myrna, her story seemed a little jumbled, tinged with – a little bit of truth, a little bit of sensationalizing, a little bit of superstition, just everything combined.” Laurie added, rolling her eyes and sighing.
“If the weather continues like this, we have to make up our minds to get wet and muddy – I’m not afraid to get dirty,” he said, pointing to hi
mself.
“So do I, but, I also don’t want to risk ruining stuff by getting them, wet or muddy,” she said.
“What type of stuff do you suppose we’ll find in there?” he asked.
“Sheesh, your guess is as good as mine! Myrna thinks the shed may have personal items from the family – and possibly Mr. Laborteaux. She suggested I look inside,” Laurie said.
“Then, what are we waiting for? Screw the rain!” he said, pacing, walking over to the tall glass windows, looking in the direction of the shed.
“Tell me you’re joking – do you really wanna get fried? Too much lightning and thunder!” she said.
“Look I hate that you have to deal with this. Ever since I came around, stuff started happening to you. I promise to find the answers, really. I really want to put an end to this.” He said.
She turned in his direction, looking at him. The expression on her face was caught somewhere between pity and contrition.
“There’s something that you need to know. We promised to be honest with each other but, earlier today while we were lying in bed, before you got the call from Justin? There was something I wanted to tell you, but you didn’t want to hear it. I think you need to know, my secret.” She said, in a somber tone.
“Alrighty then, what is it?” He asked, as his heart pounded away in his chest.
Uprising:
Book One
Confessions, Alessandra, And Justin
“There are things about me about me you’re unaware of, things you should’ve known sooner.” She said, with a heavy heart, hugging her body that seemed to rid itself of ten pounds in ten daunting days.
Avery lowered his head, not saying a thing, as a stoic expression seized his face.
“There is no easy way for me to say this. No easy way at all. I lied to you.”
Her statement drew from his face a look of confusion. What could she possibly be talking about? He looked on at her as he bit the insides of his cheeks.
“Okay, so you lied – you lied about what?” he asked.
“Well. Remember when I said, I ended my tour with the coast guard?” she said, taking him back to an earlier conversation they’ve had.
“Okay, so, are you saying that you were never in the coast guard?” he asked.
“No, that wasn’t a lie, everything about my career as you know it happened – I couldn’t make that stuff up. What I’m referring to are the circumstances that caused me to get separated from the coast guard – put out, of the coast guard,” she said. Laurie could tell from the look on his face that he hungered to hear more.
“Okay, you got put out, so?” he dismissed, casually.
“Yes. I was medically separated from the coast guard. It wasn’t my choice to get out.” she said, with a straight face. So far, he didn’t show any signs of, disappointment.
“Why? Under what circumstances?”
“Well, this is where it gets interesting –”
“You mean, this is where you, lied?” He said, firmly.
“I, yes. Yes, I guess you can say this is where my, lie came in. Remember when I told you that I started having these nightmares when I came back to Chestnut-Field? Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Everything started when I first visited the Louisiana, before I decided to buy the château, while I was still living in Massachusetts.” she said. There was silence between them.
“Continue,” he said, becoming flustered.
“Avery, I started having hallucinations and all these weird visions of living in a past life, and belonging to a family who did strange things like, voodoo and séances. In those visions, I had a lot of little children, and was married to this unknown man. His presence was profound. I can’t recall seeing his face, but his presence was there, it was like a silhouette but, very familiar.” She said.
“Okay,” he said, taking a deep breath, as his eyes widened.
“After I visited the chateau, after I bought it, and moved back to Massachusetts, this is when everything began. The visions worsened. I started getting sick, and this is why Matt and I broke up – besides his infidelity, of course. Everything started to go downhill from there. I was told by my superiors, to get, medical help – psychiatric help. He – Matt, thought I was crazy because of the things I told him.” She said, awaiting his reaction. “This was one of the biggest reasons Matt and I broke up, he thought our marriage would jeopardize his career, and he didn’t want to stay around.” She approached Avery, placing her hand on his chest. “But in reality, our marriage had ended way before then, my medical problems only pushed us to the edge.” She confessed.
“Alright then. You’re saying that, stuff started while you were in the coast guard, when you visited the château for the first time? He asked.
“Yes, specifically then,” she said.
“Did you tell the doctors, or the people who were responsible for letting you go?”
“Believe me, I exhausted all possible avenues, I tried to get through to them using all sorts of logic, explanations, pleas, but nothing worked. When you’re dealing with the military, it’s very black and white, there’s no hearsay; there’s no supposing, there’s no maybe – they’re all about plain facts, if such a thing exists!” she said, sighing.
“So, how do we tie your situation and mine together? This sort of stuff has been happening to you – for some years now? I don’t know what to say.” Avery said. “You said, your encounters began when you came back to Chestnut Field?”
“On and off – yes,”
“Now, that’s strange, but it also makes a lot of sense, because you said Mr. Pierre told you that this is where, Marie-Claire and the owner of the château’s wife was murdered.”
“Yes, Jean-Claude Laborteaux, the owner himself, allegedly murdered Marie- Claire and his, wife, Chantal,” she said.
“Then, are you possessed by one of their spirits?” he said, rubbing his head feeling a bit amiss.
“Oh gawd!! Please, for you to even suggest that – don’t say that – the very thought makes me nauseous!!” she snapped, holding her face, going two shades lighter.
“From a supernatural standpoint, it might be a possibility,”
“Just stop!” she said, scowling.
“Sorry!” he said,
“These people have ties to us in some way or the other. They’re connected to us. Why else would these things be happening only after I visited the chateau?” she asked. “In all honesty, I shouldn’t be surprised about everything that’s happened, Mr. Pierre told me that the Laborteauxs dabbled in voodoo. Now, I could be wrong, but, what is known about spirits and ghosts, is that they linger, especially if they’re not at ease.” She said.
“Umm, that’s true – ”
“What do we do about this bracelet?” she asked, changing the conversation.
“If you ask me, this is the least of our concerns right now Laurie, we really need to get to the bottom of why we’re being contacted by a ghost – this, angry spirit? Why did it start happening to you only after you visited this house? Has anything happened since you came back? I know it’s only been a few hours,”
“Nope, nothing so far, keeping my fingers and toes crossed hoping it stays that way!” she said, holding up her plain hands, with crisscrossed fingers. “You know, that’s where it gets confusing, this has been happening to you since you were a kid, but it has only been making my life hell since I left Massachusetts and came to Chestnut Field. I was born here and had never experienced anything as a child.” she said.
Rain hammered the windows diminishing visibility of the outdoors. The wind blowing through the old vents made the roof hum, and all at once, everything sounded like a choir of distortion.
“So much for getting into that shed today, huh?”
“Oh yea! That’s definitely not happening,” Avery said, laughing.
“You know, there was a point where it had stopped for a couple years, after I moved here. This was when I took the time to start my business. But, it was after you left, th
at one evening when I had you over at my place – we were having dinner, and I swear it was the best evening I ever had. Little did I know, things were about to get bat-shit crazy! I first saw the ghost that evening, and that’s when everything started,” she said, as she recollected the horrid event.
“I’d never forget the nightmare you had earlier today – I have the battle scar as a reminder!” Avery chimed in, making reference to the bruise on his nose.
“Aw, come on, I apologized for that, don’t make me feel like an idiot all over again,” she pouted.
“Just kidding, just kidding!” he said, rubbing her back.
“As I was saying, I began hearing strange things. I never told you because, I didn’t know what you would think of me,”
“The same you thought of me when I told you about my childhood troubles, I guess,” he said.
“Um, I dunno,” she said. “And, only recently, I kept having these in and out of consciousness type of sensations where, I would hear people talking to me, like – actually saying stuff to me! I mean, do you hear what I’m saying? I sound wacky!” Laurie admitted.
“Mmm,” he said, nodding.
“I heard a woman – well the voice of a woman. She was telling me about beating something, about fighting the spirits that were up against me, and I specifically remembered the voice encouraging me to be strong. It said that, I was in the midst of people who cared about me and that I was surrounded by, family?”
“And you’re sure this wasn’t a dream?” Avery asked.
“No, I don’t know if it was just a random dream or, if it happened. I don’t know what to think anymore, but it all seems to make sense. What if this voice was, was warning me about something that is to come? What if this voice and all the little voices I’ve been hearing are trying to tell me something?”
“But, tell you what?” Avery asked.
“I don’t know,”
“Well, this is the first I’m hearing about the other little voices. And, just out of curiosity, when you saw the psychiatrist, what did they find? What was the problem?” he asked.
Reclamation Page 11
