Child of Mine: a psychological thriller

by Chambers, V. J.

  Mia got back up again. She moved close, taking the spoon Lorelei was stirring with out of the other woman’s hand. “You’re doing it right now,” she said, her gaze earnest. “You’re not telling me something.”

  “I’m trying to tell you.” Lorelei snatched the spoon back. “It’s only… it’s not easy to say.”

  “Well, try,” said Mia, “because I’m starting to feel like I’m losing you, and you might have this whole other life to go back to, but I don’t have anyone but you and Jordan.”

  Lorelei softened, setting the stirring spoon down on the spoon rest. “Mia, you’re not losing me. We’ll always be friends. I’ll never forget all the things you did for me.”

  Mia looked down at the floor, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She walked away. She shook out her arms and rolled her head on her shoulders. “I’m not myself right now. It’s all the stress over that Ross person. It’s making me feel vulnerable, and that’s making me cranky. Ignore me.”

  Outside, the clouds were rolling in fast, blocking out the sunlight. Lorelei was concerned. “Do you see that?”

  “No. Are you seriously interrupting me to talk about the weather?”

  “I think we should leave,” said Lorelei.

  “Absolutely not,” said Mia. She glared at her friend. “You know what? I think maybe I need a little breather. Don’t wait dinner for me.” She swept out of the room, lips pressed in a firm line.

  Lorelei watched her go, feeling confused.

  But then she turned back to the window, to the angry, dark clouds there. Maybe she should take Simon and go.

  Within minutes, though, rain started to pour out of the sky. It was an absolute downpour. On second thought, maybe they were better staying where they were for now.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  Lorelei finished heating up the dinner, and left it to simmer on the stove and keep warm while she went to look for Mia and the kids. She should find Mia first, apologize for not being more sensitive. The truth was, she did feel herself pulling away from Mia, and this business with Jordan was only part of it. Honestly, she was beginning to wonder why she and Mia were even friends. They didn’t have much in common. It wasn’t easy to have much in common with Mia, because she was kind of self-centered.

  That was the reason Mia was so hard on Jordan, Lorelei thought. Mia saw the girl as an extension of herself, like an accessory to make her look good.

  No, that was being too harsh. It wasn’t that Mia didn’t love Jordan. Lorelei knew that she did. It was probably Mia’s own upbringing to blame. She’d been raised largely by nannies, as Lorelei understood it. Mia’s parents had been too busy running the resort and traveling the society circuit to have much time for her. They intervened largely by firing nannies they thought did a poor job, and they fired often, which meant that Mia’s young life never had a foundation. There was not one stable person to be her caregiver. Lorelei thought it had stilted Mia a bit.

  This was nothing she hadn’t noticed before, but it hadn’t bothered her so much back then.

  Why was that?

  Well, she realized, it was because she had been plenty self-centered herself. The way that she’d focused her life on her addiction had been selfish, especially because she sometimes put feeding it above Simon in her hierarchy of needs, and that made her the most selfish of all.

  She’d been too wrapped up in her own issues to be bothered with what a brat Mia was.

  Yes, brat.

  The word that Mia had used fit. It was true.

  Lorelei veered around in the hallway. She wasn’t going to go look for Mia after all. She wasn’t sure that any apology she tried to make right now was going to come out properly.

  Instead, she headed back through the living room to the stairs, which were down a hallway to the right.

  Her cell phone rang.

  She fished it out and looked at the screen. It was Isaac.

  “Hello?” she answered.

  “Hey there,” said Isaac. “I lost him.”

  “Who? Holmes?”

  “Yeah,” said Isaac. “I think he spotted me. He started going really fast and driving erratically, and then he got on the interstate. I went after him, but I never found him. Finally, I went back to his house, thinking he’d be back here eventually. That was five hours ago. I’m not sure what to make of all of it.”

  Lorelei sighed. “Well, that’s not good.”

  “Yeah, sorry for calling. I’m just getting bored and sore sitting in this car staking the place out. If he did see me, he might not come home for a while. He might be too spooked. If so, the best thing I can do right now is to back off and hope he calms down. Once he’s less wary, I may be able to find out more.”

  “That’s probably true,” said Lorelei.

  “So, anyway, I’m sitting here, fishing for some excuse to leave and go get a burger.”

  “Do it,” she said. “Why stay there if nothing’s happening?”

  “Because if I leave, we’ll find out I was three feet from an ongoing crime scene or something like that.”

  Lorelei hadn’t thought of that. “Do you think so? Is there any evidence that a crime is—”

  “No, no,” he said. “It’s peaceful here. I even went and looked in the windows. Didn’t see anything.”

  “If you’re really looking for an excuse to leave, why don’t you come out here to the lake house where I am? It’s huge. There’s room. And maybe we can talk this out and try to figure out some working theory for how everything connects.”

  “Have to admit that sounds tempting,” he said.

  “If you’re going to do it, you should do it soon. There’s a bad storm coming in, and there’s a possibility of flooding out here.”

  “Noted,” said Isaac. “All right, text me the address. I’ll head out right away.”

  “Great,” said Lorelei. “I’ll feel better once you’re here.”

  * * *

  “This is good,” said Simon, dipping a bowl full of more of the pasta mixture. “I like the cream sauce.”

  “Yeah,” said Jordan. “It’s pretty tasty with all those little herbs in there.”

  “It’s tasty because these frozen things are full of salt,” said Lorelei, who had to admit that it was pretty good. “Too much sodium isn’t good for you.”

  “How come?” said Jordan.

  “It’s just bad,” said Lorelei.

  “Yeah, but why?” said Jordan. “I mean my mom always says that too, but salt doesn’t have any calories and it’s found in your body. You even need it. Like, if you exercise too much, you need to replenish it. That’s why Gatorade has salt in it.”

  “That’s true,” said Simon. “I think salt is actually good for you.”

  Lorelei shook her head. “It’s not. Trust me.”

  The only person missing from the table was Mia herself, who Lorelei hadn’t been able to convince to come to dinner. Admittedly, she hadn’t tried too hard either. She’d knocked on Mia’s door and said they were eating and then scurried away before Mia could say anything.

  Outside the windows, the rain lashed at the house and the wind whistled by. It was a violent storm. It made Lorelei nervous.

  Simon sat up straight, stretching to get a better look out the window. “It doesn’t look good out there.”

  “Yeah, it’s a bad storm,” said Jordan. “I wonder if the bridge is going to go out. The bridge goes out sometimes during storms like this.”

  “It does?” said Lorelei. “What do you mean it… goes out?”

  “It gets covered with water, basically,” said Jordan, shrugging. “If that happens, we’ll be stuck here.”

  “Great,” said Lorelei. “How will we know if the bridge is out?”

  “You can check this website,” said Jordan. “We can look after dinner if you want.”

  “Man, I told Isaac to come here, but he might not even be able to get over the bridge,” said Lorelei.

  “Isaac’s coming?” Simon smiled. “That�
�s cool.”

  “You invited someone here?” Mia’s voice from the doorway.

  They all turned to look at her.

  “You didn’t even ask me if it was okay,” said Mia. “It’s my house, you know.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Lorelei. “It’s only that you said you didn’t know him, and I thought this would be a good chance for you to get to know him is all.”

  Mia stalked into the room and sat down at the table. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, Lorelei, but I don’t think this Isaac person is good for you at all.”

  “He’s okay,” said Simon. “He’s better than Jeremy.”

  Mia didn’t acknowledge the boy. “There’s a reason you broke up with Isaac in the first place.”

  Simon kept talking. “Isaac didn’t do anything wrong. Mom got tricked by my father, who was a really bad man.” He turned to Lorelei. “Right?”

  “Isaac and I aren’t… together,” said Lorelei.

  Simon gave her a withering look. “Please, Mom. He stayed overnight.”

  “He did?” said Mia.

  Lorelei groaned.

  “You’re sleeping with him?” Mia fixed Lorelei with a disbelieving gaze. “Where has he been all this time if he’s so amazing, hmm? I’ve been there for you. Me.”

  Lorelei gave Mia a funny look. “Are you jealous of Isaac?”

  “No,” said Mia. She snatched up the skillet of pasta, which was in the middle of the table, and began hastily filling a bowl. “I mean, that’s not how I’d describe it exactly. I’m concerned. Because he makes you spend all your time with him, and they say that abusive men monopolize the time of the women they target. They make those women give up all their friends.”

  “I haven’t given you up,” said Lorelei. “I’m here, aren’t I? And he’s not abusive.”

  “Why didn’t you just say yes right away when I asked you to come? You had to ask his permission, didn’t you?”

  “No, it wasn’t like that. Isaac and I are investigating—”

  “And then, even after he let you go, he called you and said he couldn’t bear to be away from you, and bullied you into inviting him here to my house.”

  “Mia.” Lorelei set down her fork. “He didn’t. I asked him. He’s not trying to keep me away from you.” Mia wasn’t only a drama queen, she was paranoid too.

  “So, then why didn’t you say yes right away?”

  “I don’t know,” said Lorelei, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. “Whatever could you possibly do that would make me wary of being cooped up in a remote lake house with you?”

  Mia’s jaw dropped.

  Lorelei felt bad. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” She sighed. “But if we’re going to be arguing anyway, I might as well tell you that I think the way you’re treating Jordan is making everything worse.”

  “What?” said Mia, looking thoroughly confused.

  “I know that Jordan is transgender, and you know it too,” said Lorelei.

  “Oh,” said Mia, looking taken aback. “Of course I know. I’ve done everything in my power to help her—”

  “Help her?” said Lorelei. “Are you serious?”

  Jordan stood up from the table. Her lower lip was trembling. “Stop.”

  “I can’t,” said Lorelei, standing too. “I can’t stop, because that’s what’s behind all of this. Ever since I found out, it’s forced me to address the way she treats you—”

  “I love her,” said Mia who was also on her feet. “I’m doing what is best for her.”

  “Stop, stop, stop.” Jordan’s voice dropped in pitch, a growl. She touched her throat in horror and ran out of the room.

  Mia turned on Lorelei. “Now, look what you’ve done.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Lorelei, “but I couldn’t keep quiet any longer.”

  “Mom,” said Simon, shaking his head. “Really. Stop.”

  Abruptly, the lights overhead flickered.

  And then went out.

  Lorelei looked up at them.

  “Come back on,” said Mia. “Come back on.”

  They didn’t.

  “Damn,” said Mia. “We’ve lost power.”

  “It’s the storm,” said Lorelei, peering out into the darkness. “Listen, Simon, go find Jordan, okay?”

  No response.

  Lorelei turned to look for Simon, but he was no longer at the table. “Where’s Simon?” she asked Mia.

  But Mia was still staring out the window. She clutched handfuls of her shirt. “Damn,” she said again.

  “We need to find the kids,” said Lorelei.

  “Fine,” said Mia. “Let’s split up. You look upstairs, I’ll look down here. Meet back in the living room.”

  Lorelei nodded. She started off into the living room. She could barely make out the shapes of the furniture in the scant light. Outside, there wasn’t much illumination at all. Everything was blackness. “Do you have any candles, Mia?” she called out.

  Nothing.

  “Mia?” She headed for the stairs.

  Still nothing.

  Lorelei fumed. Well, if Mia wanted to give her the silent treatment, that was fine with her. The minute it was safe to do so, she was taking Simon and going home. Hell, maybe she was quitting her damned job at the resort too. Not drinking alcohol had cleared her head, and she was seeing Mia the way the other woman really was. She didn’t know if she wanted to be beholden to Mia anymore.

  All around her was darkness. She could barely make out the shapes of the stairs ahead of her as she began to ascend them.

  She climbed the steps slowly as a result, not utterly sure of her footing. The higher she climbed, the more her eyes began to adjust to the darkness. She could make out the shadowy forms of paintings on the walls—not framed, just finished canvas wrapped around the stretchers. Lorelei knew enough about Mia’s family to know that they’d been purchased from artists, not from bulk bins somewhere.

  Lorelei wished she had a candle.

  She emerged onto the top floor. On one side of her was a doorway to a bedroom. The door was shut.

  She took the knob and turned it.

  The door creaked as it opened.

  The first thing she saw was a window on the opposite side the room. Through it, she could see the sky, dark and cloudy. The color was nearly green somehow. It made her anxious. The branches of a nearby tree whipped back and forth in front of the window.

  Hell, what if one these trees came down on the house? It might knock in the roof, expose them all.

  She licked her lips.

  The bedroom was empty otherwise. She could make out a bed, could see that the bedspread was smooth and neatly made up, but she couldn’t make out the pattern. The room was tastefully decorated in shadowy paintings and knick knacks, but she couldn’t make those out either.

  She turned back to the door. “Simon!” she called. “Jordan?”

  No answer.

  She moved back into the hallway.

  The door shut behind her.

  She jumped.

  And then realized that there was a whoosh of cold, damp air up here. A window must be open somewhere.

  She hurried down the hallway. “Simon! Answer me.”

  There was a bathroom up here. That was where the window was open. It was spacious—had a stand-up shower and jetted tub plus two sinks. She rushed inside and shut the window. The spray of the rain outside soaked her shirt in the process.

  She left the bathroom, brushing water off her face. Where the hell were the kids?

  Maybe they weren’t up here. Maybe they were downstairs with Mia somewhere. She turned and looked over her shoulder at the stairs.

  The closed door to the bedroom taunted her.

  She had a cold chill at her neck and a sudden urge to go back and open that door.

  There’s nothing in that room, she told herself. I checked it already.

  She turned her back on the room and started forward.

  The chills increased, traveling down her spine.
>
  What if there was someone else in the house besides the kids and Mia? What if… somehow… Ross had found a way to follow them?

  I didn’t check the closet.

  Her pulse picked up speed.

  She hesitated there, looking over her shoulder and then turning to look down the hallway toward the other two bedrooms up here.

  She started back towards the closed door.

  What if he is in the closet, Lorelei? What are you going to do then? she asked herself. You don’t have a weapon.

  But he might have Simon. Or Jordan. Or Mia. Maybe there was a reason that none of them were answering her.

  She was alight in chills just thinking of that. Oh, God. Oh, God.

  Let him be all right, she thought frantically. Let Simon be all right.

  Now she was moving down the hallway in a frenzy, like she was rowing upstream in a tiny boat, her arms and legs struggling to work together. It seemed to take an eternity to get back to the door.

  And when she got there, she just stood there, heart in her throat, breath shallow, unable to move.

  But then—in one swift movement—she seized the doorknob and yanked open the door. The room was still silent and empty and dark. She stepped inside.

  Where was the closet? She looked around for it, feeling panic and adrenaline warring inside her.

  Footsteps.

  Behind her.

  She whirled.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  “Mom,” came the disembodied, monotone voice of Simon from the hallway. “What are you doing up here?”

  “Simon?” Her voice shook.

  Simon stepped into the room. “Hey,” he said. “You’ve got to step yelling for us. You’re scaring him off.”

  “Him? Who?”

  “Jordan,” said Simon. “He’s hiding.”

  Right. Jordan was he to Simon. She needed to make these little adjustments. She was still off-balance, her body frightened and keyed up.

  “I was coming in here to check the closet,” said Simon.

  “No,” said Lorelei. “Simon, don’t.”

  “Why not?” Simon was close to her now. He seemed huge and solid, like a tree trunk. “You don’t want to find him?”