“But I don’t know anything, not really.” Maybe the stories Glory had told her were lies, fabrications to convince Ruby to help her.
“You’ve been through a lot. You deserve to feel better about this. Nothing to do but move on. You’ll feel better soon.”
Ruby hoped she was right.
* * *
Back and forth, Luna pushed the vacuum over the parlor rug, leaving long trails in her path. When she got close to the chair, Sienna lifted her feet up so that Luna could vacuum underneath them. Luna smiled at her, wondering if she was really her friend.
Sienna ran hot and cold. She still had bad cramps; that was what she said every day in a low, whispery voice that seemed sad. She had lost the baby a few weeks ago, which made Luna even sadder. “I stopped taking the abortion pills, but it was too late,” she had explained. “That bitch Natalie.”
Luna had bitten her lips and patted Sienna’s arm in sympathy, but she didn’t understand all of it. She felt sad about the baby, sad for Sienna and for herself. A little baby was going to be the one thing that made her smile in this house, and she had been looking forward to rocking it in her arms and changing stinky diapers, just like she’d seen on television at Hazel’s. The one thing that was clear was that Sienna didn’t like Natalie. At first, Luna hadn’t completely understood that. Then, one evening when she’d been doing a lesson at the kitchen table with Laura, Luna had overheard Natalie talking about her.
“This one has become a problem,” Natalie had said. “Didn’t I always warn you about having a child in the house? She’s a liability we can’t afford.”
“What choice do we have?” Leo had answered. “Where could she go?”
“Put a hood on her head and drop her on the other side of town. The girl’s a goldfish; she’ll die once she leaves her small world. She’d never find her way back. End of problem.”
The image was horrifying to Luna. Being blinded and dragged out to a strange place, a strange world, frightened her more than anything else right now. She hoped that the other sisters would stop Leo and Natalie from sending her away. She hoped Sienna or Georgina might step in and speak up for her. If they dumped her somewhere, like Natalie said, she would die out there. Luna never realized how tiny her world was until the night her mother went out the window and she’d been unable to really help her, unable to give the lady she talked to on the phone her address. Natalie was right. Luna lived in a tiny world, and she was deathly afraid of falling off the edge.
But she had learned that if she did her chores and Sienna’s without complaining she was usually left alone, a ghost girl who swept through the house to blow away dust and scrub toilets. So she vacuumed and scrubbed and dusted.
When she leaned down to move the footstool, her sock slipped down and something thumped against her leg. She looked down and saw that Mama’s cell phone had fallen from Luna’s hiding place and bounced onto the rug.
Suddenly Sienna was on her feet and leaning over to switch off the vacuum. “What’s that?” she asked.
Luna was already scrambling to pick it up. “Nothing.”
“It’s a cell phone. The ancient kind.” Sienna held her hand out. “Give it to me.”
Luna handed it over. “Don’t tell Leo. Please.”
“Where’d you get a cell phone? Leo took mine when I came to the house.” Sienna flipped it open and shut. “Ha. It’s an old flip phone.”
“It was Mama’s. It used to light up, but it’s broken now. But I keep it because it reminds me of her.”
Sienna turned it over and flipped it open again. “It’s not cracked or chipped or anything. It probably just needs to be charged.” She looked up at Luna. “Where’s your charger?”
Luna shrugged. “What’s that?”
“A cord that plugs into the wall. Wow, you really are stuck in the bubble.”
Lifting her chin against the dig, Luna answered, “I think there’s a black cord upstairs.”
“Well, let’s go see if we can get this dinosaur working.” Up in Luna’s room, she found the cord in the bottom of the bin with her papers and the stories she’d written with Mama. She had seen Mama use it before, but she hadn’t understood that the little battery inside the phone needed to be plugged into the wall every few days.
After a few minutes, the screen lit up again. “There we go. See? It still works.” Sienna pressed different buttons, making messages and names appear on the screen. “I can show you how to work it, since you’re such a newbie.”
“I know how to make a call,” Luna said.
“Okay. Not that you have anyone to call, but whatever. Let’s see who’s in your phone book. Ruby. Shawn. And a Tyler Engle.” Sienna squinted at her. “You holding out on me? You got secret friends out there?”
“I guess they were Mama’s friends.”
“And let’s check your history. The last call was made to . . . nine-one-one back in December. Wow. That’s creepy. And before that, a call to Ruby.”
Luna leaned in to peer at the little screen. “I think I know who that is. Mama said Ruby is my sister, except we’ve never met.” Mama was going to meet Ruby that night. That awful night.
Sienna’s face lit with interest. “Wait! No. You have a sister—a real one? You have to call her.”
“I don’t know her.” Although Luna had thought about Ruby and the other sister, Aurora, a few times since she’d learned of Mama’s death, they were like puffy clouds floating out of sight, nice to think about, but unreachable.
“You have to call her,” Sienna insisted. “I want to know what she says. Does she even know that your mom is dead? I mean, Glory was her mom, too, right?”
“I guess.” Luna hadn’t really thought about that much, and right now she just wanted her phone back from Sienna so she could get it out of sight before Leo and the sisters returned from the hotel.
“How old is this Ruby?”
“I don’t know. Can I have Mama’s phone back?”
“Fine.” Sienna held it out.
“You’re not going to tell Leo, right?”
Sienna’s dark eyes shone like those of a squirrel who had just stolen a nut. “I don’t have to tell him anything. You just keep up with the house chores and things will be fine.”
* * *
Ruby knew it was a stupid move. Her parents would freak if they found out, and her friends would have been so against it that Ruby didn’t even tell them what she was doing. For the early release from school—a teacher conference day—Ruby had made up some excuses, and then driven to Northeast Portland to check on her half sister.
The logical part of her mind kept reminding her not to get her hopes up. She might not find out anything, and there were definitely risks involved in poking around. She suspected that this part of Portland held the danger Nani had seen in her teacup.
All signs pointed to Ruby being an idiot, but she had to do this.
Years ago, that firefighter with the funny mustache had saved Ruby and Aurora. What if Luna needed saving and had no one to give her a hand? That neighbor had mentioned that she suspected neglect.
Ruby couldn’t let this go until she knew the kid was okay. When she pulled up it was just after one and the neighborhood was quiet. Turning off the engine, she tried to remember all that Glory had told her. The sisters would still be at the hotel, cleaning rooms, before heading to the mall for a late lunch. But a kid Luna’s age couldn’t be put to work—not in such a public place. People would wonder why she wasn’t in school. No, they would leave her at home.
In this house.
Ruby stared up along the façade of the two-story building and found no sign of an attic up top. Great. Had Glory been lying to her? I’ll be so burned if the story about that girl dying in the attic is a ruse. Getting out of the car, Ruby realized she’d become coldhearted, wishing for confirmation of a girl’s death. She was so mired in drama. Did she really want to find evidence that Annabelle was killed, or did she want to make sure Luna was living in a safe situation?
There
was no doorbell, but she banged the door knocker, waited, and then banged again.
It seemed like no one was home. That would be a relief. She stepped off the porch and looked at the front windows. The shades were cracked open a few inches, but it seemed dark inside.
Was the house empty, or was Luna inside, following instructions not to answer the door? Ruby was studying the house, trying to extract information from its tired gold paint and overgrown bushes, when the door opened and a man leaned out. Probably in his thirties or forties, he had blue eyes and sandy hair and the glow of a celebrity.
“Hey,” he said casually, as if she came to the door every day. This had to be Leo. He had beautiful eyes and a big presence.
“Hi. I didn’t mean to bother you, but I’m looking for someone.” When she had rehearsed in her mind, she’d decided to play it as straight as possible without giving up too much information about herself. “A little kid named Luna? She’s nine or ten years old.”
“Nine or ten. Which one?” He had a smile that made you like him. “I’m kidding. No kids living here. None of any age. How old are you?”
Ruby didn’t expect the question. “Sixteen.”
“I thought so. That’s why I opened the door. I don’t talk to reporters or Bible beaters or salespeople. But you, you’re different.”
He seemed so honest, so genuinely interested in her. “I’m just looking for a friend.”
He chuckled. “A nine-year-old friend?”
“It may seem strange, but it’s not a joke.” Ruby knew he was lying, that Luna was probably inside, and she struggled to come up with a way to get through to her without pissing him off. “Is there a better time for me to visit her? I can come back.”
“Who are you?”
“I knew Glory.”
“Then she probably told you what we’re about. My sister and I, we take in young women in need. But you don’t look so needy. Is that a VW key I see in your hand?” He looked beyond her to her Passat, which she had stupidly parked right in front of the house. “A shiny, new one. A pretty black car for a pretty black girl. Or are you mixed race?”
The question was too personal, his way of getting under her skin. “I have to go.” She turned and started walking.
“So soon? And we were just getting to know each other.” As she got into the car he stood on the porch, watching. She knew he wouldn’t come after her, and yet she couldn’t wait to get away. He wanted her to know that he could and would hurt her if she crossed him. Leo was one scary dude. Shaken, she fumbled with her seat belt under the burn of his scalding gaze. There was no time to check her phone or program her GPS; with clenched jaw, she started the car and drove away from his laser sights.
Two blocks later her hands were still shaking as she pulled over and reached for her phone. She was going to check her route home when she thought of the neighbors, the woman and her kid who was around Luna’s age. Would the mom even be home? It was iffy, but since she was here, it was worth a shot.
* * *
“We’re not buying anything today,” the young mom said.
Ruby struggled to recall her name but drew a blank. “I’m not selling. I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m wondering about the little girl who lives in the house on the cross street. Luna?”
This seemed to make the woman tense even more as she pushed her daughter back away from the door. “I’m sorry, but I really can’t help you.”
“My name is Ruby McCullum. I met you and your daughter out on the street the night that . . . the night that Glory fell out the window next door. Please. I need to talk to you about Luna.”
The petite woman shoved her hands in her jacket pockets. “Are you one of Leo’s sisters?”
“No, I’m here for personal reasons. Glory Noland was my mother.”
The woman stepped closer to the door and peered through the glass. “Are you an investigator?”
“I’m just trying to make sure my half sister is going to be okay.”
The woman let out a deep breath and pushed open the door. “Then you’d better come inside and talk; I can’t let that sociopath get wind of this. I’m no expert, but anyone can see that child needs help.”
CHAPTER 43
After Sienna showed her how to charge the cell phone, Luna kept it nearby all the time now, rubbing it like a lucky charm and popping it open and closed to see it light up under the covers at night. Most days she kept it tucked in the folded-over band of her sock, and most nights it was at home under her pillow, right next to her worn Harold book. Luna knew that it was silly, as she had no one to call, but the phone reminded her of Mama in those last months, when she had seen it as a way to connect with people outside the house.
Falling asleep had been a problem in the empty room with that yawning window over Mama’s bed, the one that had sucked her out in her nightmare. But now, with the light of the cell phone, Luna was able to melt a little part of the darkness.
One night, in the middle of the night, something pulled her from sleep. As she rolled over in bed, the air felt different. She opened her eyes and found Leo sitting on her bed, stroking her hair back. He wore a dark T-shirt and jeans, and he had a strange, sleepy expression on his face.
“Is it time to get up?” She scratched her nose. “It’s dark outside.”
“Quiet.” He put his finger on her lips, reaching into her safe cocoon. “I was too cold to sleep. Is it all right if I get under the covers with you?”
“No.” A sense that this was wrong jolted her completely awake now. Her hands found the quilt and held it tight to her chin. “Go away.”
“Come on, Luna-tic.” His voice was a low animal growl, reminding her of the neighbor’s dogs. He yanked the covers hard and ripped them out of her hands.
“Get away!” she shouted, scrambling toward the wall.
“Shut up!” he hissed as he lunged toward her, pressing his hand to her mouth and yanking her by the neck with his other hand.
“No. No!” A shrill cry tore from her voice as she tried to wriggle loose. She didn’t know what he wanted to do to her; she just knew she had to make him stop. He growled again, pressing on her throat, choking her, pinning her down. At last, she managed to squirm loose and shift on the bed, pushing him away with her feet.
“Leave me alone! Get out of here!” Trapped by the wall, she used it for leverage as she kicked at him, her legs flailing as he tried to grab at them. She was crying out and struggling against him when the door opened, and suddenly there were sisters streaming into the room, bringing tears of relief to Luna’s eyes.
“Why are you making such a noise in here when we’re trying to sleep!” Rachel marched in, ready to pounce on Luna until she saw Leo. He released Luna’s legs but continued to glare at her.
“I didn’t do anything.” Luna’s voice was shaky as she gathered the quilt around her and huddled back against the wall.
Laura blinked, still half-asleep, but Sienna seemed fully awake as she whirled on Leo. “What the hell? What are you even doing up here in her room?”
He scowled back at them. “What do you think? I heard her shouting. A nightmare or something, and I tried to get here before Natalie was disturbed.”
“Really? You heard that?” Sienna shoved at his chest. “From all the way downstairs?” She pushed him again. “When I didn’t hear anything till just a minute ago.”
“Well, it’s over now,” Laura said, placing a hand on Sienna’s shoulder. “Let’s quiet down and get back to bed. No harm done. Oh, I’m so tired.”
Still huddled on the bed, Luna was afraid they had forgotten her, afraid they would leave her here to be punished by Leo.
“I’m glad it was nothing,” Laura went on. “Let’s get back to bed before we really do wake Natalie and everyone else up.”
Refusing to settle down, Sienna kept poking Leo. “I don’t give a shit about Natalie. I know what you were doing up here . . . the two of you.” She shot a scowl at Luna, who shook her head, as if all the bad things could
be flung away.
“But I didn’t do anything wrong,” Luna said.
“Stop saying that.” Sienna wheeled around and lunged toward the bed. She was ferocious—an attacking tiger—until Rachel grabbed her by the shoulders and held her back. “Stop whimpering like a baby and acting all innocent.”
Leo gave a sick laugh, enjoying the fireworks, but Rachel was clearly losing patience. “We can’t have this going on here, with all of us trying to sleep.” Rachel nodded at Luna as she gave a tug and the attic door squeaked on its hinges. “You. Grab your blanket. Up to the attic you go.”
“Ha! Like he’s not going to find her up there.” Sienna sneered at Leo. “You’re such a liar. I hate you.”
While they were arguing, Luna scrambled to grab her quilt and cell phone. At least no one seemed to notice.
Her head was cloudy and her heart was still beating fast when Rachel opened the attic door and walked her up. She stood at the door, watching as Luna hunched onto the sleeping bag.
“Go to sleep,” Rachel ordered.
“But wait.” Luna was scared. Didn’t Rachel understand what had just happened?
“What do I do if he comes up here?”
Rachel closed her eyes and drew in a breath. “Just don’t make any more noise.”
For a long time after Rachel left, Luna stared at the door, frozen in a spell of fear and dread. Her wild mind tried to sort through what had just happened, what the sisters had said to her. Her new friend, Sienna, was mad at her, and now Rachel had told her to keep quiet.
Did that mean that no one would stop him?
No one but Luna.
* * *
Sometime after she dozed off the tread of footsteps on the stairs jolted her awake.
Someone was coming.
He was coming.
She sat up and hugged herself, squinting as the door swung open and Leo stood in the rectangle of light. Even from across the dusty attic, she could sense his simmering anger. He was going to destroy her.
“I told you to keep quiet.”
“I am.” She rose to face him, pulling the quilt around her shoulders. “I’m quiet when you’re not here. So go.”
The Sisters Page 29
