The Bell House

by Lori Titus

  She followed. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice.

  They sat down, and Jenna found herself twisting her wedding ring.

  “Where’s your husband?” the officer asked. She looked up long enough to read his nametag: Evans.

  “Oh. Um, he passed away recently.”

  Evans blushed, but kept his tone professional. “I’m sorry. Tell me about what happened tonight.”

  She related what happened with Diana as quickly and with as much detail as she could stand.

  “I have calls to make,” she said, watching him take notes. She wondered where Henry was.

  “Diana had some . . . behaviors that were out of the ordinary before this?”

  “Yes. We’d had this fight . . . over almost nothing. She came to my house the next night and started pounding on the doors.”

  “Night? What time?”

  “Well, around three in the morning.”

  “Is there any history of mental health issues in the family?”

  Jenna straightened her back. “On her mother’s side of the family.”

  “Her mother’s side?”

  “Yes. We’re half-sisters. Her mother was institutionalized for many years.”

  “May I ask?”

  “She was schizophrenic. They tried controlling it with medicine but . . . I don’t know. They never seemed to get a handle on it with her.”

  There was a glint in his eye. Jenna could imagine what he was thinking: Schizophrenia. Well that fucking explains a lot.

  “You said the girls told you Diana was screaming?”

  “Yes. Apparently she hadn’t cut herself yet. They said she was walking from room to room, screaming her lungs out.”

  “So it was just her and the kids at home?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have any idea where her husband is?”

  Jenna sighed. “No, I have been trying to reach him by cell for the last twenty minutes.”

  “By the looks of things, this was a suicide attempt, but I wanted to make sure we got your statement as soon as possible. It’s really lucky for both her and the kids that you live so close. No telling what might have happened otherwise.”

  Jenna had never considered the possibility that Diana might hurt one of the kids, but the idea of it sent a shiver through her body.

  Evans reached across the table to hand her his card. “Please let me know if anything else should come up.”

  He left then, and Jenna went back towards the emergency room.

  The nurse told her there was nothing new to report, that the doctor was working on making sure Diana was stabilized.

  Which means she’s not stable right now, Jenna thought.

  “Come on, Henry,” Jenna whispered, pressing her cell phone against her ear. “Where are you?”

  Chapter Ten

  Goddamn fucking Jenna, you stupid bitch, why are you just standing there?

  The toe of Jenna’s sneaker slammed into my thigh. The dumb bitch managed to get the light turned on, and then she stood there looking down at me.

  “Babies . . .” I said. It was all I could force past my lips. “Jenna . . . Get my babies! Jenna. . . Run.”

  Like a vulture, Jenna circled. She stepped around me. She got to the floor on her knees. I felt her hand on my forehead. Her palm was cool. “Diana, what did you do? What happened?”

  I couldn’t say. I wasn’t sure.

  Then she moved again, and she was opening up drawers. She pulled out a towel and tried to put it over my wrists, applied pressure, and tried to stop the blood.

  I screamed—or tried to. I don’t think Jenna heard me because she didn’t move.

  I could see Daddy standing right behind her.

  This was my handsome father again, not the rotted thing, the thing that looked like it plowed itself up through the Earth. And he was smiling.

  “Who gave you the right to check out?” Jenna said. “Huh? With those little girls you have to raise? What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I swear. You bitch. You had better not let anything happen to those children.”

  Jenna paused. She stood and, rolling back on her heels, she pulled out her cell phone. “Yes, I called for an ambulance. Where is it?”

  Travis shook his head. “Really, Bugaboo? You think right now is the time to call her a bitch?”

  “Well, if I am gonna die anyway . . .”

  “Will you shut up!” Jenna screamed. “You did this shit to yourself and now you have the fucking gall to complain?”

  Travis laughed, a predatory grumble. “Not so gentle under that soft exterior, is she?”

  Jenna put the phone back to her ear and listened to whatever the dispatcher was telling her.

  “Yes, I have applied pressure. Yes. She’s somewhat awake. That was her speaking just now.”

  “You’re not funny,” I said.

  Jenna hung up the phone after a minute. She came and stood over me.

  She stared at me. I don’t know what was with her. I wondered if she could know how much I hate her. I didn’t think so.

  “She’s pissed with you,” Travis said. “But she doesn’t want you to die.”

  “I’m not arranging your funeral,” Jenna said. “I’m not even going to it. And you’re going to let Henry raise the girls by himself. You know he can barely tie his own shoelaces. They’ll run right over him, like you do.”

  That made me want to laugh, but I didn’t have the strength for it. The edges of my vision were getting blurry.

  Next thing I knew, I heard the bleating. It sounded like an alarm clock to me for a minute, and I thought that maybe I’d wake up in bed, but there were lights. I heard the door open and men’s voices.

  “Jesus Christ,” one of them sighed. “Do you know how long she’s been like this?”

  I saw a man bend over me, but then, just darkness.

  HOSPITAL.

  That’s what this place has to be.

  Where else are there so many lights?

  I am moving fast. I feel like I am in a car, speeding.

  Really, I am laying on gurney.

  People are moving around me. They flutter in hyper speed, like moths drawn to light.

  Behind them, against the wall, I see Travis.

  He has come. He is waiting.

  I think about Ahmad. I think about the girls.

  Travis has his arms open.

  If I go, I won’t ever see my children again.

  “You have to pay the price,” Travis said. “You wanted to do the thing, but you didn’t have the guts.”

  It was then that I realized.

  This thing was not my daddy.

  Not as he was when he was alive. Maybe there was a place of punishment that had changed him. Maybe this was something masquerading in his flesh. But he wasn’t Travis now, even if he used to be.

  The moths seemed to speed up around me. But now, I couldn’t hear them anymore.

  I opened my mouth. I tried to speak.

  I felt like I was plunging through open air.

  Falling into nothingness.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I don’t know where you are, or what Diana did to piss you off, but you need to know that your wife just tried to kill herself, and I’m here with her now at St. Matthew’s. So get your black ass down here now.” The voice mail cut her off just as Jenna finished. She was standing in the hallway. When she ended the call, she realized that people were staring at her. She didn’t care.

  Jenna walked down another corridor and found a vending machine. The coffee came in a tiny cup, and it was bitter. She had to sit and balance it carefully so it wouldn’t burn her fingers through the paper. It seemed to help clear her head at least.

  Raquel, Diana’s daughter, had lived somewhere in North Carolina last time Jenna’d heard. Jenna tried the only number she had for her, but it was disconnected. She called one of her cousins, explained the situation as briefly as possible, and begged, “Please, I know Raquel likes to stay off the gr
id, but she’d want to be here.”

  A few minutes later, she dialed a phone number, and a sleepy voice answered the phone.

  “Raquel?”

  “Yes?” There was a pause. “Aunt Jenna? Is Maya sick? Is it Taleya?”

  “No, your daughters are fine. Look, I’m calling about your mom. She’s in the hospital.”

  A long sigh. “I’ll come down tomorrow and get the girls.”

  “Wait. Raquel, it’s really serious—”

  “Aunt Jenna. Listen, you don’t know my mom like I do. I’m sure she has told you all kinds of things about me, but there’s not anything that can be done about that right now. She’s the same mean woman she’s always been. And we haven’t been talking now for a long time. Not since Ahmad died. So I’ll come get my kids, but I’m not interested in seeing her in the hospital.”

  Just as Raquel hung up the phone, Jenna heard an announcement come over the speaker system.

  Code Blue.

  HENRY WAS AWAKE AT 3:30.

  His start time at the job was 5:00.

  He figured that if he went back home, he could shower in his own tub. Diana would still be asleep, as would the girls. Then he could go about the rest of his day as usual.

  His cell phone needed charging; it had gone completely blank. Another thing he’d have to take care of once he got home . . .

  Without saying goodbye to Keisha, he went out into the dark morning.

  It was only a ten-minute drive back home, but as he got out of the car, every bone and muscle strained in protest. He was tired, despite the hours of rest he’d gotten the previous night.

  As Henry walked up the driveway, he noticed that all the lights were on in Jenna’s house, but her car was gone.

  And next door, Mrs. Norris’ lights were all on as well.

  “Grandpa!”

  He turned around to see Taleya standing on Mrs. Norris’ porch.

  The neighbor came out behind her, and the elderly woman grabbing the child’s hand.

  “Henry,” she called. “Your sister-in-law has been trying to reach you!”

  “Yeah!” Taleya yelled, hands on her hips. “Gramma’s in the hospital, and where have you been?”

  “SERIOUSLY, I THOUGHT I was through with this shit,” Jenna said. “Waiting around in hospitals.”

  Amanda smiled ruefully at her friend. It was seven in the morning, and the two of them were sitting in the hospital cafeteria.

  “You should let me take you home,” Amanda replied. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me earlier. You’ve been here all night?”

  Jenna shrugged. “Yeah. Well, I knew you’d be up at five, so I waited.”

  “It’s a lot to take in, especially waiting for news by yourself. So, Diana attempted suicide?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What happened? I mean, did something happen last night?”

  “I don’t know, but I think she may have had a really bad fight with Henry. He wasn’t home. He didn’t get here until about an hour ago. She’s flat lined twice over the course of the night.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “I wish I was. The second time wasn’t as bad. They got her back around quicker. I don’t know how much blood they had to give her.”

  “So she’s stable now?”

  “For now.”

  “Honey, I’m so sorry,” Amanda hugged her. “Well, since Henry is here now, I think we should get going. Come on. You’ve got an appointment with your bed.”

  They stood, and Jenna felt dizzy for a moment. She grasped the table, righting herself.

  “Don’t play it off,” Amanda said. “I saw that.”

  “JENNA!” MRS. NORRIS called as she crossed the lawn. Over the short drive home, Jenna had to breathe deep and hope her legs wouldn’t give way. She was feeling a wave of nausea, panic coming up in the back of her throat.

  “How are the girls?” Jenna asked.

  “Asleep. Finally. Taleya didn’t go to sleep until after she saw her grandpa.”

  “He stopped back here?”

  “Yeah. Around four in the morning.”

  The elderly woman gave her a meaningful look and then changed the subject. “How’s Diana?”

  “They think she’ll be okay. It was really bad.”

  “I’m so sorry. Listen, since they are asleep, you can come pick them up later. How’s ten o’clock?”

  “That would be perfect. It’s so kind of you.”

  “Not a problem. My grandson will be coming around that time.”

  “Thank you again,” Jenna said.

  “Before you go,” Mrs. Norris said, “I need to ask you something.”

  “Sure.”

  “Last week, I saw Diana on her porch one evening. She was talking to someone, but no one was there. She didn’t have her cell phone with her. And I know she doesn’t wear one of those earpieces. She doesn’t like them.”

  Jenna felt a chill run though her flesh.

  “Whatever is going on,” Mrs. Norris whispered, “do you think she could be having a nervous breakdown like her mother did?”

  “MR. BELL?”

  “No, Doctor, my name is Henry Lambert. My wife likes to use her maiden name.”

  Henry stood up and shook the doctor’s hand. He introduced himself as Dr. Laramie and said that he was on a team of physicians that would oversee the case.

  “Well, first of all, you know Diana lost a lot of blood. During the course of the night her heart stopped twice. Fortunately we were able to resuscitate her. We were able to stop the bleeding, and she was given two transfusions so far. We consider her stable for now, but she’s still in serious condition. We’re going to monitor her very closely.”

  “Al... alright,” Henry swallowed over the lump in his throat.

  “She’s in and out of consciousness, but I’d prefer her not have too many visitors. You can go in and speak to her, but keep it brief, and please, don’t say anything that could upset her.”

  “Once we have her on an even keel physically,” the doctor continued, “her mental status is going to have to be assessed. Is there anything upsetting that has happened to her recently?”

  “No,” Henry shook his head. “She had a little spat with her sister, that’s all. Can I see her?”

  THE CURTAINS WERE DRAWN around the bed, and at first, Henry could only see Diana’s foot from where it poked out from beneath the covers. He took a sharp breath when he saw her face. She was so pale, almost gray against the white sheets. Her lashes fluttered as he sat down beside the bed. He could swear she’d shrunk. She looked so small and misplaced amongst the bed sheets. The only time he’d ever seen his wife sick was the winter after they married. He’d had the flu, and she nursed him through it. But when she’d got the bug, it was worse, and he remembered how she’d lost ten pounds in the course of a week. She’d been fragile afterwards. He remembered how he’d felt her bones when he hugged her, and been afraid that he’d hurt her if he squeezed too tightly.

  That was nothing in comparison. She was the shadow of some woman, not nearly his Diana.

  “Hey,” she said, and her voice, though weak, had the rasp he was familiar with.

  “Hey you,” he took her right hand into his own. It was cold and felt paper dry. “I hear you came up on the wrong end of a knife.”

  “You could say that,” she muttered. “I was trying to get Daddy out the house.”

  “Daddy . . . ?” Henry recoiled. “Babe, who are you talking about?”

  “Please watch the girls for me?” she begged. “I tried to tell stupid fucking Jenna, but she didn’t understand. Daddy said he took from me already and he’s gonna take more. Watch the babies.”

  “Okay. I’ll watch them,” he said carefully. “How about you? How do you feel?”

  She blinked. “I don’t know. I guess I’m here, when I’m not other places.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Travis told me that you have been staring into the black,” Diana said. “It’s spreading
everywhere. It’s coming for you too. Have you said your prayers? Because maybe they can kill you, but they can’t always get your soul.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Aunt Jenna,” Raquel said.

  Jenna hadn’t seen her niece in five years, and a lump caught in her throat.

  Raquel was thinner than she remembered, but she looked well. Her caramel colored skin was clear. The acne of her teens was gone. Her hair was long and plaited into thin individual braids that swept down her back. She didn’t wear any make-up except for black eyeliner and a nude color on her lips. She wore jeans, a thin white sweater, and wedge heels that gave her enough height to look her aunt in the eye.

  Jenna hugged her and was surprised at how fiercely the embrace was returned.

  “Where are they?” she asked.

  “In the kitchen. Come on.”

  Jenna showed her through the back to the kitchen. Taleya and Maya both cried out in joy when they saw their mom, launching themselves at her. She grabbed both of them in her arms and hugged them. There were tears all around. Jenna wandered into the living room, allowing them -time alone.

  After a while, Raquel came out and sat down beside her on the couch.

  “You have changed it a lot since Ahmad was here. It’s nice, Jenna.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You know, I wished that I had known you were going to move up here. I might have been able to save you some trouble.”

  “Yes. Well, too late for that I guess. Did you speak with Henry yet?”

  “He called me a few hours after you did. I didn’t mention to him that we spoke, so he filled me in on Mom’s situation.”

  “What is going on between you and your mom?”

  Raquel sighed. “You know, things were messed up with me for a while. I was really too young to get married to Darryl, and at the time, I’ll be honest, I did experiment with a lot of things that I shouldn’t have. What was bad about it was that my husband never stopped. He’d been a casual user as long as I had known him, but that changed not long after Maya was born.