Page 7

6

Georgia

Now

I an parks the car at the back of the house and shuts it off, enveloping the small space in complete silence as we both look up at Crane Manor.

“I forgot how dark this place gets at night,” I say quietly, looking back to see if Auden is still asleep. She fell asleep on the short drive here, and I already dread carrying her up the stairs and to my childhood bedroom.

“I’m sure your dad is still up if you want to go say hello.” Ian’s voice is a low murmur between us.

Well, call me daughter of the year because I completely forgot about him in the hours between arriving here and now.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and turn toward Ian. “When Mrs. Foster called, she didn’t tell me exactly what was wrong with him. She just said he was sick and that I needed to come home as soon as possible. Do you know what’s going on with him?”

Ian lets out a small chuckle, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel softly. Another one of those habits I had forgotten about. Seeing those fingers dancing the way they used to dance across my skin...they remind me of when we were us .

“My mother still has quite a flair for dramatics, if you can’t tell. Your dad fell ill a few weeks ago. We’re still waiting on test results, but as of now, we aren’t sure what’s caused his decline.”

“Decline? What do you mean?”

He shifts his body so he’s leaning against the car door, looking right at me. “Mom found him unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. He says he got hit with a case of vertigo and lost his balance. Of course, we rushed him to the hospital and ran all the tests. Nothing major has stood out, but his heart rate has been abnormal. Fever, chills, abdominal pain, overall weakness throughout his body. He’s been having trouble keeping food and liquids down, but over the last few days, his strength has slowly started to return. Yesterday he was able to pull himself up in bed and feed himself a bowl of oatmeal. I think part of it might be that he knew you were coming home,” he says with a small smile.

“You seem to know a lot about his overall well-being.”

Ian laughs quietly again. That crooked smile of his still makes me want to flash my own at him. “Well, I’d hope I know all about everything going on with him.”

I cock an eyebrow at him. “And what makes you so important in all this?”

His jaw flexes as he brushes his unruly hair out of his eyes. “I’m the doctor in charge of his care,” he answers.

Tears fill my eyes, threatening to spill out as I bring both of my hands to my face, covering my mouth in surprise.

Ian shifts forward, the leather seat creaking in protest. Concern flashes over his face as he turns the overhead light on above us. “What’s wrong? What did I say, Georgia?” His hands reach toward me, but they stop midair, blocked by that invisible barrier I’ve created between the two of us.

I shake my head, trying to clear all these emotions that have hit so fiercely and suddenly. “Nothing.” I clear my throat and wipe away the stray tear that’s slipped down my cheek. “Nothing. I’m just so proud of you. You did it, Ian. You became a doctor like you always dreamed of. After everything that this world has taken from us, you still found a way to make something of yourself. I—I’m just so proud of you.”

He shifts in the seat again, leaning closer to me. “I couldn’t have done it without the image of mini-you kicking my ass any time I wanted to quit.” He looks back at Auden, studying her sleeping features. I swear I can see him pulling at the threads that tie all my lies together. “You and Irene, I mean. The ghosts of you both kept me going. Auden looks like you, but she reminds me of Irene. Don’t you think? That curious spunk of hers and that fearless heart.”

Before I can respond, Auden stirs and sits up in the back seat. “Can we go inside now? I miss Horton,” she says as she yawns loudly, then promptly lies back down. This child has always been able to fall asleep anywhere.

“Come on, I’ll help you carry her upstairs.” Ian opens his door and steps into the night. I follow suit moments later. “If that’s okay?” he asks hesitantly as I meet him on the other side of the car. “I know where we stand, but I’m here for you. And for her, too, whatever you both need. You’re still my best friend, after all.”

The wink he gives me shouldn't make my heart do somersaults in my chest.

I open the door to the back seat with a nod of approval. I don’t stop him when he reaches in after a moment to pick up Auden.

He carries her effortlessly, navigating the barely lit house, the dark halls casting shadows in every direction. While he carries her, I catch myself looking toward all the windows, my pace slowing, waiting to catch a glimpse of her again. The winding staircase swallows them both up like an endless maw as I hurry to catch up to them.

Nothing is waiting for me in the shadows, at least not at this moment, and I breathe a sigh of relief once we reach the bedroom.

Everything about this room feels familiar in a way I wasn’t expecting it to. The bedroom is illuminated by the nearly full moon shining brightly through the balcony doors and the small light next to the bed. Mrs. Foster must have cleaned in here because the room doesn’t smell as though it’s been closed for years. The white, wrought-iron bed frame stands out in the darkness, the pink duvet from my childhood still in pristine condition. It still smells fresh and clean as I turn down the covers for Ian so he can put Auden down.

I carefully remove her shoes and tuck her in tightly, kissing her good night and whispering that I love her. I nearly jump out of my skin when Horton hops onto the bed and cuddles right next to her. “Glad you made yourself at home, pest.” I chuckle as I pet his head softly.

Turning to leave, I catch a glimpse of something in the corner. Or is it someone? I quickly turn back toward the bed and turn on the night-light sitting on the nightstand. Stars of all colors appear on the ceiling above me, lighting the room up and chasing all the monsters away, the way it did when I was little. Scanning the room, there is nothing but my old dollhouse and various furniture waiting in the shadows. I brush Auden’s dark hair back from her face, giving her one more kiss before I meet Ian in the hallway.

I leave the door cracked slightly so I can hear her from the guest room across the hall. Ian leans against the doorframe, his hands hidden away in his pockets as he looks down at the floor. His head shoots up, and our eyes meet, that electric tether between us making my heart feel as though I’m being shocked by an exposed wire.

“You didn’t have to wait for me. I know how to find the guest room just fine.” My voice cracks at him like a whip that I instantly regret.

I’m still not sure how to talk to him. On one hand, I’m angry at him for our past; on the other, I’ve missed him more than I’ve ever missed anything in this world. He’s like a phantom limb that I didn’t realize was missing until I saw him again.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound so snappy. Thank you for helping me with Auden tonight.”

He steps away from the wall, straightening himself before he meets me in the middle of the narrow hall. Auden’s door is cracked open behind me, the night-light casting rays of color over Ian. My father’s room is at the end of the hall, the door closed firmly in place as I gaze over at it. The only other light in the room besides the flashes from the night-light comes from the electric sconces that are lit through the house. When I was a kid, they held candles, but my father must have updated them over the last few years. I don’t miss the way the candles used to flicker throughout the manor at night, casting their eerie glow as my eyes darted from corner to corner, just waiting for something to reach out and take me into the darkness forever.

“Actually,” Ian says, his voice low between us. “You’re not staying in the guest room. My mom made up that room for you.” He points at the door next to Auden’s.

“My mom’s office?” My voice cracks as I wrap my arms tight around me. “You guys want me to sleep in there?”

I take a step away from the door in question. Her office was the one place I was never allowed to go. She would shut herself in there for hours, days, even. Writing, reading, doing whatever it was that she did when she needed a break from being a wife and mother. It was the forbidden fruit of my childhood. Always within reach, just one door away, and yet I wasn’t allowed to go in there. The first time I did...her ghost appeared to scare me away and hasn’t stopped haunting me since. That was the first night I asked Ian to sleep in my room with me, the beginning of our sordid history.

“I can’t go back in there, Ian.” My heart starts pounding rapidly in my chest, the panic seizing my body, a phantom fist squeezing all the air out of my lungs as my eyes close involuntarily. I haven’t had an anxiety attack in years, nearly six years to be exact. The last one I had was when I stared down at that positive test weeks after Ian left.

“Shit, of course you can’t. I’m sorry, I didn’t even think of that.” He steps closer to me.

My eyes fly open when I feel his hand brush against my cheek. Our eyes lock on each other while my rapid breathing hangs heavily between us.

“Shh, deep breath.” Ian’s hands touch my shoulders gently. “Breathe, Georgie, breathe.”

His presence chips slowly away at the terror as I force my lungs to work again. Instead of pushing him away like my brain is urging me to, I wrap my arms around him, crushing myself into his chest. I inhale deeply, letting the familiarness of our embrace ground me.

I don’t know how long we stand there, minutes—hours, perhaps. Wrapped together like the last six years never happened.

The grandfather clock in the dining room beneath us strikes midnight, the chime echoing loudly through the house.

Ian pulls away first. The warmth of him dissipates quickly, and the chill of the manor creeps back into my bones. “Come on, you can take the guest room, and I’ll sleep in there.” He gestures toward my mother’s office. We both eye the forbidden door. I can’t tell if it’s that invisible string between us, or the mutual fear of her office, but neither of us make a move toward our rooms.

“I’ll just go sleep with Auden; you take your room,” I finally say.

“You and her are both going to fit on that twin-size bed?”

“The two of us used to manage just fine if I remember correctly,” I joke back without thinking.

Both of us shift awkwardly. I look up at him, and all sense leaves my body before my brain can catch back up. The meaning in his gaze is fighting against my own as we both remember how things used to be between us. How easy it was to be together, as friends, as two broken humans in love. As each other's safety net in this dark, evil world.

Ian blows out a deep breath before he finally tears his eyes away from the door. “Will you punch me in the face if I suggest a cease-fire?” he asks with a playful tone.

“I didn’t realize we were at war,” I say, cocking my eyebrow up at him. “But what would this cease-fire entail?”

His hand reaches out, hovering in the empty space between us. “Trust me?” he asks softly, hope shining brightly from his eyes.

I don’t think twice before placing my hand in his before he leads us both into the guest room, leaving the door cracked open behind us.