The Three Graces by M L Bullock

Author:M L Bullock [Bullock, M L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2019-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen—Lily

As the car turned down the driveway that led to Gracefield, I knew right away that this was a bad idea. And it had been mine. My idea to come here, to see for myself whether these girls were good or evil. Yes, this had been a very bad idea. I quietly whimpered beside Aunt Carrie Jo as she eased the car to a stop.

“What is it, Lily? We can leave if you want to. Do you want to go back to the hotel?”

I bit my lip and didn’t answer her. I was mesmerized by the sight of the three small apparitions peering down at me from a second-floor window. That had been their bedroom when they were alive. If Aunt CJ didn’t see those three girls staring down at us, then I didn’t want to be the one to tell her. I wished again that Uncle Ashland could have come with us. He would have seen the ghosts right away and could talk to them. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. All I could do was be in the moment. I remembered to breathe as I stepped out of the car alongside my aunt. Uncle Ashland picked a terrible time to have one of his episodes. He was sleeping back at the hotel. What do I do? Should I try to talk to them? Aunt CJ studied me and gave me a weak smile, presumably to encourage me. She followed my stare and asked, “What is it, Lily?”

“The girls are there. They don’t want us to come in.” The girl in the middle, Sissy, looked exceptionally bad with her dirty dress and dead white skin. The other two children wore those horrible masks. I imagined that I could hear Sissy Grace growling at me like an animal. An increasing feeling of dread threatened to swallow me whole, and I raced back to the car.

I felt such a visceral fight-or-flight emotion that I could barely contain my fear. And even though I was only a kid, I knew very well what fear was. I knew how frightening ghosts and dead people could be, but this was a whole other level of terror. The Pop-Tarts in my stomach fluttered around and threatened to return, but I held my breath and waited for the sensation of nausea to pass.

One Mississippi…

Two Mississippi…

Three Mississippi…

I counted to myself just as Uncle Ashland had taught me. Usually, we did this when there was a storm approaching Seven Sisters. When you count between lightning strikes and thunder booms, you can determine how far away the storm was and how much longer it would last. This wasn’t quite the same situation, but there was certainly a storm brewing over this house. Oh, coming here had been a terrible mistake. I blinked back tears and waited for my aunt to return to the car.

She came to the door and whispered, “You stay here, Lily. I have to talk to Amara, but you stay right here.” I watched in horror as she closed the door behind her and climbed up the steps with Miss Amara.

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