The Haunting Season (2 page)

“Aunt Carolyn,
please!”

“DON’T!” a woman, presumably Aunt Carolyn, replied. “For God’s sake,
don’t touch me!”

The source of the voices rounded the corner a moment later—a tired looking, dark-haired woman in casual slacks and blouse, and a too-thin girl of about seventeen or eighteen with long strawberry blond hair wearing shorts. A man dressed in a black suit and red tie followed behind. Unless Jess missed her guess, he had to be Dr. Brandt.

“Allison, you’ll be fine,” the man said. “I assure you and your aunt that you’ll be safe here.”

The woman slowed and turned to offer him a terse smile. “Yes, my husband and I will feel much better when she’s here with
you
.” She rubbed her arms as though it were winter rather than late July. “Allison’s parents, that is, my sister and her husband, will be in touch, I’m sure. They just need some time.” Her eyes darted in Allison’s direction and Jess swore she saw fear inside them. Not the kind she’d expect from some weird germaphobe afraid of being touched, but from someone who’d just found a tarantula hanging in front of her, or the boogeyman in her bedroom closet.

Or encountered someone who’d done something to permanently scare the crap out of her.

“Well,” Aunt Carolyn replied at last, “If that’ll be all.” She gave the man a cordial nod and hurried past Jess and her mother, almost colliding with Lily and Paul in her rush. Allison’s aunt never looked back, slamming the door shut behind her.

The man in the suit approached them, an apologetic look on his face. “Dr. Gregory Brandt,” he said. He gestured at the thin, young girl. “And this is Allison Giles. You must be—”

“It doesn’t matter who they are,” Allison interrupted. “They should leave this place. This instant.”

For a long moment, no one spoke. Lily came to stand beside Jess. “A
wk
ward,” she whispered.

Allison wrung her hands and managed a smile. Tears glimmered in her eyes. “Are you afraid of me, too? If not, you will be. Just like everyone else.”

“No one is afraid of you,” Dr. Brandt assured her. A smile spread across his face almost too easily. “Your aunt is uncomfortable with the study, that’s all. Non-believers usually are.”

Allison’s eyes cut to Dr. Brandt. “My aunt believes. They all do. How could they
not
?”

Jess opened her mouth to tell Allison that she wasn’t afraid of her, even though her aunt clearly
had
been, but Allison shoved past them and hurried up the stairs.

“R
eally
awkward,” Lily reiterated.

Jess felt her mother’s gentle touch on her arm. “Jess, sweetheart. Say the word and you can come with us to Florida. It’ll be a nice family vacation. Your cousins will be happy to see you.”

The worrisome tone in her voice was too much. Her mother meant well, but Jess found the gesture nearly suffocating and pulled away. She
needed
to do this. Her mother loved her, wanted to shield her, but Jess was stronger now. Hiding the grief and tears had been hard at first, but that, too, had become easier over time. Jess sensed the weight of her mother’s stare.

She thinks Allison and I have a lot of potential crazy in common. And maybe we do.

“Allison is just nervous,” Dr. Brandt explained. “The relationship she has with her aunt and uncle is a bit strained.”

“Wow, I hope she’s not my roommate.” Jess hoped the statement would go a long way to reassure her mother, although she actually wouldn’t mind sharing a room with Allison. Everyone else could call it crazy if they wanted, but Allison might really be in tune with whatever ghosts called Siler House home.

And Allison might be able to help me find the portal, so I can find Dad and Grams.

Paul laughed. “I don’t know, Jess. With your luck, she’s definitely your roommate. So, what do you say we lug the dead bodies upstairs and find out?” He nodded toward her luggage.

Jess smiled, thankful for Paul’s eternal and timely wit.

“Simple case of nerves,” Dr. Brandt repeated. “I’m certain Jess and Allison will be fine,” he added, essentially confirming that Paul was right about Jess’s luck. “They’ll be good friends by morning.”

Jess’s mother finished introducing herself, Paul and Lily just as the next study mate arrived—a tall, fair-haired guy wearing jeans and a black polo shirt. He held the door for a woman and tall girl who shared his complexion and faded blue eyes. He grinned nervously at Jess and her family before bringing his attention back to what she assumed were his mother and sister. A man entered behind them and Jess noticed that the newcomer’s face grew taut. He wiped the palms of his hands against his jeans.

“Ah,” Dr. Brandt exclaimed. “Bryan! So glad you decided to join us.” He began making the formal introductions around the room. Jess learned that Bryan’s last name was Akerman, that he was about her own age, and that his younger sister’s name was Erin. The man with his mother was her boyfriend, Alex.

Everyone nodded or shook hands. Alex wrapped an arm around Bryan’s mother, and Bryan looked away.

“Bryan, it’s okay. Honest,” his sister said softly, resting a hand on his arm. Bryan swallowed hard and nodded.

“Sweetheart,” Bryan’s mother said, excusing herself from small talk with Jess’s mother and moving away from her boyfriend. Bryan seemed to relax a bit. “We’ll be just fine.” She leaned forward and whispered something too softly for Jess to hear clearly, but it was something about finally being happy. Then she turned to face everyone. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Hon, do you have the car keys?” Alex patted the pockets on his slacks.

“Bryan!” Erin mouthed accusingly.

“What?” Bryan mouthed back. “I didn’t do it.”

The boyfriend
seemed
nice enough. At the same time, Jess totally understood. Watching her mother with someone other than her father had been hard at first, too.

“Never mind!” Alex pulled the keys from his right pants pocket. “They’re right here.”

Bryan shifted his footing and looked toward the door. Whatever ability Bryan had, it wasn’t like hers or Allison’s. Jess wondered if Bryan’s ability was more physical. Telekinesis? Mind control? Something else? Cool.

Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t wait to talk to her fellow test subjects and get the chance to know more about them and about Siler House. She had been waiting for something like Siler House to come into her life. She looked around at the stairwell and the large, inviting room, and wondered that if houses
could
think, would Siler House feel the same way about her.

CHAPTER THREE

“Are you sure you don’t want to change your mind?” Jess’s mother asked for the millionth time. “Our last family vacation before you go off to school?” Her eyes darted away from Allison, who had officially become Jess’s new roommate.

Ignoring her mother’s repeated plea for Jess to leave with them, Jess plunked her suitcase down on the bed closest to the window. Allison sat on her own bed, absently staring into space, her suitcases still untouched against the wall.

The room was a good size, plenty big enough for two girls to share, which Jess thought was saying something. She unzipped her suitcase and pulled out several pairs of shorts and placed them in one of the dresser drawers. “Nice room.”

“It used to be a playroom for the Silers’ daughters,” the maid who had shown Jess and her mother to the room informed them. “If there’s nothing else…”

It was close to five o’clock, and Jess imagined the woman wanted to finish her chores before leaving.

“No. I’m good. Thanks,” Jess replied.

“There’s a nightlight in the bathroom, and one for the room, should you need them,” the maid added.

“Thanks,” Jess replied, as anxious for her to leave as she clearly was. For that matter, she was also ready for her mother to leave.

The maid nodded as she briskly walked across the room to the door. “Take care. Sleep well. My shift’s ending and I must be going.” Her mother opened her mouth in protest, but the maid was already out the door and halfway down the hall.

With the woman gone, her mother examined the room as though everything about it might be part of some test. She paid particular attention to the lock on the door.

“Mrs. Hirsch has the keys,” Allison informed her.

“Mrs. Hirsch?” Jess’s mother inquired.

Allison nodded. “I think she’s the head housekeeper or something. She was here, right before you came up. She said she’ll be living here with us. She’s staying downstairs on the second floor with Dr. Brandt and the guys.”

Allison wiped at her red, watery eyes, an indicator she’d been crying before Jess showed up. She still couldn’t believe the way Allison’s aunt had acted. Jess glanced at her mother, who was busy checking the window latch. “I’ll be
fine
, Mom. Really. Okay? Every couple of days the maids come in,
and
there’s Mrs. Hirsch. She’ll be here the
whole time
. Allison and I will be nice and safe up here—alone. Right, Allison?” Jess wanted to bring up that she was eighteen after all, but decided against it.

“Alone,” Allison muttered morosely. Whatever had happened between her and her aunt must have been really something. Allison’s shoulders were slumped and her hair needed brushing. She hardly seemed like someone to be afraid of—instead, she was more like someone who needed a friend.

Her mother stood, hesitating. “Well, if you’re
sure
…”

Jess gave her mother a hug. “Yes! I’m sure. Paul will think you’re staying, too, if you don’t hurry up. One month, Mom. It’s just one month. I’ll be home before college starts. We’ll have plenty of time together then.”

Her mother managed a weak smile. “Don’t forget to put your phone on charge. You’re always forgetting—”

“I’ll put my phone on charge,” Jess sighed. “I promise. Now, go before Paul comes up here looking for you.”

“One month. Unless you call us before then. Maybe I should go find Mrs. Hirsch. I’d like to at least meet her before we leave.” Her mother straightened her blouse and left, leaving Jess alone with her sullen roommate.

Allison stared after Jess’s mother for a moment, making the silence between them seem awkward. Jess got up and went to the window. The Red Room, as the sign on the hallway door indicated, had been aptly named. The wall with the window had been painted a vermillion red. The curtains matched their bedspreads, white with red vines. The room overlooked the back lawn.

“Moms,” Jess said, turning away from the window. “What she really means is she’s going to tell Mrs. Hirsch that I’m prone to imagination and...” Jess faltered. She didn’t know Allison well enough to tell her she’d been on medication for a supposed nervous breakdown. Not that she
agreed
with the doctors. They just didn’t understand. But maybe Allison would.

Jess sighed and flopped onto her bed, deciding that nothing she had to say could come close to the embarrassment Allison had suffered downstairs. “No one believes me. Not even when I told them about a small candy box with some money inside it that Grams had stashed in a dresser drawer before she died. Mom said I must have just forgotten that Grams had already told me or something.”

“At least she loves you,” Allison replied. “Your mother is here. Mine isn’t. My father, either. They had me put away for a while. A mental hospital.”

Wow,
Jess thought. Allison went one step further than she had. That had to be rough. A mental hospital? When Jess had been seeing the psychiatrist, she’d worried that he would recommend a mental hospital for a short time, too. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Allison stated without raising her head. “We’ve never been close, even before all this. My parents are traveling, so I’ve been staying with my aunt and uncle the past week. But, they’re
all
afraid of me.” Allison began picking at her fingernails, which were already too short.

“Well, I’m not afraid of you,” Jess said. “I think people who are different than us are afraid, sometimes. But, I’m sure they’ll come around.”

“I’m classified as borderline schizophrenic,” Allison announced casually. “Unless you want to consider the full-on alternative to that diagnosis. Anyway, we’ve got some real family issues going on. But who doesn’t, right? Looks like you’ve got some issues with your mom. But it’s nothing like the relationship I have with mine. So, you really think I’m like you?”

Jess shrugged. “Well, sure. I mean, we’re all here for the same reason, right? An experiment on the paranormal. Ghosts.” Jess didn’t want to address the schizophrenia diagnosis, which she found a bit disconcerting. But given her own experience with psychiatrists, she decided to give Allison a chance.

“You see ghosts?” Allison asked, almost as if she was relieved.

Jess nodded. “Yeah. Do you?”

Allison stared blankly at her, making Jess wonder if her new roommate was on some major meds or was really just that strange.

“It used to freak me out,” Jess continued. “But I’m sort of used to it now. Sorry about your family. Like Dr. Brandt said, it’s because they don’t understand. I mean, it’s sort of creepy.”

“I
’m
afraid of me,” Allison blurted out, tears beginning to stream down her face again. “I thought it might all be over, but this
place!
I’m... I’m scared. Terrified, actually. I think my family wants something to happen to me. I think they want me put away somewhere permanently. Not that they cared before this, but
now? This place?”
She shifted her position on the bed, and took a steadying breath. “Sorry. TMI, right? I don’t know you, and you probably don’t want to hear all this. But I don’t have anyone to talk to usually, and I feel like I’m all alone. Sort of. I mean, I don’t think we’re
really
by ourselves here.” She swiped at her cheeks and let out a halfhearted laugh. “I sound crazy.”

Allison might be afraid, but she was hardly crazy. She’d been through a lot, apparently. Still, weren’t they all considered a
little
crazy, as Allison had put it, for believing in ghosts and stuff to begin with? Jess shrugged. “Well, yeah. A tiny bit. Which means you’re probably at least as sane as I am. So, we see ghosts. Looks like we’ve got something in common.”