Ada gave Maximus an odd look then reached for the knob and yanked on it. The door opened right away and I could see the relief on his face. It was like he expected us to be locked inside. Actually, I expected that too. In some ways, I wanted it.
Now that I was here, I had no intention of leaving.
I was home.
“So this place is freaking you out, is it?” I said to Maximus with a smug smile.
His gaze on me was trained and careful. “There’s definitely a feeling here.” He looked at Perry. “You feel it, it’s heavy, the air.”
“Could be all the dust,” Ada said, wrinkling her nose. She walked down the hall toward where her mother disappeared. As she passed the Renoir painting, something in the painting moved. It was barely noticeable. Ada didn’t pick up on it. But the black eyes of the woman in the background, leaning on the railing, watched her move past.
Then the eyes were looking at me. I sucked in my breath until I felt a hand at my waist.
I jumped and whirled around to see Perry staring up at me, a hurt expression on her face.
“What is it?” she asked.
I shook my head and eyed the painting. It wasn’t moving now. Suddenly I was glad that the front door had opened when Ada tried it. Why some part of me wanted to stay in here was beyond me. I felt like it was already starting to mess with my head.
Don’t tell them that, a man’s voice came into my thoughts.
I turned around, certain that it was Maximus right behind me, talking. But he was paused at the foot of the stairs, as if debating whether to go up or not. I wanted to tell him that was a bad idea. All of this was a bad idea. Whatever clarity I had moments ago was gone.
And yet, I felt compelled to keep exploring.
“Where did my mom and Ada go?” Perry asked suddenly, looking panicked.
“We’re in the kitchen!” Ada’s voice rang out from around the corner.
“Maybe we should just all stick together,” Maximus said, stepping away from the staircase. “I don’t think splitting up is a good idea.”
I laughed, despite myself. “It’s not a haunted house, Scooby Doo.”
He exchanged a look with Perry but didn’t say anything. I was starting to hate all their little glances and unsaid words. Still, I followed them.
The kitchen looked exactly as I had remembered. I mean, to a fault.
The table was made with settings for three people. One at the head – where Pippa would sit. The other two across from each other at mid-table. There was never a place for my father – he was never home – and there stopped being a place for my mother. She was just never sober enough.
Each setting had a red, white and black graphic woven placemat, something Swedish that Pippa had picked out, a plate, a fork, a knife. There were matching graphic napkins held together with a silver circle. Her place had a white glass. The other two had mugs.
One of the mugs said Michael. The other said Declan.
Perry’s mother was standing over them in a daze. She slowly raised her head and looked right at me.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Why are these still here?”
The answer wasn’t in my eyes. I had nothing.
Perry and Maximus were equally silent, trying to make sense of it. Ada leaned over Michael’s cup and peered in.
“Oh, gross!” she cried out, stumbling backward into her mom who held her up. Her hand went to mouth, looking like she was going to vomit.
Curious, I walked over and looked for myself. It was filled to the brim with wriggling black insects. I stared at them for a moment, trying to figure out why it was familiar.
“What is it?” Perry asked. I heard her come up behind me.
I glanced at her over my shoulder and smiled. “Just Michael’s daily tea.”
She frowned, her face paling a bit. “Dex. What is going on here?”
I shrugged and walked over to the fridge. I opened the door.
A puff of dust blew out of it and once it cleared, I could see a dead rat inside, the black insects crawling out of it. “I guess they came from here.”
“All right,” Maximus said, irritation coloring his tone. “This is getting ridiculous. I think it’s time to leave.”
“It’s always been time to leave,” Ada said with disgust, walking around the table and heading to the hallway.
“No!” I suddenly yelled, the force of my voice surprising myself. Ada stopped in her tracks. Everyone stared at me in shock. “We’re not leaving until I find what I’m looking for!”
“Dex,” Perry said carefully. “I don’t know what’s going but someone is playing a cruel joke on you, on us. None of this shit should be here all these years later. Dex, we have to go. You’re not yourself.”