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own. Let s go around back and see what we can do together.
Convinced her opportunity to avoid entering the house through the front would be denied if she tarried;
Jessie nodded and began to shuffle forward. She did not dare to look up or speak to Colby.
Colby wasn t sure if Jessie s distrust of her was unwarranted. She herself was unable to understand why
she was even agreeing to Jessie s demand. It was like handing the other woman a get-out-of-jail-free card
as a reward for bad behavior. Colby considered the possibility that Jessie knew how to gauge the ever
shifting tides of her mood far better than Colby herself could. It would not be the first time Jessie played
her. She worried it wouldn't be the last either.
As they walked through the unlocked gate of the gleaming chain link fence into the perfectly ordered
backyard. Colby could sense a feeling of unreality set it. It was all so untouched, as if somehow the house
had stubbornly refused to submit to the rules of time. The trashcans stood empty at the corner of the yard
where she last left them. The Rubbermaid shed was still locked and looked like it was recently power
washed. Colby closed her eyes and made a wish. If she wanted it hard enough at any moment now, Marty
would throw open the back door and yell at her and Jessie to stop fooling around in the yard and get in the
house. Jane s melodic voice would ring out from the background telling him to stop shouting at the kids
and leave them alone.
Colby had wished this once before. It was a long time ago, right after they shut Jessie away. She d driven
by one day and stopped on desperate hope. She stood in the same exact spot she walked over just now
and made a wish wished everything bad away. Tears came from behind her tightly squeezed eyelids.
When she finally opened them and looked around, nothing changed because what she wanted most in the
world was already gone.
She sobbed all the way back to her car. Colby never came back to the house after that. She didn t have the
stomach for it then. She didn t have the stomach for it today either. This time, however, it was Jessie s
trembling voice that brought her back to reality and grounded her.
Colby, I m scared &
Taking Jessie into her arms, Colby held her tight and close as involuntary shivers raked the smaller
woman s body. Colby feared Jessie s body could be shutting down in withdrawal from the Suzie-Qs they
were forcing down her throat in that Castle of Horrors. Colby knew she had to get Jessie into the house
fast. Keep her warm and safe until the shaking stopped.
Ssshhhh, let me help you. It s only a few more steps to the deck stairs. You remember the deck don t
you? You used to sit out there a lot looking at the sky and the clouds. Whatever were you thinking about?
You remember? Colby smiled as she gently coaxed an increasingly hysterical Jessie up the rear stairs.
I & can t & Jessie stammered.
She flashed a panic stricken look into Colby s face, her eyes vacant and large, like black hungry holes
eating up light and space. Eyes that continuously search the other woman s face looking for something she
could not begin to ask for.
Just one more foot & and here we are.
Colby coaxed as she all but lifted Jessie and carried her the last few feet to the foot of the stairs. Colby s
focus went back to the rear stairs and she grimaced. Like most wooden three deckers, the back stairs were
cut deep and narrow. Colby would not be able to stand next to Jessie as she mounted them. Jessie would
not be able to climb unaided from one step to the next with the ankle chains in place.
Hold on, Colby instructed when they got to the bottom step. Please, Jessie, for the love of God, don t
run out on me. The exhaustion in Colby s voice made Jessie gasp out loud as much in surprise as in
intent.
What s wrong, Colby? You re that beat?
Colby merely nodded before kneeing to unfasten the chains, pausing a moment to wait for Jessie s reply.
Well, if you promise to get me take out later, I promise I won t try to run until after lunch time
tomorrow. Jessie slyly ventured with a giggle.
Colby chuckled at the bargain, You promise, huh? How do I know you re good for it?
Cross my heart and hope we die, Jessie replied in whisper. It was the silly promise they made to each
other over Jane s grave.
Colby remembered the vow that they would take care of each other come what may. It was what Jane
wanted, and in that, Colby failed miserably. Jessie could at least discharge herself from the burden of
guilt that weighed heavy like a crown of thorns on Colby s brow. Her illness providing her pale shelter,
sparing her from the pain and bitterness that was slowly poisoning the scraps of Colby s soul.
Colby unlocked the leg shackles without a word and pulled the chains off Jessie s ankles. The gangling
stuck a cord.
"D#."
"What did you say?" Jessie asked.
Colby shook her head, "Nothing important."
"Everything is important. You just don t want to see it."
Shut up, Jessie. I wasn t asking you for an opinion.
Colby was suddenly tired of being out in the middle of Marty s backyard having yet another childish
argument with Jessie. There were too many ghosts taunting her. It was frying her nerves. If Jessie tried to
make a run for it, Colby would simply tackle her to the ground and taser her. She was done playing
games.
She gave Jessie a pat on the butt and they began to climb the stairs up to the deck. Colby kept Jessie close
as she retrieved the key from her back pocket. Grateful for once Marty cut the same lock for both the back
and front doors. He never could keep two sets of keys straight. Key in hand Colby reached around a
squirming Jessie and unlocked the red door with a loud click.
The noxious smell of disinfectant greeted them as the door swung wide open on voiceless hinges. With the
heavy winter drapes drawn; the inside of the house was dark and foreboding. A gapping void filled only
with the soft mechanical hum of the refrigerator.
Guess you re lucky the cleaning service was here recently, Colby muttered as she steered Jessie over
the threshold with one hand while blindly feeling for the light switch with the other.
The shapeless pitch dark was a stark contrast to the gleaming landscape of polished surfaces when
Colby flipped on the lights. The house was pristine. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]