Gray

Chapter 14

Gabriel

We followed Gray through the front doors of the bed and breakfast and were greeted by the smells of bacon and fried potatoes wafting through the air. Just like before, the absolute vacuum of spirits was unnerving considering the "people" bustling around this place. Even knowing the food wasn't real, our mouths watered. "Gracie, is that you?" Clara's voice called out from the kitchen.

"Yeah, we're here," Gray hollered back. "Breakfast smells amazing!" We followed her into the dining room as Clara came in carrying a tray loaded down with food. Luke quickly stepped forward and took it from her, setting it on the table as Silas and North began passing out plates. I watched as Nate hovered near Gray, his hand grazing along her arm and back. Her eyes darted to him as her body reacted - no matter now subtly to him. Looking around the room, I noticed all of them gravitated toward her. I admit I felt the pull myself and it confused me.

"Hey, you okay?" Victor asked as he bumped my shoulder gently.

"Yeah, just trying to figure it all out, I suppose," I replied.

Vic snorted, "Yeah, this is definitely in the weird category. I mean, how are we even standing here, and if Clara isn't real, is she a ghost, a memory, or just a figment of Gray's imagination?"

I ran my hands through my hair, sighing, "Well, thanks, now I have even more to consider." Victor laughed as he slapped my shoulder, then took his seat at the table near Luke. I sat in almost the same position I had the night before when I confronted her. My eyes settled on her as she looked up and gave me a full smile, then turned her attention back to Silas who was filling her plate with food.

"So what exactly happened after dinner?" Gray asked Kota, who was studying her just like me.

He cleared his throat hesitantly, then told her, "Well, we learned a bit about you and the town. Um, but now, we aren't sure if the information was correct."

Her nose scrunched and she tilted her head, "Well that doesn't tell me much. I mean what would you need to learn about me or the town that we can't tell you?"

"Can you tell us when this town was established, Gray?" Owen inquired.

She glanced at Clara as she was setting down a pitcher of orange juice, and Clara said, "Well, the original settlement on the flats was back in the early eighteen hundreds. It was just a group of homesteaders back then. The church and general store came along about ten years later, so I guess that'd be around 1860, just before the Civil War started." She put her hands on her hips and hummed, "Course, Gracie's ancestors were one of the first folks here, along with the Hamptons and Millers."

"So the Wilmont's were one of the original families?" Victor asked.

"No, that was my stepfather's family name. My mother's family was here first, the McClarnons," Gray interjected.

"Was your biological father's side of the family here as well?" I asked her. Her lip trembled a bit and she shook her head, then quickly excused herself from the table. I looked at Clara, "Did I say something wrong?"

Her lips formed a tight frown, "It's not my place to say, but I'd let that memory die, young man. She's fought that demon all her life, don't need to have you all come stirring it up again." Then the woman quickly left us with our mouths hanging open.

I turned to Victor, "I think we have a place to start now." He nodded and grabbed his laptop bag. As the others discussed the new information, I ventured upstairs to find our mystery girl. I could feel her sadness pulling me toward her as I softly knocked on the door.

"I don't want to talk right now," she said through broken sobs.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. She was on the bed with a pillow pulled up against her chest as she cried. Without a word, I moved toward the bed and gently pulled the pillow away, then took her into my arms. She felt so frail in that moment, like a strong wind would shatter her very existence. She quietly cried as I held her, rocking softly.