My legacy of lies | twilight | COMPLETED

Ch. 10 | Impossibility.

I crawled into bed that night exhausted. Even so, I tossed and turned. The tall clock on the stair landing chimed every quarter hour, telling me the amount of rest I didn't get. A cold front was passing through. It rattled shutters and window panes and sent wind diving down the house's chimneys. My bedroom door shook so hard it sounded as though someone was trying to get in. I got up and latched it firmly. Finally, I drifted into sleep.

It was some time later, when the rough weather had settled into an eerie silence, that I again became aware of my surroundings. The voice awakened me.

"My name is Katherine."

My eyes flew open and I glanced around the room. The whisper lacked the warmth of a human voice. I wasn't sure if it was inside my head or out. I lay as still as possible, listening, my skin prickling.

"My name is Katherine."

I sat up and pulled the quilt around me. My skin felt as if it were crawling off my bones. "Who's there?"

Silence.

I gazed at the bedroom door, waiting for something to happen, the knob to turn, the whisperer to whisper again. My breath felt trapped inside my chest. My heart pounded in my ears.

You've got a choice, I told myself. You can cower here for the rest of the night, or you can prove that it was nothing but a voice in a dream, your imagination playing tricks.

I climbed out of bed, then tiptoed to the door. Taking a deep breath, I cracked it open slowly, then yanked it wide open.

No one. Nothing. Just the tick tock tick of the big clock. I walked quietly into the hall. The clock's white face showed a few minutes after one.

Edward's door was closed, as was Grandmother's - which didn't mean they were actually in their rooms. With the house's interconnecting chimneys and old heating system, it would be easy enough to whisper something downstairs so it could be heard upstairs. Was Edward having a little bit of fun with me?

I walked quickly toward the hall window to check for his Volvo ; he was home. Still, playing ghost seemed like too much trouble for him. Till recently his way of dealing with me was ignoring me and hoping I would go away.

I listened for a moment by the door of his room, straining for some hint that he was awake. There was no sound but that of the clock. Giving up, I headed back to my room. As I passed the hall mirror, I glanced at it and then froze.

There, in the antique glass, I saw her, more light than substance, a changing wisp of fog, the shape of a girl. I stared at the mist in the mirror, struggling to understand what I was seeing. Katherine? I felt icy all over.

I ran for my room and pulled the door closed behind me. It didn't catch. When I reached my bed, I heard the door swing open again, but I was too afraid to look back. Hands shaking, I pulled down my quilt in a rush to get in bed, then gasped with disbelief. She was there! She was lying there in front of me! No, it was me I was looking down on. And I was dead! I squeezed my eyes shut and put my hands over my mouth, marely muffling screams that echoed deep within me.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in bed, warm and safe beneath my quilt. It was a dream, I told myself, just a scary dream. Then I turned my head on the pillow and saw the door I'd latched earlier standing wide open.

**

As soon as I emerged from bed Wednesday morning, I felt the draft, a river of icy air flowing between the fireplace and entrance to my room. I hurried across the chilly floorboards to close the door. Memories of last night washed over me.