Scratching The Surface

Chapter 23

Jason's mom came the next day. Beryl Grace stepped out of the car, looked up at the house, looked into the dark windows and ominous rooms.

"Mom?" Thalia locked the car, waved to Jason who stood by the front door. "Come on, let's go inside."

She led her to the house, led her to Jason. Jason's eyes were full of anxiety, full of the storm prickling on the horizon. "Mom, Thalia..."

"Jason," his mother stepped up to hug him. He let her but never hugged back. "I missed you."

"Yeah, me, too," Jason mumbled. "Let's get inside."

She let him go and looked up at the house again, a frown evident on her face. "I feel...something..."

"That's nice." Jason gestured to the open door. "Come on, mom. Let's get inside. Dinner is almost done."

"Dinner? My lord, Jason, it's only five o'clock." Beryl moved towards the house, hesitantly stepped over the threshold. "You can't rush my visit, Jason, even if you wanted to."

Thalia followed, giving Jason a look to be nice. "He's not trying to rush you, mom. He just doesn't want talk of...spirits. He doesn't want it to scare his kids."

"Oh, I'd never say anything in front of them." Beryl denied, but Jason remembered his frightened childhood. "Where are they, anyway?"

"Piper's in the kitchen." Jason closed the door and locked it. "Maddie's taking a nap and Katie's in the back."

He led them to the living room, making sure to keep them to the least amount of rooms as possible. "Can I trust you in here while I go talk to Thalia?"

Beryl sighed. "Jason, Jason. Yes, you can. You go talk to your sister about me behind my back, now."

"I'm not going to talk to you behind your back, mom." Jason led Thalia away, having the decency to lie. "You just rest after that long trip, okay?"

He led Thalia to the side room that had once been an office. The wood creaked beneath their feet, an eerie sense told them that they shouldn't be there, that that wasn't their room, that they shouldn't be able to read the papers that were still in there. Jason ignored the feeling and sat in a chair in front of the fireplace, having no doubt that Nico had been the one causing it.

Thalia sat beside him and kicked her feet out on the coffee table. "Could you be any meaner to her?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Hello to you, too."

"I gave up a good thing to take care of her," Thalia argued. "She's our mother."

"I know, I know." Jason sighed. "I just...can't forget my childhood, Thalia. I don't know how you do."

"I never forgot," Thalia replied. "I just...forgave. I forgave her, Jason, when I realized when she saw was real. All my anger went towards our father for leaving her alone. Leaving her alone with children like that. She loved us. She tried her best."

"What do you mean, you saw it was real?"

Thalia spread her hands. "Remember the one she always talked about? Ethan? I saw him, late one night. Saw him pacing the hallway." She shivered. "I'll never forget that, Jason, whether you believe me or not."

"I believe you," he admitted. "Everything in my life lately...I believe you."

Thaila frowned deeply. "Don't tell me...?"

"That this house is as haunted as hell?" Jason laughed. "Three cheers! You answered correctly!"

Thalia groaned loudly. "Noooooo..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beryl moved a hand over the walls as she walked, her footsteps light against the wooden floor. The wallpaper was smooth but sticky, smelling as if the red was really made from blood. She was on the third floor, where she felt the most energy. She needed to make sure her son was safe, needed to make sure her grandchildren were safe.

Every few seconds, she'd get a flash of another life, of a life a boy lived long ago. She saw his parents, saw his mother's death, saw the moment he hurt himself for the first time. Before her eyes, she saw his life play out in front of her. And according to his energy, he didn't even realize.

"Poor boy," she murmured, a hand clenching her heart. "Poor boy...stuck alone, for all eternity. Why don't you cross over?"

His energy stirred, his spirit was attracted to her. He had heard her.

"I could help you," she continued. "You'll be all alone for eternity. One day, Jason will die. And so will Piper and their kids. You'll be left alone, again, left to roam these empty halls until they finally tear this place down. And what then? What will you do? Roam the ruins that you can never escape from?"

A door slammed beside her, sending a clear message. GET OUT.

Beryl being Beryl, she didn't listen. "I know you're lonely, Nico. I know it. Let me help you cross over."

His energy became restless, started to pulsate with anger. The temperature started to drop, the lights flickered and went out. In the dull gloom of the hallway, she could hear the heavy footsteps come closer to her. She remembered her childhood, remembered her marriage, knew that this wasn't uncommon, knew she couldn't bow down to fear from a boy that'd never hurt her.

"You'd go to Heaven." she continued. "You could see your mother, see your sister, see-"

The glass in all the windows shattered, broke with such a large explosion that it was as if a bomb had been dropped. Piper immediately jumped over Katie to cover her from the glass, but nobody had been in the room with Maddie. As Jason ran out to see what was wrong, he could start to hear her loud sobs.

He'd never forgive Nico, whether he meant to hurt her or not.