Edge of Shadows (Shadows #1) (19 page)

Around the edges of the room were more granite countertops, with extra-tall cabinets above. The cherry wood was stunning, and she knew it must have cost a fortune. Stainless steel appliances spoke to the updates and modernization that had been put into the room. A double oven was built into wall. In the sunroom behind Ellie, a full size dining table with six chairs was present.

Ellie could see it clearly in her mind. Her family would sit around the breakfast bar during the week, when everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere, and then lounge in the sunroom on the weekends. She and David would read the paper while the kids argued over what activities they would do that day.

The fact that Ellie could see it so clearly told her again how badly she wanted that in her future. Skipper would be barking and wiggling around their ankles, and laughter would fill the house. It was in that instant that Ellie knew she didn’t want to go back to the apartment. Here, in this house, she felt closer to her future than she ever had before. She wanted to cling to that feeling with all her might. She could see that David was her husband, and could see their future children as clear as day.

Ellie moved through the house in a daze. In each room she could see her imaginary family moving about their day. There was breakfast in the sunroom. Their traditional Thanksgiving dinner would take place in the formal dining room. They’d have after drinks in the library while the kids did their homework. She and David could work on paperwork in the office. She saw their neighbors dropping in to say hello and sitting on the couches in the library. She opened the front doors out onto the patio. She could see Kevin and Eric laughing as they watched canoes go by on the lake; then everyone would raise their glasses to toast Ellie and David’s good fortune.

She went back into the house and climbed the stairs slowly, running her fingers along the banister. At the end of the evening, with the children tucked into bed, she and David would climb these stairs, holding hands and looking forward to spending some quality time alone with each other. They would be laughing and kissing. They would make their way up to third floor and they would walk forward and push open the double French doors to the elaborate master bedroom.

Ellie had imitated the thoughts in her head and found herself standing in the doorway of the empty master bedroom, which brought her out of her reverie. The light from the hallway seemed to disappear in the gloom of the bedroom. She remembered opening the curtains the last time she was there, but they were closed now. She had no idea why Linda would keep the room empty like this, especially when all the other rooms were furnished so beautifully. She quickly fumbled for the light switch, but when she clicked it nothing happened.

Ellie was unnerved now. She returned to the kitchen and looked underneath the sink. She found what she was searching for: a flashlight. She went back up the stairs and flipped it on in the entrance to the master bedroom. Although she felt anxious about delving into the darkness, her stubbornness was winning out.

She swept her flashlight around the room and saw that indeed the curtains were closed again. She walked over to them and threw them open, letting light into the room. Then she saw two other doors at the back of the room. She and Kevin had found the room so confusing that they hadn’t explored any further than the main room of the suite. She opened the door to her left. It led into a bathroom. Here the light was free to enter the room as only lace curtains covered the windows. The room was gaily decorated in a floral print with matching towels and rug. She closed the door and went to the other door.

It opened into a closet. She found a pull chain and was rewarded with weak light from a single light bulb. She clicked the flashlight on again. The closet was filled with clothes. She ran her hand along heavy velvets and tweeds. It contained both men’s and women’s clothes. Ellie pulled one of the dresses from the rack. It reminded her of the dress that Linda had been wearing in her dream. She replaced it on the rack and continued pulling out items here and there. Sure enough, all of the clothes had an aged look about them. None of these looked like anything Linda would wear today. Ellie wondered why she would have stored them here, in the closet of this empty room.

The hair on the back of Ellie’s neck stood up, and she felt like she was being watched. She spun around, whipping the flashlight beam across the room behind her. Nothing. She quickly pulled the chain, extinguishing the light in the closet, and closed the door. She crossed the room quickly, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. She cast one final glance around the room. Still nothing. She closed the French doors and it was only there on the landing that she felt like the eyes were gone.

Whatever the reason for the empty room, Ellie didn’t think she wanted to get better acquainted with it. She jumped with a yelp as her cell phone started bleating in her pocket.

“Hello?” she said a bit too briskly as she flipped it open.

“Hey, Ellie, you okay? It’s David.”

Immediately she felt better hearing David’s comforting tone on the other end. “David. Hi. Sorry, I’m over at Linda’s. I was just starting to get things straightened away here,” she said.

“I just wanted to check on you and see how you are,” David replied. “I’ve got to pull double shifts for the next few days, so I won’t be able to get away to see you. But I’ll call and check in again if you still want to hear from me.”

“Oh, okay. Of course I want to hear from you, David.” Ellie’s disappointment was evident in her voice.

“I’m sorry about that. It’s just that they need me here,” he said.

“Oh, I know. I’m just starting to get used to having you around.” Ellie couldn’t believe that she was saying that out loud. It wasn’t like her to be so forward.

“I like being around. But I’ll see you soon. I promise.” At that moment Ellie heard a beeping in the background and a voice over a loudspeaker. “I’ve got to go. They are paging me,” David said.

“David, I…” Ellie started.

“Sorry, Ellie. This is urgent. I’ll talk to you again soon,” David interrupted, and then he was gone.

“I don’t know how to reach you,” she said, but it was too late. She frowned and looked at the phone in her hand. She scrolled through the menu to the incoming calls list. There was no number listed, only “Private.” She sighed.

She dialed the number for the coffee shop.

Kevin answered after three rings. “Ellie’s Coffee Isle. How can I help you?”

“Hey, Kevin. It’s Ellie.”

“Hey, Ellie. How’s the moving going?” Kevin asked, but he sounded rushed.

“Good. Everything going okay there?” she said.

“Yeah. We’re getting slammed right now, though. Can I call you back?” Kevin asked.

“Sure. Just call my cell,” she replied.

“Will do. Talk to you later.” For the second time in less than a minute Ellie was left talking to herself.

The doorbell sounded and Ellie looked up in surprise from the phone in her hand. She hurried down the stairs across the foyer and opened the door. A huge bouquet of flowers greeted her.

“Oh my,” she said. Then the bouquet moved and she could see the deliveryman. She was looking directly into Jake’s eyes and the alarm bells sounded in her head. Jake’s black aura was back.

“What are you doing here, Jake?” she demanded. She looked around behind him. There was no one on the walking path.

Jake was looking behind her. “Me? What are you doing here? Are you alone?”

Ellie quickly pushed Jake backwards and closed the door behind her. She wasn’t going to let him in the house. “Are you following me now? I’ve got a restraining order, Jake. You’d better leave.”

“I know about the restraining order, which is ridiculous, Ellie. I’d never do anything to hurt you,” Jake said gruffly. “These are for you. I wanted to apologize.” He nodded his head toward the flower bouquet.

“I don’t need flowers or an apology from you, Jake. I just need you to leave me alone,” Ellie said. She was at a loss. Jake’s behavior was completely out of control. She was scared to death of what that blackness surrounding him meant, but he wasn’t drunk or making any overt gestures that indicated he intended to harm her.

“I asked you to hear me out.” Jake stared at the patio. “I think you owe me that much after all the time we had together.”

“And I thought you owed me love, fidelity, and a sense of safety, Jake. That didn’t happen either,” Ellie said, crossing her arms in front of her. She was starting to feel the chill from the cool November air.

“I can’t do anything about all of that now,” Jake said. The hurt was evident in his voice. “I’m not looking to win you back or anything like that. I swear. I just want to make sure that you are safe.”

“I’m fine, Jake. I don’t know what I can do to convince you of that. My life, all parts of it, are not your responsibility or concern any longer,” Ellie said. She refused to be pulled into any further discussion. She ignored the flowers and opened the door, intending to slam it in Jake’s face.

“Ellie.” The strangled way that Jake said her name caused her turn. She looked into his face and saw haunted eyes staring back at her. “Please. Things have gotten a lot worse. I don’t know what it all means, but I know that you are in danger.”

“The only threatening thing in my life right now is you, Jake,” she said. “You are scaring me.”

“I don’t want to scare you. I want to warn you. Make sure that you are looking after yourself. I want to make sure you are keeping your eyes open, that you aren’t being caught unaware.” It was the naked fear in his voice that finally convinced Ellie. That and the fact that his aura had washed out to a dirty gray.

“All right, Jake. I’ll hear you out. But then you’ll leave me alone? For good?” she asked.

“Yes, of course. I promise,” he said quickly, seeing his opportunity.

“Fine, come in,” she said. “It’s cold out here. But I’ve got my phone right here and I’ll call the cops if you act crazy.” She moved aside and let Jake into the house.

“Let’s go in the kitchen. I’ll make some coffee,” she said. She started down the hallway, Jake at her heels.

“So what’s up with this house?” Jake asked, looking around in awe.

“I’m house-sitting for a friend,” she said. She had no reason to elaborate.

“I need more friends like yours,” Jake said with a touch of sarcasm. At Ellie’s sharp glance he looked away sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“You aren’t here to talk about my friends, and frankly I’m not really comfortable sharing a lot of details of my life right now, if you don’t mind.”

Jake’s shoulders slumped as he sat down on one of the kitchen stools. Ellie moved around the kitchen, finding coffee filters in one cupboard and coffee beans in another. If nothing else, she knew how to make a good cup of coffee. Ellie allowed the silence to continue as she prepared the coffee for brewing. Then she sat at the counter across from Jake.

“C’mon, Jake. Time to talk,” she said.

He sighed. “I told you about the dream I’ve been having. I’ve been having it almost every night for a few weeks now. I don’t know, I guess I felt like it was a result of the drinking or something.” He glanced up and saw Ellie’s disapproving look.

“I know you didn’t approve of my drinking when we were married, and then the other stuff happened. I know that was part of the reason we split up. But I guess I realized a few months ago that I had other things going on with me that I needed to deal with. Things that affected how I treated you, and how I treated myself. I haven’t been honest with you, Ellie, and I think you deserve to know the truth.”

Ellie was shocked. This confession wasn’t at all what she had expected.

“I’ve had an…ability…ever since I was little,” Jake continued. “It really doesn’t matter to me if you believe me or not, but I’m telling this so maybe you’ll start to understand why I’ve dealt with things the way I have." He stopped and looked in Ellie’s direction.

Ellie felt a knot in her stomach. “What do you mean, Jake? What kind of ability?”

Jake paused, and then the words tore from his throat. “I see people who aren’t there. I know they aren’t there because I’m the only one who can see them. God, I see them everywhere.” Jake dropped his head into his hands.

When Ellie didn’t react, he continued on without meeting her eyes. “When I drink, it’s easier to forget they’re there. They just kind of blend in with the background and I don’t really even see them. When I’m sober, it’s harder. So when I quit going to my therapist, I went online and looked around to see if there were other people like me, and there were. I just wanted to feel like there was someone I could talk to who understood what I was going through and didn't think it was all something that I made up in my head.”

Ellie heard the coffeemaker beep that the coffee was ready. She got up stiffly and went to the cupboard and took out two mugs. She couldn’t make any sense of what Jake was telling her. She didn’t want to make any sense of it. She wanted to reject it and throw him out, but how do you kick someone out who is baring their soul?

“I’m explaining all of this because I want you to know that I don’t blame you for what happened when we split up. These people that I met, well, let’s just say that talking to them and doing some of the things they talked about made things worse. A whole lot worse.”