Little Girls(67)

“Do you like them?” Abigail’s voice was suddenly right behind her. Laurie turned to find that the girl had crept up on her and now stood less than two feet away. “That’s the little house in the woods.”

“The greenhouse,” Laurie whispered.

“It’s not a green house. It’s a glass house. But it’s very dirty.”

Laurie swallowed a lump that seemed to burn her throat. “What do you want from me?” The words croaked out of her.

Abigail went back to the bed, sat down, crossed one ankle over the other, and proceeded to swing her legs.

“I want you to leave me alone,” Laurie seethed through her teeth. “I want you to leave my daughter alone.”

Abigail’s legs stopped swinging. “Haven’t you missed me, Laurie?” she said. “After all these years, haven’t you missed me?”

Laurie merely stared at her. She could no longer formulate words. Again, as it had done earlier at the park, her vision threatened to splinter apart. She felt instantly hot and her entire body tingled. A high-pitched keening filtered into her ears. Around her, the walls began to balloon inward. On the bed, Abigail’s face seemed to inflate as well . . . and then her features rearranged themselves, sliding and melting wetly into one another. One of her eyes bled down her cheek in a dark greasy ribbon while her left nostril widened and widened until it was no longer a nostril at all but a massive sinkhole in the center of her face. Only the girl’s hideous smile remained unchanged.





Chapter 21


“Hon? Honey?” It was Ted’s voice, swimming back to her through the ether.

She blinked open her eyes. Faces congealed before her. Ted’s was closest, concern stitched across his face. He rubbed her cheek with one smooth hand.

“Where am I?” Her throat was sore. “What happened?” When she tried to sit up, Ted held her back down.

“Don’t,” he said. “Just give it a minute.”

There was a faint vibration, like the strumming of guitar strings, in the center of her head. Her entire body was clammy with perspiration. “Did I pass out?”

“Not exactly.” Ted slipped a hand under her neck and helped her sit up.

She found she was in a strange room, on a strange bed crowded with stuffed animals. People she did not recognize stood just behind Ted, staring down at her in concern. After a moment, she recognized the couple as Derrick and Liz Rosewood. Then she recognized the room as Abigail’s bedroom. When she looked across the room, she could see the drawings of the greenhouse and all those concentric circles on the wall.

“Mom?” Susan appeared beside her father, her eyes moist with tears. The girl looked frightened. “Are you okay, Mom?”

“Yes, love.”

Abigail approached the bed, peering at Laurie from between Susan and Ted. The girl’s face was hollow.

“How long was I out?”

“Only a few minutes,” Ted said.

From the doorway, Derrick said, “Should I call an ambulance or something?”

“No,” Laurie said quickly. Then she softened her voice. “I’m okay. Extremely embarrassed, but okay.”

Liz came up behind Abigail and put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Go on downstairs and get Mrs. Genarro a glass of water.”

Abigail’s eyes hung on Laurie for a moment longer. Then the girl spun away and hurried out into the hall and down the stairs.

Laurie eased her legs over the side of the bed. Her clothes were drenched in sweat and the strumming at the center of her head had reduced to a light buzzing. It happened again.

“Are you sure you should get up?” Ted said. “There’s no rush.”

“I’m fine, Ted.” Nonetheless, she braced herself against his shoulder in order to stand. Her legs felt as unreliable as toothpicks.

In the doorway, Derrick stood with a portable telephone in one hefty paw. His big octagonal face was mottled red in his confusion. He kept looking down at the telephone, as if he was unsure how it had gotten in his hand.

Abigail returned with a glass of water. She crept through the small crowd and arrived before Laurie, holding the glass out to her in both hands. There was a dark shine in her black eyes. Her hand shaking, Laurie reached out and took the glass from the girl, brought it to her lips. She did not take her eyes off Abigail as she gulped half of it down.





Back down the street, Ted helped her into bed. While she lay there, he peeled off her shoes, then tugged off her pants as Susan, still looking frightened, stood watch in the doorway. Laurie kept promising Susan that she was fine but her words didn’t seem to allay the girl’s fears.

“My head hurts,” she said. “Did I bump it when I passed out?”

“You didn’t pass out. When I came into Abigail’s room, you were just standing there staring at the wall. You were awake, but when I called your name, you didn’t answer. Your pupils were dilated.”

“Oh.” Chilled by the image this put into her head, she was glad when Ted piled the blankets on top of her. “How did I get on Abigail’s bed?”

“I put you there.”

“Did it take me long to come back around?”

“A couple of minutes, I guess.”

“I’m not even tired.” But her voice was already someone else’s, floating through darkened corridors and across the vast recesses of space.