Where One Goes(61)

“Let’s get inside, George,” Sniper urges as he places a hand at the small of my back.

“Your dad’s in there,” he warns, and I nod in understanding.

Once we’re inside, Beverly hugs me, her gaze riddled with concern when she sees my face. “He was so panicked when he arrived, we had to tell him you called. I tried to hold off as long as I could.”

“It’s okay, Beverly. Thank you for calling everyone.”

“Did you come here to save me from the abuse?” Cameron approaches; joking. I smile as I hug him, grateful for the humor even though it’s wasted on me.

“Afraid not,” I tell him.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but my brother is all kinds of wound up about it,” he whispers.

“I’m going to explain.”

Beverly leads me into the living room and my heart stops. My father is sitting across from Henry speaking in a hushed voice. Henry’s brows are furrowed as his gaze meets mine and I know without a shadow of a doubt my father has already told him I’m crazy.

“Charlotte,” Henry says, and attempts to stand, but I hold my hand up, telling him not to.

“Hi, Henry,” I greet him. “Thanks for letting me come here to explain things.”

“Get to it,” Ike urges me. “No time to waste.”

“Everyone,” I call out with a shaky voice, and everyone stops to look at me. “Please sit down. I have something really important to discuss with you.”

“Now, Charlotte Anne,” my father interrupts and stands, giving me a stern look. “You don’t need to bother these nice people with your problems.” Tears sting my eyes. He really is trying to make me look insane. How could he do this to me?

“With all due respect, Mr. Acres.” Sniper steps toward him, standing to his full length. “This lass has something to say, and she’s going to say it. Now, you can either sit down and listen, or I’ll escort you out of this house.” My eyes are bugging out of my head, as are my father’s. Everyone else darts their eyes to one another as we all stand frozen in place.

“What the hell is going on?” George finally breaks the silence.

“Charlotte will explain as soon as her father sits down,” Sniper says, calmly, as his eyes remained fixed on my father. Dad sits down with a ‘humph,’ and everyone else takes a seat except for George, Sniper, and me.

“Go ahead, love. I’m here,” Sniper encourages gently, arms crossed, showing everyone they better shut the hell up and listen or they’ll be dealing with him.

I glance at Ike and he nods. “I’m here, baby girl. Go on. You can do this. Tell them the truth . . . all of it. Even how we met.”

Shame floods through me, causing the blood to drain from my face. How we met is an ugly story. But George said he wants to see all of me, even the ugly parts. Looking back at George, I see he’s watching me, probably wondering what I’m staring at. I give him a slight smile and take a deep breath. “Most of you know, and if you didn’t, I’m sure my father, Wayne, here explained I come from Oklahoma.” Beverly hands me a box of tissues from the table beside where she sits, and I realize my eyes are watering. “Thank you,” I tell her as I take a few tissues.

“Six years ago, there was an accident. My brother, Axel, and I were on a motorcycle when someone pulled out in front of us. He died.” I swallow hard; meeting my father’s gaze and find his eyes are tearing up as well. “When I woke up, I had an injured back, a broken leg, and had somehow made my way out of a coma brought on by my brain swelling from the accident, only to discover Axel was dead.” I continue to tell them how I started seeing the dead, how scared I was, and how everyone thought I was crazy.

“My parents took me to doctors, who put me on all kinds of crazy medication, and of course, it didn’t help. It made it worse because I couldn’t think right, but I was still seeing and hearing the dead.”

“We did what we thought was right, Charlotte,” my father interrupts defensively.

“Not a word out of you,” Sniper snaps at him.

“I guess it became too much for them, so my father gave me a large sum of money and sent me away. I’ve been traveling around the states for the last five years helping the dead.”

“Helping them do what, dear?” Beverly asks timidly.

“I only see the souls caught in limbo—the ones that are caught between this world and what lies ahead.” Everyone is silent for a moment and Ike steps toward me.

“Tell them. Tell them about me.” Tears roll down my face because I know how emotional everyone is about to get. I know George will be upset, and Ike will be one step closer to leaving this world. Everything will be different, and I dread it won’t be in a good way.

“Casey Purcell,” I say her name and everyone almost leans forward. “I lied to you, Henry. I told you I found her by accident. The truth is Casey showed me where her body was. Her family was falling apart, and she couldn’t crossover until she knew they’d be okay. They couldn’t grieve for her because they were still holding on to that last shred of hope she was out there and alive somewhere.”

The room is silent. No one really knows what to say. “Keep going,” Ike urges.

“After I dropped that letter in the mail, I kept driving. I had no idea what I was doing, or where I was going. I had no money, and I realized how lonely I was. My life had become nothing but helping the dead. I hadn’t even tried to settle anywhere. I mean, my own family didn’t believe me, so why would anyone else?” I inhale slowly before moving on to the next part. It’s not easy to admit how weak I was—and still am. “My truck ran out of gas by Anioch Bridge, and I made the decision I was going to end it. I didn’t want to live anymore, not the way I was anyway. So I climbed onto the railing of the bridge, and I was going to jump in and let the river drag me under and away.”