In the morning Vic discovered that she wasn’t the only one who’d slept in. Michael had drank so much wine the night before that he was hungover. Megan had already taken the children to school and was in the dining room going over the mock-ups that Vic had left there the night before. She wasn’t ready to face Megan yet after the words they had yesterday so she went into the breakfast room, made a cup of tea, and grabbed a bagel.

  She peeked into the library and saw that Michael was sitting at his desk with a steaming mug of coffee, his arms folded, and his head resting on them. She turned away and headed toward the construction noise. There were workmen on scaffolding in the great hall patching up cracked plaster and another man coiling up an extension cord. She walked through the plastic sheeting near the end of the hall and entered the drawing room.

  A couple of workmen were finishing up removing the plaster at the end of the room and a couple of men were beginning to put up sheetrock at the front of the room. Two more men were scraping old paint off the window panes. A thump and a scream came from the great hall. Everybody dropped what they were doing and ran out to see what had happened. When Vic got there Larry, who had been on top of the scaffold was lying on the ground cradling his arm tight to his chest and groaning. Nick, one of the other workmen was asking him questions about how bad the pain was and if he could move. Michael was kneeling next to Larry and he and Nick helped him stand. Megan caught her gaze and then looked away.

  “What happened?” Michael asked Larry.

  “I fell off that damned scaffold. What do you think I did?” He grunted. “I was fine one minute, had solid footing, and then I could have sworn somebody pushed me, but I was alone up there. Nick was down here putting things away. I was standing there getting ready to apply more plaster and I lost my footing, landed on my arm, and hit my head. It hurts like a bitch.”

  “Let’s get you to the hospital. Concussions are no joke.” Michael motioned for Nick to help him.

  They grabbed Larry under the arms and hauled him to his feet. Larry inhaled sharply as he tried to put his weight down on his right foot. Michael kissed Megan goodbye and he and Nick helped Larry out of the house. One of the other guys had already begun cleaning up the plaster that Larry had dropped. Everyone went back to work.

  Larry said he’d been pushed, no…he’d said it felt like he’d been pushed. Did he lose his footing and fall, or was it more sinister than that? Could a ghost have pushed him? Was that even possible? She was worried. She couldn’t talk to Megan about it and the guys had all gone back to work. She supposed she should get some actual work done too. Plus despite the high tension around Megan she wanted to see what she thought about her mock-ups.

  She walked down the great hall and into the dining room where Megan was back at work. Megan looked up at her as she came in.

  “Well, that was something. I hope Larry’s going to be okay.” She said.

  “Yeah, they really should wear safety harnesses.” Megan gestured to her mock-ups. “These are good. They look like I'd imagined, but better.”

  She pointed to the one she had done for the Music room. It had a brilliant blue wallpaper with flowers and vines on it. The carpeting for the room was a large oriental area rug. It was blue with blue flowers and vines all over it with a white border with blue flowers. Attached was a photo of the grand piano which was going to be repaired and repainted, and a sample of the fabric for the draperies, which was an off-white, cream color that featured birds and vines. She had tacked on photos of the paintings that would look best on the wall. Photos of a few reproduction sofas, repaired and refinished tables, and a few plant stands with examples of the types of plants that would look best. Everything brought the room together to make it warm and inviting.

  “I like how you put this one together. Do you think we could do some more today? I need to keep busy. My stomach is in knots over Larry.”

  Vic said yes. They worked awkwardly through the morning, neither of them speaking about the conversation they had yesterday. They put together several more mock-ups before they took a break for lunch. Vic grabbed her coat and purse from her room and headed back downstairs. She looked at the stained glass on the way down. Were there more imps hiding in the bushes than there were before? She wasn’t sure. She put it out of her mind.

  Stepping out the front door into the cold made Vic zip her coat up all the way. White, glistening snow covered everything. Somebody had cleared the steps and the front walk out to the drive where they parked their cars. It was overcast and gloomy out. That seemed to be the general atmosphere since she’d been at the house. She got into her car and headed out.

  As she drove to a local sandwich shop she thought about the dream she had last night. It started like all the others, sitting in her childhood kitchen working on the drawing for school. This time her mother had told her they were cursed. She wondered if it was a dream fiction, or if she remembered something her mother had told her that she had forgotten. She had to ask her mom. She knew there was some family secret that her mother wouldn’t tell her. When she got to the sandwich shop she texted her mother that she was going to stop in when she got home from work that evening. Then she went into the shop, ordered lunch, and sat at a table near the window.

  She ate in silence, not even browsing the internet while she ate. She was lost in thought about everything. She had forgotten to call her doctor about her renewed sleepwalking and after she ate she made an appointment for the following week. She wasn’t ready to go back to the house so she headed over to the library to find a new book. She wasn’t done with the one she had, but it was heavy historical fiction and she needed something light and funny.

  The main branch sat on Woodward Ave, which was built in the 1920s, with two wings that were built in the 1950s. She had trouble finding a parking place and after a few spins around the parking lot, she found one that had been recently vacated. Done in the Italian Renaissance style, it was once called the most beautiful building in Detroit.

  She made her way through the closest doors and found her way to the new fiction section to browse. After a few minutes, she selected a thin book with dogs on the cover. It seemed to be a light-hearted Christmas romance about dogs and their owners. Nothing too deep here, she thought. This would be perfect. She made her way to the checkout desk and handed her book to the clerk. A gangly man with glasses who looked a few years younger than her took her card and scanned it. He then scanned her book and he printed a receipt. She thanked him and left.

  She decided that she should stop at the store and pick up a few things that she might want later. She made a quick trip to the store and then headed back to the house. She didn’t feel like working anymore that day. She wondered if Megan or Michael would let her have the rest of the day off.

  Back at the house, she found the boys fresh from school and excited to show her their art creations from the day. Liam had drawn a dinosaur, and William a whale. She told them they were both wonderful artists. Megan ushered them into the dining room where she could work and keep an eye on them. Vic ran up to her room to deposit her things. Nothing she purchased needed to be refrigerated. She was glad for that. It was all snacks anyway. Snacks for late-night munching.

  After procrastinating for twenty more minutes she finally went down to the dining room. The awkward tension they had worked with earlier in the day was still there, but Megan was more open. Megan began sewing more draperies, while Vic continued working on mock-ups. Liam and William sat at the end of the table watching cartoons on Megan's tablet. Michael poked his head in a few times to hug the boys and talk to Megan. He asked Vic a few questions about woodgrain and finishing techniques. Then he left to talk with his foreman. Megan completed a few draperies, and Vic finished two more mock-ups before they called it quits.

  Megan put her work down and stood up. “Come on boys. I’m done here. Let’s go to the kitchen and make dinner.” William turned the tablet off without too much whining when Megan told him they could finish their cartoon after dinner. She turned to Vic and said, “I’ll see you in the morning.” She ushered the boys through the door to the pantry and was gone.

  Vic checked her messages and saw that her mom had responded. “Bring Pizza.” was all it said.

  She went up to her room, grabbed her things, and headed back out.

  ---

  She arrived at her mother’s house in Southfield a little while later, pizza in tow. Her mother owned a modest little house in a neighborhood full of working people. It was a two-bedroom house with a big front window and a one-car detached garage in the back. White siding over a brick bottom, with metal awnings over the front steps and windows completed the look. The driveway and sidewalk had not been shoveled. Her mom worked as a nurse at Henry Ford Hospital and worked long shifts. In the winter she arrived at work in the dark and left work in the dark. She had worked hard for years, picking up extra shifts so that Vic could go to school.

  Vic parked behind her mother’s four-door sedan and walked behind the house to the kitchen door. The kitchen was small with white cabinets, and a small table sat in the center. She set the pizza on the table along with a six-pack of beer.

  “Mom,” She called.

  “Out in a sec. Just changing out of my scrubs,” she called from down the hall.

  Vic went in search of plates. She stopped to look at a picture of the two of them on the fridge. It was from her high school graduation. They were both happy in that photo. It was a good memory. She grabbed the plates from one of the cabinets and took them to the table. She sat and waited.

  Her mother looked good for 53 and could pass for a woman in her 40s. She was average height, with brown hair like Vic’s, hazel eyes, and a slim build. She was stronger than she looked due to all the heavy lifting of patients she did daily. She entered the kitchen wearing a pair of sweatpants and a Mickey Mouse hoodie.

  “Hi honey,” She walked over and kissed Vic on the top of the head. “You brought beer too.” She pulled out a chair and sat down across from her.

  Vic opened the pizza box and grabbed a slice. Her mother did the same, then she grabbed two beers, opened them, and gave one to Vic, before taking a swig.

  “That’s nice after a long day.” She sat back in her chair.

  “How’s work going?” Vic asked.

  “We got a new nurse who is as green as a nurse can be. Me and the other nurses have a bet about how long it will be before she barfs on the job.” She picked up her slice of pizza. “Tell me about this new job you have.”

  Vic told her that she was working with a married couple who flipped houses and purchased the Charles house when it was put up for sale. They wanted an architectural historian to help them restore the house as close to its original state as possible. They are turning it into an inn and a restaurant. She’d only been there a few days but things seemed to be going well.

  “That house is haunted. Why would you want to work there?” Her mother took a bite of pizza.

  “It’s just an old house,” Vic lied taking a bite of her own slice.

  “Didn’t some teenager die there in the 90s?” Her mom continued eating her pizza.

  “Nobody knows. He went missing, but it’s suspected that he died. No body was ever recovered.” Vic took a swig of her beer.

  “And you don’t think that’s weird?” Her mother wiped her hands on a napkin.

  “That was over twenty years ago Mom!” Vic let out a sigh. “I came here because I have a question to ask you. Not to question my decision on work.”

  “Alright, calm down. I was just asking.” Her mother grabbed another slice. “What did you want to ask?”

  “Do you remember when I used to sleepwalk?”

  “Of course I do. I had to put a padlock on the outside of your door to keep you in your room at night after I kept finding you out on the front lawn. Did you start sleepwalking again?” Her mom asked.

  Vic nodded.

  “When? Have you gone to see the doctor yet?” Her mother finished her beer and reached for another.

  “I made an appointment for next week.” Vic took another sip of her beer. “It’s only been a few days and it could be stress-related. It’s a big job I’m doing.

  “You should come home. I don’t want you wandering into the middle of Woodward during one of these episodes.”

  “I’m not going to wander into the road. I have a lock on the door.” She thought about the missing key but didn’t tell her mother. “I brought it up because I’m having the dreams again. The nightmares before I sleepwalk, or during my sleepwalking. Do you remember that drawing I worked on for school in kindergarten or first grade? The one about our family tree?” She looked at her mother.

  “I don’t think so. What about it?” Her mother cradled the beer bottle between her hands.

  “I dream about it before every nightmare. I ask about our family tree and why it’s made up of only women.” Her mother looked uneasy. “In this dream, you usually tell me that Dad couldn’t help getting sick and that your Dad left, and that it was similar for your grandma as well. The dream I had last night was different. You told me we were cursed. Do you remember that? I am pretty sure this was a repressed memory.”

  Her mother fidgeted. “I don’t remember anything like that. Here, have some more pizza,” Her mother tried to put another slice on her plate.

  “Stop, Mom! Just answer the question. I remember you telling me that we had a family secret and that you couldn’t tell me until I was grown.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her mother folded her arms across her chest.

  “Cut the bullshit, Mom! I’m 26, I think I’m old enough to know.” She was pissed now.

  “What do you want me to tell you? I’ve been trying to keep you safe from the truth so you can grow up and be yourself without any family secret holding you back. Besides, It’s ridiculous.” Her mother looked away.

  “I have a right to know,” Vic yelled at her mother. “Does it have to do with why I sleepwalk?”

  “I don’t know why you sleepwalk, but it started after that project you did on the family tree.” She looked back at Vic and sighed. “Look, I haven’t told you because I didn’t want it to affect the way you grew up.”

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “I’m grown now, Mom. I need to know. Maybe it’ll stop the sleepwalking.” Vic said softer.

  “This is going to sound stupid, but…” Her mother fidgeted with her beer bottle. “My mother told me when I was a teenager that the women in our family were cursed. Cursed to be alone because of your four times great grandmother’s actions.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “The story goes that your four times great grandmother had an affair with a wealthy married man and got pregnant. When his wife found out she wanted to kill her, but couldn’t get her hands on her, so instead she cursed her to forever be alone. She and all her descendants. This happened back in the early twentieth century, more than a hundred years ago. I thought this was stupid and laughed at my mom. Especially when I fell for your father. We met in nursing school and dated for a few years, got married had you, but then he got cancer and died. He was the love of my life.”

  Vic didn’t know what to make of this. It was ridiculous. There’s no such thing as curses, but then again she didn’t believe in ghosts a week ago.

  “Mom, that’s dumb.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” She took a big gulp of beer. “After your Dad died I thought about this curse again. After grieving I moved on. I met more people. But every time I felt like I was getting close to another person they found some reason to break up with me or move away. I’ve never had a serious relationship after your father died. Your grandma never had one period. Oh, she married my dad thinking that marriage and a child would settle him down, but he drank and was abusive to her. I didn’t remember these things. I was little when he left. She never dated anyone ever again. She told me when I was a teenager in case I might be able to change things. I was not nice to her, and we barely spoke for the rest of my teen years.”

  “It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. She told you this ridiculous tale of a curse based on her own failed relationships and it wormed its way into your head. So when any of your relationships seemed to be failing you just let them go instead of trying a little harder.” She postulated.

  “Then you tell me about this great love of your life. Oh, you can’t. You don’t have one.” Her mother shouted.

  Vic was taken aback. Her mother had never spoken to her like that. Immediately her mother realized what she said.

  “Vic, I didn’t mean that.”

  “I think you did.” Vic stood.

  “Wait. Don’t go yet.” Her mother stood and came around the table.

  Vic wouldn’t look at her. Instead, she looked at the floor.

  “I tried very hard not to believe what my mother said about the curse. I thought if I didn’t tell you that you wouldn’t be affected by it. But you’re 26 and have never had a single serious relationship.”

  “Thanks for rubbing that in.” Vic crossed her arms.

  “No, honey. It has nothing to do with you and your worth. I was hoping that you’d fall in love, get married, and have children and that would prove that my mother’s notion was crazy. Maybe it still is. She was told by her mother, who was told by her mother all the way back to Magdalena Bishop, the Bastard daughter of Ruth Bishop who received the curse. Wait here, I want to go get the photo album.”

  Vic sighed and nodded. She sat down again. A few minutes later her mother came back with a slim photo album. She sat in the chair next to Vic and opened it. She flipped the pages to the back and opened it to the photo of a young woman with dark hair done up on her head, wearing a white blouse and a long dark skirt.

  “This is Ruth our very great grandmother. Nobody would hire her when they found out she was unmarried and pregnant, but eventually, she found work in a factory. She never had much money and raised Magdalena alone.”

  She pointed to a woman on the previous page. “This is her daughter Magdalena.” She had dark hair and short curls and wore a long dress with a print on it. “She was born in 1911. She ended up having a daughter in 1931.”

  Her mother turned the page back. “This is her daughter Josephine. Magdalena married Josephine’s father in 1930 and Josephine was born in 1931. Her husband died shortly after in a car accident.”

  Josephine had a short bob and wore a dress with an apron. Vic could tell this photo was taken in the 50s.

  “Josephine was my grandmother and she had my mother Sofia in 1951. Josephine never married and it was just as scandalous in the 1930s as it was for Ruth back in the early 20th century.”

  She turned the page. The next photo was of her grandmother Sophie in the early 1970s. She wore a tank top and bell bottoms. She made the peace sign with her fingers.

  “This is your grandma before she had me in 1973. And this next picture is me. This was right after I graduated in 1990. I then went to nursing school, met your dad, got married, and had you in 1996. Your Dad died in 2000 of prostate cancer.”

  “I didn’t know all this mom.” She looked at her mom. “It seems like a weird coincidence. Don’t worry about this curse. Curses aren’t real. I’m going to get married someday. You’ll get your grandkids.” She hugged her mother. “I can’t believe you bottled this up for so many years. Grandma really did a number on you.”

  Her mother was crying. Vic hugged her tighter. “Don’t cry, mom. Everything is going to be okay. And if you want, after the holidays, let’s sign you up for a dating service. See if we can’t find you some doctor hunk or something.”

  Her mother laughed at that and wiped her tears away. They talked about other stuff, ate more pizza, and promised to get together again before Thanksgiving and then Vic left.

  She thought about it all on the drive back to the house. Her mother believed in this curse, and what did that have to do with her dreams and sleepwalking? Why did her sleepwalking start back up when she started living at the Charles house? She’d worked on plenty of other projects and stayed in other places. She even went away to college, but that was when her sleepwalking had stopped. It didn’t start back up when she came back to Detroit, but as soon as she moved into the house, the sleepwalking and nightmares came back. And to top it all off she discovered that ghosts are real and the house is haunted. Is it all a coincidence, or are they somehow connected?

  When she returned to the house a light was on in the library and she went in to see Michael. She gently rapped on the wooden door to get his attention. He was sitting on the settee reading one of the books he showed her the other night. His face brightened when he saw her and he smiled.

  “Hey, Vic. What are you up to?” He set the book down.

  She walked into the room. “Nothing, I just had dinner with my mom.”

  “Don’t just stand there. Have a seat.” He picked up a couple of books from next to him and motioned for her to sit down.

  Vic took her coat off and draped it over one of the armchairs and then sat next to Michael.

  “How’s Larry?” She asked.

  “He has a broken arm and a sprained ankle. They put a cast on his arm and wrapped his foot. He’s going to be off work for at least a couple of weeks.” He leaned back.

  “Ouch. I’m glad he’s going to be okay.” She sat sideways facing him. “Does he have a concussion?”

  “No, he got lucky there.”

  At the same time, they both asked the other, “Did you hear him say he thought he was pushed off the scaffolding?”

  “It’s weird, right?” Michael said.

  “Do you think a ghost did it?” She asked. “Are we in danger?”

  “Ghosts can’t hurt people. I’m sure Larry’s fall was just an accident and we’re overthinking things because of what we saw the other night.”

  “He said he felt like he was pushed.” This was creepy, she thought. If ghosts can go around hurting people, should they even be here? Maybe the nanny was right.

  “I don’t know.” He was just as baffled.

  “Have you found out anything else?”

  “Yes, I was reading through Virginia’s diary when I came across an entry not long after Edward and those men died.” He stood up and walked over to the desk and grabbed the diary. He thumbed through the pages until he found the right entry and then passed it to her.

  January 15th, 1911

  Two servants quit today. They said that they’d been hearing strange noises coming from the cellar. When I asked them what kind of noises they said it sounded like the screams of dying men. I’ve never seen a grown man scared before. They said that they were sorry to have to go, but they couldn’t stay after what happened to Edward and the other men. They said the house felt off to them. I asked them what they meant, but they didn’t know, just that it felt wrong somehow. I can’t blame them. The accident that took Edward and the other men was so terrible I’m not surprised that it tainted the house in some way.

  I’ve heard things too, though not screams. Thank the Lord. I don’t think I could stay either if I had heard that, but I have heard whisperings. It happens late at night when I am between wakefulness and sleep. It sounds like someone is there in the room with me. At first, I thought it was Edward because I hadn’t gotten over the fact that he is dead. Also, I don’t remember a lot in that between state. I can’t think much. That’s where I most often hear the whispering. I can never make out what is being said, but it sends chills down my spine. In the morning I usually have forgotten about it and go about my day.

  There are other strange occurrences. I find that objects seem to move of their own accord. I asked a maid one day after I had left a cup of tea sitting on the table. I left the room for a few minutes and when I came back the cup of tea was sitting across the room on top of the mantel. Or a book that I had been reading will be in another spot. The maids say they haven’t touched them. I can only conclude that the house is now haunted by Edward and the men who died. It’s no less than I deserve.

  “The haunting started after those men died.” She handed the diary back.

  “Can you imagine what it must have been like to have your family shattered and then your dream home becomes a nightmare?” He added.

  “And she lived here until she died. How could she do that?” Vic was perplexed. “I couldn’t do that.”

  “You were right about the haunting being caused by the ‘accident’. Should we get a priest to bless the house or something?” He put forward.

  She thought about it. That’s what people always did in the movies, but would it work in real life? Would the church even believe them? And if they tried that what would they tell Megan? Did they have to tell Megan? If they didn’t and she found out she would be so pissed. They discussed this back and forth and it was decided that Michael would ask her if she would be okay with him getting a priest to bless the house and get rid of any negative vibes. It was the best plan they had at the moment.

  “Did you find anything out about the different occult symbols in the house?” She asked him.

  “No, I didn’t get the chance to look anything else up. We could do that now if you want. Unless you have something else to do?”

  “Yeah, we could do that. Do you have a book, or…”She trailed off.

  He went back over to the desk where his laptop was and grabbed it. He sat back down next to Vic and they huddled over the screen. He typed ‘occult symbols’ into Google and watched as a bunch of hits came back. They identified several such as the pentagram which was widely used by modern-day witches and pagans. The Ankh, an Egyptian symbol for eternal life. There was a weird-looking symbol that looked like a one-eyed man with horns called the Monas Heiroglyphica. It was invented by a man named John Dee who was an alchemist and astrologer. It represented the Moon, Sun, Elements, and Fire, but didn’t say what that meant.

  Michael wrote notes as they went along. Vic was aware of how close they sat and she wondered what Megan would think if she walked in right now. No, she didn’t have to wonder, Megan would be jealous, thinking they were up to no good. They weren’t, but she wouldn’t see it that way. Was Michael oblivious, or did he intend to sit so close? She decided to test him by moving away from him a couple of inches. He slid over to her until they were touching again, sliding the laptop further onto her lap than it had been before.

  She jumped right up. “Oh, I forgot I have to send some emails to my professor right away.” She grabbed her coat off the chair and started for the door.

  “This late?” Michael looked disheartened.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. I was supposed to email him an update on the project so far. My project, the one I’m writing as my dissertation. It’s supposed to be in by midnight and I don’t have much time.” She awkwardly backstepped towards the door. “Show me what you find tomorrow?”

  He eyed her curiously, “Sure. I’d hoped you had more time, but we can do it tomorrow.”

  “Yes, definitely. I need to learn to manage my time better.” She turned and fled into the hall.

  She walked quickly down the hall to the grand stairs and started up them. She was so stupid. She was sure that he saw right through her. She liked him a lot, and it appeared he liked her, but she wasn’t going to let it go anywhere else than friendship. This job was turning out to be a pain, but she couldn’t quit now. There were too many questions. Imps peered at her from the stained glass window as she passed it.

  At the top of the stairs, she heard one of the boys giggling. Was that Liam, or William? She heard his footsteps as he ran up the next flight of stairs to the third level. It was late, why wasn’t he in bed? Probably because he didn’t want to go to bed yet and was making his mom chase him. But Megan wasn’t there in the hall. Did she know that one of the boys was out here? She thought she should go collect him and bring him back to his mother before she went frantic with worry. She turned on the light to the third-floor stairs and started up. These stairs weren’t as grand as the other stairs, but they were wide and had carved balusters stained in a dark brown color and an intricately woven carpet runner that ran up them.

  At the top of the stairs, the hall was shrouded in darkness. She listened to see if she could hear where the boy had gone. Just down the hall, she heard the creak of a door as it opened and then closed. She found the switch for the hall light and flipped it. Dim light chased away the shadows. She walked along down the hall until she reached the door she thought she’d heard open. She turned the knob and pushed the door open.

  She tried the light switch, but nothing happened. The room remained dark.

  “Liam? William? Which one of you is hiding?” She stepped into the room. “Come out. Let me take you back to your mom. She has to be worried you’re gone. You have to go to bed.”

  She couldn’t see anything in here. She stepped in further and struggled to get her phone out of her pocket. The door slammed behind her with a bang and she jumped. Phone now in hand she shook it to turn on her flashlight and aimed it at the door. It was closed. She shined her light around the room. A small bed sat along one wall, with a nightstand next to it. A small bookshelf and a wardrobe finished up the furniture. She didn’t know how she missed seeing him when she came in, but he must have been waiting to scurry out and slam the door.

  She went to the door and opened it. The hall beyond lay once again in darkness. The little brat turned off the light.

  “Liam? William? This isn’t funny.” She heard another door slam shut. She ran to it and flung open the door. It was the storage room. Everything inside started to rattle and then a cloud of smoke, mist? Coalesced out of nothing. It formed a grotesque face, mouth open, eyeballs missing and it flew at her. She screamed and tore off down the hall and pounded down the stairs as fast as she could go. She ran straight to her room, where she closed and locked the door behind her. She turned on all the lights and dove under the covers. Bedcovers Made you safe, right? She felt ridiculous. Did she see what she thought she saw? Now she was second-guessing herself.

  She waited until she calmed down and then went to check to see if the boys were in their rooms. She hoped that Megan was still awake. She didn’t want to wake her up and worry her. She slowly opened the door to her room and peered into the hall. Dim light illuminated the hallway. Seeing nothing she poked her head out further and then stepped into the hall. She quickly passed the stairs to the third floor walked to the end of the hall and turned right. At the end of the short hall stood a door, with another one on the wall to the right. She lightly rapped on the door at the end. She heard some shuffling about and then the door opened a crack. Megan stood there in her pajamas and a pretty robe.

  “It’s late Vic, what is it?”

  “I thought I heard one of the boys going up to the third floor when I came up and I was just wondering if they snuck out of bed. I guess it could have been the cat.” She hoped that one of the boys was not stuck up in that storage room at this very moment. But she also hoped that she wasn’t lured upstairs by something.

  “They better not have.” She turned away. “Wait here a minute.”

  Megan turned and walked to a door further back in her room and disappeared through it. These were the rooms that Edward and Virginia shared. This room had belonged to Edward, and the other connecting room, Where the kids were sleeping had been Virginia's room. Many wealthy married people had their own bedrooms. If they weren’t attached like this one they were very close together.

  A moment later Megan returned. “Both boys are fast asleep.”

  A chill ran down Vic’s body. She swallowed a lump in her throat before speaking. “I’m glad they’re not running amuck. I must have heard the cat. Cats love to run around like little bats out of hell during the night. I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing.” Vic turned to walk away.

  “Goodnight Vic. See you in the morning.” Megan closed the door behind her.

  Vic kept her gaze focused on the carpet in front of her as she walked back to her room. The house was eerily quiet now and she could hear the wind howling outside. As she passed by both sets of stairs, the grand stairs, and the third-floor stairs she caught movement from her left, where the stained glass window was. She looked expecting to see Michael coming up the stairs, but she only saw the window. The imps were missing!

  Nope, that was not happening. She was tired and seeing things. She picked up her pace and sprinted to her room. Once inside she pulled a chair in front of the door since she couldn’t lock it. She had looked everywhere, but couldn’t find the key. She also wasn’t sure if the chair would keep her in the room should she sleepwalk again.

  She changed into her pajamas, washed her face, and crawled into bed. She prayed that she didn’t have nightmares again, or sleepwalk. The windows rattled as the wind whipped by. Raindrops pattered on the window and the house creaked. She fell asleep to whispering that only she could hear.

  If you are enjoying the book, if you could follow, favorite, rate, or review it, I'd really appreciate it