Page 64 of Hell of a Mess
But I was.
There was an imprint of a body. As if someone had lain here numerous times. But who?
I picked up the flashlight to see if it worked. Maybe this had been back here for years, and no one had paid attention to it. The moment I picked it up, I could tell there were no batteries in it. The weight gave it away. It was empty. Setting it down, I startedto stand up. I was wasting time.
My gaze, however, studied the space one more time. To make sure I hadn’t missed anything. It was obvious someone had once lain here, on this sorry excuse for a bed, and they’d done it enough that their body was imprinted there.
The edge of a small notebook peeked out from behind the box closest to the foam piece, and I reached over and took the end, then pulled it out completely.
It was a faded blue spiral notebook, like the ones kids used in school. Opening it, I planned on flipping through, but then I saw the first page, which had very neat although childish handwriting.
Mommy,
I hope you are warm, and I hope you remember me. You do, don’t you? I think about you every day. Dalia doesn’t remember you, but she doesn’t remember a lot of things. Some days, she doesn’t even talk. Father said it’s my fault. That I was the reason you drowned and now Dalia is suffering because of it. Am I a curse, Mommy? I don’t want to be. I didn’t make you drown, did I? I miss you, and I wish you were here.
It’s cold in the basement, and I’m scared of the dark.
I love you.
Lace
A dull pounding started in my temples as I stared down in horror at the words I’d just read. Bile burned my throat, and as I turned the page, dread came with it.
Mommy,
Dalia got another horse today. This one is my favorite yet. It’s a gray Arabian, and he is beautiful. Father wouldn’t let me ride him, although Dalia couldn’t either. His name is Rolf, and when Dalia got close to him, he gotnervous and anxious. Then she started to have a fit, and Father had to usher her back inside.
I stayed in the stables with him and talked sweet to him. He calmed down. How I wish I could have ridden him.
When Father came back outside, it was to get me, and he was angry at me. He said it was my fault and sent me to the basement again. I don’t know what I did wrong. All I said was that Rolf was beautiful and asked to ride him.
I miss you.
Don’t forget me.
Love,
Lace
I brushed my fingertips over her name, written with little curls on the ends. The ink was smeared slightly, as if there had been a drop of water or a tear there once. The constricting in my chest was getting unbearable. But I forced myself to continue.
Mommy,
I’m scared. Dalia scares me. Today, she clawed at my face and scratched it while screaming. I hadn’t done anything to her either. She just saw me and ran at me, screaming. Father said it was my fault, but I hadn’t even said anything to her. Ms. Naple, our new housemaid, had sent me to get the garbage from the trash cans in all the rooms, and when I went in Dalia’s, she attacked me. Father yelled at me, and the nurse who now stays here with Dalia gave her a shot. She went to sleep, and he sent me back to the basement.
I hate it here, but I did find a flashlight, and I brought it with me. I can write to you down here now. I won’t have to hide my notebook upstairs anymore. No one comes down here but me.
I miss you, and I sing the song you sang to me at nightuntil I fall asleep. Sometimes, it keeps the monsters away.
I love you.
Lace
The notebook trembled in my hand, and I took several deep breaths before turning the page. How old had she been when she was sent to sleep down here? Alone. Cold.
FUCK! Rage roared through every cell of my body. I wanted to rip Halsten’s body apart with my bare hands.
The next page stared up at me, and the sight of the wordMommysent an agonizing pain through my chest.
