The Thrashers(78)

When Jodi squeezed into Rosa’s front seat, Zack still wasn’t home. She listened to Rosa’s tirade about her father, letting the words wash over her, and wishing she could blame this on Emily somehow. Somehow Emily had started a fire and tried to kill her dad.

But she knew it wasn’t true. There were enough demons without Emily.





Chapter Twenty-Two





When Rosa took her by her house the next day to pack some clothes, Jodi saw the damage for the first time. The left side of her house was charred, the siding blackened. The bushes between their house and the Burnses’ were crisped. She could see where the fire had jumped to the other house, and her heart dropped when she realized it was Oliver’s bedroom.

Thankfully, it looked like only the outside had been damaged. The Burnses had evacuated early enough, and the fire trucks had arrived quickly.

Caution tape wound around her house, and she had to duck under it to wedge her key in the lock. The fire had crept toward the living room, lighting up the carpet and singeing her father’s favorite chair. Jodi imagined him still in it, drunkenly dozing while the smoke choked him to death. She shook her head clear of the nightmare and turned down the hall toward her bedroom.

Aside from the smoke, her room was clear. The fire hadn’t come this far. She grabbed everything important and filled a duffel bag with all the clothes she could.

Her dad was discharged from the hospital that morning. He’d needed to sober up and get his lungs tested, and if he experienced any hoarseness or difficulty breathing he was supposed to come in immediately. They’d talked on the phone that morning, and every apology felt like a weight on Jodi’s chest. He wouldn’t stop saying sorry. Jodi knew it was an accident, but it also wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been piss-drunk.

“I’m glad you’re staying with Rosa,” he’d said. “I think that’s for the best until the insurance company comes through with the money for repairs.”

Jodi had just agreed.

While she put together a puzzle with her grandma, Jodi’s mind ran through the séance. Jodi tried to make sense of the way Kiera behaved, trying to make it not Emily’s doing.

She wants you to go to Rosa’s.

Well, here she was. If her mother wanted her at Rosa’s …

She wondered if Emily cared about the rose garden at all. Nan had seen a rose during her and Paige’s session. But had it even been Emily?

She called Nan that day, stepping out of Rosa’s kitchen and into the backyard.

“Can you explain possession?”

“Possession?” She could hear Nan shuffling papers and moving around her salon. “Can you be more specific?”

“We … we tried to communicate with Emily last night, and I think she possessed one of us. She was talking through someone.” She didn’t mention the eyes. It wasn’t something she could be sure of.

“Hm. Well, I would say that—” Nan cut off. Jodi almost prompted her when she finally said, “Okay. Emily is here.”

Jodi clenched her jaw.

“She’s curious about a fire?”

“Tell her to fuck off,” Jodi bit out. Then, “Sorry. I’m really, really done with her.”

“Well, she’s not done with you.”

Shivers started down Jodi’s spine. “So it was her last night? Possessing Kiera?”

“She is happy to take credit for it, yes. That’s what I’m getting from her, anyway.”

Jodi swallowed. “Is it going to happen again? Is she … Does she want to hurt us?”

“I’m not getting that. She’s still very concerned for you. Focused on you.”

That didn’t make her feel any better. “When we first came to see you, you said someone was holding out a rose. Did you think that was Emily?”

“There were a lot of voices,” Nan said. “I wasn’t sure, but someone associated roses with safety.”

Jodi rubbed her eyes. “My aunt’s name is Rosa.”

“Ah. Well, that could be it.”

“So, going to the rose garden wasn’t it.” Jodi scoffed.

Nan paused before saying, “If you’d like to come by and talk about it some more, I could give you ten minutes free…”

“Thanks, but I think I’m done talking to spirits.”

Nan wished her well, and Jodi did the same.

Jodi checked in with the rest of them later that day. Zack said Kiera was freaked. When he’d finally updated the group text, he’d said it took an hour for him to calm her down. He’d checked on her early in the morning, and she said she’d dreamt of Emily all night.

When Monday came, Kiera looked like she’d—well, like she’d seen a ghost. Her eyes were bloodshot and her skin was pale. Jodi tried to approach her to ask if she was okay, but Kiera had swerved to avoid her.

The weeks seemed to pass quickly during the winter. Jodi started work on the backdrop for West Side Story, but the rest of the semester was just a countdown to the trials.

The last Monday of February was the beginning of the hearings. Paige dressed in pastel clothes that she’d bought at Marshalls the day before, giving her the look of someone who had never owned a pair of Gucci sunglasses or six Louis Vuitton purses. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and walked with her gaze down on the sidewalk as the reporters swarmed her at the courthouse steps.