Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
It’s dark by the time I reach the driveway to Pine Ridge, but the sky burns orange, giving the world the aura of a permanent hellish dusk. The wind picks up, whistling through the trees as though it had a message to deliver.
And what would that be, I wonder? My childhood sermons come back to me.
Repent. Repent while you still can.
That was Mom’s religion. It was never just love and charity. It was fire and brimstone, guilt and sin. I walk slowly towards the house. Bradley’s car is there, but the house is dark.
Why would it be dark if they’re both home? Fearing the worst, I dump my bag and sprint towards the house.
“Bradley!” I yell, pushing through the door. I find Grace sitting on the sofa in the living room, surrounded by candles, like a witch leading a séance. She’s wearing a red cardigan, and it makes her look almost normal. “Where is he?”
“Where’s who?”
“Bradley?”
“I have no idea.” There’s an ironic lilt to her voice. “Why do you want him?”
“Have you hurt him?”
“And why would I do that?” Her voice drops even lower. “Why would I hurt anyone?”
I don’t know what to say, so I wave my hand along the wall and flick the light switch up, but nothing happens.
“Power’s out, darling. Though I suppose you wouldn’t notice.”
“Just tell me where he is.”
At that moment, Bradley emerges from the darkness of the hallway, a bottle of wine and two glasses in hand. He looks frantic.
“Brie! Where have you been? We need to stick together. Evacuation orders could be issued at any time. Let me get you a glass.” Before I can object, he places the wine on the coffee table and retreats to the kitchen.
“Looks like you found your man,” Grace says icily. She unscrews the cap on the wine and pours two glasses. “Here you go.” I don’t move, and she waves it at me in frustration. “Go on. It’s not poison.”
“How can I be sure?”
“Because I wouldn’t do that.” She swirls the wine. In the candlelight, it looks like blood. At that moment, Gabriel trots into view. He nuzzles his chin into Grace, then hops onto her lap.
“You did it once.”
“That wasn’t serious.” She hesitates, as if there’s more she wants to say. For the first time, she almost looks nervous, and it gives me courage.
“It felt serious to me. I’d only been here a few days. How could you?”
“You need to grow up.”
I reach into my pocket and take out the photo from her shooting range. I screw it up and toss it at her. “Isn’t this serious?”
She picks up the photo from the floor and unfolds it. “I don’t believe it is.”
“I do.”
“Well then, you don’t know much about life, do you?” She finishes her glass and then tosses the photo back to me. I scrunch it up in my fist. “You’re very interesting, Brie. Much more than I initially expected, I have to admit.”
“I’m not a lab rat.”
“No, you’re just a girl who has spent the last few weeks—”
She cuts herself off as Bradley enters the room. He pours himself a glass and sits next to Grace on the sofa. His comfort with us both in the room makes me angry, but I know I can’t express it.
“Brie,” Grace says. “Do you remember what I said at dinner, when you first moved in?”
I don’t respond. Grace smirks.
“I said if anyone touched my husband, I’d kill them. And then I’d kill myself. What did you think of me when I said that?”
“She thought you were a crazy writer,” Bradley says, patting her on the leg.
“Let her answer.”
“I thought—” I begin, unsure of what to say.
I glance at Bradley, and he gives a slow, barely perceptible shake of his head.
Grace is telling us both she knows what happened, and I now understand why.
She wants me to admit the affair, so that Bradley violates the terms of his prenup and gets nothing.
For all I know, she’s recording everything. “I thought it was funny.”
“Funny?”
“Yes, funny,” I say. “It was a joke. How else was I meant to take it?”
“It’s not for me to say.”
“Is it not?” It’s a weak retort, but as usual, I feel woefully out of my depth talking to Grace. Everything she says seems to have layers of meaning. “I should go. I’m tired.”
“Don’t go,” Bradley says, standing up. “I have a check for you. For all your hard work. Grace thought we should give you a bonus, too.”
He leaves the room, and I turn back to Grace, expecting to find her ready for another barbed exchange.
But this time, she’s standing, too.
And she has a gun in her hand. She must have been hiding it under her cardigan.
“Brie, it’s time for this to end.”
All the air leaves my body. She’s going to kill me, then kill Bradley, then kill herself. I knew it all along. She’s given me so many warnings. Why didn’t I listen? Why did I let Bradley convince me to stay?
“Grace,” I say, backing towards the door. I can feel it behind me, pressing against my lower back. I keep looking at her as I reach around and turn the handle. The gun is pointing at the floor. And just before I turn to leave, I see it rising.
But before she can fire, I’ve got the door open, and I’m sprinting into the hellish dusk.