Chapter 32 Rule Four Catherine - Observe before you act
Rule Four Catherine - Observe before you act
How could this be? So soon? No! Impossible!
As the happy couple closed the door and began to settle into their temporary dwellings, I paced furiously around the room.
“How could you, Emmett?” I shouted. He paid me no mind, and I huffed. “You’ve barely aged. How long was it before you stuck your dick into a new pussy?”Again, he didn’t even blink.
He did turn in my direction, and his eyebrows rose. I held my breath, waiting for him to approach me. He took a step forward and then walked right fucking through me, going to the window.
“Oh wow, Vera, look at how bad it is outside.”
Vera.
The beautiful woman was named Vera.
I stepped back as she walked past me to go to him. As she moved, her perfume wafted over to me.
Sweet Pea.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring her pretty smell. And when I opened them again, I plopped down on the stool in front of the bed and watched them.
“See, this is why I always stuck with women before you, Emmett. Men are bastards. Was I even cold in the ground before you picked her up?” I lifted my hands, and, in my vulnerable state, allowed myself to go slightly transparent. I turned my palm and stared long and hard at the diamond ring on it.
It had been almost a year, and I hadn’t aged.
I looked at my feet. I was still in my wedding dress. My wedding shoes.
And here he was, in a new suit, with new shoes.
Did he get a new ring as well? Most likely. Did he have the one I’d given him?
A deep ache formed in my chest as I stared at the two.
Did she know about me?
He put his arm around her, and I stiffened, almost defensively. How dare he? Did she not know how dangerous he was?
“Is this your next victim, Em?” I called out, sniffling. “Is this your whole serial killer thing then? Once a year, you remarry and bring your new bride to the same place as your previous one. Do you get off on planning to kill her the way you did me?”
I knew they couldn’t hear me, but still, I talked.
The living only saw and heard what we wanted them to.
And... I wasn’t ready for him to see me.
They moved away from the window and turned to stare at the room. Again, Vera took my breath away. She was stunning.
“Well...” Emmett took a deep breath. “Should we get out of these clothes?” The suggestion in his voice was not lost on me. Vera blushed bright red and inhaled quick.
“I—the dress is kind of uncomfortable,” she admitted.
“You’re not ready,” he quickly said.
I was a fascinated voyeur in their exchange. What was she not ready for?
Vera cringed. “I know, it’s dumb, it’s just...”
Emmett squeezed her hands. “It’s not dumb, I promise. My first time was nerve-wracking too. But we’ve talked about this. I’m going to make it special.”
She was a virgin?
I studied her. She didn’t look young. I mean, not freshly plucked from high school young. They looked similar in age, early twenties. How was she still a virgin then?
“It’s not my first time.” She rolled her eyes at him. “Just... with...”
“A guy, I know. Sorry, I don’t mean to—”
“Erase my identity?” she tossed.
I stared in awe. Good for her. She was bold and not taking his shit. I’d never been so proud and aroused at the same time.
So, Emmett Grant had a type.
Women who liked women.
“Right. That, Vera, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant. Can we start over?”
She took a deep breath and calmed. Then she nodded.
“I know you’re nervous. Change is scary. But I promise to be gentle, and we’re going to navigate this together. When you say stop, we stop.”
My cold, broken heart was welding itself back together watching him be so tender with her.
“He’d been like that with me too. Although, we never really got there. Did we, Emmett?”
I sighed. Oh, how I’d loved him.
He’d swept me off my feet, not knowing or caring that until him, I’d been a gold star lesbian. But his jokes and kindness won me over. My parents were confused and didn’t approve, but I didn’t care.
It wasn’t about the looks; it was about the soul.
Well, looks did have something to do with it. Emmett Grant was very attractive... and so was his new wife, Vera.
The urge to reveal myself to them right here, right now, was strong. However, I held back. I needed to know what she knew, and if she was in danger. Was it purely coincidence that he’d returned to the scene of the crime in his wedding gear, or was it nefarious?
“Maybe we should get some dinner. It’s been a few hours since the reception. Why don’t we change and go downstairs. See if that creepy guy can direct us to food,” Vera said in a rushed tone.
Creepy guy?
A smile stretched across my lips. She meant Lattice. Another permanent resident.
“I could use something warm in my belly. Yeah! Let’s do that.” Emmett leaned in and gave his bride a deep, lingering kiss.
That should have been me.
Then I frowned. Who, exactly? Was I taking the place of? Emmett had my heart, even now, knowing what he did to me. But Vera...
I continued to watch as they undressed and switched into more casual clothes.
While both kept their underwear on, I admired their physiques.
Emmett was mostly unchanged, with his stocky build from being raised on a farm.
Vera was softer, with an hourglass frame.
She was just my type. I’d been with many, many women before Emmett, and my mouth began to water just looking at her.
While I hated him, I understood the attraction.
Following them down, I sat with them in the dining hall and watched them eat stew and bread. Lattice served them wine and dessert. Each time he made an appearance, he made sure to smile my way. He was a bastard, all right.
“The last couple to have sampled our newlywed special—Oh, how the bride loved our cheesecake. What did she say?” Lattice spoke as he took their plates away. “Oh, yes. She said it was the best part of her night. The husband then tried to joke and say ‘yet’, but she said—”
“I’ll decide after,” I finished his sentence. It was what I’d said that night.
Emmett’s face paled as if realizing that Lattice recognized him.
“I get where she’s coming from.” Vera giggled, finishing her bite. “This is delicious.”
Emmett smiled tightly, but he was not happy about any of this.
It made me second guess this. Maybe it really was just poor coincidence.
“Let’s go upstairs,” he muttered. “We might not stay the whole time if this guy is going to keep being weird.”
“He’s not so bad.” Vera giggled again. The flush on her cheeks, the empty bottle of wine by her empty glass, and the way her eyes kept losing focus told me she was drunk. He stood and helped her out of her seat. She stumbled just a hair and giggled again. “And I don’t think you will be either.”
“Oh, you’re drunk, we may have to wait a bit.” Emmett shook his head, and again, I wondered if I’d had it all wrong. Maybe he wasn’t as awful as I’d remembered. He saw that she was too intoxicated to consent and was pausing their plans.
I started out with them, but then he looked back, and I froze. He seemed to be staring right at me. And his cold, uncaring eyes sent such a chill down my spine I remembered I wasn’t wrong.
Emmett Grant had murdered me in cold blood and ran away. He left me here to haunt this awful place, never to think of me again.
“Hold on, I forgot something.” He hurried back into the dining room, where he grabbed an unused knife off his napkin and tucked it into his pocket. Returning to her, he kissed her and led her upstairs, while I stayed behind, staring in shock.
All of my initial reactions were right.
He was going to kill her, too.