Chapter 41
One Month Later
Katherine
I was getting used to this place. I belonged here, locked away, where no one could ever get hurt again.
I’d thought about Brian, my first husband.
Our little house. Our marriage. Our friends.
And the reality that he cheated on me with Cindy.
Then I thought about Oliver. He rescued me.
He was my knight in shining armor. We were happy in our brownstone.
Or at least I was. I didn’t know he was cheating on me.
As I thought more deeply, I wondered if I had seen the signs all along and ignored them out of fear.
Dahlia saw them. Perhaps she made it so I couldn’t.
I stood in front of the window in the day room with my arms folded, looking out into the courtyard.
I had hoped I’d see Sydney. I hadn’t seen her again since the first time I was in this room.
The nightly paintings while I was asleep stopped.
During my sessions with Dr. Bondi, she tried to access Sydney, but she wouldn’t come out. She was hiding. I could feel it.
My head started to pound. I gripped the sides and fell to my knees. A nurse ran over and gripped my arms.
“Katherine, are you okay?”
“My head. It hurts so bad.”
“Come on. I’ll get you back to your room and some medication for your headache. You should rest.”
She helped me to my room, handed me two white pills and a cup of water.
I popped them into my mouth and swallowed, praying it would help soon.
I climbed into bed and pulled the covers over me.
I closed my eyes to help ease the pain. It felt like a war was going on in my head, then suddenly all was quiet.
In front of me was a maze made of hedges unlike anything I’d ever seen. They towered at least twenty feet high. They were a vibrant green and perfect, with ivy climbing up the sides and tiny white flowers that glowed as the moonlight hit them.
“Where am I?” I whispered. I looked over my shoulder, and it was complete darkness.
The only light I saw was the lighted pathway of the maze.
I stepped inside, and the gravel path softly crunched with each step.
It was as quiet as the night could be. Except for the faint sound of water in the distance.
As I made my way through the endless maze, I noticed old wooden doors built into the hedges.
Each door was painted a different color, with a brass plaque on the front.
The Librarian. Further down. Sunny. Further down.
Sydney. And the last one. Dahlia. I stopped in front of each one.
There were heavy metal locks on the door.
Locks that required a special key to open them.
Then came a whisper. “Katherine, you have to find a way to unlock the doors.” I looked around, and nobody was there.
I continued walking. I couldn’t tell you how long I was in the maze for because time didn’t exist here.
I went to turn the corner, and it was a dead end. Or was it?
A single wooden gate stood in the center of the hedges. It wasn’t painted. It was weathered as if it had been here longer than the others. The iron latch was wrapped in heavy chains. I took a step back when the gate trembled.
“Who are you?” I shouted.
There was silence. So I turned and started heading back the way I came. That’s when I heard footsteps behind me. When I froze, the footsteps stopped. And then a voice in the distance spoke.
“You’ve finally come.”
My heart raced. I spun around, but no one was there.
Suddenly, the paths began to shift, and the wooden gate disappeared.
In its place was another path. But it wasn’t gravel like the others.
It was made up of cobblestone. I stepped on it and began walking.
In the distance, far beyond the hedges, I saw a small cottage overlooking the ocean, with its porch light softly glowing under the stars.
“Home,” I whispered.
I walked toward the cottage and stepped onto the porch. When I opened the door, I looked around. Everything was exactly as I’d left it.
“Welcome home, darling.” Elias smiled. “I’ve missed you.”
“Elias.” I ran over to where he stood and threw my arms around him.
“We have a guest upstairs. Why don’t you go and say hi to her?”
“Who is she?” My brows furrowed.
“Go and find out.” He smiled.
I slowly walked up the stairs, my hand gripping the banister with each step. I opened the door to the guestroom and froze when I saw Dahlia lying on the bed. Still. Her hands resting at her sides. She looked peaceful. I walked over and stared at her.
“Dahlia?” I whispered. She didn’t move, so I carefully sat on the edge of the bed and placed my hand on hers. “You’ve been sleeping a long time. Why am I back here?”
Suddenly, she stirred.
“Dahlia, you have to wake up. The others need your help. They’re in trouble. They’ve been silenced. Please, Dahlia. You’ve been with me since I was a child. I can’t do this without you.”
Her fingers clutched the quilt.
“So tired,” she whispered.
“I know. But you have to wake up. I need you.”
“I can’t,” she mumbled.
“You can.” I gripped her shoulders and shook her. “Something’s coming, and you’re the only one who can stop it.”
I heard the door slam downstairs, then heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. The room grew terribly cold.
“Dahlia, it’s here. Please wake up! Help me. Make it stop!”
Dahlia’s eyes flew open. The doorknob started to turn.
“Run, Katherine.”