Chapter 44
“Lie down on the couch. Hands at your sides. Take a slow breath.” Dr. Bondi’s voice echoed. “You’re safe, Dahlia. Nothing can hurt you. I’d like you to picture the cottage.”
The image of the cottage came easily into focus and made me smile.
“It’s there,” I whispered.
“Good. Now look around. What do you see besides the cottage?”
“The ocean. It’s calm today. The sun is shining bright.
So bright, it’s hurting my eyes. There’s a light breeze.
Barely noticeable and not enough to keep you cool.
The flowers look more vibrant than usual.
The fruit trees have grown taller and wider.
Apples, lemons, and oranges are hanging from them.
” I walked over and picked a juicy red apple from the tree.
“Do you see anything else?”
“Like what?” I asked.
“Perhaps a path. Woods. Anything that you never noticed before.”
I looked to my right and saw a small cobblestone path that extended to what appeared to be a forest. A forest that was never here before.
“I see a forest.”
“Good. Now walk toward it.”
“I’m not sure I want to. It’s giving off bad vibes. I can feel it.”
“You’re not alone, Dahlia. I’m with you.”
I walked along the cobblestone path and stepped into the forest. Suddenly, the temperature changed, and I was cold.
I wrapped my arms around my body and continued walking.
The forest was nothing but a wall of shadow, blocking out the sun.
Everything was silent. The sound of the ocean disappeared.
The singing birds couldn’t be heard any longer.
There were no insects. Silence. Pure silence.
The deeper I made it into the forest, the cobblestone path had been replaced by dirt and dead leaves.
I stopped and stared at the large oak tree in front of me.
I’d never seen a tree so wide in my life.
It was almost unnatural. In the center of the trunk was a door with a wood sign nailed to it that read: KEEP OUT.
“Whoever's in there. Come out so we can talk,” I shouted.
I waited while my heart raced. Nobody came out.
“Listen. We need to talk. I didn’t come all this way to be ignored. It’s important.”
I heard the crumpling of leaves behind me and almost stopped breathing.
“So, Dahlia. You found me, and you’re finally going to let me in.” Her voice was frightening.
I slowly turned. Standing a few feet away was a young woman with unnaturally pale skin as if she’d never seen a day of sunlight. Her waist-length, pin-straight black hair hung around her face, and her coal-black eyes stared at me with an expression as empty as death itself.
“Why have you come?” she asked.
“I wanted to meet the person who had been trying their best to force me back inside and lock me up. What is your name? You know mine, so it’s only fair I know whom I’m speaking to.”
“Mara.”
“Why have you been hiding all this time? How come I’ve never seen you?”
“You weren’t supposed to,” she said, walking toward the large oak tree. “I have always wondered what you’d say to me when you finally figured out there was someone else.” She rested her hand on the tree trunk. “You’re the strongest out of all of them.”
“You silenced them, Mara,” I angrily said.
“They have their places, and I have mine.” She tapped her fingers against the wooden trunk.
“Why here?” I asked.
“Because nobody comes here. It’s the way I like it. It was just Katherine and me for a while. I had control. I kept her safe.”
“No. I kept her safe,” I said.
“That’s where you’re wrong!” Her voice grew louder, echoing throughout the forest. “I was here before any of you were.”
“So I’ve heard. Tell me your story, Mara. You know mine, so it’s only fair that I know yours. How were you here before us?”
“Katherine had just turned four when her uncle came to stay with them for six months after he was released from prison. I think you can guess what he did during those six months. She begged for help, so I stepped in and took it all for her. I stayed so she would never have to remember. For six months, I had to pretend to be her. It wasn’t easy, but I managed.
Mother had somehow found out what her brother had done.
One day, I was in the kitchen with her, and Uncle wanted a sandwich with extra mayonnaise.
She looked at me and smiled, “I’m going to make him a special sandwich.
” She took out two pieces of bread, some lunchmeat, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise.
She placed the mayonnaise in a separate bowl, grabbed the box of rat poison she stored up in the cabinet, and sprinkled it into the mayo, stirring it up good before slapping it on the sandwich.
He was gone, Katherine was safe, and it was time for me to go.
Then that night happened. Katherine’s mother sat her down and told her that nothing can stay beautiful forever.
She couldn’t risk her friends finding out about the affair her husband had and face the humiliation.
She was quite unstable. When Mother lost control, you appeared.
I saw the look on Katherine’s face when she saw you.
So I hid. Then the others appeared. One by One. Casting me out as if I were nothing.”
“How could we cast you out when we didn’t know you existed?” I asked.
“Because you were all born out of the same trauma. I was born out of a different trauma.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I said. “I still don’t understand. You’ve been gone since Mother killed Father. What changed?”
“I’ve never been gone, Dahlia. I’ve hidden myself well so none of you could find me. But I’ve fronted and taken over the body several times.”
“How?” My brows furrowed.
“It’s quite an interesting story. Five years after the murder, the Ridleys moved next door to Katherine and her adoptive parents.
Katherine and Anthony became friends. Whenever they’d talk or hang out, I’d put you all to sleep and front.
I liked him. He was cool. His mother liked me too.
She immediately made me a part of their family.
The father was a drunk and an emotional abuser.
I witnessed it every time I went over there.
Anthony’s mother was a poet. Not a published one, but she wrote poems almost every day and kept them in this thick pink binder.
She always told us the longer something goes on, the more likely it is to lose what made it beautiful.
She said people need to be remembered for who they were.
Not the person they’d become after making terrible decisions.
Then she said something that triggered me. ”
“What did she say?” I asked.
“She said nothing stays beautiful forever. Just like Mother had said all those years ago. The night Anthony’s mother killed his father, I was there.
I had knocked on the door and asked if Anthony could hang out.
She told me they were just sitting down to dinner and to go home.
I found it odd since I ate dinner with them all the time.
But that night, she didn’t want me in the house.
So, I pretended to leave and looked through the window.
I saw his father slumped over in his chair, his face pressed against the plate.
Before his mother was arrested, he told me what she had done to his father.
He made me pinky swear that I would never tell a soul.
I’d seen the news and heard every detail about the posed body.
That’s when it all clicked. She wanted everyone to remember how he used to be, not what he had become.
So, I stole his story as my own. Anthony was shipped off to live with his grandfather in Key West. He had passed away several years later, and Anthony inherited the house. ”
“I don’t understand. How did you front so much without any of us knowing?” I asked.
I learned not to leave gaps in the memories, including all of yours. Why don’t you ask me the question you truly came here to find the answer to?”
I stared at her for a moment. Afraid to find out the truth.
“It was you. Wasn’t it? You murdered those young women. You’re The Last Chapter Killer.”