Chapter Forty Like A Mom Boss
“What the hell?” Eva says, her voice rising with each word she speaks. “How is that possible?”
“I told you it changed,” I say, but it’s not like I’m any calmer.
“Yeah, but I thought you were confused or something. You’ve had kind of a rough day. But this—” She stares down at the tapestry. “This is really creepy.”
“Really creepy,” Luis echoes.
They’re not wrong. I know what I saw earlier, and I know the scene was different, but there was a part of me that thought there had to be an explanation. But this… There’s no explanation for this. At least, no explanation that doesn’t freak me the fuck out. Especially when I think about all the ghosts that keep telling me to run.
What is happening on this island? And what does it have to do with me?
“Do you think that’s about the storm?” Eva asks, her voice still a full octave above normal.
“I don’t know, but I’m not about to wait around and find out.” Luis starts rolling the tapestry back up as fast as he can. “The way this day has been going, that could be a warning about anything from the apocalypse to a giant T-Rex bursting out of the woods over there. And I know how these things go. The gay best friend always dies first in horror movies.”
“Not always,” Eva tells him. “Sometimes it’s the spunky sidekick.”
Luis shoots her a dirty look. “Yeah, well, I’m the spunky sidekick, too. And I say we get the fuck away from here, fast.”
“No argument from me,” I tell him.
“Me, either,” Eva agrees. “But are you sure we want to bring that thing with us?”
“I want to know what else it’s going to say. Don’t you?” I have to shout to be heard over the wind, which has picked up significantly in the last couple of minutes.
“Umm, definitely,” Luis says as he finishes rolling up the tapestry and swings it over his shoulder. “Now let’s get out of here, shall we?”
We take off running back toward the dorms. The rain is coming down so fast and hard that the ground is waterlogged, making every step a misery as we slog through mud and wet, loose sand.
It’s slow going, made worse by the giant gusts of wind that keep hitting us head-on. More than once, Luis almost loses his grip on the tapestry. Somehow, we keep going, though, and finally make it back to the sidewalk that leads from the academic buildings to the dorms.
That’s when we start booking it—or try to. But our muddy shoes slip and slide on the slick path. As a particularly terrifying bolt of lightning splits the sky, I start to wonder if we’ll ever make it back.
Finally, finally, we get through the fence and make a beeline for the main dorm. We’re almost there when a flash of pink catches my eye, and I stop dead in my tracks. I attempt to wipe the rain from my eyes and trace the streak of pink roaming through the downpour.
It’s her again—the pregnant woman in the rose nightdress, pacing in front of the dorm.
Her hair is unbound now, and the wind has blown it so that it’s covering her face. But there’s something about the way she walks and carries herself—even in the middle of this storm—that seems familiar to me.
Even stranger, I know she’s a ghost, but she looks lifelike. Yes, she’s a translucent, milky gray. But unlike other ghosts, her hair is a deep, dark brown, and the flowers on her nightgown are a bright, vivid magenta.
I don’t know why she looks so different than the other spirits or why she acts so peculiar. Instead of interacting with the others—or trying to interact with me—she just wanders back and forth. She doesn’t even appear to notice I exist, while I can’t help but notice her.
Lightning booms across the sky yet again, and Eva wraps a hand around my upper arm. “Why are you stopping?” she shouts. “Come on!”
“Sorry!” I lay on the speed, and we burst through the main door of the dorm like our lives depend on it. And maybe they do, considering the door has barely closed behind us when the sky opens up with a lightning show like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
We collapse the second we’re inside. Luis drops the tapestry and stretches out, spread-eagled on the ground. Eva leans back against the wall, breath bellowing in and out. And I just lean over, bracing my hands on my knees, as I try desperately to catch my breath.
But we can’t lay around the dorm common room forever—I’m wet and freezing. Eva picks up the tapestry, and we head toward the table to get our dinners. But I’ve only gone a few steps when my mother’s voice rings out behind me, followed by the clip, clip, clip of her shoes against the worn tile.
“Clementine! Are you all right?” she asks.
Eva and Luis take one look at her and hightail it across the room with the tapestry while I step in front of them to block her view.
“I’m fine,” I tell her, forcing myself to straighten up even though I still can barely breathe. “We were just trying to outrun the lightning.”
Her eyes are intense as she catalogs me from head to toe.
“Your aunt told me there was a problem earlier. Is everything okay now?”
A problem seems like an understatement, but since I don’t want her to chain me to her side for the next twelve hours, I just shrug. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. I’m okay.”
“You’re sure?” Her eyes search mine.
“Oh, yeah. I freaked out a little in the middle of the unmeshed thing, but I’m good now. Really.”
“All right, then. Grab your dinner and get back to your room. We’ve instituted an eight o’clock curfew tonight, and the staff will be patrolling to ensure everyone stays safely where they belong.”
I nod.
“And take a hot shower, will you, please? The last thing you need is to get sick right now.”
It’s such a motherly thing to say that, at first, I’m convinced I heard her wrong. But she definitely still looks worried.
“I really am fine, Mom,” I tell her.
“You always are,” she says, blowing out a long breath. “Claudia reminded me this afternoon that I can be too harsh on you sometimes, and I’m sorry about that. I know we don’t agree on much right now, but I do love you, Clementine. Very much.”
“I know you do, Mom.” Tears burn at the backs of my eyes. I beat them back for what feels like the millionth time today. Because we do have our disagreements. And I do think she’s wrong about a lot of things, especially how she runs this place. Not to mention, I’m still furious with her about what happened to Serena. But… “I love you, too, Mom.”
She nods, her throat working in a way I’ve never seen before. “Okay. Get going before your friends get tired of waiting for you. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay.” Impulsively, I lean forward and give her a quick peck on the cheek. “Make sure you get some rest, too.”
“I’ll rest when I get every one of my students and faculty to safety. Until then, I’ve got work to do.”
As if to underscore the point, the walkie-talkie she’s got fastened to her waistband starts to crackle. “To your room,” she tells me with a stern look before walking away, putting the radio at her ear.
“What was that all about?” Luis asks, eyes wide as I join him and Eva next to a large pile of folded towels.
“I think she was worried about the whole unmeshing thing,” I answer as Eva hands me a towel. “I think she wanted to check on me. I told her everything was fine.”
“I’d rather not get a massive punishment for our little magic carpet–snatching adventure, so good call,” Eva tells me. “Now, I’m starving, so do you guys mind if we grab dinner and head out?”
“Already ahead of you,” Luis says. “I’ve got stuff back at the cottage, so I’ll see you guys later. But call me if that thing does anything else, will you?”
“Absolutely,” I promise.
Luis heads out with a little wave while Eva and I grab the tapestry, our box dinners, an umbrella, and a couple of ponchos from the table set up near the door before signing out. Then we head toward the center mall that runs through the entire dorm area and leads directly to our cottages. But we’ve only made it about halfway when we look up to find Jean-Claude walking down the sidewalk straight toward us.