Shadows of the Past: A Supernatural Suspense Mystery (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 1) by Nellie Steele (read aloud .txt) 📗

normal, and she was no longer complaining of nausea or pain. The color seemed to have returned to her face. “Josie, oh, Josie, thank God,” Damien said upon seeing her looking better.

Josie looked at him oddly, then at Michael. After a moment, she found her voice. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Help me up.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Michael began.

“Yeah, I agree, you just hit your head pretty hard and passed out and then woke up and passed out again after saying you were really sick and in lots of pain.”

“Well, I’m fine now. My head is a little sore,” she said, rubbing the spot she hit. “But I’m fine.” She began pushing herself up to stand.

“Whoa, okay, wait. Here let me help you,” Michael said, grabbing her hand to help steady her. “You okay? Woozy at all?” he asked once she was upright.

“No, I am fine.”

“Perhaps you should sit down for a minute,” Damien motioned to the bed.

“Sit down? No, no, I need to go. There’s something I need to do. It can’t wait.”

“What?” Michael asked. “No, you need to go to the emergency room and check that you’re okay. Now, come on, I’ll drive.”

“No, I’m fine. I need to go.” Josie began to leave the room.

“Josie, are you kidding?” Michael reached for her.

She pulled away. “Don’t.”

“Josie,” Damien began, “I don’t…”

Josie cut him off. “You two have done enough damage so far,” she said, picking up the music box and its contents and setting it on a nearby dresser. “I’m fine. I need to go. I’ll be back later.”

She disappeared from the room, leaving behind two stunned men. “Ah, I’m not sure she should be alone nor should she be driving. She may have a concussion,” Michael managed to get out.

“Yeah, me either. She was acting… weird.”

“Should we follow her?”

“That was what led to this disaster. We could wait and track her phone?”

“Good point. As much as I don’t like this at all, perhaps we shouldn’t give her any more reasons to go berserk. Start tracking that phone.”

Chapter 15

Josie pulled into a spot at the Mountain View Inn next to Gray’s car. Sliding out from behind the wheel, she approached the door and knocked. The door opened, Gray stood inside. Josie pushed inside past him.

“Josie! I’m glad you came back; I was worried sick about you. I’m sorry about before. That’s the reason I was cautious about how much I told you. I didn’t want to tell you a lot. I knew how you’d react, that you wouldn’t understand…”

“You can cut the apology, Gray, it’s me.”

Gray’s forehead wrinkled, and he knit his eyebrows together, trying to understand. “Celine?”

“More or less.”

“You remember?”

“I remember everything, yes. There’s no danger of breaking poor Josie anymore by telling her the awful truth about her past, or rather, mine.”

“Celine, thank God.” He raced over to her, intending to pull her into his arms.

She pushed him away. “No, Gray.”

“Celine?” he questioned. “Listen, you’re right. There’s no time for that now. We have to go home.”

“No. Like I said, I remember… everything. I remember the end, I remember the pain and misery, I remember the bargain I made, I remember all of it, Gray.”

“Celine, I realize you were unhappy toward the end, but we need to put all of that aside now. The family needs you; you must come home with me. I thought we would be okay after you left. But this is different. It’s something we’ve never dealt with before. We need you.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t. I only came to say goodbye. You need to leave, go home, I can’t help you. I have my memories but that’s all. I’m not like I was. I can’t go back to that. I have one chance, one. I’m not giving it up. I have a normal life here, I don’t have long until I’m twenty-five and then I’m home free, and I’m planning on staying normal.”

“Celine, you HAVE to come home.”

“No, Gray, I don’t. You know I was never meant to live that life. I have my chance at a normal life. I’m taking it.”

“Celine…”

“It’s Josie. I’m Josie now,” she said, turning to leave the room.

“Celine, wait,” he called after her.

“Goodbye, Gray,” she said, as she closed the door and went to her car.

The door closed behind her. That was Celine, all right, he thought. Gone was the self-doubting, wide-eyed innocence of Josie, replaced by all the confidence that he remembered of Celine. So, she remembered, but she still wasn’t willing to help. He had won the battle but failed to win the war. He needed to convince her. He sat on the edge of the bed trying to think.

There was another knock at the door. He rushed to it, hoping it was Celine, hoping she had changed her mind. Opening the door, he found Millie. “Was that Josie I just saw leaving?”

“Yes and no,” he answered, wandering back over to his perch on the edge of the bed.

Millie closed the door behind her. “What do you mean by that?”

“That, my dear Millie, was Celine.” He watched the shocked look pass over Millie’s face. “Yes, she’s back, and she remembers everything. And she’s not too happy about it either. She couldn’t care less about helping us; she just wants her normal life as Josie. So, yes, she’s Celine, but she’d rather stick with Josie.”

“She remembered? How? When?”

“All questions I don’t have answers to. She wasn’t in a very sharing mood. Like I said, she came by to tell me to leave her alone.”

“The important thing to focus on is that she remembers.”

“Yeah and a fine bit of good that’ll do us for her to remember and do nothing about it. For God’s sake, we’re nearly out of time, all of us!”

“Yes, I realize that, but let her assimilate all of this information then go back to her and convince her. You don’t have to hold back anymore, she knows the truth now, and you know her better than anyone, use that,