“

I don’t know what the future holds for me, but my past is clearer than it’s ever been.

“

1. I stopped at a red light and saw an attractive young man jamming out to “Stairway to Heaven,” in a Chevy truck next to me, but as soon as I looked at him, he flashed his blinding white teeth at me as his eyes started oozing out tar and smoke billowed from his nostrils – then the light turned green, but when I pressed on the gas as hard as I could, the engine began to sputter.

“

This agreement, this vow of secrecy Maddie made me take with her, it had ghastly undertones, though the specifics of what we were hiding eluded me. I suppose I had my guesses, but I dared not articulate them.

“

I recognized it immediately. The House. Our House.

“

He could feel it. Eyes, watching him, waiting for just the right moment. To strike, to kill maybe. Julian didn’t question his instincts. Julian ran.

“

He is a sweet little angel who, despite his recent temper tantrums, is so, so loving and full of potential. He’s going to be a great man someday.

“

She placed her hands on her hips, posing while the blood dripped down her ivory lace dress. She was proud of herself.

“

“Abby is in a better place now.”

I was wrong.

“

“There are doors there the likes of you and me don’t know how to open, not on purpose.”

“

“So, they would sometimes bury people alive. It was a real problem back in the day, so they’d tie a string around their finger and tie the other end to a bell up on the ground. That way, if they accidentally got buried alive, they would have a way to be saved.”