I put my head in my hand and stared at her. “Is this a joke?”
“You’re not a child anymore. It’s time for you to understand the world is more than what you and I can see.”
I shook my head. “No, I think I’m good.”
Gigi gave me an understanding smile. “I don’t blame you. This knowledge makes life appear much more complicated, but this knowledge merely changes the appearance of life, not the truth of it. Unfortunately, what you don’t know can hurt you. You don’t get a free pass simply because you’re ignorant. Evil thrives in hidden darkness and if you aren’t aware of its existence, you are more likely to make seemingly innocuous choices that could have grave consequences.”
“Like what?” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking.
“Like going inside the inn, Siena. That place is extremely dangerous. You must promise me you will never go near it or allow anyone else to,” she said.
“I told you I didn’t want to go into it,” I said, feeling like a reprimanded child.
“Yes, it repulses you. It repulses most of us. Yet it did not repulse Thomas. It, in fact, did the opposite. That is a problem, a concern,” she said gravely.
“He likes old buildings,” I said.
“And why does he like them?” she said, sitting straighter, leaning forward. “Is it for the unique historical architecture?” she added with an edge of sarcasm.
“I-I don’t know,” I said, lying. I thought of his words, about old buildings being creepy, but he was joking.
“It’s a problem,” Gigi said, leaning back slightly.
I shook my head. Why did she care so much about Thomas’s interest in the inn? “Does Luca know?” I asked, needing to change her focus.
She nodded.
“You told him, but you didn’t tell me?” I asked, feeling hurt that she had shared her crazy beliefs with a practical stranger.
“I’ve never spoken a word about the evil in that place to anyone but your father and those who have already passed on, may God rest their souls.”
She always spoke that way of my mother and grandfather.
“Then how does Luca know?” I asked.
“I suppose I should let him tell you,” she said, standing. “It’s stopped raining.”
I stared at her as she took my empty plate to the sink.
“Siena,” she said without turning to face me, “you don’t have to believe me. You don’t have to believe him. But you do have to stay out of the inn.”
Eleven
The sun was out, causing the ground to warm and the water vapor to rise in a thick hovering mist. You couldn’t see it next to you—only in the distance—yet I understood enough about the world to know that simply because I couldn’t perceive the evaporating water at my feet didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
I sloshed my way toward the trail beside the chicken coop.
“I don’t care what you say, that’s mean,” I said as Avi held a wiggly worm above two hungry chickens.
“No meaner than eating chickens, cows, and pigs,” she protested.
“Whatever,” I said.
“Where are you going?” she yelled after me.
“To check on Luca,” I said, not turning around. I didn’t want her to come with me.
I trotted down the trail, not sure what I was going to say to him when I saw him. Hi, my grandmother said the inn is haunted, thanks for saving me from … I didn’t even know from what. What can ghosts actually do? Yesterday was a weird day, but today … definitely weirder.
By the time I reached Luca’s house, my sneakers were caked with mud. I was thankful Jackson was inside the house and I didn’t have to bathe him when I got home. I climbed the three steps to the front door and knocked. A second later, he answered, fully dressed this time.
“Hi,” he said.
He seemed to be both pleased and surprised.
“I came to check on you,” I said.
“That was nice of you. I’m doing fine. I’d invite you in, but the place is kind of a wreck.” He stepped outside, shutting the door.
“Cleaning up from a big party?” I teased. If he was anything like his aunt and uncle, he was not into large groups of people.
He grinned. “No, I was cleaning. Somehow, when I clean I make things worse until I actually finish cleaning. Once I’m done, things are pretty organized.”
“Are Sam and Jason helping you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “They’re at work. I felt bad about yesterday, so I wanted to surprise them with a clean house and dinner.”
“They’ll appreciate it,” I said. “But it’s not like you passed out on purpose.”
He leaned lightly against the weathered railing. “I still feel bad. When your grandma called Sam and told her I’d passed out, she called Jason and he came home early from work. She was working from here, so she was able to finish out her day, but he wasn’t. I cost him money out of his check.”
“I’m sure he wasn’t mad,” I said.
“No, he’s a good guy, but I don’t want to make their lives any harder than I already have,” he said, avoiding my eyes.
“They love having you here,” I said. It was true. Sam had told Gigi that when he first arrived.
He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his tattered shorts. “Ahh, I don’t think they love me living here. They love me and all, but it’s not like I came with a trust fund. It’s been a lot for them. I eat a lot and my shoes are getting tight. I keep applying for jobs, but I haven’t gotten anything yet.”
I lowered my eyes. He wore the same sandals I always saw him in. He was right. His toes had reached the end of the rubber soles. “Is that why you always wear flip-flops?”
He chuckled. “Partly,” he said, the smile showing in his eyes. “Mostly, because I’m from Florida.”
My spirits rose, watching him laugh. He was content in this short moment, an emotion I wasn’t sure I’d felt from him before.
“You’ll lose a toe if you wear those in the snow,” I teased.
He wiggled his toes. “Yeah, it’s already colder here than winters back home. Jason offered me a pair of his old boots, but they’re about two sizes too small.”
“You’re at least a foot taller than him,” I said.
“A foot taller, with no winter clothes,” he said, his expression falling.
“You feel like a burden?” I asked, staring up at him. “And you always have,” I said, my gut telling me I was right.
Desolation washed over his face. “It’s never been easy,” he said, picking at the splintered porch rail. “My mom and I always scraped by. Uncle Jace and Aunt Sam do better than my mom and me, but they aren’t my parents—they shouldn’t have to support me.”
“I don’t think they feel like that. I think they are really grateful you’re here. When Sam was in our kitchen, completely distraught, telling Gigi her sister died—.” My voice faltered. “Her heart was broken. Then she mentioned you were going to come live with her and even in that moment, when she was so destroyed, there was joy when she spoke about you.”