Thomas drew back as if I’d offended him. His skin appeared almost translucent in the bright sunlight.
He said, “I’m not sure what to say.”
I stepped slightly closer to him and then backed up without meaning to. “Thomas, I think it’s best if we forget about the last week or so and go back to how things were before.”
He ran his fingers through his greasy hair, the smell of body spray overpowering when he raised his arm. “Can we take a walk, just to talk about things?” he asked, his dark eyes staring down at me.
I began walking with him toward the backyard. Jackson growled as we came closer to him. He was, in effect, blocking our way, and at that moment I realized I had no desire to go for a walk with Thomas. That was what he wanted, not what I wanted. And I’d done more than enough for him. It was time I started listening to the voice in my head. Whether it was mine or Gigi’s, it was screaming “No!”
I stopped. “No,” I answered, fighting the urge to follow that up with an I’m sorry. I wasn’t sorry; none of this was my fault. Except the part that had not said, No, you may not come to apologize in person. I had no interest in him. I didn’t want to be around him and it was time for him to leave.
“No?” he said, sounding hurt.
The day became colder as gray clouds gathered in the distance. “I appreciate your coming out here, but there’s nothing else for us to talk about. So, no, I won’t go for a walk with you.”
His eyes hardened.
Were they even darker than yesterday at church?
“Why not?” he said, his voice rising.
“Be-because I don’t want to,” I said as I backed away from him out of fear.
Jackson stepped toward him, barking. Thomas ignored the dog and came toward me. My heart raced … I was frozen in place, not sure how to respond.
“Siena,” Luca called from across the yard.
I turned; Luca was jogging toward us. Thomas stopped. Jackson continued to growl, but it wasn’t out of protection. It was out of fear. No wonder Thomas wasn’t afraid of Jackson. The dog was afraid of him.
“Everything okay?” Luca asked as he arrived at my side.
Whatever Luca was, he wasn’t a threat to me, and in this moment I was beyond grateful for his presence.
“Is this the reason?” Thomas said with contempt. “You’re choosing this loser instead of me?”
“What is wrong with you?” I said, moving away from Thomas going closer to Luca.
Thomas didn’t back down; he took a step toward me. In one quick stride, Luca stood between Thomas and me, using his body to block Thomas’s advance.
“You need to leave now,” Luca said, his voice sounding weak.
“What’s the matter?” Thomas said, smirking. “Not feeling well?”
Luca cringed in pain, holding his head, but he did not step away.
I moved in front of Luca. “Thomas, leave now,” I demanded.
“I’ll leave when I’m ready to leave,” Thomas responded, as if he’d lost all sense of where he was and who he was speaking with.
“This is my home and you will leave now,” I said as Jackson barked.
“You are making the wrong choice,” Thomas said in a low, threatening voice as he came closer, towering above me.
Luca wedged in between us again, keeping Thomas from reaching me. Luca was taller than Thomas, though in this moment he appeared shorter and far weaker.
“She told you to leave,” Luca said, forcing his voice to be strong though he sounded as if he was going to be sick.
Thomas shoved Luca, who fell backward, onto the lawn.
“She’s coming with me,” Thomas said, his eyes cruel.
Jackson barked frantically.
“What’s going on?” Gigi said as she came around to the side of the house. The towel in her hands indicated she’d been doing the dishes before rushing outside. Avi and Lisieux ran up beside her.
Thomas stepped back. I took Luca’s arm and helped him stand. Together we backed away from Thomas. Gigi was coming toward us, eyes blazing. She was small and old, yet I could sense Thomas was afraid of her.
“You’re such a freak,” Thomas said so quietly only Luca and I could hear him. “No wonder no one can stand you.”
In a few strides he was on the gravel drive. He jerked open his car door and threw the picnic basket into the passenger seat. The lid flew up.
My eyes grew wide. The picnic basket was empty. He had no food—nothing in it—yet he had wanted to go on a picnic. I felt my stomach heave as Thomas started his car. I swallowed hard. He was watching me from the car. I refused to get sick in front of him. He laughed, then spun out in my yard and down the driveway.
“What was that about?” Gigi asked.
My mind reeled. “I have no idea,” I said meekly.
“I felt evil in him,” Luca said, breathing deeply, as if he was recovering from being hit in the stomach, though he’d simply fallen onto the grass.
Gigi watched him closely. “Did you?” she asked.
He nodded. “I didn’t feel it in him before,” he said solemnly.
The wind picked up, tangling my hair and sending the leaves around our feet swirling.
“Did he seem different to you?” she asked me.
I placed my hand on Jackson’s head. He had stopped barking and was pushing himself against me. I didn’t want to admit the truth because doing so seemed as if I was admitting all of it could be true: the inn, the dead people, the handprint, all of it. Jackson whined as if begging me to be honest.
“Yes,” I admitted. “Jackson noticed right away, and so did I. His eyes, his face, his skin … they were different. And ….” I paused.
“And?” Gigi repeated.
“He asked me to go on a picnic.” My voice trembled as I fought to keep the tears back. “But when he threw the picnic basket into his car, the lid opened. There was nothing in it.”
“Empty?” Gigi repeated, staring into my eyes.
I nodded.
“Did he say where he wanted to go on the picnic?” Luca asked.
I swallowed. “He wanted to go to the beach.”
“That’s far away from everyone else,” Lisieux said, her voice sounding scared.
Avi came and wrapped her arms around me. I squeezed her to me, grateful, so grateful I had listened to what the voice inside me said. Grateful I had not allowed him to get me alone, away from Luca and my family.
The wind rushed through the trees; the temperature was continuing to drop. Luca clutched his arms around his chest. His arms were bare; he must be freezing.
Gigi said, “Luca, go home. There’s a storm coming in, and your Florida self will freeze without a coat. Siena, help him empty Jason’s wheelbarrow of the firewood. It isn’t fair he should freeze for our drama. Avi and Lisieux, be sure the chickens are ready for the storm. I’m going to call Thomas’s mother.”
“His mom?” I said, humiliated.
“This isn’t about you,” Gigi said in a formidable voice that reminded me she was the grandmother and I was the granddaughter. “This is much bigger than you.”
Twenty-Two
The four of us, plus Jackson, went toward the chicken coop. I wanted to say something, but couldn’t. My voice wouldn’t come. I’d stopped trembling. However, the fear I had felt while Thomas stood in front of me—and still felt, though he was probably miles away—was threatening to break me.