Symphony of Bones by L.T. Ryan (little bear else holmelund minarik .txt) 📕

pulsed with the spirits of the dead. “So many people have died here. Some moved on and some stayed, but they’ve all left an imprint. If I concentrate hard enough, I can feel every one of them. I have to work to ignore it. I have to actively turn them away when they reach out to me. It’s exhausting and horrible and overwhelming.”

Laura looked close to tears, but she let Cassie ramble.

“And there’s a woman sitting across the room. She keeps looking at me. She’s not here with anyone else. I’m not sure how long it’s been for her. Maybe a few days, maybe years. But she looks just like Mom.” Cassie let the tears spill down her face. “And I keep wondering if it’s her, if something happened, and they didn’t tell us. And even if it’s not her, someday it might be. What if I have to watch her stand by Dad’s side until it’s his turn? Or you? What if I get a few extra days or months or years with one of you, and then one day you stop showing up? How am I supposed to say goodbye to you twice?”

Laura pulled Cassie into a hug and let her cry into her chest. “I’m so sorry that this chose you.” She stroked Cassie’s hair. After a minute, she forced Cassie to look at her. “I know it’s not fair. And I doubt it’ll ever be easy. You’ve lived through so much already.”

“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” Cassie’s joke was halfhearted, but it made Laura chuckle anyway. “Because I don’t think it’s working.”

“You’re incredible. And I don’t always think you know that.”

Cassie made a disgusted face, and Laura laughed even harder.

“It’s true. You’re special, as cheesy as that sounds, and I’m always going to be here to remind you of that, okay?”

Cassie nodded, but her throat was too thick with emotion to speak.

“And if it’s ever too much for you, I’ll build you a cabin in the woods where you never have to talk to anyone ever again, living or dead. Deal?”

That made Cassie laugh. She found her voice again. “Deal.”

33

The sisters had fallen into a quiet silence by the time their father returned to the waiting room. Cassie was the first to spot him. She’d been watching the ghost of an older woman dressed in a nurse’s uniform make laps and mime taking people’s names when he approached from the side.

“How is she?”

“She’s good. She wants to talk to you.”

Cassie swallowed. “Am I in trouble?”

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. “I don’t think so. Just be gentle with her, okay?”

Cassie nodded and followed the nurse through the set of doors, down a long hallway, and into a room with two beds. Relief flooded through Cassie when she saw the second bed was empty. There was nothing worse than having an audience when you were baring your soul to someone.

The nurse left, and Cassie walked around the curtain that had been half-pulled around her mother’s bed. Judy Quinn looked the same as always, except for the pulse oximeter clipped to her finger and a couple of electrodes that disappeared under the top of her gown. Her skin had a glow, her eyes were bright, and she was sitting upright in bed. A small glass of water sat on the nightstand next to her phone.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Cassie.” She smiled, and Cassie’s shoulders relaxed. “Come sit by me.”

Cassie sat down in the chair and took her mom’s hand. “How are you feeling?”

Judy clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. I had a panic attack, can you believe that? Thought I was dying for a minute there. So dramatic.”

“You scared everyone.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“I’m sorry, too, Mom. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. I shouldn’t have left like that. I—”

“Stop.” Judy squeezed Cassie’s hand and waited until she had her daughter’s full attention. “None of that was your fault. I got myself worked up. You had a right to be upset.”

“Dad said you thought I wasn’t coming back.”

She shrugged, but she looked sheepish. “I’d just gotten you back. I didn’t want to lose you again.”

“You won’t.” Cassie let the weight of her words fall over both of them. “I promise, okay? But that means we both have to get better at talking about the stuff that hurts.”

“I know.” Her eyes sparkled. “Where should we start?”

Cassie chuckled. It was nice seeing her mom this open and vulnerable. If only it didn’t come with a hospital fee equal to the price of a college education. “First, I want to apologize for how I reacted.” Cassie held up a hand when her mom argued. “I know it’s okay. It’s behind us. But it’s important to me that you understand how sorry I am. I was feeling raw and vulnerable and hurt that you and Dad kept secrets from me—secrets about myself. There are bits of me missing, and that’s a scary feeling to have.”

“Your father and I love you so much.” She sat up a little straighter in bed. “We’ll always love you. Everything we’ve ever done was to protect you. When Sarah went missing, it broke something inside me. Up until that point, I’d never been that scared. If the person who took her had chosen the house a few doors down, it could’ve been one of you girls.”

“I understand.” Cassie swallowed. This was going to be the hard part. “Can I ask you some questions about Sarah? About the time when she disappeared?”

Judy chewed the inside of her cheek. “You’re an adult. I know I don’t need to keep those things from you anymore, but it’s still difficult. You’re always going to be my little girl.”

Cassie smiled. It was as much permission as she was going to get. But now that the floor was hers, she felt tongue-tied. What she really wanted to ask was Am I the reason Sarah is dead? But her mom would never say she was, even