Prologue
Spending her entire summer lying on a beach, eating and partying with her friends, Clara Sue had added more pounds to her voluptuous figure. She looked ten pounds heavier than the last time I had seen her. She was wearing a clingy violet silk dress that fit her like a second skin and showed a great deal of her cleavage. She'd permed her long blond hair and wore heavy mascara and ruby-red lipstick. I thought she looked extremely trashy, but Clara Sue probably didn't care a bit about my opinion. She was darkly tanned, and her cold blue eyes were hard and sharp, sending daggers my way.
I sat up quickly, frightened by the bang of her hand on my door. She stood there fuming, fists clenched at her sides.
"What are you doing?" I demanded. I swung my legs over the bed and slipped on my shoes while she stood there staring hatefully at me. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and it looked as if smoke might soon emerge from her ears.
"How dare you! How dare you touch my things!" she cried. "What have you done with them?" she demanded, stepping forward.
"Hasn't Mother told you?" I said calmly. "All of your things have been moved to Beulla Woods. That's where you've going to live now," I said.
"Who decided that?" she asked through clenched teeth. I fixed my eyes on hers.
"I decided" I answered calmly, despite the fear growing inside me.
Suddenly she screamed, a high-pitched howl like some animal caught in a steel trap. She slapped her hands over the sides of her head and ripped at her own hair, her fingers clutching the strands.
She lowered her head, her eyes rolling back, and then she charged at me. Her action took me so much by surprise, I didn't move.
"You bitch!" she cried. "You can't run my life, too! I won't let you!" Without warning she swung her clenched right fist and caught me squarely on the side of my head. The unexpected blow with all her weight behind it sent me reeling to the side. I fell over the vanity chair and slammed down hard on the floor, the chair turning over beside me. Stunned, I struggled to get back to my feet.
Twilight's Child- V.C. Andrews
Chapter 2
"Miss Emily?" I whispered unable to raise my voice above a whisper.
"Hello Miss Dawn! Me and Emily are so excited you could join us" Charlotte said as she materialized from the shadows behind the bed.
She looked the exact same the last time I had seen her. When I had left this awful house I thought it was going to be for a lot longer time period. Her hair was in unravelled braids and she had her dirty robe wrapped tightly around her. I took a a tentative step forward before I said, "Hello Charlotte, I came to see if you were alright. Is there something wrong with Emily?"
She stared at me with bleak empty eyes. "Clara Sue..." She said softly.
Summoning my inner strength I took another step forward "Clara Sue what, Charlotte? Where is she?"
Charlotte's eyes started to tear over and her head started to swing from side to side as if fighting some memory from coming to the forefront of her mind. I slowly made my way over to the side of the bed and looked down at the woman who had haunted my nightmares.
"The fat disgusting tramp, Clara Sue, made Emily drink something with white powder and drug her up here to the bad room" said Charlotte. She went on to tell me that Clara Sue took her baby with the pointed ears and trashed the nursery. I wanted to find her and wring her neck but I had to look after Charlotte.
After taking Charlotte's hand I led her from that dark windowless room. I shot a glance back at Emily on the bed, I would have to come back and check on her if Luther and Jimmy were not back from checking outside by the time I got Charlotte taken care of.
I lead Charlotte down to the kitchen and sat her at the table, while she hummed a childish tune only she could her the music to I got to work washing up some dishes and making her a light lunch. Memories of when I was forced to do this for Emily tried to take center stage but I kept pushing them back as I worked.
As I set a sandwich and some tea in front of Charlotte I knew it was up to me to go and check if Emily was okay. Luther and Jimmy still hadn't come back from checking the farm for Charlotte. Taking a deep breath for strength I turned to the one person who made my stay here bearable, her blonde hair falling out of the braids she so careful wove each morning, the robe she always wore a stained mess. Just what had happened to her and Emily?
"Charlotte, I am going to go check on Emily. You stay here and finish up your lunch, okay?" I asked her. Only I really did not want to leave Charlotte on her own in case Clara Sue came back and harmed her again. If I was truthful I did not want to look in on Emily by myself either. Anything to do with Emily gave me nightmares and made my skin crawl, and thought of being in a room with her corpse almost made me vomit right there.
"Are you going to be staying with us again? I have some needlepoint I want to show you. And I like having you here because you are nicer than Emily. She is so mean to me. You were never mean to me. Please come and stay with us. Luther misses you as well," she replied instead of answering my questiom. I shuddered. The thought of staying isolated in this creepy house again gave me goosebumps.
When Jimmy rescued me from Emily's torments, I thought I was free from this house and would never return until after Emily died. Many nights I would wake up screaming, Jimmy holding me as I cried endless tears. And now, here I am, back here. In hell, and the devil was just down the hall, laying in what used to be my bed.
Who knows? Maybe I had gotten my wish. Maybe Emily laid up there dead. Her soul being tormented for her many sins. That dreadful woman believed herself a saint but she was nothing but a hateful hypocrite. I glanced once more to the door hoping Jimmy and Luther would enter to end the internal war that waged within me.
It shocked me right at that moment Jimmy and Luther came through the back door and into the kitchen. "Well it looks like Charlotte is no longer missing in action." said Jimmy.
"Charlotte, where'd you go? I was worried, I thought you were lost" Luther said as he came up behind her. The love he had for Charlotte and the relief at her safe return evident on his face.
"That fat cow brought me to the bank and wanted me to sign some papers. But they wouldn't let me so she brought me back here and... And destroyed the house. Oh Emily is going to be so mad Luther!" Charlotte told him, her eyes wide with fear.
Suddenly there was a loud crash, we all turned around to see that Emily had made her way out of the room, but she had lost her balance on the back staircase and fallen to the floor. As I reached out my hand to help her up she pointed to my swollen stomach and looked me straight in the eye.
"The Devil's child lives in you! We must abort it immediately! Come," she said grabbing my hand, "We must start the process now before it is to late."
I pulled my hand from hers and ran into Jimmy's arms.
"Do not talk to my wife like that Ms. Booth. Our child is nothing but a miracle!" Jimmy spit out barely able to hold back his anger.
"Anything that comes from that harlot's loins can be nothing but the Devil's spawn! She is tainted blood. Nothing but a slut like her mother before her. And you, young man, have fallen under the spell and will burn along with her and that demon growing inside her!" On and on Emily raved, her face turning beet red from the strain.
Luther stepped forward and slapped Emily so hard, she cried out and fell backwards to the ground. She laid in a crumpled heap in the same spot she had been in just moments before.
Suddenly I heard cackling laughter from behind me. I turned around and was stunned to see my half-sister Clara Sue standing in the kitchen doorway. She leaned against the frame as if she owned the place, " You know Emily is right Jimmy Longchamp! That child Dawn is carrying is the Devil's spawn. I bet you don't even know if you are not the father. Why don't you go ahead and ask your precious wife who the father really is."
I trembled with fear at what Clara Sue was insinuating to my husband. The only other man, other then employees, that I was around on a regular basis was Phillip. She had to know that would be where his mind could go and if he started asking questions... No! Jimmy must never know what Phillip had done to me when I first moved to the hotel. It would only cause problems. I regained control because no one knew except Ticia, who I confided in at Sarah Bernhardt. Phillip would never tell anyone, least of all Clara-Sue. She was just lashing out in anyway she could.
Jimmy glanced at me from the corner of his eye. I could see the doubt in them, if it was directed at me or the nasty things Clara Sue said I couldn't be positive. My heart started racing faster, making my head spin. Was my demented half-sister not going to stop until she had spoiled everything in my life?