The Dark Place (#FrightFest2016 Gold Winner)

The Dark Place - Chapter Forty-Nine

It had been the worst time ever for his family. They all needed a change of scenery and the move to London would give them just that. There were too many bad memories in Eastlake and as far as he was concerned the sooner they were away from the miserable place the better.

He had applied for a position in emergency medicine at St. Thomas's over two months before but never expected to actually land the job. Not long after he was asked if he could start as soon as Dr. Carlson had retired in two months time. He had no problem in saying yes; all he had to do now was tell Miranda and Wendy. He knew that neither of them would be overly thrilled about the move but once he had explained all of the positives he was sure they would understand.

He allowed the soothing sound of Vivaldi to wash over him.

6

Miranda stood on the landing at the top of the stairs and listened to the music playing in the living room. She was impatient - she wanted to get Jane in the house and out of the rain but she couldn't move. It was a while before she realized that she had not been breathing and she silently sucked in a deep breath.

The rattle of bone china on a metal tray came from the kitchen and grew louder as it passed through the downstairs hallway and into the living room. As soon as the voices of her husband and daughter ignited into conversation Miranda found herself released from her trancelike state and silently descended the steps.

7

Wendy was more than happy to let her father lead the conversation. Her mind was still muddled as to where to start, what to say and what parts to leave out.

"It's just a question," her father started before taking a sip from his cup and setting it back down onto its saucer. "But how would you feel about moving?"

The question took her by surprise. She was not sure what she had expected him to say but that question would not have even been on her list.

"Well, what do you think?"

Her father's second question made her realize that she had taken too long to answer the first.

"Moving?" The word scratched her parched throat and she took some tea from her own cup.

"Yes, I have been offered a new post and..."

"You mean leave Eastlake?" Guilt had prevented her from looking at her father before that moment, now she could not tear her gaze away from him. "We can't!"

"Why not? If we leave soon we can get you settled into a..."

"Mum's not fit to travel and what about..." Wendy stopped short. She had to say something, it was burning her up inside. "Daddy, I've done something terrible." Large tears streamed down her cheeks. To tell her story she knew that she would have to start at the very beginning.

8

With wide eyes and an even wider grin, Miranda inched toward the front door.

She had always known that they had lied when they had told her that her little girl had died. She was there right now, out in the rain. She could hear her on the other side of the door, calling, begging to be let in. They had hated her before she had even been born. Neither Wendy or Martin had ever accepted Jane as part of the family.

She wanted to hasten her pace, to get to the door quicker but she felt like she was walking through quicksand.

She and Martin had been drifting apart years before her moment of infidelity with Jim Wilmot. The fact that Wendy had been so young was the only thing that had kept them together as some form of family. She had never expected to cheat on her husband but circumstances arose. Jim had been such a good friend and shoulder to lean on while her husband had been working around the clock and keeping his distance whenever he did come home. Maybe it was true what they said about bartenders being the best listeners.

For a moment Miranda could not move an inch. It was as if her feet were fixed to the floor. She needed to get to the door, needed to get her little girl in and protect her from the elements but she was powerless to move again.

Kate, Jim's wife, had gone to her mother's for the weekend and had taken little Sarah with her. Jim had taken the busy Saturday night off and gone over to Miranda's house armed with a bottle of wine. Wendy was nicely tucked up in bed and Martin was working a double shift at the hospital so they were all alone. One thing led to another and nine months later little Jane was born. Martin had never forgiven her just as Kate had never forgiven Jim.

But that was all in the past. Now her little girl had come home and it was time to welcome her back home. The spell had been broken again and she took another step closer to the door.

Author's Note

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