Carmen had been wondering when it would happen. It seemed to happen with everyone, so why not the girls? She just didn't think it would be quite so soon.
It was the morning after their arrival. Al had gone to work a few hours ago, everyone had eaten breakfast and Laura had helped Carmen with the morning dishes. Mary had settled down in front of the television—she was watching a soap opera that she never missed—and the kids were outside. Carmen and Laura seated themselves at the dining room table with tall glasses of iced tea.
They had made small talk as they worked in the kitchen, but Laura had been unusually quiet. Yesterday, Carmen had thought it impossible for the girl to so much as calm down. But she was calm, even frowning a little, as if something was troubling her.
"So, how'd you sleep?" Carmen asked.
"Oh..." Laura shrugged.
"I know it's hard to sleep in a strange place sometimes. Takes a while to get used to a different bed than your own."
Laura nodded.
After a moment: "You didn't sleep well, did you?"
Laura's features tightened as she thought a moment. "Aunt Carmen, something's..." She took a deep breath, sighed.
"What?"
"I don't like this house."
It was Carmen's turn to sigh. Less than twenty-four hours had passed and already...
"What don't you like about it?"
"Well, Mom told me it used to be a—"
"I wish she hadn't done that."
"Oh, that doesn't bother me, really. It's something else. The way I felt last night in bed like, um...well, like I wasn't alone in the room."
"Mary was with you."
"No, that's not what I mean. I felt like there was somebody else there in the room. Somebody...moving around, maybe. In the dark."
"And?"
"Well, there wasn't, of course. But it felt like there was."
Carmen thought before she spoke. She could tell Laura the same thing she'd told Tanya, but why open that can of worms? Even she didn't quite believe that.
"Honey, I'm afraid you've walked into a very weird household," Carmen said. "At least it's weird at the moment. You know about Stephen's illness, but...well, things have been tense here ever since then." She told Laura briefly about the changes that had taken place in Stephen since his illness and their theories as to the cause—his illness, the treatments and medication, the move, and perhaps, in part, his association with Jason—and the stress his change had put on the entire family. She told Laura of Stephen's feelings about the house—that it was evil, haunted, possessed by someone or something—and how that had affected the other children and frustrated Carmen and Al to the point of anger.
She did not, however, tell Laura of her own experiences in the house. Mostly because she was trying to forget about them herself.
"I suspect what you're picking up on," Carmen said, "is the tension in the house. That's all."
"So Stephen thinks the house is haunted, too, huh?"
Carmen could not hold back a small flinch. "Then...that's what you think?"
Laura shrugged. "Well, I'm not sure. But I know I felt something weird last night. And it wasn't tension, Aunt Carmen. It was...well, it felt bad. Dark. It's hard to explain. But, to be honest, I don't feel comfortable in here right now."
Carmen closed her eyes a moment and considered her response. A sudden wave of dread passed through her. Having another person in the house who insisted it was haunted would only make things worse.
"I hope, Laura, that you'll keep your feelings about the house to yourself. Please? Don't say anything to the kids. And especially don't say anything to Al. He's sick to death of this. He'd go through the roof."
Laura agreed to say nothing.
"But it still makes me kind of nervous...being here, I mean."
"Just new surroundings, that's all. You'll get settled." Carmen forced a smile that did not feel—or look—very convincing.