The Death of Addie Gray Read online

  “Mommy, are you mad?”

  I take a deep breath. In the distance, the shower has stopped running, which means Rob will be out soon.

  “Mommy?”

  I turn to her, but I honestly don't know what to say. After a moment, however, I realize that she just...

  “What's wrong?” she asks. “You're not angry at me, are you?”

  “What did you just call me?” I reply, not quite daring to believe my own ears.

  She frowns. “What do you -”

  “What did you call me?”

  “Mommy,” she says calmly, with that smile still threatening to cross her lips at any moment. “I called you Mommy. Is that wrong?”

  Even though I'm scared of the answer I might receive, I step toward her. She called me Mommy at the mall once, but that seemed to be just because she was making a point to that woman. This time, it feels a little more genuine, although I know I might just be fooling myself.

  “Are you angry at me, Mommy?” she asks. “I really didn't mean to make you angry. I just... I see Daddy typing on his phone all the time, and I noticed he usually only does it when you leave the room, and he puts his phone down quickly when he hears you coming back. Those phones are funny, it took me a while to work out how to open it, but I'm pretty smart at picking things up.”

  “You called me Mommy,” I continue, sitting next to her. “And … Do you know your name now?”

  “My name is...” She pauses, seemingly struggling for a moment. “My name is Addie,” she says finally, although the effort seems a little much for her.

  “Say it again.”

  “Say what?”

  “Your name.”

  “Addie.”

  “And again.”

  She frowns. “My name is Addie.”

  “Yes it is,” I reply, pulling her closer for a hug. There are tears in my eyes now, but at least I know that I've got my little girl back. “Thank God you finally snapped out of it.”

  “Snapped out of what?” she asks.

  I kiss the top of her head. “Don't you remember some of the things you've been saying since you woke up?”

  “Everything's slightly hazy,” she continues. “I think maybe after I was sick, it took a while for me to get my thoughts back together.” She pauses. “I remember you reading to me, though. I remember being in the hospital bed and hearing you reading children's stories to me. I think in a way, it was hearing your voice that guided me back. If you hadn't done that, I might not have ever woken up.”

  “You could hear me?” I pull back and look into her eyes, while sniffing back tears. “You could actually hear my voice?”

  She nods.

  “I knew it,” I whisper, as fresh tears roll down my cheeks. “There were people who said I was crazy, but I knew you could hear me.”

  “Why are you crying?” she asks, before peering past me and looking toward the door. “Daddy's coming. Are you going to ask him about the messages on his phone?”

  I pause, before shaking my head.

  “Why not, Mommy? You should make him tell you what he's been doing.”

  “Not now,” I reply, putting a finger to my lips, “and you mustn't say anything either. Promise me.”

  “You want to pretend he's not doing it?”

  “Just promise.”

  She stares at me for a moment, as I hear Rob coming through.

  “I promise,” she says finally, but that same faint smile still seems to be lurking just beneath her expression.

  “Hey,” I say suddenly, getting to my feet and forcing a smile as I head over to meet Rob. “Can I grab a word with you in the kitchen?”

  He's still fixing his shirt cuffs.

  “I have to get going,” he tells me, glancing at Addie with a hint of concern. “Sam wants me to go in and do a little extra work this afternoon.”

  “On the weekend?” I ask.

  “You know what Sam's like. Always cracking the whip.”

  “She's back,” I whisper, grabbing his arm and leading him into the kitchen.

  “What do you mean?” he asks.

  I peer past him to make sure Addie can't hear us. “Addie's back,” I continue. “She accepts her name and she called me Mommy. She called you Daddy, too! I don't think she really remembers all the crazy things she's been saying and doing over the past few days, but she's really back! It's happened even faster than Doctor Sawyer thought!”

  He pauses, clearly a little skeptical. “Did you ask her about the whole Jesophat and Serriah thing?”

  “There's no need to stir it all up again,” I tell him. “We've got her back, and now we have to focus on making sure that everything's stable.” I pause for a moment, thinking about the messages that Addie found on his phone, but I quickly tell myself that broaching the subject might cause too much trouble. Besides, I figure he was probably just flirting, which isn't the same as cheating. All that matters right now is Addie. “I've got to admit,” I continue, “there were times when I...”

  My voice trails off, before I realize that there's no point dwelling on the past.

  “We should have a big family celebration!” I tell him. “Let's all go out this evening and get dinner somewhere!”

  “I don't know if I can tonight...”

  “Please, Rob. Just tell Sam everything that's happened. He has to let go of you for one night! You're an employee, not a slave!”

  “I'll try,” he says evasively, although I know full well that there's no chance. He pauses, clearly not convinced by the latest development. “Erica, don't take this the wrong way, but are you absolutely certain that Addie's back to normal? It just seems a little too sudden, as if she's trying to...”

  His voice trails off, before he leans closer and kisses the side of my face.

  “Ignore me,” he continues. “I'm just glad we've got her back. Maybe now we can get on with putting our lives back together.”

  “And our family,” I reply with a sense of relief, pushing all my doubts and fears away. “We've got our family back.”

  Erica

  “And I'm sorry for biting you,” Addie continues, standing in Diane's front room while Suzie sits on the sofa, “and I feel really bad, and if there's anything I can do to make it up to you, I hope we can be friends again.”

  Suzie stares back at her, clearly not convinced. Her wrist is heavily bandaged, and she seems genuinely scared of Addie. In fact, a moment ago when Addie tried to give her a hug, Suzie visibly flinched.

  “What have you got to say to Addie?” Diane asks, putting a hand on Suzie's shoulder. “Remember what we talked about before? When someone's really sorry and they have the courage to come and apologize, you should always try to be gracious and let bygones be bygones.”

  Addie glances at me and smiles.

  “I accept your apology,” Suzie says dourly, clearly only saying the words because of the pressure from her mother.

  “I'm glad,” Addie tells her, stepping forward and holding out a hand for her to shake. “I shouldn't have bitten you and it was wrong.” She pauses. “It didn't even taste good.”

  Suzie hesitates, but Diane nudges her arm and finally she reaches out to shake Addie's hand.

  “Maybe you two girls would like to go outside and play in the yard,” Diane suggests. “Wouldn't it be nice to play together again?”

  Suzie turns to her, looking positively terrified by the prospect.

  “Go on,” Diane adds with a smile. “Just for a moment while I talk to Addie's Mommy.”

  Reluctantly, Suzie gets up from the sofa and leads Addie to the back door. It's clear that Suzie's still somewhat traumatized by the biting incident, but as I turn to Diane I can't help thinking that everything is finally going to start getting back to normal. Still, from the look in her eyes, I can tell that Diane isn't entirely convinced.

  “I think she really is sorry,” I tell her. “You know Addie's not a violent girl, don't you?”

  “Maybe we were just too quick to get them to play together
again,” she replies, looking out the window as if she doesn't quite trust the girls to be alone.

  “It's my fault,” I continue, “not Addie's. I should have realized she was still traumatized. Still, she's made a real breakthrough over the past twenty-four hours, and I think she'll get back to normal pretty quickly. Maybe we underestimated what it must have been like for her to be in that coma. She doesn't seem to remember any of it, but that doesn't mean she wasn't somehow aware of what was happening. The doctors say she couldn't have been dreaming while she was actually unconscious, but I think they're wrong. I think she imagined this whole big fantasy world.”

  “Maybe,” Diane says, still watching the girls, before turning to me. “I'm sorry, where are my manners? Would you like a coffee?”

  “Sure,” I reply, relieved that things seem to be getting back to normal. “I'd love one.”

  As she heads to the counter, I look at the window. I know I should trust Addie to be out there with her friend, but at the back of my mind there's still a faint murmur of concern. Wandering over, I glance out and see that Addie and Suzie are sitting on the grass, and Addie seems to be telling Suzie about something. The whole scene looks very normal, as if the natural balance of things is being restored, although after a moment I see that Addie is leaning closer to Suzie's ear, while Suzie is staring down at the grass with fear in her eyes.

  Stop over-reacting, I tell myself.

  Everything's fine.

  “She says she could hear my voice while she was in the coma,” I continue, as I take a bottle of caffeine pills from my pocket and slip one into my mouth. I quickly swallow, hoping that soon I won't feel so exhausted, although after a moment I take one extra, just to be sure. “I knew it. Everyone said I was crazy, but I knew it'd help if I just kept reading to her. It's like a bond we have. I knew that couldn't be broken.”

  “Children are so complex, aren't they?” Diane says as she sets out some coffee mugs. “I'm sure I was much simpler when I was their age. It can be hard to keep up.”

  “It sure can,” I mutter, glancing out the window again. For a moment, I'm unable to stop watching as the fear in Suzie's eyes seems to grow and grow. At the same time, Addie is leaning even closer, and her lips are moving quickly as she continues to talk about something. Whatever she's saying, it looks to be putting the fear of God into Suzie, but I tell myself I'm imagining the whole thing.

  I'm on edge, that's all. I'm seeing problems where there aren't any.

  ***

  “Thank you for taking me to see her,” Addie says later while we're driving. “It was good that I had a chance to apologize. I'm just relieved that Sarah agreed to forgive me.”

  “Sarah?” I glance over at her. “You mean Suzie, don't you?”

  She pauses for a moment. “Of course. Suzie. Sorry Mama. I mean... Mommy.”

  “It might take a little time for her to act normal around you again,” I point out.

  “That's okay. I don't care. I mean, I don't mind.”

  I take the next left, bringing us to our neighborhood. “What were you talking to her about?” I ask.

  “When?”

  “In the garden.”

  “Oh, just little girl things.”

  “Little girl things?”

  She glances at me and smiles. “The sort of thing that little girls always talk about. You know. Don't make me go into it in detail, Mama. Mommy.”

  “It's just,” I continue, “she looked a little... I don't know, she looked a little scared, that's all.”

  “I think Suzie has quite a nervous disposition,” she replies. “I don't know if she was always like that, but she seems like the kind of girl who'd breech her britches if she heard a clap of thunder.”

  “Where did you learn to say things like that?” I ask, genuinely shocked.

  “Oh...” She giggles. “I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to be bad. You're not angry at me, are you?”

  “I -” Pausing, I realize I can't possibly be angry. “Of course not,” I tell her, “just... Be a little more careful with some of your language, okay?” I slow the car for the turn into our driveway. “And -”

  Before I can finish, another car suddenly blasts out from the front of our house, tires screeching as it almost hits us before screaming off along the road. I slam the brakes on, startled, and watch as the car speeds away.

  “I wonder who that was,” Addie says calmly.

  Easing the car into the driveway, I see the front door slamming shut. It's clear that Rob's home and that something strange just happened, although I quickly tell myself to not jump to conclusions.

  “I hope Daddy didn't get into any trouble,” Addie continues, turning to me with a faint smile. “Whoever that was, they seemed awfully mad about something.”

  ***

  “A drunk former client?” I reply, watching from the bathroom doorway as Rob dabs at his bruised face. “Why would a former client get drunk and come to our home?”

  “Beats me,” he mutters, wincing as he presses a cold, wet towel on the wound below his eye. “I guess some people are just bitter assholes. Don't worry, though. It's sorted now.”

  “Let me see that.” Heading over, I take the towel and examine the cut on his face. “You're going to have a black eye.”

  “Great.”

  “And you're reporting this to the cops, right?”

  “There's no point.”

  “No point?” I stare at him for a moment, genuinely shocked by his response. “A man came to our home and attacked you, Rob! What if Addie and I had been here, and she'd gotten hurt?”

  “You weren't here,” he mutters, “and she didn't. She wouldn't. And it won't happen again.”

  “How do you know?”

  He snatches the towel back from me. “Because it's fine.”

  “But if -”

  “Can we please not keep talking about this?” he adds, dabbing his wound again. “Some maniac had too many beers and came to settle an old score. The world is full of assholes, but I'm going to sort it out with him once and for all. Like men. Not like little kids, running to the cops.”

  His phone briefly buzzes in his pocket.

  “You got a message,” I point out.

  “I know.”

  “Aren't you going to check it?”

  “I'm a little busy bleeding.” He sighs. “Could you just let me get on with cleaning myself up? Jesus, Erica, do you have to hover all the time?”

  I want to ask more questions, to find out exactly who this former client is and why he was so angry. Deep down, I'm even wondering whether Rob is telling the truth, but I don't want to be the sort of person who lets suspicions run rampant. We only just got everything back under control, so this is not the time to start dragging unpleasantness into the light.

  “Let me take another look,” I mutter, reaching out for the towel again.

  “I said I'm fine!” he hisses. “Just let me fix it up! I don't need babysitting!”

  “I don't think there's much you can do about the cut,” I tell him finally, turning and heading out of the room. I glance back and see that he's taken his phone from his pocket to check the message, but I don't bother asking him what it's about. Somehow, I get the feeling that he wouldn't tell me the truth anyway.

  “Is Daddy okay?” Addie asks as I reach the kitchen, where the TV is still running with the volume down low.

  “He'll be fine.”

  “His eye looked pretty beat up.”

  “It'll heal.”

  Heading to the counter, I figure I should start fixing something for lunch, but after a moment I look over and see that Addie is staring out the window. She seems lost in thought, although she soon notices that I'm watching.

  “Those little cellphones are amazing,” she says as she turns to me. “Anyone can reach anyone on them. They're a real marvel, aren't they?”

  “I'll get on with dinner,” I mutter, turning the TV's volume up as I head to the refrigerator.

  “- but sources now say the Gov
ernor will not sign the bill until at least next Monday,” the news reporter continues, “giving campaigners a few more days to seek a compromise.”

  Grabbing another bag of salad, I tear it open and tip the contents into the glass bowl.

  “Meanwhile,” the voice continues, “there was tragedy at the Arcadington Mall yesterday, following an accident that investigators are still at a loss to explain.”

  I glance over at the TV, just in time to see a photo of the woman who was such a bitch in the bathroom yesterday afternoon.

  “Thirty-seven-year-old Amanda Bearing was killed after part of her trailing scarf became caught in the mechanism of one of the mall's elevators.” The shot changes, showing emergency crews outside the mall. “Horrified witnesses report that Ms. Bearing had just exited the elevator, which then began to descend with her scarf trapped. The resulting accident decapitated the victim, sending her severed head over the railing and down into the food court below. One of the witnesses is said to have been Mrs. Bearing's young daughter, who had to be sedated due to panic and shock.”

  As the news broadcast moves on to another story, I'm left staring at the screen, barely able to process what I just heard.

  “That's very sad,” Addie says suddenly.

  Turning to her, I open my mouth to reply, but something about her tones seems almost mocking, as if she's amused by the woman's accident with the elevator.

  “I didn't know that I -” She pauses for a moment. “Well, maybe that's something I have to think about some more. I don't know how, exactly...”

  Her voice trails off for a few seconds.

  “She shouldn't have been mean to you,” she adds finally. “I didn't like that. I didn't like it at all.”

  PART THREE

  DENSBERG, MICHIGAN

  TODAY

  Erica

  “Don't you dare talk to me like that!” Rob yells. “Go to your room!”

  Rushing through from the front room, I'm just in time to see Addie shuffling off to her bedroom. She doesn't look to be in a particular hurry, and she glances back at me with a smile before disappearing through the doorway. Turning to Rob, I immediately see the anger in his eyes.