There isn’t much to do in this house.
There’s no Internet and no television. So I find a book downstairs in one of the many bookcases and read to Victoria most of the morning. Then after lunch, we do the same thing, but by around mid-afternoon, her head is sagging to the side and she seems to be falling asleep. I feel like doing the same. Between the cold and the lack of stimulation, I’m exhausted.
I leave Victoria in her chair and head back to my bedroom. Just as I get there, my phone starts ringing in my pocket, and I almost yelp in surprise. I’ve had no phone service all day. I’m excited to finally get it back. I pull out the phone and see Maggie’s name on the screen. She must be checking up on me.
“Sylvie!” she cries. “You guys got phone service back!” “Only just now. And it probably won’t last.”
“I just wanted to see how you were doing. Is everything okay over there?”
I can’t even begin to describe to her how terrified I’ve been. “Yeah.
Fine.”
“I have to confess, Sylvie.” Maggie lowers her voice a notch. “I spent the night there once during a storm a long time ago, and it was… I mean, by the time I was able to leave, I was ready to run screaming. The fights the two of them had… It was intense. Obviously they don’t fight anymore, but it’s hard to forget what it used to be like.”
I look up to make sure the door to my room is closed. “I heard Adam would throw things.”
“Adam?” She laughs. “No—you got it wrong. Adam would dodge things. Victoria was the one who would throw things. It was like she was possessed.”
I frown. “What are you talking about?”
“Sylvia,” Maggie says quietly. “You know Victoria was…” I squeeze the phone in my fist. “Was what?”
She hesitates. “She’s crazy.” What?
“Not just crazy.” Maggie takes a breath. “She’s dangerous.”
