The Ungrateful Dead Page 4

  “He sent her to New York City? Why?”

  “I guess she got into a bit of trouble and it was too much for him to handle on his own. I don’t know what exactly happened, but it sounds like she’s changed. For the better.”

  “How much can one person change in less than a year?” Anna pointed out.

  “Let’s just give her a chance, okay?” her mom asked.

  “Yes, of course, Mom.” She let out a long sigh. If that was what it took to make her mom happy.

  Now that the news was out, her mom couldn’t stop smiling. “Her name is Tabitha. She’s only a year older than you. Isn’t that great?”

  Anna forced a smile. “Wonderful.” The whole Harper situation had just gotten a bit trickier. But maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as she thought. It could be awesome having someone here around her age.

  “And don’t worry, even though she went to your school for a short time before, I’m sure it will be fine. This will be a fresh start for her.” Anna’s mom beamed her snow-white teeth. She knew how to radiate a smile. How could Anna not be happy? “I was thinking I’d make a vegetarian lasagna. I’ll buy a jar of that fancy marinara you like, and we’ll get some of those fresh noodles they sell in the deli case….”

  Anna traced her finger down the window, staring out at the highway, seeing nothing. “Perfect.” She was already mortified to be forcibly associated with death. Permanently. She had become an undertaker’s stepdaughter, and now she would be linked to a girl known for causing problems.

  It scared Anna on some level, knowing everything was about to change for the hundredth time.

  And life as she knew it would never be the same again.

  • • •

  Eden swung her legs as she sat next to Anna on the Manor’s porch swing. “So let me get this straight. Your mom just told you that you have a stepsister.”

  Anna had texted Eden with a 911 as soon as she got home and finished helping her mom carry in all the grocery bags.

  Anna nodded. “It’s true.”

  “Seriously?” Eden’s eyes widened.

  “Yeah. Winston has a daughter around our age. She lives with her mom on the East Coast, and not even my mom knew about her until now. But she’s moving back here and into the Manor and will be going to our school.” She blurted the terrible news out fast, like ripping off a Band-Aid.

  “Whoa! Who knew the creepy undertaker had any kids.”

  “Right. But did you hear the part about her moving in?” Anna said glumly. “As in here. In this house. Where I’m secretly going to be helping and hiding from a, well, whatever Harper is.”

  “Don’t worry. I already told you I’m helping with that.” Eden placed her hand on Anna’s arm.

  Anna felt a weird calming sensation take over. All her muscles instantly relaxed; the tension drained from her body. And her head cleared from the fog of questions that had clouded her mind only seconds before.

  “How’d you do that?”

  “It’s one of my gifts.” Eden smiled.

  “You mean one of your spells? Is that why you’re usually calm?”

  Eden nodded. “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t share?”

  “I’m afraid to even ask what other spells you might have done on me.”

  “I would never secretly do something to you.” Eden looked hurt.

  “I know. I was just kidding,” Anna told her, then thought, Kind of. She continued, “So this girl, Tabitha. She was living with her mom but—”

  Eden interrupted her. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

  “Maybe you met her? She lived her for a few months. Before I moved here. She changed her last name when her mom did after the divorce, back to her mom’s maiden name. Not that I could blame her for not wanting to be Doombrowski.”

  “It’s not Tabitha Richland, is it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You know her?”

  “Know her? Everyone knows her. She wasn’t here that long, but definitely long enough to leave an impression.”

  “What kind of impression?”

  “Let’s just say she found her way to becoming top cheerleader, going over Olivia’s head.”

  “So she and Olivia weren’t friends.”

  “No, they were best friends. Until Tabitha backstabbed her.”

  Anna smiled. “She can’t be that bad then, if she backstabbed Olivia.”

  “She’s worse.”

  “Worse?” Anna repeated.

  “Yes. She’s even more ruthless than my sister. And when she wants something, she will stop at nothing.”

  “Great. And now she’ll be living with me.”

  “No one ever knew her dad was the undertaker. Having a different last name probably made it easy for her to keep it a secret.”

  “I guess we’re not the only ones who keep secrets,” Anna whispered.

  “We definitely aren’t. Everyone here has secrets. The smaller the town, the bigger the secrets. And trust me, nothing ever stays buried forever here.”

  Anna expected Tabitha to look like Olivia and her clones. To be tall and flawless, tan and blond. To carry herself in a way that told everyone else she was better than they were. Anna expected to be intimidated by her new stepsister.

  But she was just the opposite.

  Tabitha reminded Anna of a doll she used to play with when she was a kid, one of a collection. She was tiny, with the same perfect features. Her hair was as black as a raven, contrasting with her snow-white skin. She wore jeans and a tee, much like Anna. And she was quiet.

  Anna’s mom made her stay home that weekend and spend her time helping Tabitha unpack. Nobody ever helped me unpack, Anna thought.

  Tabitha ignored her. She didn’t seem to need any help unpacking anything, and anything Anna did put away for her—her sneakers in the shoe closet, her shampoo bottles in the bathroom—Tabitha ended up taking out and putting back herself. Not once did they say anything to each other. The only ones who talked were Winston and her mom, when they came to check on their progress. Actually, Anna was the only one making progress. Tabitha spent an hour looking at every item she took out of her suitcases and some boxes her mom had shipped as if she hadn’t seen it for years and needed to remember its special sentimental significance before she could even think about putting it away.

  Anna’s phone vibrated in her pocket.

  Hey you! Wanna meet at the clubhouse later?

  It was from Eden. Anna’s heart soared when she saw a text from Johnny a few minutes later asking her the same thing. She replied:

  Sorry, guys. Can’t. Family stuff.

  She hated being stuck at home just because her new stepsister couldn’t unpack her own stuff. A few more texts came in from dead people, but Anna ignored them all.

  The room was still stacked with packed boxes. Anna took a good look around. Tabitha had been given her choice of several rooms and this was the one she’d picked. Anna could see why. Aside from having her own bathroom, Tabitha also had a queen-sized bed, a couch, and love seat. A mini-fridge sat near a bookshelf. Anna’s mom had put up some shelves and had even bought her these cool acrylic nesting tables. Tabitha basically had her own apartment.

  That night at dinner, Tabitha didn’t say a word, no matter how many times Anna’s mom asked questions or included her in a conversation. Tabitha would just shrug and look down at her dinner plate, pushing her food around with a fork. She had barely eaten anything when she excused herself to her room.

  “Just give her a little time,” Winston said after Tabitha left. He chuckled. “Once she gets comfortable, you won’t be able to shut her up!”

  After dinner, Anna texted Eden.

  Tab doesn’t seem bad. Just really quiet and sad.

  That doesn’t sound like her. At all.

  Maybe she has changed?

  I wouldn’t count on it.

  Maybe Eden had misjudged her. Tabitha had gone through a lot this last year, and if anyone could understand, it was Anna.

 
As Anna got ready for bed, she realized Tabitha probably was nervous about starting school in the morning. It didn’t sound like she had left on good terms, and the students at Winchester Academy definitely judged outsiders. If Tabitha was anything like her, she probably wouldn’t sleep tonight. She decided to run downstairs to Tabitha’s room and tell her she knew what she was going through. And that she would help her any way she could.

  Tabitha’s bedroom door was open. Anna knocked, peeking in. The light in the adjoining bathroom was on. When she walked in, she found Tabitha washing her face in the sink.

  “What are you doing in my room?” Tabitha pulled her dark red lips into a snarl, examining Anna behind her in the mirror.

  Her attitude was anything but tiny.

  “Uh…I just wanted to say good night. I’ve heard a lot about you, and—”

  “Liar.”

  Anna blinked. “What?”

  “I’ve heard nothing at all about you. Didn’t even know Dad married again. So I’m pretty sure you didn’t know a thing about me either.”

  “He didn’t tell you he was getting married?”

  Tabitha splashed her face with water. “Married?” She laughed. “He didn’t even tell me he was dating. Or engaged.”

  Anna swallowed. “Well, it happened really fast. They were only engaged for like a second—”

  “And then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, I’m forced to move here.” She pivoted toward Anna. “This place is like a haunted mansion right out of the movies.”

  “I felt like that too,” Anna said, trying hard to be nice. “My mom wanted you to feel at home. She hung up those shelves and bought you new bedding at the same place she got mine. And—”

  Tabitha snorted. “Oh, look, we have so much in common.” She turned back to the mirror and pumped some pink facial gel into her palms and began slathering it over her face.

  Anna took a deep breath. “Look, I just wanted to say good luck at school tomorrow.”

  Tabitha put her washcloth down. “Are you threatening me, Annabel?”

  “What? No…I mean, it’s tough to make friends there, and—”

  “Really? Are you going to act like it’s not your fault?”

  Anna shook her head. “Like what’s not my fault?”

  Tabitha angrily splashed water on her face, patted it dry, and began applying moisturizer. “That you went broadcasting to the whole school that you live in Maddsen Manor and your mom married the undertaker. Because telling everyone your business really helps to make friends.”

  “How do you know what other people might or might not know?”

  “You don’t think I still have friends that keep me in the loop?” Tabitha chuckled. “Let’s move this along, because I have to get up early. And this little meet-and-greet is really going to set the bags off under my eyes.” She spit the words out like a bad taste.

  “You’ll recover,” Anna threw back.

  Tabitha glared at Anna in the mirror.

  Great, Anna thought. If looks could kill. An icy chill penetrated her bones. Anna would probably be the one with bags under her eyes by morning, seeing as how she’d need to sleep with one eye open.

  Or both.

  “Ha! You are afraid,” Tabitha said, more to herself than to Anna. “Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.”

  “What are you talking about? And afraid of what? You?” Anna let out a big, fake laugh. “Especially not of you.”

  I’ve met lots of people scarier than you, Anna thought as images of Lucy and Harper came to mind.

  And little did Tabitha know that one of them happened to be living in this very house.

  Harper was firm. “No way! I’m not crawling through some tunnel and wrinkling my outfit.”

  “You don’t have to crawl.” Eden smoothed out the wrinkles on the original blueprint of Maddsen Manor that she had conjured up using a locator spell. It had been folded in one of the heavy books on the top shelf in the library.

  “I think your clothes should be the least of your problems,” Anna added.

  Harper frowned. She’d decided she did not like Anna. At all. “I don’t have money like I did in my former life. I can’t exactly buy new clothes.”

  “Your former life was like a week ago,” Eden pointed out. “Not that much has changed.”

  “I’m not talking about a week ago.” Harper sighed. “Forget it. So where’s this secret tunnel?”

  Eden pointed to the blueprint. “It looks like the tunnel starts in one of the second-floor rooms.”

  The three of them pounded down the staircase to the floor below.

  “Which room?” Anna was out of breath. And way out of shape, Harper thought snidely.

  They followed Eden, stopping at the last door in the hallway.

  “This room is huge. How are we going to find something in here that’s supposed to be hidden?” Harper complained when they walked inside.

  Eden held up the paper and waved it in front of Harper. “Hello. Why do you think I have the floor plan?”

  “Okay then, genius,” Harper said, putting her hands on her hips. Her body had finally started to feel real again, and she squeezed her hip bones extra hard. “Where is it?”

  Eden rolled her eyes. “That wall.” She pointed to the wall on the left. Set into the middle of it was a fireplace, flanked by a bookcase on one side and a closet on the other.

  “So it’s either the bookcase, which is so cliché, or we’re going to Narnia,” Harper said.

  “Or it could be in the fireplace,” Anna said.

  “Doubt it. That would be pretty stupid to build a fire in the same place you want to escape through,” Harper said. “I mean, come on.”

  “That would actually be smart,” Anna said primly.

  Harper was ready to throw Anna into a fire right about now.

  Each girl started investigating, Eden pushing and pulling at boards and bricks, Harper knocking and rapping against the wall. Anna was stomping around the room like an elephant.

  “Can you do that a little quieter? Like, not at all?” Harper suggested.

  Anna ignored her. “There might be something on the floor. You never know.”

  “Got it!” Eden jumped up, waving the other girls over excitedly.

  “The fireplace? Really?” Harper said.

  “Told you,” Anna said happily.

  Eden pushed on the tiles that formed the back of the fireplace and a door inched open, creaking and groaning after being sealed so long.

  Harper peered into an abyss of darkness. “How am I supposed to see in there?”

  “Chill.” Eden pulled out her phone and turned on its flashlight.

  In front of them were short, narrow concrete steps that spiraled down. The light didn’t reach the bottom, so the staircase looked never ending.

  “All right, who’s going first?” Harper asked.

  Eden and Anna looked at Harper.

  “Of course.” Harper planted her hands on her hips. “It’s always the undead girl. Never the witch or ghost whisperer.”

  • • •

  The passage led to a door at the very back of Maddsen Manor, facing the cemetery. If you didn’t know the door was there, you’d never see it from the outside. It was covered by an overgrowth of shrubs and weeds.

  It had taken Harper about five minutes to make it through the cobweb-filled passageway. She ran her fingers through her hair and brushed off her clothes to make sure no bugs were on her. She’d heard a story on the news once about a spider that had crawled into a woman’s ear and spun a web inside her ear canal. The woman thought she was hearing things—but what she was hearing was an actual spider.

  Harper hated spiders. And worms. And anything that lived in the dirt.

  Harper glanced over at the cemetery. A wave of fear and gratitude passed over her. At least she wasn’t there. She had gotten another chance at life.

  She gazed back at creepy, decrepit Mad Manor, her eyes drawn inexplicably upward.

  Someone was wa
tching her from a second-story window.

  • • •

  Later that night, Lucy appeared in Harper’s new room as she was writing in her latest journal. She’d found a stack of dusty, empty notebooks on a bedroom shelf. Bored, she’d picked one up. She’d always kept a diary. Her new life would be no different.

  This is the diary of Harper Sweety

  Dear Diary,

  You won’t believe the day I’ve had.

  “Ooh, whatcha writing about?” Lucy asked, peeking over her shoulder.

  “Leave me alone.” Harper kept writing.

  “Is that any way for you to talk to someone who gave you your life back?” Lucy flickered out and reappeared next to Harper, sitting on the edge of her desk.

  Harper sighed, setting her pencil down, and turned in her chair to face Lucy. “Let me guess.” Harper crossed her arms. “You’re here to collect on your favor.”

  “And smart!” Lucy beamed. “I like that.”

  Harper closed her diary. “Just tell me what you want.”

  Lucy crossed her legs, bouncing the right leg on top. “I want you to become friends with Tabitha.”

  “Anna’s sister?”

  “Stepsister,” Lucy corrected.

  “Why do you want me to be friends with her?” Harper asked warily.

  But Lucy brushed her off. “You don’t need to worry about the reasons. Just do like I ask. Become her best friend. Get her to trust you.”

  “And then what?”

  Lucy’s eyes glinted. “I’ll tell you later, when the time comes.”

  Harper shrugged. “Whatever.” She swiveled back around and opened up the diary.

  Dead people are so weird.

  Behind her, Lucy smiled as she slowly vanished.

  It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Tabitha became the center of attention at the Academy. But it wasn’t like the attention Anna had received when she was the new girl. Maybe it was because Tabitha had gone to school there before. But what really surprised Anna was how Olivia whisked Tabitha right back into her group and treated her like a best friend. Not just a friend for Olivia to use to do her homework. It just didn’t add up with what Eden had told her. If Tabitha and Olivia had hated each other before, why had that changed?