When Darkness Falls Read Free

Because it seems to me like you’re doing something else.”
    “That’s enough, Julian!” Jane’s face grew whiter than the columns outside, and Chloe feared the woman was going to pass out. Jane reached for a tissue, but her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely pull one from the box.
    Julian glared at her mother. “Why don’t you tell them the truth?”
    Jane’s mouth disappeared into a thin line. “Enough!”
    Chloe looked at her mom. “Maybe we should go.” She didn’t know what Julian was trying to pull, but knowing her, there was no telling—the persnickety witch! She’d always made it clear to Chloe that Dan was too good for her, but this was over the top.
    “No,” Naomi said, looking straight at Jane. “We need to know what’s going on.”
    “Tell her, Mother,” Julian pressed.
    At that, Jane broke down in tears. “Are you trying to destroy what’s left of your brother’s memory? Is that what you want?”
    “No, Mother, he did that himself. I just want the truth.” She slung her hair over her shoulder. “Oh, all right. I’ll tell her.” She looked at Chloe. “Dan had a girlfriend—a lover—in Afghanistan. She was in his battalion. She’s been calling here, saying that she’s pregnant with his baby.”
    The room seemed to expand and contract in one hard punch, and Chloe fought to catch her breath. Everything was spinning. She felt her mom’s arms around her and knew she was saying something to Jane, but for the life of her, Chloe couldn’t make out any of the words. Somehow she got to her feet. Jane reached out to her. “Oh, Chloe. Don’t leave like this. Please don’t leave like this.”
    Chloe backed away. “I have to get some air,” she squeaked. She looked wildly around the room.
    “Chloe!” Jane urged. “Come and sit down.”
    Chloe shook her head and ran to the door. She paused long enough to look back at the broken woman who would’ve been her mother-in-law. “I don’t belong here.”
    “She’s right,” Julian said, giving her a haughty look. “Let her go. She doesn’t belong here. Not anymore.”

2
    Chapter 2
Six Months later …
    M ost of the time , he came to her in her dreams, but lately she’d seen him during the day when she wasn’t even thinking about him. That’s when she knew she was in trouble. Chloe remembered the expression on her mom’s face the first time she described the vivid dream she’d had of Dan right before her mom came into her room and told her that he was dead. She could imagine what her mom would think if she knew she’d been seeing him everywhere.
    What difference did it make? They all thought she was crazy anyway. A shiver ran down her spine. Was she? These hallucinations were causing her to feel unhinged. She hugged her arms and looked around her room as goose bumps rose over her flesh. That’s what they were, weren’t they? Hallucinations? And yet … they felt so real. Panic fluttered in her breast. Dan is dead and buried! she kept repeating over and over as her hands clenched into fists. Get a grip, Chloe! her mind screamed. Why was this happening? It was bad enough that Dan had betrayed her, but this was even worse. Why could he not just leave her in peace? Maybe things would be different once she got to her new place. Yes, today marked the start of her new life! Things would get better from here on out. She forced herself to regulate her breathing until her pulse returned to normal. “I can do this,” she said aloud. She stood on her tiptoes and retrieved her fleece from the top shelf. Then, she threw it in the suitcase, zipped it, and headed for the door. An unexpected wave of sadness flooded over her as she cast a final glance at her room. A chapter was closing in her life, but there was also a glimmer of a new beginning on the horizon—if only she could summon the courage to keep walking in that direction. She had to keep walking! Her sanity depended on it! And if moving away from everything familiar