The Guidance - By Marley Gibson Page 0,64

brought on. Maybe she thinks Mom and Dad will force her to leave me now. "Emily's just a little older than I am and she'd never do anything to hurt me. It's like having a big sister, almost."

Mom begins to choke, and lifts the plastic bottle to finish off the water that's left in it.

The ends of my fingers tingle where I'm connected to Mom, and I'm wondering if she's hiding something from me. That fear of facing the truth that her aura is radiating; she couldn't...

"Do you know her, Mom?"

She spins toward me, horror painted on her face. "What? I don't see spirits like you do!"

"No, I mean, did you know her when she was alive?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kendall." She rushes around the butcher block in the middle of the kitchen to tend to the pot roast on the stove. The rich savory aroma no longer appeals to me; instead, it makes me feel a little nauseated. Deep in my heart of hearts, I know my mother is lying to me. The woman who taught me the Ten Commandments. The one who punishes me when I'm caught in a fib. She's ducking the truth on this, and I want to know why.

"You do recognize her." I grab the notepad from Celia. "Look at her again, Mom. Who is she? I need to know!"

She pushes the sketch away. "Kendall, enough of this." Her breathing is ragged, but then, she composes herself. "I simply thought she looked like this woman I saw on Inside Edition the other afternoon. A woman who was wanted for the murder of her boyfriend in Buffalo."

"Since when do you watch Inside Edition?"

"Oh, you know, I was cleaning and the TV was on. I just remember seeing a drawing like that. It's really no big deal. I'm still not altogether crazy about the idea of someone else living with us, watching us eat and sleep and bathe."

Emily giggles in my head. At least she's not still mad at me.

"Emily doesn't watch us bathe."

Mom hugs me and kisses the top of my head. "That's what I get for watching those awful TV shows. I'm sorry I reacted negatively. You have a great talent, Celia. I think the two of you make a wonderful team."

I grit my teeth together and grind them a bit. "So, you don't think that Emily's some black-widow killer or what have you?"

Mom stirs the vegetables. "No, certainly not."

However, the muddy blue aura still surrounds her. What does my mother have to hide? What isn't she telling me, and how does her seeing Emily fit into all of this?

"Celia, why don't you stay for supper?" Mom asks. "There's going to be plenty of food."

Somewhat rattled by the whole scene, Celia finally perks up. "Sure thing, Miss Sarah. Beats another night of Alice's cooking."

"You girls run along and wash up while I get this finished."

As we head up the staircase to my room, Emily stops me on the fourth step.

I'm so sorry about that, Em. Mom's trying to understand me.

"You don't have to apologize, Kendall."

I will get to the bottom of who you are.

"Please don't, Kendall. Let me just be your friend and guide you like I'm supposed to do."

I'm pretty stern though. When this case with Courtney's over, we'll talk.

And with that, Emily fades away.

Chapter Seventeen

Emily wasn't around this morning when I woke up, although Sonoma the Bear had been moved from my rocking chair to my bed in the middle of the night. I guess she's giving me some distance after the whole freak-out with Mom; I've hardly seen her this whole week.

Saturday, I help Mom out in the yard, planting some bushes around the back fence. I never knew her to have such a green thumb, but she seems motivated to be the Happy Homemaker today. Plus, it's good spending time with Mom as just her daughter, not the kid she's worried about.

Mom and Dad have a dinner date with another couple, so Jason comes over to watch movies with me and hang out. Kaitlin's got Penny Carmickle sleeping over, and I'm allegedly chaperoning. All I want to do, though, is lock them in her room, turn off the lights, and make out with Jason.

He seems annoyed with me. Has he seen the drawing of Emily too? As one of my favorite movies of all time, French Kiss, plays on the DVR, I try to snuggle into the nook of Jason's arm.

"Can't we watch Iron Man?"

"I thought you wanted