Between the Spirit and the Dust

Chapter Twenty Five

"Emily wake up!”

Someone was shaking me and when I stirred, blinking away the tears that had formed, I saw that it was Max.

 He stared down at me, face tight with worry and when he saw that I was waking up, he seemed to sag with relief. Max sat down on the bed next to me and said, “You were screaming in your sleep. What happened?”

 I sat up straight, wiping my brow and mentally trying to reach for my nightmare. But the images flickered and disappeared, fading fast from my memory. All that remained was unease and despair and the lingering feeling that Sylvia had been in my dream. She wanted to warn me about something. 

But what had it been?

Max was still waiting pointedly for my reply so I said, “I don’t know.”

“Whatever it was, you were screaming really loudly. Are you okay?”

I nodded but my chest still felt heavy, like there was I was forgetting something important. He brushed the hair out of my face and searched it.

“I’m fine,” I replied but even I could tell that my voice was high and thin with strain. I cleared my throat and managed, in a steadier tone, “Really, you don’t need to worry." 

Max was still gazing at me intently and I looked away from him. My attention was caught by the crack of light coming through the bedroom door. “Is someone here?”

“About that…I think you better see for yourself.”

Max stood up, holding out his hand. For a second I hesitated, the vague unease resurfacing but this was Max. He’d been there for me throughout. There wasn’t any logical reason for the sudden panic seizing me and so, I shook off that feeling and took his hand.

He pulled open the door and the remaining wisps of my nightmare disappeared under the bright lights of the living room. As my eyesight adjusted, I realized that Sophia Jones was standing outside Jenna’s door. 

She had been talking to Evie and paused when she heard us coming. She nodded at us and went back to her conversation with Evie.

“What’s she doing here?" 

“She needed some place to stay.” I whirled around and found Collins, his gaze intent on Sophia. She was pretending not to notice but from the way her shoulders had hiked up, it was clear that she was uncomfortable with the attention. “HQ can’t keep her there too long because she’s technically not a suspect. So she’s going to stay here." 

“Here?” I echoed. 

“She’ll be staying in Jenna’s room.” His gaze settled on me and I noticed how dead-eyed he looked, as though whatever spirit or spark in them was gone. I wondered if he had gotten any sleep at all or whether he’d spent the night running through what had happened to Jenna. 

Max frowned. “Why Jenna’s room?" 

“I suggested it,” said Collins, his attention diverted to Sophia again. “I want to keep my eye on her. I don’t trust her. And making her stay in Jenna’s room is the perfect reminder of what her brother is capable of." 

His voice carried and Sophia stopped mid-word in her conversation with Evie to shoot Collins a furious glare. Her grip on her suitcase tightened and she was gritting her jaw and Evie stepped in front of Sophia’s line of sight, blocking Collins. 

I wanted to argue, to say that Collins had been unnecessarily cruel to Sophia Jones and that keeping her in a room where half a day earlier Jenna had died was unjustified when she’d voluntarily turned up, offering her help.