A Legacy for Katherine

Chapter 5 - A Party For Your Head

I've been working on my essay and my other assignments all evening but it's a struggle. Every minute feels like torture. I didn't go into the woods earlier today and now I wish I did. I'm feeling restless and suffocated by my surroundings- the four walls, the stuffy but chilly air, the general darkness of the house.

I close my laptop and go over to the window where Yokai is sleeping soundly on the window seat. He stretches and goes back to sleep when I sit beside him to look out the window. The moon and the stars are out tonight. The tree branches look bone-white under the pale moonlight. They sway from the wind but thankfully, it doesn't look like it's going to rain.

My eyes are drawn to the Gauthier mansion, far away on top of another hill with their warm glow of lights.

Why am I so fascinated by Elias Gauthier even though he's been nothing but rude to me?

I've never cheated on Dillon, nor will I ever cheat on him. Having this feeling for another man is already making me feel guilty.

Maybe I'm feeling this way because Dillon and I haven't been spending a lot of time together lately. I don't go to parties anymore and I've been making excuses every time he asked me out these last few weeks.

Perhaps Dillon was right. Maybe I should spend more time with him and tonight is as good as any since he won't be home much this weekend.

I get up and take a peek at my phone to look at the time. It's just after ten. It's not too late to go to that party.

A different kind of guilt quickly rises as I think of going to a party when my grandmother isn't well.

I went to see my grandmother earlier. Her condition hasn't improved one bit nor has she gotten any worse.

I try to squish the guilt down as I look through my closet. I need to get out of this house, even just for a little while. It'll be good to clear my head. Maybe I'd go see Dillon and my friends just for a little bit. I won't stay too long.

The night is cold, so in the end, I choose to wear a simple, long-sleeved, black rib-knit dress. It's figure-hugging and ends a few inches above my knees. I pair it with knee-high black boots over long black socks.

The only jewelry I have on me other than my diamond stud earrings is the one that's been in the family for generations- a big, oval, rose gold locket hanging from a long gold chain around my neck. It's engraved with the initials KC in cursive letters. It stands for Katherine Chastain. Chastain is my grandmother's maiden's name and Katherine Chastain was her mother. My grandmother gave the necklace to me when I was thirteen.

I brush my hair, apply a few strokes of mascara to my eyelashes, a layer of crimson red lipstick to my lips, and I'm done.

"Sweet dreams, Yokai. I'll be back soon." I give Yokai a quick stroke before I grab my purse, phone, and keys.

The door creaks when I open the door of my bedroom. All the lights on the third level of the house are off, but thankfully, the chandelier above the landing of the staircase is on. It's dim, but it gives me enough light.

There's that feeling of being watched again as I make my way down the hallway and down the wooden staircase. My heart starts to pound faster in my chest and the hair at the back of my neck stands on end. The sound of my footsteps seems too loud- loud enough to wake up the dead. It echos through the massive stairwell and the open foyer.

Fear coats my body and mind like thick, sticky tar. The feeling lasts all the way until I drive out of the front gate of the Blackwell Estate in the dark of the night.

It's not a long drive. It takes me just over twenty minutes to get to the Hammonds'.

Cars are parked on both sides of the Hammond's driveway all the way to the gated entrance when I get there. I have no choice but to park my car on the street, by the curb.