The Haunting Of Hastings House

Chapter 15

By
Brynn Morgan

Copyright © 2023 by – Brynn Morgan – All Rights Reserved.
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Chapter 15

Lainie and Emily were both contemplative as they left the assisted care facility. This talk of (The Girl) had them shaken up, and Lainie had never heard anything about the girl from her mom before that day.
There was still some time before they met Clarissa at her apartment, so they went to a quaint coffee shop in town, sat down in the air-conditioned space, and had espressos and lemon muffins.

"Had you ever heard about the girl?" Emily asked Lainie.

Lainie stared out the shop window at people passing by on the sidewalk. "No. I never have. It came as quite a shock to me to hear her say that. I must remember Emily, that mom has dementia, and she is not a reliable source of information."

"She sounded pretty certain to me, Lainie."

Lainie took a sip of her coffee and shook her head.
"I am really trying to remember any conversations about the girl being mentioned by her, but I don't remember a single one."

Pulling her pad out of her bag, Lainie added (the Girl) to her list. "There is something that Mom said that really did bother me, though."

Emily looked at her questioningly. "What is that?"

"She said that the girl liked Bella and was angry when she was taken away."

"Right. I remember her saying that."

Lainie pinched some of the muffin top with her fingers and popped it into her mouth. "Now that I am thinking about it, I remember that Tristan had a fit with Bella before she died. Tristan lived there full time at the house with Bella because Majorie's health was going downhill, and she did not want to be alone. She liked Bella being in the house. She said that Bella was a breath of fresh air and chased away the shadows."

Emily got a chill, and it was not from the air conditioning.

Lainie's eyes widened. "Oh, my God." She said in a whisper.

Emily looked at her.

"I remember this one time that I went over to the Hastings House to pick up Bella for a doctor's appointment, and when I walked in, she was sitting on the bottom step and talking to someone like little kids do. I asked her who she was talking to, and she said she was talking to her friend. I figured that it was like an imaginary friend or something."

Emily was listening intently, and Lainie continued.

"I told her that we had to go, or we would be late for her doctor's visit, and she pitched a fit and ran out the door saying that she wasn't going, and she wanted to play with her friend."

"What did you do?" Emily asked.

"Tristan chased her down and forced her to get in the car that day. She was screaming and crying the whole way to the doctor's office. I was so stressed when I finally got her there."

Lainie was quiet as if she were thinking hard.

"Bella was making it hard on Tristan there for those few months. She flew into a rage one night when she made her go to bed early, and she scratched Tristan on the side of her face, drawing blood. She told her she was a mean mommy and did not want her to be her mommy anymore. I remember that Tristan called me crying. She did not know what to do with her at that point."

"So, what happened then?" Emily asked curiously.

"She decided it would be best to move in with Davis and me. Bella was becoming too much for her to handle, and she needed our help," Lainie told her.