Life Curse: Taber Blood I

Chapter 16

The bell rang, and seconds later, a swarm of students crowded the hall. Macey thought she'd get trampled by kids eager for playtime. Instead, she grabbed the exit door and held it open as the students fled by until she saw Jared. He was centered in a group of kids laughing while walking toward the exit. Seeing her son happy was the rescue she needed, a sign she's at least done one thing right. The week's end is nearing, but it felt more like months. The mansion, tree, lurker, Roxanna, and cult are exhausting. Adding the board members and redecorating the mansion may send her over the edge. But, looking at Jared, all the hard work is worth the effort. 

"Mom!" Jared said, staring up at her with a huge smile. Macey thought he'd be mad with her for not waiting in the car. Guess she earned new status after she punched Roxanna, making her the cool parent now. Macey wasn't sure that she wanted to give the students the wrong impression of dealing with bullies. But, Roxanna would not have learned to leave Jared alone by words. History proved Roxanna's persistent nature and how far she'd go to get her way when scorned. 

Macey remembered a time back in her high school years on a camping trip that ended before they spent the first night. Roxanna ignored calls to move away from the campfire. "You'll get hurt," someone had said. Roxanna laughed in the face of danger. Then, after she burned her arm, Macey asked her why she didn't heed the warnings. Roxanna shrugged her shoulders.

"Can't run away from danger, and I'm not a coward," she said. 

Macey wondered then and still questions whether it was bravery or the lack of common sense. Either way, Roxanna challenged what everyone else backed away from, the campfire, the abusive boys, the lead cheerleader who lost her rein to Roxanna. Even though Roxanna conquered all her battles, Macey suspected there was a war raging within her. She never learned the identity of Roxanna's true enemy or whether her bulldog ways resulted from internal or external conflict. Either way, Roxanna is a fighter driven to win despite the cost. 

Looking down at her son's face, Macey knew he was too young to understand the complex nature of Roxanna.  She smiled and said, "Hi," she almost said, sweetie but held her tongue. 

Jared and the other students surrounded her. One of them said, "Jared created cool art today."

"Oh yea, what art?" Macey said, looking at Jared.

"I painted a picture," Jared said, smiling at his mother. 

Normal is how Macey would describe this moment until Principal Tillinghast bellowed, "Mrs. Taber! I want to see you!" He approached fast, waving a large canvas in his hand. 

What now.

"Look what your son did," he said, shoving the canvas at her. 

Well, now, it is apparent Principal Tillinghast isn't heeding her warning. Macey smiled at Jared and then looked at the canvas. It was Jared's painting of the principal surrounded by ghosts. Macey's brows furrowed.  A vivid portrait of the principal would take years of skill, and Jared hasn't had one lesson in painting. Yet, she took in every detail, the mansion, the hand-painted tree, and Mr. Elijah Taber as a ghost. Each face painted with great skill, including Sarah Taber and other familiar faces from the paintings in the mansion foyer. How is this possible?

"Jared, you painted this," she said without prying her eyes from the canvas. 

"Yes." 

The hand-painted tree on the canvas was identical to the one at the mansion. Macey's mind reeled. Whoever painted the tree at the estate was gifted. She suspected Daniel. But now, seeing Jared's artwork Macey wasn't so sure anymore. Could Jared have painted his father and grandfather's names on the wall? Why didn't she think about it before? Hundreds of years of history are on that tree. Though she couldn't know who the original artist was, she now wondered how it remained consistent. Each decade of names was identical in its calligraphy and color, movement of branches all consistent. The artist was the same person, or the talent ran through the family. The latter being a logical albeit astounding discovery. If Daniel didn't paint the names on the wall, the rational person left would be Jared.