“I only see the souls caught in limbo—the ones that are caught between this world and what lies ahead.” Everyone is silent for a moment and Ike steps toward me.
“Tell them. Tell them about me.” Tears roll down my face because I know how emotional everyone is about to get. I know George will be upset, and Ike will be one step closer to leaving this world. Everything will be different, and I dread it won’t be in a good way.
“Casey Purcell,” I say her name and everyone almost leans forward. “I lied to you, Henry. I told you I found her by accident. The truth is Casey showed me where her body was. Her family was falling apart, and she couldn’t crossover until she knew they’d be okay. They couldn’t grieve for her because they were still holding on to that last shred of hope she was out there and alive somewhere.”
The room is silent. No one really knows what to say. “Keep going,” Ike urges.
“After I dropped that letter in the mail, I kept driving. I had no idea what I was doing, or where I was going. I had no money, and I realized how lonely I was. My life had become nothing but helping the dead. I hadn’t even tried to settle anywhere. I mean, my own family didn’t believe me, so why would anyone else?” I inhale slowly before moving on to the next part. It’s not easy to admit how weak I was—and still am. “My truck ran out of gas by Anioch Bridge, and I made the decision I was going to end it. I didn’t want to live anymore, not the way I was anyway. So I climbed onto the railing of the bridge, and I was going to jump in and let the river drag me under and away.”
My father stands and gasps, “Charlotte,” but immediately sits when Sniper steps toward him. “Honey, you should have come home. I know you think we’re awful, that we treated you wrong, but we love you, Charlotte.” I don’t meet his eyes. I can’t. It’s still the same man that thinks I’m crazy . . . that I’m delusional.
“Why didn’t you do it?” George asks, and everyone snaps their heads up and eyes him. His arms are crossed and he’s looking at me like he doesn’t trust me—like the way I’ve feared he’d look at me when he found out about everything.
Swallowing hard, I feel a firm hand squeeze my shoulder. Looking back, I find Sniper’s warm eyes and he nods once. “Someone stopped me,” I admit as my gaze moves to Ike.
“I’m so glad I was there,” he tells me, closing his eyes, as if the thought of if he hadn’t been there pains him.
“It was Ike,” I say, quietly, and everyone except my father gasps in unison. Before anyone can speak, I continue to explain what Ike said, and how he led me to town and told me who to talk to and where to go.
“We made a deal,” I explain. “He’d help me find a job and a place to stay, and I’d help him with his unfinished business.”
“And what was his unfinished business?” George snarls.
The room is uncomfortably quiet; everyone’s eagerly awaiting Charlotte’s answer to George’s question. With eyes shimmering with tears, she meets his hard, unforgiving gaze. Her lips tremble when she tells him, “You, George. You’re his unfinished business.” My brother’s arms fall to his side and his expression becomes stoic. He has no idea what to think or say, so he goes blank. “You know you were in bad shape,” she tells him, but doesn’t elaborate on the drugs. She doesn’t want to out him in front of our family. “He can’t leave until he knows you’re okay. He’s been here the entire time, watching you—all of you.” She stares nervously across the room. My father stands and moves to sit near my mother, taking her shaky hand in his. Oh, Mom.
“I know you’re all thinking this is crazy and impossible. That’s what I thought at first, too,” Sniper steps in to defend her. “But she told me things only Ike would know . . . things we joked about or did in the army. She’s telling the truth. She can communicate with Ike. He’s here, right now.”
“You knew she was . . .” George stops. He wants to say ‘crazy,’ but thinks better of it.
“That night you got beat up,” Sniper tells him. “That’s when I found out.”
“You got beat up?” my mother squawks as she turns to look at George. “Honey, you said you fell down the stairs.” I never wanted my mother to find out how bad things had become for George.
“So you’re telling me you can speak with Ike? Right here, right now?” Cameron jumps in, and I think he believes her. Or at least he wants to. He’s always been open-minded, and at this moment, I couldn’t be more grateful for that.
“Tell Cameron I hid my porno magazines in my closet. There’s a little cutout over the shelf. Tell him to go get them,” I say, with a nervous chuckle. And she repeats it to him, but not before she gives me a pointed look that says, Really? Cameron jumps up and dashes up the stairs, eager to either prove Charlotte is the real deal, or to retrieve the porn for later. I’m not sure which he’s more excited about.