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She wasn't sure she would ever be able to forgive the pain Billy had caused their family. Those old wounds had been reopened, and the grieving process would start all over again. Right as Jenna began to fade away, Chloe closed the distance between them. She stood in the exact same place as Phoebe's sister.
The meaning wasn’t lost on Phoebe.
"Thank you,” Phoebe whispered into the cold air.
"You won't be thanking me when you see the credit card statement," Chloe murmured as she looked down at her jacket. The tip of the knife must have caught the fabric when she had used her stun gun. "Oh, and gloves. See?"
Phoebe nudged Chloe's shoulder after she had held up the glove that she had picked up from the ground. Phoebe had been thanking her sister for making sure that Chloe had become a part of her life, but it didn’t matter that Chloe had misunderstood. Jenna couldn't be here, but she had managed to give Phoebe the next best thing—a true friend.
Kenneth was already on the phone with his wife. There were so many discussions that needed to happen between them, but everything could wait until they had time to recover from today's events. Phoebe might not be able to forgive the man who had murdered her sister, but there was something to be said about understanding and compassion.
"Chloe, are you up for recording an episode for the podcast? Tomorrow morning?"
"Can we sleep in?" Chloe asked as they observed the scene before them. Chief Bennett had finally trekked around the pond and was now rolling Billy over into the snow so that he could cuffed before being transported to the station. "We deserve to sleep in, right?"
The wind began to pick up in a way that indicated Jenna was nearby. Phoebe had come full circle. While she dreaded having the ability to see the dead, she also feared never seeing her sister again.
"Is she gone?" Chloe murmured, clearly not wanting any of the officers to overhear her question.
"No," Phoebe replied with a small smile of relief. Jenna stood off to the side just as Billy was being escorted away by the chief. "I don't think she'll be leaving anytime soon. I think she'll wait around until she knows that I'm okay. Or maybe when I can somehow find it in myself to forgive."
"Let’s face it, Pheebs." Chloe cleared her throat as she glanced toward the area that held Phoebe's attention. " We're not normal, which means that we'll never truly be okay in the same sense as regular people going about their daily lives. I'm okay with that, though. Normal is overrated."
Jenna began to fade away once more, but Phoebe accepted that her sister wouldn't be too far away. She would remain on the edge of the shadows, waiting for those moments when her presence was required by the living.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Phoebe
Featherlight snowflakes drifted down onto the frozen pond. The winter sun highlighted the recent skate marks that were visible on the hard surface. It wouldn't be long until those same rays melted away the ice and warmed the water below.
"I hadn't realized just how much I missed skating," Phoebe said as she took a seat next to Chloe on the wooden pier. Steam rose from the thermos of hot chocolate that Lilith had prepared for them, and Chloe's silver bracelets jingled softly as she poured the hot beverage into the cap. "How is the elbow?"
"Probably black and blue," Chloe replied as scrunched her nose in disappointment. She carefully handed over the thermos while she kept the cap. "I really thought that I could still perform a two-foot spin."
Phoebe lifted the thermos to her lips to hide her smile. The attempt at such a maneuver hadn’t been graceful in the least, much to Chloe’s disappointment. Phoebe took a sip of the sweet, rich hot chocolate. Not even Chloe had complained about the excess marshmallows.
"So, are we still in agreement?" Chloe asked with a tilt of her head toward the camcorder beside her. "We'll record a fifteen-minute segment in honor of Jenna, but we aren't going to film an entire season nor mention your gift."
Phoebe wouldn't have called her ability to see the dead a gift a few months ago. Now? She was warming up to the idea that she could help those who still needed closure.
Phoebe had spent the day after Billy's arrest with her parents. Lilith had finally revealed stories about her own mother that she had withheld from Phoebe over the years. The difficulty and strain Nana had endured from the spirits around her had been heartbreaking, and Lilith hadn't wanted her daughter to go through the same experience.
Lilith had gone years believing that her mother had suffered from some type of mental illness. It was one of the reasons behind Lilith's decision to take Phoebe to therapist after therapist, hoping to avoid the same fate.
There was still a lot of healing on the horizon, but they had made a good start. Over the next few weeks, they would need to be by Aunt Trish's side, giving as much support as needed while she came to terms with her husband's crimes.
"Fifteen minutes," Phoebe agreed as she positioned the thermos in between her legs. "Oh, I forgot to mention that I stopped by the high school this morning."
Phoebe had driven home late last night so that she could sleep in her own bed. She had slept hard, too. Better than she had in a very long time. It was a good thing that she had set her alarm, or she might have slept the entire day away.
"And?" Chloe set her cup down beside her in exchange for the camcorder. "Was Francie still there?"
"I drove to the lookout point behind the football field. Francie was standing near the edge of the cliff, but she no longer had mud in her hair." Phoebe left out the description of the blood that had been caked to the side of the young woman's face. "Francie looked happy. Peaceful. Very much like Jenna. Would you mind taking a drive with me over to the marina later today? I think Ethan deserves to have his mother's necklace back."
Phoebe pulled her phone out from the pocket of her jacket. She couldn't prevent a smile at the sight of the display.
"You should let that hunk of a sheriff know that we'll be heading his way soon." Chloe laughed when Phoebe quickly turned her head at the news. "Didn't I tell you? 'Curse of Lovers' Leap' just added two new victims to its urban legend myth. I think we should check it out."
