Chapter 6 - What Was Buried
The woman at the door shivers at the sound of the child's voice.
She takes one slow, limping step out of the shadows and onto the polished floor.
Her shoes are old canvas sneakers, one sole flapping loose with a wet slap.
Vanessa takes three rapid steps away from Julian, her eyes wide with terror as she stares at the woman.
"Julian..." Vanessa whispers, her voice shaking uncontrollably. "Who is that?"
Julian doesn't move. His face has gone the color of ash.
The mother ignores the guests, the cameras, the broken glass, and the ruined flowers.
She drops to her knees right at the edge of the service entrance.
Her thin arms reach out, extending across the space between them.
She opens her bruised hands, showing her empty, trembling palms.
"Lily-bug," the mother rasps, her voice raw, like someone who hasn't used her throat in months.
Lily pulls away from her father.
He doesn't stop her. He just places a supportive hand against her small back.
Lily’s patent leather shoes hit the wet floor runner.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She breaks into a run, her champagne dress billowing behind her.
She sprints past Julian, who stands frozen like a pillar of salt.
She leaps over the puddle of red wine and shattered crystal.
She throws her small body straight into the dirty brown jacket.
The mother wraps her thin arms around the child, crushing Lily to her chest.
She buries her bruised face in the child’s neck, weeping without sound, her shoulders heaving.
Lily reaches up, her small hands clutching the matted dark hair.
"You smell like wet rain," Lily whispers into the frayed jacket. "Not wrong perfume."
The father slowly stands up from the glass-littered floor.
He wipes his bloody hands on his trousers, turns around, and walks toward Julian.
He stops inches from the groom’s pale face, leaning in close.
May you like
"The police are already outside, Julian," the father says softly.
"And the cellar door is wide open."
