The Haunting Of Hastings House

Chapter 26

Copyright © 2023 by – Brynn Morgan – All Rights Reserved.
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It was a night of fear in the Griffin household. Lainie, too afraid to be alone, crept into Bella's bed and tried to rest soundly. Unluckily, Emily was awakened from a horrible dream. In it, she had been in Hasting's house on the top floor hallway, which was completely dark.

Suddenly, a door at the end of the hall began to creak open, letting out a beam of moonlight. Out glided an apparition; it stopped in mid-air and gazed at Emily with lifeless eyes. She stumbled backward but could not escape as the ghost kept coming closer and closer to her. Death seemed inevitable until she suddenly woke up. Her t-shirt was soaked with sweat, and her heart, racing wildly in her chest. The dream scared her badly, so she decided to curl up next to Davis, who was sleeping soundly on his pallet. He instinctively turned around and wrapped his protective arms around her body while she snuggled against him. Peaceful sleep followed.

Clarrisa and her siblings were going to do a purifying ritual when the moon was full, which was the next night. Lainie announced this to Davis and Emily during breakfast before they started their day. She had taken some extra vacation days off work for Bella so she could get some clothes that fit her as she was growing quickly. Meanwhile, Davis drove to a nearby farm to look at recently born foals.

Emily chose to stay in the house and went online on the desktop to look for a job and a place to live, but all she found were closed doors. She had not finished any college education, and these days, you need one to have an established job with good pay.

At age 19, she had completed nearly two years of community college before having to abandon it due to her alcoholic mother losing her job because of too many absences. Emily had no choice but to find employment so that their family would survive. She applied for full-time work in a bookstore, and there she met Luke Buchannan.

It was love at first sight, and he began coming around every afternoon to study in the store's lounge area. He asked her out after closing time, and she agreed without hesitation. He treated her with respect, giving her flowers and boxes of chocolate candy.

Half a year later, Luke popped the question, and she said yes. Despite her mother's strong objection and guilt-tripping tactics, Emily still chose to accept. Luke told her straight-up that she was enabling her mother's unruly behavior; this had been true since her father left them when she was just a little girl because of her mom's drinking. He said that nothing would change until Emily stopped letting her mother walk all over her.

The couple decided to move to Columbia, South Carolina, where Luke had just finished college and gotten an IT job at a call center. Her mother flew into a rage as Emily announced their plans at the dinner table. "You are just going to abandon me like this? After I did so much for you?" Her voice grew increasingly shaky. Emily quietly got up from the table and started carrying plates over to the cramped kitchen, but her mom followed close behind. "It says in the Bible that you have to honor your parents!" She tried another tactic to stop Emily from leaving. "God won't take kindly to how you're treating me!"

Whenever it suited her purpose, her mama would always mention what the Scripture said. Without turning around, Emily continued with what she was doing. Her mom shoved her shoulder and made Emily drop all the dishes onto the floor. Even though she felt anger boiling inside of her, she kept her composure and spoke slowly. "Wait a year!" She smiled softly, connivingly. "I will gladly give y'all my blessing at that time!" She said in a cheerful voice, but that had an undertone of desperation.

"Mom, using guilt is not going to work. I am marrying Luke, and that is final." Emily picked up the dinner plates and made her way through the kitchen.

"But how will I survive without you? You do not even care, do you? Going off to Columbia with a man you barely know, leaving me behind!" Her mother broke into sobs, though Emily had heard all this before.