Chapter 13 - Maroon Dress in the Doorway
We heard her shoes before we saw her. That low sound on the dark floor, steady and unhurried, coming down the hallway toward the open double doors.
Milo heard it first. He turned his head sharp toward the warm light at the end of the hall and his whole body went stiff. Mom's hand tightened around mine. She had been whispering my name over and over like she was trying to memorize it, and when that sound reached her, she stopped breathing.
Evelyn stepped into the doorway.
She was still wearing the sleeveless maroon dress, her pulled-back hair neat like she had just checked it. Her face was controlled, not surprised. She looked at the open doors, at the brass handles, at Milo with the key still in his hand, at me pressed against our mother, and she did not raise her voice.
"Give that to me," she said.
Nobody moved. The hallway felt smaller with her standing in it, blocking the light. Behind her the floral wallpaper with the red and green flowers looked too bright, too normal. The tear beside the doors seemed to pulse where the blood had dried dark.
Milo stepped in front of us. He held the brass key tight behind his back and lifted his chin the way he had that first evening when he stood up to her. His dark top was wrinkled where Mom had grabbed him.
"No," he said.
Evelyn looked at him for a long second. I saw her jaw work once. Then she held out her hand, palm up, steady.
"Milo. Now."
"It's our mom," he said. His voice shook but he didn't move. "You locked her in there."
Evelyn's eyes flicked to our mother on the floor of that narrow space behind the doors. Mom tried to pull me closer. Her arm was thin and cold, and her blonde hair stuck to her cheek with sweat. She looked up at Evelyn and whispered, "Please don't."
Evelyn ignored her. She stepped forward and grabbed for Milo's arm. He twisted away and tried to run past her with the key, toward the hallway. I thought for a second he would make it.
She caught the back of his shirt and yanked him hard. The fabric snapped. He stumbled and hit his shoulder against the wood trim beside the doors. He made a small gasp, not a cry, and went down to one knee. The brass key slipped from his fingers and rang against the dark floor.
I screamed his name before I could stop myself.
Evelyn picked up the key. She closed her fist around it and looked at me. That stern face didn't change, but her breathing was faster now.
"Come here, Nora," she said.
Mom held me tighter. "Don't let her take you," she whispered into my hair. Her voice was rough. "Stay with me."
I shook my head and clung to Mom's sleeve with both hands. My light shirt had pulled loose and my hands were shaking. I could smell dust and old wood from inside that space, and blood.
Evelyn crossed the last step and gripped my wrist. Her fingers were warm and hard. She pulled, and Mom pulled back, and for a second I was stretched between them. Pain shot up my arm.
"Let go," Evelyn said to Mom, low and flat. "You are scaring her."
"You're hurting her," Mom said. She didn't let go. She looked at me, eyes wet. "Hold on, baby. Hold on to me."
Milo pushed himself up from the floor, his face white. He grabbed at Evelyn's arm with his good hand. "Leave her alone," he said, louder this time.
Evelyn shoved him back with her elbow without even looking. He hit the door frame again and stayed down, holding his shoulder, breathing through his teeth. I tried to reach for him, but Evelyn dragged me a full step away from Mom, then another. My shoes slid on the floor.
She knelt just enough to get her face level with mine, still holding my wrist. Her pulled-back hair had loosened a strand.
"If you go back in there, those doors close," she said. "I will lock them. She stays inside. You stay out here with me. Do you understand?"
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Behind her, Mom crawled forward to the threshold, her hand out. "Nora," she called.
Milo tried to get up again. He couldn't lift his arm right. Evelyn stood, the brass key flashing in her hand, and turned toward the open double doors with me pulled tight against her side.
