The Haunted (Sarah Roberts 12) Read Online Free PDF Page A

car outside, she said, “Lilies. There’s a graveyard. The flowers are beside a headstone.”
     
    It was all she could think of. Yesterday’s visit to Vivian’s grave. The lilies.  
     
    “And finally, a storm,” Dr. Williams said. “Tell me where the storm is in relation to the cube. What kind of storm and how intense is it?”
     
    Taking her eyes off the window, she envisioned a storm. “There’s a storm over the cube, directly above it. Dark black clouds, lightning. It’s always there, never wavering. It rains on and off, and sometimes it pours, but the blackness never leaves. It’s what ruined the ladder all these years. But that cube remains untouched.”
     
    His eyebrows raised a notch, then settled back down. His nose even flared. He continued to write on his pad.
     
    “Your turn,” she said. “What was that all about?”
     
    The Ford was still at the back of the lot. Nothing moved outside. The reflection of the sun still made it too hard to discern the color of the paint. It might be the guys from the cemetery yesterday, or it might not be. Or it might be paranoia. If it was, she was already in the right place.
     
    “Are you prepared for a few revelations?” Williams asked.
     
    “Sure. Hit me with it, Doc.” Sarah eased back in the chair and crossed her legs.
     
    This ought to be good.
     
    “The cube represents you and how you view yourself.”
     
    “Wow,” she said, uncrossing her legs and leaning forward. “That’s interesting.”
     
    “Yes,” Williams glanced at the pad in his lap. “Your self-esteem is represented by the size of the cube, which you said was decent-sized . Impenetrable steel. Light. But strong. You looking out those NASA windows, but not letting people see in too easily. As you age into your mid-twenties, nothing’s stopping you, harnessing you as the sand of the desert had no effect on the cube’s exterior. The sand is life and how it wears you down. Evidently, you feel the sands of time have given you a free pass for now. I’d be interested to ask you these questions in twenty years’ time. I imagine the cube would be vastly different.”
     
    “Who knows? You might be surprised by my answer then, too.” She leaned back in her chair. “That’s quite something. You got all that from the description of a cube?”
     
    “You gave all that to me.” He used his finger to find something on the page, then said, “The ladder represents friends in your life. They’re broken, and can’t be trusted, not a single rung, not a single one. The ladder was a distance away, too. That means you don’t have a lot of friends.”
     
    “I have Aaron and Parkman. That’s all I need.”
     
    “Who are they?” he asked.
     
    “Aaron’s my boyfriend, and Parkman and I work together on and off. We have for years. Ever since I was twenty-two.”
     
    “They’re not considered as friends in this. Aaron is your horse. A gorgeous black stallion, running, muscles rippling, but he does what he wants at times. As you said.”
     
    “I’ll say wow again. You’re really onto something. This is impressive.”
     
    For the first time since the idea came to her, she realized that this might have been a good move. Vivian had agreed with it, but in Sarah’s heart she still wasn’t sure. The therapist is another human being, one with struggles, and a troubled childhood most likely. Therapists spend their day buying groceries, dealing with irate drivers on the road and day-to-day stressors just like the rest of the human race. With everyone just trying to get through each day and enter the next alive and healthy, getting psychological help after what she had been through in her short life didn’t feel right somehow. But Vivian’s thoughts haunted her and there was nothing Vivian could do about it. So the idea of talking to someone had come up, and Sarah agreed reluctantly at first. Hence the idea of a two-month escape.
     
    “The flowers are the only one that disturbed