Screaming

I heard the screaming even before I made it out of the car. Really before I had made it to the top of the driveway. I knew it was my aunt and I had a fairly good idea of what was happening. She had probably found her artwork missing and under no circumstance was I going to tell her I was the one who sold it. I knew it was her favorite piece, but only I knew how much the piece was worth. 

But to my great shock, when I opened the front door, my aunt’s screams went from what I thought was fury to screams of joy. To my even greater shock, she had a new painting on the wall in place of the one I had sold. My mouth fell open and my confusion mounted. The only reason I had sold the painting in the first place was to save the house. The bank was threatening to take the house back because after my uncle’s death, my aunt fell into a deep depression and had stopped paying the mortgage. 

Before I could ask any questions, Miranda turned to me and smiled. Tears of joy were falling down her cheeks. My eyes shifted from her and the painting, wondering how she had managed to pull it off. Then the figure appeared in the door. Gus was back from the dead. And he knew exactly what I had done. And why. I turned and ran.