CHAPTER ELEVEN
I stared at him in silence and after a few minutes he turned around. His eyes were closed and his breathing was heavy. When he reopened his eyes, they were back to their normal hazel color with sapphire rings.
“Annabelle…”
“What was that?”
He shook his head and looked away.
I stepped into his line of sight. “Your eyes… they were…”
“I have to go,” he blurted, starting for the tree line.
I followed after him. “Why? We just got here.”
“Another time,” he said without pause.
I opened my mouth to say something, anything that would stop him from leaving; but before I could get a word out the wind picked up and blew my hair over my face. I brushed it back only to find myself standing alone just outside the forest edge on the property I once called home.
He was gone. I looked hard in every direction, but I couldn’t catch a single glimpse of him. It was as though he had disappeared into thin air.
I walked back through the forest, alone. I guess I could’ve call Uncle Felix, but I didn’t feel like answering a million questions on the ride home. Besides, I needed to clear my mind.
By the time I reached the town square the questions had doubled and my mind was more wary than ever. I couldn’t make sense of any of it, not the eyes, or the anger, or the disappearing act; and the more I thought about it the more I yearned for the truth.
My gaze immediately found the bookstore at the corner of the town square. I remembered Carter telling me it was a family business, and this was where his father Darius had found me the night of the incident in the woods. He must be the one who tends the shop while Carter’s at school. I doubted that he would be able to help me, but I found myself cutting through the square and heading there anyway.
I reached the boardwalk that lined parallel to the road, linking the strips of stores together. Wood beams supported verandas, which displayed the company name to each tiny unit. The bookstore was the very first store on the right. I had almost landed my foot on the boardwalk when a familiar voice sounded from the alley next to me.
I paused and listened harder. It was Carter. He was talking to someone inside the store, probably unaware that the backdoor was wide open.
I hadn’t meant to ease drop, or perhaps I had, but once I had started there was no turning back.
“You should’ve told me!” Carter shouted.
“Calm down, son,” Darius said. “It’s not what you think. It couldn’t be.”
“But she’s from Burnwood.”
I jumped at the sound of his footsteps approaching until I realized he had only begun to pace.
“There are tons of people from Burnwood and still not one of us,” Darius chortled.
There was that phrase again, “one of us,” but now the meaning was distorted. I had believed that it meant I was a townie, an original Burnwood born, but now the ‘us’ they spoke about was clearly something much different.
“But something is different about her,” said Carter.
“Perhaps your feelings for this girl have clouded your judgment. Maybe you want her to be something she clearly isn’t. I mean, just look at her blonde hair and blue eyes. She can’t be one of us.”
Carter stopped pacing and the room fell silent. I held my breath, frozen in place.
“I know, but I swear I can sense it, feel it even.”
Darius sighed. “Is this about your mother?”
“What!?” said Carter. “This has nothing to do with that woman.”
“Are you sure? Because it sounds like your desire to be connected to this outsider stems from the fear that she may reject you like your mother did us.”
“She’s not an outsider!” Carter nearly shouted. “Would you have called mom an outsider?”
“I wouldn’t have, and look where that got us.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Carter sighed. “I can never tell her and you know it.”
“It’s for the best son.” There was a long pause before Darius continued. “Some secrets are better left as secrets.”
I had heard enough. I went to the bookstore for answers and all I had now was a heavier burden of questions. I was confused and somewhat angry.
I turned and ran from the store. I wasn’t sure where I was headed, but it really didn’t matter. I had nowhere to go and all the time in the world to ponder over Carter’s conversation with his father, which almost made me forget about the weird eye thing from earlier that day. Almost.
What had they meant about me not being one of them? And, what on earth did it have to do with my hair and eyes? Sorry if mine don’t glow red when I’m mad. God, that was weird.
“Annabelle!”
I jumped at the sound of my name.
“Sorry,” Jane said as she jogged up beside me. “I was calling your name, didn’t you hear me?”
I shook my head clear and looked around. I was just outside the fenced perimeter of the school yard. “Oh sorry. My mind is elsewhere.”
“You okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Jane stopped and I followed suit. Her eyes narrowed on me as she shifted her weight on to one leg and rested one hand on her hip. “What’s wrong?”
I sighed. “Rough day.”
“I see,” she said. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”
“Home is the furthest place from my mind.”
Jane’s face lit up like a light bulb, her full light pink lips pulling into a smile. “I know what you need. Girls night!” she gleamed.
“Isn’t it a school night?”
She frowned. “You really need to get with the flow around here. It’s Burnwood. We all live minutes away from each other. We go to the same school and have single-parent families. Learn to use it to your advantage.”
I shrugged. “I’ll try, but I doubt my uncle will go for it.”
Jane smiled. “I bet he will.”
Jane drove me home, insisting that she would be influential in persuading Uncle Felix. I wasn’t completely confident in her powers of persuasion, but she did manage to get me to a bonfire in the middle of nowhere after only 30 minutes of conversation on our first encounter, and that had to count for something.
Jane pulled up to the house and parked on the street.
“I guess we’ll have to wait a bit,” I said, glancing at the empty driveway.
Jane shrugged. “Trish won’t be ready for an hour or so anyway.”
I frowned.
“I know, I know, but I couldn’t say no to her. She and Cruz got into it again and I didn’t want her to be alone.”
I shrugged. “It’s fine. I would’ve done the same thing for a friend. Besides, even Trish couldn’t make this day any worse.”
Jane laughed. “Well, let’s not challenge her.”
“Probably a good idea.”
We went inside and raided the kitchen before retreating to my room. I placed the rice chips and little baggies of precut veggies on my nightstand, and Jane held the dip in between us on the bed.
Jane dipped a slice of red bell pepper into the dip and bit into it. “So, are you going to tell me what happened today?”
The question gave me pause. Where was I to start? I couldn’t tell her about the nightmares and I wasn’t ready to let on that I was a townie, and she already knew about the allergic reaction to the flowers, if that was indeed what it was. Still, that wasn’t what troubled me the most.
“Jane, you’ve lived here your whole life, right?”
“Yep,” she replied through a mouth full of broccoli. “Every damn boring day of it.”
“Do you know anything about a secret club or society that consists of people born in Burnwood… and don’t have blonde hair or blue eyes?”
She arched her brow and stared at me like I was insane, which I was starting to question myself.
“Blonde hair and blue eyes?” she asked.
The question did s
ound peculiar, but Darius said that it had something to do with why I couldn’t possibly be one of them, whoever one of them is.
“Any kind of organization at all?”
I hoped that refining the question made it sound less crazy.
She shook her head. “No, there hasn’t been anything like that in decades.”
I snapped into a piece of celery. “What do you mean?”
“There was some kind of council formed in the 1600s by Burnwood’s founding families. We celebrate it every year in October. It’s called the Red and Black Lantern Festival.”
“What happened to the council?”
She shrugged. “I kind of failed history class last year. I’m going to retake it next semester.”
“You could move your schedule around and take it this semester with me,” I suggested. “Then I can help you.”
“Really? You’d do that for me?”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course I would. What kind of friend would I be if I let you fail a second time?”
She laughed. “The kind of friend I already have plenty of.”
“Trish?”
“Not just her.” Jane shifted uncomfortably. “I guess it’s all of them. Trish is self-absorbed, but at least I know her well enough to understand why she’s like that. Cruz is too busy chasing girls and playing football to be anything other than egocentric and Carter and Alec have some kind of bromance that none of us have ever managed to get in on.”
I laughed. “I didn’t know Carter and Alec were that close.”
“Best friends since they were 6 years old.”
“Six?” I asked. “Doesn’t kindergarten begin at 5?”
“Yeah, it does, but they didn’t start until they were 6 for some reason. Probably too dumb,” she said and we both giggled.
I heard the sound of an engine outside and went over to the window to check the driveway.
“He’s home,” I said, feeling a knot begin to form in my stomach.
Jane bounced up from the bed and skipped over to the door. “It will be fine. Remember, positive thoughts only.”
I followed her downstairs already feeling defeated, but at least I wouldn’t be let down when he said no. He always said no.
Felix stepped inside as we reached the landing. His eyes had dark circles beneath them and his hair was disheveled. I knew he hadn’t been sleeping well, but from the looks of him, it seemed like he wasn’t sleeping at all.
“You okay?” I asked, looking him over.
He attempted a smile, but it was more like a twitch. “Just another long day at the office.”
I remembered how Carter had told me he hadn’t known of any law office in Burnwood.
“Interesting.” I placed my hands on my hips. “What law office would this be?”
He narrowed his eyes on me and was silent. Was he trying to read me?
“I’m just wondering because I’ve never actually seen it.”
“Why would you need to do that?” he asked, still eying me with a seriousness that would’ve sent me running for cover a few weeks ago, but not now. Not with all the questions I had.
“What if I want to bring you lunch?”
“I usually have meetings with clients during lunch.”
“Well, what if I just want to pop by and say hi?”
“You know I’m rarely in the office since I have to drive into town for court.”
“Well, what if there’s an emergency?”
“I have a cellphone, Annabelle.”
“Well, what if you aren’t answering…”
“Whoa,” said Jane, stepping in between the two of us. “Hi, I’m Jane, a friend of Annabelle’s from school.”
Felix continued to eye me silently for a moment before shaking his head and turning to Jane.
“Hi Jane. I don’t mean to be rude, but I have a ton of work to get to right now.” He held up his brown leather briefcase and shook it from side to side so that the contents banged around loudly.
“I completely understand,” Jane beamed. “And, being that you guys are new here I am sure you have plenty of work to catch up on. Perhaps Annabelle can spend the night at my house. I know it’s a school night, but us Burnwood girls have the privileged of living so close to one another that it won’t interfere with our attendance. And, it would be an excellent opportunity for Annabelle to make a few new connections and well…”
“Sure,” he said, cutting Jane short. “I can assume it will be chaperoned?”
I paused. Was this some kind of sick joke? Was he going to pull the plug on me once I took the bait? It must be a trick.
“Of course,” Jane replied, batting her long brown eyelashes. “My brother Lamar will be home and he’s really responsible.”
Felix glanced my way. “It will be good for you to spend some time with your new friends.”
Who is this man standing in front of me? Whoever he is, my real uncle is going to kick his ass for allowing me to attend a slumber party after only having just met the girl.
I eyed him suspiciously, but he held my gaze firmly. I’m not sure what I had expected, possibly a wavering glance or a smirk of some sort, anything that would give away what was really going on inside his head, but nothing happened.
“Annabelle,” Jane said with a nudge. “We should get going.”
“Yeah,” I said, keeping my gaze firmly on Felix. “So, I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow?”
I watched him carefully, but his expression didn’t waver. Instead, he nodded and walked off to the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” Jane whispered, pulling me out of the house by my arm.
“What?”
“You were practically taunting him to say no.”
“Well, don’t you think that’s weird? I mean, I have been on three slumber parties in my life and each one he stayed parked outside the house overnight.”
Jane’s eye widened. “That’s disturbing.”
“Exactly!” I exclaimed. “No, something is definitely wrong here. I’m going to find out what it is.”
I turned on my heels and headed back to the front door, but Jane caught my arm and stopped me.
“Are you crazy?” she asked. “You just got a get out of jail free card and you’re going to throw it away just to settle your curiosity?”
I looked back at the door and then to Jane. “I guess it can wait until tomorrow.”
Jane threw her hands up and started for the car. “Finally, she buys a vowel. Eureka!”
We drove down the block and I watched the house get smaller and smaller until I could no longer make out its shape through the passenger side mirror. I couldn’t get Felix’s peculiar behavior out of my head. His docile, complacent demeanor couldn’t be any further from the man I’ve known my entire life. The worst part about it all was that I was willing to take advantage of him during what is probably some kind of midlife crisis.
“We’ll meet Trish at my house,” Jane said glancing down at the digital clock mounted just above the stereo. “Actually, she’s probably already there.”
I glanced over my shoulder before we turned the corner and got one last glimpse of the house. “You don’t think it was kind of horrible what I just did back there, do you?”
She arched her brow.
“You know,” I continued. “Taking advantage of my uncle like that. Something is clearly wrong with him and I left anyway.
“Wow, your moral compass seriously points north, huh?”
I frowned and her expression softened.
“You wouldn’t be a normal teenager if you didn’t. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure he’s fine. Maybe he even wants you gone,” she said.
I stiffened. “You think he wants me gone. Why? Do you think he’s sick of having to take care of me? You know, he’s done it since I was 3 years old. Maybe you’re right. Maybe he wants a life of his own, one with a wife and kids, and he thinks I’m getting in the way of that. He probably does want me gone.”
Jane’
s expression sickened and she went quiet for a moment. “I was just thinking he looked pretty tired and anyone would be agreeable under those conditions.”
“Oh,” I said letting the panic and tension drain from my body.
Jane pulled into her driveway, parking behind a canary yellow Jeep.
“Are you saving this space for Trish?” I asked, gesturing to the empty parking spot beside me.
She smirked. “Nope, I’m blocking in Lamar’s Jeep.”
I shook my head. “What’s up with you guys anyway? I know sibling rivalry is common, but you two… I don’t know. You two act like…”
“Like were not related?”
I hadn’t considered that possibility, but now that she mentioned it, it was quite fitting.
“Because were not,” she continued. “Not really anyway.”
Her eyes darkened as she spoke and I hadn’t expected her to continue, but she did, speaking over her shoulder as we made our way to the front door.
“He’s my father’s child… from another woman if you catch my drift.”
“Oh,” I said, my feet suddenly still.
“Yeeeah,” she said, dragging the word out. “So, my mother left and my dad works out of town so often that I’m practically in the care of the person who ruined my family.”
“But, he’s older than you… so how,” I stopped, not sure how to deliver the question.
“That he is,” she said. “Now only had my father told us about him before, I don’t know, two years ago!”
“What?” I blurted out. “How on earth…”
She shoved open the front door and stepped inside. “My thoughts exactly.”
We had just made it to Jane’s room when her cell phone chimed. She reached into her back pocket and pulled it out.
“Oh great!” she scowled. “Just what I need.”
“What is it?”
“It seems like Trish decided to make a detour on her way.”
“Where?” I asked, confident that I already knew the answer.
Jane shook her head. “Cruz’s house… and now she’s at the sheriff’s station.”
My mouth dropped open. “What did she do?”
“I don’t know, the text was from Cruz. Come on, we’ve gotta go get her. At least I think that’s what we should do. I’m really starting to question it though.”
The sheriff’s station was a small brick building with two windows and a glass door. It was a few blocks south of the town square and looked oddly out of place next to the laundry mat.
Jane entered first and I followed. Inside, Trish was sitting at a chair in front of the sheriff’s desk looking disheveled and irritated. The sheriff, on the other hand, leaned back in his chair with one leg resting over the other, completely disengaged.
Their conversation stopped midsentence as Jane and I stepped inside.
Trish flung her arms into the air. “Oh, just friggen fantastic… As if talking to Mr. Shit for Brains wasn’t enough.”
“Sheriff Pickerings,” Jane interposed. “What happened?”
Trish tossed her head back and laughed. “Like he has a clue.”
The sheriff leaned over the desk and pointed his finger at Trish. “Watch it Patricia. I only have so much patience in a day.”
Trish crossed her arms over her chest and sneered something inaudible.
The sheriff turned to Jane with a pleading expression. Jane nodded and grabbed Trish by the arm and hauled her into a room next to the sheriff’s desk.
She glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll just be a minute.”
It was odd to see how minor conflicts were handled in small towns. In the city, things would’ve been handled much differently. I suppose in a small town where everyone knows one another, people become fully invested into the lives of everyone around them. It’s almost like a very large family with everyone performing a very important role within the community.
I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of anger building inside me. Perhaps, had I not been ripped away from Burnwood at such a young age I would’ve been a part of this, and not just an outsider looking on enviously.
The sheriff sighed and then gestured at the seat across from him. “You can take a seat, Miss Kennedy.”
I didn’t feel like sitting, but I did anyway. He was a shorter man with grey hair and a round belly, precariously pushing against the buttons on his shirt. He kept his hat cocked down like he was in an old Western movie, but it suited him.
I sat down across from him and fidgeted with the hem of my sleeves. There was something nerve-racking about sitting before a police officer, even when you’ve done nothing wrong.
“This really couldn’t have worked out better for me,” he said.
I looked over my shoulder at the door to the room Jane took Trish into. “Is Trish getting arrested?”
“No,” he chortled. “I meant you showing up here. I’ve been meaning to follow up with you after the incident in the woods.”
The realization sunk in and I knew all too well what he was speaking of. I’m not sure how, but I had, up until that moment, put the memory out of my mind.
The images emerged from where I had tried to bury them deep within my subconscious; the ghostly white skin, the absent eyes, and the motionless body.
I felt a cold chill travel through my body.
“Oh,” I said blankly. “What do you need to know?”
“Just how you are… and if you remember anything else that you didn’t at the time.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
He nodded and tapped the head of his pen on top of the desk. “Well, you know where to go if something comes to mind.”
Finally, Jane and Trish emerged from the room. Jane eyed Trish impatiently, clearly waiting for something.
Trish rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry for calling you names and for destroying Mrs. H’s rose bed.” She paused and glanced over at Jane who wasn’t budging. “It won’t happen again.”
The sheriff didn’t seem convinced, but he did look tired, or perhaps annoyed.
“Just get her out of here,” he said.
Jane nodded and quickly hurried Trish out the door.
I started to follow, but turned back just shy of the doorway. “Sheriff, do you know what happened to that man in the woods?”
“Severe blood loss,” he said before turning his attention back to the pile of papers in front of him.
I left the office and joined Jane and Trish in the parking lot.
“Don’t you get it? He gave me those roses and then I find a whole boutique of them in Cindy Carson’s locker,” Trish scoffed. “She totally tried to deny it, but I would know those roses anywhere.”
Jane crossed her arms and stared up at the clear blue sky. She took a series of long, deep breaths before she looked back at Trish. “So you tore up his mother’s flowerbed?”
“Yes!” Trish said. “Now he won’t be giving those flowers to anyone.”
“Trish, there’s a silver lining to every cloud. Maybe you should start looking at life a little differently. You know, one door closing is another door opening.”
“I do see life like that.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Here, I’ll show you.” Trish shifted her weight onto one leg and continued. “So, Cruz giving Cindy Slutty Carson those roses means that he is no longer interested in the blue-eyed beauty anymore.” Trish turned her piercing gaze on me.
Jane grumbled something under her breath and then stomped off to her car. I didn’t bother to give Trish the satisfaction of getting under my skin. In fact, in comparison to the morning I had today, this evening was coming along quite nicely.
“Shotgun!” Trish said, flashing her sinister smile my direction before skipping over to the car.
I slipped into the backseat of the car and rested my legs across the empty seat beside me. Jane continued to mumble unintelligibly during the short drive back to her house. She even threw a few hateful looks in from time
to time, but her mood seemed to lighten when we pulled into the driveway. The yellow Jeep was gone.
“Well that’s a relief,” said Jane as she parked diagonally across the driveway.
I was sure she couldn’t see me, but I shook my head disapprovingly anyway. The feud between those two was something out of a horror movie, and I had the feeling this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Jane and I made our way to the house, pausing halfway up the path to wait for Trish to finish pursing her lips in front of the rearview mirror as she touched up her lipstick.
Jane showed us to her bedroom, a pink-walled room with a queen-sized four-post bed frame. The dresser was black, matching the rest of the furniture, and there were two black and white beanbag chairs positioned in front of the mounted flat screen TV hanging on the wall parallel to her bed.
Trish immediately flopped down on the bed and pulled out her cell phone.
“Trish, please tell me you’re not texting Cruz,” Jane said.
Trish laughed. “No need. He’ll text me soon enough.”
Jane and I shared a quick doubtful look, but said nothing. Trish was clearly clinging to her delusions and trying to tear her from them would be a monumental failure.
“Annabelle, would you help me with the snacks?” asked Jane.
I nodded and tailed her to the kitchen.
“I’m sorry that girl’s night isn’t turning out the way I’d expected. She’s not always like this.” She reached into the pantry and pulled out a bag of chips. “This thing with Cruz has her acting like a crazy person lately. I never thought a summer fling could end so horribly.”
“Do an intervention. Get Cruz and Trish into the same room and lock it until they settle things.”
Jane paused, considering the suggestion.
“Jane… I wasn’t entirely serious. I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal.”
She shook her head as though to shake the thought loose. “Probably wouldn’t work anyway. They’re so damn stubborn.”
Jane opened the refrigerator and pulled out three vitamin waters, placing them on the counter beside the chips and a bulging bag of chocolate-covered almonds. “You think this will do?”
“Yep,” I said, snatching up the almonds.
I grabbed the bag of chips from the counter and we hurried back upstairs.
“Oh crap,” said Jane, stopping halfway up the staircase. “I forgot the Popsicles in the deep freeze.”
I piled the chips and almonds on top of the cradled bottles of water in her arms. “I’ll get them.”
She looked gratefully at me, like I had just offered her my kidney. “Thanks. There in the deepfreeze in the garage.”
I nodded and hurried downstairs. It didn’t occur to me that I didn’t know which door led to the garage, so I decided on the process of elimination. The first door I check was the laundry room, which was remarkably tidy. The next door revealed a second staircase to what I presume was the basement. Lastly, I found the garage and something I didn’t expect at all.