Devilish--Chapter Three

Jekko Beach was number three on my ‘Favorite Places in North Carolina’ list, with number one being my bedroom and number two being the X. We pulled into the parking lot at nine, the sun heating up the world around us and I was actually excited. Going to the beach had been a good idea, after all.

“We have arrived,” said Delaney, joy apparent. “Let’s go, then!” I broke into a smile and got out of the car, getting our bags from the back seat and locking my vehicle securely and we began the trek to the water. Our flip-flops slapped on the hot concrete and thudded when we got to the boardwalk, and I took mine off altogether when the grains of sand began invading my toes, grateful that it was still cool enough to touch. Later the sand would burn my feet like hot coals. I took in the wooden walk that was lined with sea grass that waved gently in the salty breeze and the waves that rushed up on the beach, pulling back at the exact moment they got too close. I loved this place so much. “Oooh, Rosie, look at all the hotties. We’re going to have some fun today,” Delaney said mischievously.

There were definitely an abundance of attractive guys out today, but not for me, for Delaney. “Sure thing, D,” I said sarcastically. She was an expert at picking up guys but I, on the other hand, hadn’t kissed a boy since I dated Tyler McAllister two years ago. I usually settled for being her foil, highlighting all of her good traits.

She nudged me with her elbow. “Don’t be such a Debbie Downer, darling.” I just laughed and kept walking.

By eleven the beach was packed. There were children and their parents, groups of teens, and the occasional grandma constricting the available space and driving Delaney and I into the less-occupied water. The waves washed over my feet and I dug them into the wet sand.

“Well isn’t this grand,” Delaney muttered. “’Come to the beach,’ I said. ‘We can tan,’ I said. And we lay out for five seconds and some brat drops his ice cream cone on my stomach. Jesus.”

“It’s the first day of summer, Delaney, it was bound to be crowded.”

She rolled her eyes all the way back in her head and crossed her arms, her amber hair blowing wildly around her. “Thank you for your words of comfort, Rose, I feel better.” Delaney squinted at me through the harsh sunlight and I just looked back at her, my hat shading me well.

“Quit that. We can always come back later in the summer, don’t forget.” Not even her sour mood could bring me down today. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the salty surf and looked up at the sky that was dotted with cottonball clouds. Today was a beautiful day—a rarity for somewhere so close to Calico.

“I suppose,” she grumbled. “Hey, I’m going for one of those ice cream cones, I think. Maybe I’ll find that little shit and drop it on his stomach, too. Do you want one?”

I tried not to smile but my mouth twisted into a half-grin. Delaney hated it when I laughed at her when she was upset but sometimes it was unavoidable. “No, I’m good, D. I’ll wait for you here.”

She glared at me. “Be back in ten.” And she sauntered out of the water and away from me, swinging her hips as she went. I saw at least three guys lower their sunglasses to look at her and I smiled. Delaney would be delighted to hear about that.

I looked around at all of the other beachgoers. There was an abundance of children in the water, but it still was less crowded here than on the sand. They splashed in the surf, jumping and shouting excitedly, embracing their summers. I understood the feeling completely; the best days of summer were the few days right after the end of school when you haven’t gotten tired of being home all day, every day yet.

Suddenly something changed and an uncomfortable feeling came over me making me shiver despite the warmth of the sun. The feeling you get when you’re being watched. I scanned the choppy water quickly for anyone I might know and saw no one but children and their parents flopping around in the ocean, and I casually turned to examine the beach. There were tons of people laid out on the sand and it could’ve been any one of them. Just as I was about to write the sensation off as paranoia left over from last night my eyes landed on a semi-familiar face. Abe, smirking at me from beneath a colorful umbrella. I considered pretending I hadn’t seen him and turning back to the sparkling ocean but my curiosity –and my anger—got the best of me. I needed answers and there was no guarantee I’d get them from Wren any time soon, if ever at all. And, if anything should happen, the beach was crowded enough that there would be plenty of eye-witnesses to the crime.

I dragged my feet through the cool water and walked up to him, the sand clumping on my wet feet, slowing me down. Abe was out of place entirely, a dark spot to the bright backdrop of the rest of the beach.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded when I was within earshot, my arms crossed. Seeing the face of my attacker ignited a fury in me, making everything go fuzzy and blur at the edges. “Who are you?”

“What? Who are you?” Abe asked back, bewildered. Except Abe wasn’t Abe at all. I’d just yelled at a middle-aged man, his two children hugging his hairy legs. His wife stared daggers at me from a towel behind him.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry,” I mumbled, completely embarrassed. “Sorry.” I turned away from the family, wanting to leave them behind as soon as possible despite their confusion. They probably thought I was insane for sure, but I could’ve sworn—I knew—that I’d seen Abe there without a doubt. Blood rushed to my cheeks making them as red as my bikini, if not more. I debated on going back to stand in the water but the thought of the man’s accusing eyes on me changed my mind. Off to hunt for Delaney, I went.

After I left the sand and got onto the boardwalk things didn’t seem nearly as crowded and doubt trickled into my mind. I probably hadn’t seen Abe at all; I just thought I did. And there had been some foggy haze laying over the moment I’d found him…it was probably in my head. Now that things were clear again I realized how highly improbable it was, thinking I’d find him here. I sighed in relief and focused on finding Delaney.

The overpriced vendors sporting colorful signs and their workers stood casually enjoying the sea breeze that blew the heat of the sun away. Delaney was standing at an ice cream stand toward the end of the boardwalk and I walked up to her.

“Hey, D, what happened to you?” I asked. I hadn’t realized it until right then but she’d been gone for over fifteen minutes. She gave a flirty laugh that confused me for a moment until I saw the guy standing next to her, leaned back on the railing revealing washboard abs and low-slung swim trunks. He was the epitome of the kind of guys Delaney liked: tall, blond, toned, and probably stupid.

“Sorry darling, I got sidetracked.” She turned to her new friend. “Jude, this is my friend Rose, the one I was telling you about. She’s lovely, isn’t she?” I blushed again. Sometimes Delaney needed to just not speak.

Jude gave me an appreciative look up and down and I curled my arm around my body, wishing I hadn’t left my cover-up on the beach. Suddenly my bikini felt way too small, too revealing. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said, offering a tan hand.

I took it in my own and shook twice. “You too.” Delaney laid a hand on my arm.

“Yeah, Jude was just telling me about this bonfire on Wednesday at the south end of Jekko. I was thinking maybe we could go,” she said. Even though she’d posed it like a question I knew without a doubt it wasn’t. She silently begged me to give in.

I did so with a sigh. “Sure, that sounds fun. What time?” I asked Jude. If push came to shove I could always just back out.

“We’re lighting up at nine,” he said with a smile worthy of a Hollister model.

Delaney beamed back and spoke for both of us. “We’ll be there!” I wanted desperately to snuff out her excitement but I decided to let it go.

“Hey, D, I’m gonna go get our stuff and head back to the car. It’s getting cloudy,” I said, pointing up at the sky. There were a few gray clouds rolling in but there was much more behind my wanting to leave. Abe’s sudden appearance and then disappearance had shaken me.

She looked at me curiously. “Sure thing, darling. Are you feeling alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Delaney said. She didn’t know how right she was. Maybe not a ghost, but definitely something sinister—something dangerous.

I nodded. “I’m fine. I’ll see you in a few minutes,” I said, and headed back to gather our stuff from the beach.

It was five o’clock before my mom came home. Delaney had left hours ago and I’d spent the day alone, driven to cleaning out of boredom. I actually washed my wet clothes from the night before and swept the kitchen and dusted; I even baked a carrot cake from scratch just to keep my hands busy for a little while longer. Minutes after I finished spreading the cream cheese frosting on the slightly-warm cake and licked the spatula clean I heard a car in the driveway and I ran to the door and swung it open, revealing my mother walking up the steps.

“Mom,” I said breathlessly and wrapped my arms around her. As convenient as it was to not have her around sometimes, I never realized how much I missed her until she came back. It was nice to have another person in the house again besides myself, or Delaney for that matter, especially since things had gotten so weird the other day.

She squeezed back with her thin arms and kissed the top of my head. “Hi, sweetie.” We walked inside, me taking her bag from her hands and carrying it for her. I set it by the staircase and we went into the den, sinking into our respective spots on opposite ends of the couch.

“How was Ontario, mom?”

“It was nice, surprisingly. Their bacon is really just ham, and they’re all very friendly. I half-expected a moose to wander into the office most of the time,” she said with a tired chuckle. Tired was the perfect word to describe my mother. She was only 37 but she had an aged look about her, like she had seen so much more of the world than I ever would. My mother was poised and elegant, commanding respect and attention wherever she went. Her blonde hair was streaked with silver, pulled back into a tight bun and she was model-thin from chain smoking cigarettes—at least a pack a day. Ever since she and my father had gotten divorced, nicotine and the occasional drink kept her running, along with being so busy she never had time to think. Sometimes I would look at her and see myself in her keen blue eyes and others I would look at her and see a total stranger, but I loved her regardless.

“That’s good. How was the syrup? Did it live up to its reputation?” I asked her, grasping at straws of a conversation that I knew wasn’t there.

My mom stood and stretched, her joints popping. “It certainly did. I’m really sorry, Rose, but I’m beat. I’m going to head to bed; we can talk tomorrow, okay?” She looked at me sympathetically. I wanted her to stay here and talk to me for hours on end like we’d done when I had gotten my first boyfriend or when we were planning for my thirteenth birthday party, but she was tired.

I shrugged. “Yeah, okay,” I said, masking the disappointment in my voice. She smiled at me and crossed the room, kissing the top of my head again.

“Missed you, Rosie. Sweet dreams.” And she left the room, up the stairs and out of sight.

It’s cold. In fact, it’s freezing. I’m in a dark room, my hands bent back in an unnatural position. They’re tied behind me and there’s tape over my mouth. I can’t scream. There’s a big metal door across from me, three slats near the top letting in a trickle of orangey light. The door opens with a rusty creak and a dark figure stands in the doorway. I know that body—barely. Wren. He’s here to save me again and I breathe a sigh of relief through my nose. I’d be okay, just like last time.

He comes to me and cuts the rope away from my wrists. The air stings when it hits it; the knot had rubbed them raw. It didn’t matter. I pulled the tape away from my mouth. “You’re here,” I whisper breathlessly. Wren smiles at me, his dark eyes dancing with the shadows in the room.

He pulls me into his arms and hugs me tight against his chest. “I am.”And then something changes in the air. He’s squeezing too hard, crushing me. I can’t breathe and I struggle, flailing desperately against his superior strength. His hand snakes up to my throat and he clenches.

“Wren,” I choke out, white spots floating in the air around me. This is the end. Through my fading vision I see Abe walk into the room grinning from ear to ear.

“I win,” Wren says to Abe over his shoulder with a chuckle. He holds even tighter, squeezing the life from me, and then it’s over. I fade into blackness.

I woke up with a jolt, a gasp tearing through my chest and my breathing ragged. I clawed at my throat searching for the air that it couldn’t find until I couldn’t feel hands wrapped around me anymore. It was a dream, just a dream. Assurance washed through me like a wave, carrying away the distress I’d felt just moments before. I was losing my mind, dreaming about people I didn’t even think existed. The more time that passed since the night Wren had saved me, the less and less I believed it really happened. Dead people don’t come back to life and men couldn’t just bend a one-inch thick piece of metal like it was a paperclip; it was impossible.

I got out of bed and left my room, tiptoeing to the kitchen for a glass of water. I couldn’t help but notice the tremors running through my hands as I ran the faucet and I forced myself to relax. The tick tock of the grandfather clock in the foyer grounded me. I’d always loved the sound of clocks since I was little; sometimes it was the only thing that soothed me.

I washed and dried the glass and put it on the dish mat by the sink and padded softly to the downstairs bathroom—the one I never used—bracing myself on the granite sink and taking a few more deep breaths. The toilet ran beside me, startling me a little bit and I looked up, inadvertently catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

Pretty wasn’t the right word to describe me. I had curly black hair that sprung to my shoulders and stopped abruptly; nothing I did would make it grow and I’d accepted it. My skin was pale, unblemished like porcelain and I could usually count on a ring of dark shadows beneath my blue-gray eyes. My nose was small and straight and my teeth were in naturally perfect rows; I was perpetually grateful for that, I’d never had to get braces. I was tiny, pushing 5’3” and had a flat stomach and a flatter chest and the legs of a dancer as a result of ballet for five years. I’d long since given that up, though. I wasn’t pretty by a long shot. Delaney was pretty. I’d always thought I looked manufactured, fake, like a doll.

I trailed my eyes up my body again, tired of my reflection but I stopped abruptly when something caught my eye in the pale yellow light. A ribbon of five dark bruises around my neck. I trailed my fingers around them, wondering how they got there, what I’d done to get them when I realized—they looked almost like someone had wrapped a hand around my neck and squeezed.