In fact, I hadn’t realized my entire body was tense until the bell rang, and I stood. I tried to stretch the soreness from my muscles.
“You okay?” Abby asked.
I faced her, turning my back toward Trent. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Behind me, Trent mumbled something. I spun around to respond, but he was already gone. There was absolutely no sign of him, as if he’d disappeared into thin air.
“We’re still going shopping today, right? There’s this new scarf I’ve had my eye on, and I finally have enough money saved to buy it and—” Abby rambled, that familiar, excited glint in her eyes.
Ugh. I’d forgotten she wanted to go shopping. She’d mentioned it after dinner last night.
“I’m kind of tired. It’s been a long day…” I felt bad cutting her off, but this time it was the truth, not an excuse.
Abby gave a loud, dramatic groan. “Really, Chloe?”
She was angry with me, but she didn’t—couldn’t—understand. Her entire life hadn’t been ripped out from under her. It wasn’t as simple as getting a good night’s sleep and then going shopping. No amount of normal, mundane tasks would make it better.
When she didn’t give up the pouting, I reluctantly agreed. Maybe if I kept busy and exhausted myself, I could sleep through the night.
Abruptly, she started waving to a tall, curvy girl with black hair and a tanned complexion, who was absolutely gorgeous. “Rachel,” Abby squealed and hugged the girl before turning back to me. “Chloe, this is Rachel, my BFF. Rachel, this is my cousin from Florida.”
Rachel looked me up and down in what could only be described as disgust. “Hmm, so you’re the one with the fists of fury, huh? I expected you’d be… taller.”
“And I expected you’d be nicer,” I said before I could stop myself.
Abby glared at me. “She’s only kidding,” Abby said to Rachel, forcing a laugh. She shot me another dirty look.
I shrugged. At five three, I was a tad on the shorter side, and it wasn’t my fault Rachel had chosen to comment on the one feature I hated most about myself.
“Whatevs.” Rachel looped her arm through Abby’s and turned away from me.
Well, so much for Abby’s theory that Rachel and I would get along and the three of us would become besties.
CHAPTER FOUR:
Good Samaritan
WHEN WE GOT HOME FROM SHOPPING, Abby parked around back, and we went in the kitchen door. Aunt Beth was tinkering over a pot on the stove. “Welcome home, girls! Dinner will be ready in ten minutes.”
I wasn’t sure I had enough energy left to absorb Aunt Beth’s pep, but ten minutes to myself would let me decompress enough to not implode under the pressure of familial obligation during dinner.
I went up to my room and dropped my bag on the floor. I had a never-ending pile of homework. Most of my teachers were nice and hadn’t expected me to make up the work they’d assigned earlier in the year, but my English Comp and Algebra teachers did.
For English, I had to write two four-page essays on any two books on the syllabus. Thankfully, I’d already read some of them, so that would cut my work time in half. And with only two months left in the school year, I’d take any advantages I could get.
For Algebra, I had to make up all five of the quizzes the class had been given. Mr. Lozada had explained it was because the year-end test required me to know all the information, so taking the quizzes was “to my benefit.” At least I liked math. Sort of.
Blowing out a breath, I looked around the room—I still couldn’t get used to calling it my room. Maybe I never would. A heavy sadness settled on my chest, and I longed to have Mom here with me, to hear her soft voice and words of wisdom. I grabbed the urn from the dresser and carried it to the bed.
“Hi, Mom. I started at my new school today. Abby was helpful, and I made some friends who seem nice enough. Don’t worry, I didn’t find a boyfriend.” I smiled wistfully, then sighed. “Although, there is this one boy.”
Trent’s face flashed in my mind, and a ball of unease curled in my stomach.
“He’s… cute.” Okay, that was an understatement. He was the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen. “He was cool, but I think he was just being polite.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, praying I’d hear Mom’s voice and her soothing words, but they never came. Closing my eyes tightly to defend against the impending tears, I took a deep breath. She couldn’t talk to me, but that didn’t mean I had to stop telling her about my day. Somewhere, wherever she was, she was listening. And, I prayed, that she was forgiving me, too.
After replacing the urn, I stepped out of my room to head downstairs for dinner. “Oh, hey,” I said, surprised to find Abby in the hall.
“Get any homework done?” She started down the stairs.
“Yeah, right. It’s going to take me a month just to catch up on all the back assignments.”
“Well, let me know if you need any help,” she said.
“I will. Thanks.”
Abby stopped and grabbed my arm, turning me to face her. “Marc asked me to meet him tonight at Bushnell Falls.”
Marc must be the guy she’d been flirting with.
“Cool. Have fun.” I pushed her hand off my arm and turned to go downstairs, but she grabbed me again. Her sharp fingernails dug into my skin a lot harder than necessary.
“No, you don’t understand. Mom and Dad won’t let me go, especially if they know I’m meeting a guy there.”
“So, what do you want me to do about it? Ask them for you?” She was crazy if she thought I was going to do that. “Seriously, can you let go of my arm? Another second and you’re going to draw blood,” I said.
“Oh, sorry.”
She let go of me, and I tried to rub the impression of her fingernails away.
“No, I want you to cover for me. After dinner, we can tell them we’re going out, that I’m going to show you around town or introduce you to some of my friends or whatever. I don’t know, we’ll tell them something.” She waved her hand as if those little details didn’t matter. “But you’ll drop me off to meet Marc instead.”
She wasn’t serious, was she? The determination and pleading in her eyes were the only answer I needed. My second night here and she wanted me to lie to Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean? I couldn’t believe she was asking me to do this. Of course… if I dropped her off, that meant I’d have her car. I could go anywhere I wanted. Not that I had any idea where to go, but it could be fun to explore the town.
“Okay, fine,” I said.
Abby squealed and clapped her hands. “I owe you one, Chloe.”
I nudged her down the stairs. “We’ll talk about repayment later. Right now, I’m hungry.”
As soon as we were all seated at the table, Uncle Dean asked, “So, how was your first day?”
“Not bad. Everyone was very friendly,” I said, my gaze fixed on my food: pork chops, rice, and mixed vegetables.
“That’s great. If there’s anything else you need or want for your room just ask.” Aunt Beth took a bite of food, then swallowed. “We can figure out a way to get it for you.”
“As you know, Abby has her own car. It’s not much, but it runs good.” Uncle Dean smiled. “She has already been informed that she needs to share it with you.” He gave Abby a stern look. “Curfew is ten on school nights. Eleven on weekends.”
I picked at my food, taking a small bite. Mom had never given me a curfew. She trusted me.
“And on school breaks,” Abby added.
Her father grunted. “We all live in this house, and we all make messes in this house. So, we’ll all clean this house. Everyone has to do their part.”
“Oh, Dean.” Aunt Beth swatted at him. “I think the list of rules can wait a night or two. Let Chloe get settled and adjusted to being in a new place. Poor girl’s barely been here a whole day, and you’re reciting the rules like a prison guard.”
I gave Aunt Beth a grateful smile and continued to pick at my food. The only rules I
had with Mom were don’t fail school and don’t get pregnant. She was my best friend.
My breath caught, and the threat of tears burned my eyes. I took a drink of water to stop from sobbing right at the table.
Aunt Beth asked a lot of questions about my first day while Abby chattered almost nonstop about how she helped me all day and how her friends were so excited to get to know me. If Rachel’s lukewarm welcome was Abby’s definition of so excited, I’d hate to meet someone who truly didn’t like me.
Then, Abby asked about going out after dinner. I expected Uncle Dean to have something to say about it, but he didn’t. He simply reminded us of curfew. Aunt Beth was happy to let us go. I think she was relieved to know I was willing to socialize.
After dinner, I cleaned off the table and put the leftovers in the refrigerator while Abby loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the counters. We were done and out of the house within thirty minutes.
“You do know how to drive, right?” Abby asked as she pulled out of her driveway.
I rolled my eyes, thankful it was dark enough she couldn’t see me. “Yes. I drove in downtown Orlando. I’m sure I can handle the back roads of Keene Valley.”
She laughed. “Just don’t crash my car. It took me forever to convince Mom and Dad to buy it.”
“No crashing. Got it.” I nodded.
Mom could never afford to buy me a car, but she’d let me drive hers whenever she wasn’t using it, which was pretty much every night and most weekends. If only she’d let me use it that night… She’d still be here.
“Okay, this is it.” Abby slowed the car and stopped. “Well, actually, I have to walk down that path a ways.”
That path led straight into dark nothingness. I raised a brow and looked over at her in disbelief. “You’re going to walk that, in the dark?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. “We’ll have to come back during the day so I can show you around. This is where everyone hangs out. It’s a great place to party and do… other things.” She flashed a wicked grin.
“Well, aren’t you scared of bears? They live in the mountains, don’t they?”
She flung her head back and laughed. My question was serious. So was my concern for her.
“Don’t worry. I have a flashlight on my phone.” She pulled it from her purse and waved it at me.
“What good will that do? You going to blind a bear with it?”
She looked at me like it was the most obvious answer in the world. I stared back, confused.
Abby sighed. “No, silly. I’m going to use it to see my way down the path.”
“Oh.” That still didn’t answer my question.
“And if I get lost or something happens, I can call for help.”
“Right.”
Who was she going to call, though? I didn’t have a phone, and her parents thought we were together, so calling them wasn’t a good idea. Had she even considered that?
She grabbed the door handle, then stopped. “You’re funny, you know that? You should show that side of yourself more often.”
Mom always told me I had a natural sense of humor. It was nice to know she hadn’t said that because she was obligated by the mother-daughter relationship.
“I’ll be back here at nine forty-five so we can be home by ten. And I’m not wandering in there to find you, so you’d better be here when I get back,” I said.
“I’ll be here, don’t worry.” Abby got out and met me at the front of the car. Then she hugged me.
I halfheartedly returned the gesture.
“Thank you so much, Chloe.” With a wave, she headed down the dark path.
I got into the driver’s seat and stayed for a few minutes, long enough for Abby to use the headlights to see her way down the path. Then I put the car in reverse and turned toward town.
With unfettered access to her car, I could easily leave Keene Valley, keep driving until I ran out of gas. But as much as I’d dreaded coming here, something now anchored me to this place. A nagging curiosity I couldn’t explain.
I followed Adirondack Street until it met Route 73, then turned right and drove straight through town. I slowed to 35 mph and took the time to see what my new hometown had to offer. I found a library, a diner, a tiny shop that catered to tourists, and a realtor. There was also a coffee house, a fitness center, and the high school.
And then, just like that, I was out of the town limits. That was it? No gas station or grocery store? They were more than likely in the opposite direction—they had to be because what town didn’t have those amenities? There was no pharmacy or doctor’s office or hospital, either. Maybe that was a blessing. I’d had enough of those to last my lifetime.
Continuing down Route 73, I drove farther away from town with no idea where I was going, but I had almost two hours to kill before I had to be back to get Abby. I slowed my speed and looked for a place to turn around, deciding I’d hang out at the coffee house or the diner when the mountain with the waterfall caught my eye.
Checking my mirrors, I made a U-turn and then pulled over to the side of the road. I turned on the car’s four-ways and killed the engine. Then, I got out and climbed onto the roof to get a better look at the waterfall.
The air was slightly cooler, and I rubbed the goose bumps from my arms. I needed to start carrying a sweater. I was never going to get used to how cold it was around here. It certainly wasn’t anything like Florida.
Even from the road, the roar of the water was loud, but it was also soothing. The rumble of a truck engine snagged my attention. I shielded my eyes from oncoming headlights. The truck slowed and pulled up in front of the car.
My heart rate quickened. I was out here, alone, without a cell phone or any way to contact anyone should something happen. I climbed off the car, praying I could get back in the driver’s seat and get the doors locked before whoever was in the truck reached me.
My feet hit the ground at the same moment the truck door opened. A tall, masculine figure emerged, his form illuminated by the headlights, making it impossible for me to see his face. I kicked up my pace and rounded the rear of the car, ducking behind the trunk so I could sneak to the driver’s side door.
“Having car trouble?” he asked.
I froze. “Trent?” Straightening, I squinted against the glare of the truck’s lights.
“Chloe.”
I sighed with relief, placing my hand over my racing heart.
He was suddenly right next to me, so close I could smell his unique, woodsy cologne and see his eyes, which were pitch black. That had to be a trick of the light.
I blinked, and his eyes were back to the same crisp blue they were when I’d first met him.
“What’re you doing out here?” I asked.
“I was driving by when I noticed your car on the side of the road. Thought you might be having engine trouble or something.” He shoved his hands into his pockets.
I studied him. His entire demeanor was… off. Like he wasn’t the least bit surprised to have found me out here.
“How did you know it was me?” I asked. This wasn’t even my car.
“I didn’t,” he said. “Not until I saw you sitting on the roof. Seriously, Chloe, what’re you doing out here? At night. By yourself.”
“I was looking at the waterfall.” I pointed at it as if that would somehow explain my behavior.
He lifted a single brow, and the corner of his mouth twitched, the smile not fully forming. “You know, it’s easier to see it in the daylight.”
I chuckled. “I know.” I hopped up to sit on the trunk, and the car rocked under my weight, making me feel like I weighed a metric ton rather than a healthy 136 pounds. “Abby is out with some boy, and I’m covering for her. But, being new in town with no friends…” I shrugged.
“May I?” He motioned to the spot next to me.
When I nodded, he sat. The motion was so graceful and fluid, the car barely moved. I needed to learn how to do that.
“How’s your han
d?” he asked.
“Oh, it’s fine.” I flexed my fingers. “Still a little sore, but I’ll live.”
“Good.” He looked around, then settled his gaze on me. “You know, there’s a trail that leads to the base of those falls. From there, you can climb the mountain and look down from the top.”
That explained the people I’d seen on the mountain yesterday.
“How do you know that?” I asked.
He’d said he was new here, too, so in theory, he’d know what I knew—which wasn’t much.
“I went exploring after school.”
That made sense. “How far is the trail?”
“The entrance is back there a few feet.” He pointed in the direction he’d come from. “It’s less than half a mile to the base. We could check it out if you want.”
“Now?” I asked. “It’s dark.”
His soft, melodic laughter eased the anxiety that had taken up residence in my chest. “Yes, but the trail is very easy to travel,” he said.
“What about the bears?”
Was I the only one who worried about the wildlife around here? I’d watched enough National Geographic to know what types of animals lived in the mountains and that I would make a tasty meal. And I’d seen a moose snatched by a predator faster than I could blink.
“The bears?” His voice was all calm confidence, but his tone lifted with traces of humor.
“Yes. The bears.”
He could make fun of me all he wanted, but there was no way I was wandering down some trail in the dark.
“What if we get lost?” I asked, suddenly afraid for an entirely new reason.
“I have a very good sense of direction. We won’t get lost.” He leaned back, propping himself on his hands. “But if you’d prefer to wait until the sun is up to—”
“I would,” I interrupted.
He gave a quick nod. “Well, when you’re ready, let me know, and I’ll do it with you.”
Eyebrow raised, I fought not to smile. Did he realize the implication of what he’d said? “You’ll do it with me, huh?” I teased.
His entire body tensed. “Hiking!” he blurted. “I mean I’ll hike it with you.”
Eternal Curse: (The Cursed Series, Book 1) Page 3