by Laurel Veil
Did I? In the restroom, Riley had said it was my fault because I didn’t accept their invite to the cemetery. I suddenly felt an urgency to go there. I needed to ditch Nolan.
1o.
I told Nolan bye and pretended like I was going inside my grandma’s house. When I knew he was no longer looking, I headed to the garage and traded my backpack for my old three-speed bike.
Riding a bike beat walking; It was so much faster. As I coasted into the parking lot, my mind wandered to the night I’d met the girls there. I couldn’t believe I’d walked to the cemetery, that late, all by myself.
I leaned my bike against a pine and crunched down a gravel trail to the gate. I froze when I saw Dani’s grave. The mound was still covered with floral sprays, and wreaths still hung on easels, only now the flowers were brown and crispy. Was this why I was here? Did I need to visit Dani’s grave? I mulled the notion over for a long time, but finally decided, I just wasn’t ready. I raised the latch and closed the gate behind me.
I had half expected to run into Ava and Riley, but I didn’t. Unsure why I was even there, I walked to the far back corner where we’d had our meeting. The remnants of the fire we’d made that night shouldn’t have been much more than a black smudge in the dirt, but there was a small heap of ash.
I sat and leaned against an oak and scanned the area. But to no surprise, all I saw were headstones and crosses. This had been a complete waste of my time. When I finally stood, I brushed pine needles and leaves from the seat of my pants. I felt like an idiot for coming and kicked the ashes out of frustration. When the cloud of dust settled, I noticed something peculiar sticking out of the remaining ashes. I bent down to have a closer look. Was that a… bone?
“What are you doing?” said a scratchy voice. I quickly stood. An elderly man—who, by the way he was dressed and the clippers in his hands, appeared to be the groundskeeper—approached me.
“I-I was here visiting a friend. I noticed the ashes and I was just wondering why there’d been a fire.”
“Damn devil worshippers.”
My scalp prickled. “What?”
He spat tobacco and adjusted his cap. “Yes, ma’am.”
Suddenly, an image of me and the girls in our black robes flashed through my mind. Someone had seen us after all. And I could see how we could’ve been mistaken for devil worshipers. I bit my lip to keep from smiling.
“It’s really not a laughing matter.”
I obviously hadn’t done a very good job of hiding my grin. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I sometimes laugh when I’m nervous.” His scowl softened with my explanation. “So why do you think it was devil worshippers out here and not just some kids goofing around?”
He did something funny with his lip to adjust the wad of tobacco he had stuffed between it and his gum. “There are telltale signs.”
He had my attention now. “Signs?”
He motioned, with a nod of his head, to brush marks on the ground. “I swept them away, but there were symbols sketched in the dirt all around this area here.” He then pointed upwards at the surrounding trees. “And I found strange things hanging from those limbs. They looked like,” he furrowed his brows, “voodoo dolls or something.” He looked over his shoulder as if someone could’ve possibly been listening, and whispered, “I even cleaned some blood off that grave marker right there.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It sounded like there really had been devil worshipers here! What if the girls and I would’ve run into them when we were here? The thought terrified me.
He stepped over to the enormous granite headstone that our drinks had sat on that night. “Yep. They used this as an altar.”
It felt like a current of electricity was running up and down my spine and Dani was all I could think about. Had the devil worshipers seen us? Had they chosen Dani? Had it been her blood? Her bone in the ashes? I swallowed. “Did—you tell the police?”
He nodded. “Of course. They came and checked things out.” He patted the headstone as if to comfort it. “Turned out it was chicken blood. We even found some chicken bones scattered around here.”
I exhaled with relief that it hadn’t been human remains—that it hadn’t been Dani’s. I couldn’t believe that my mind was traveling to such dark places.
“Well, sorry that I bothered you. I hope I didn’t frighten you too much, but you should be careful.” He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his forehead. “I’ll let you get back to visiting.”
I should’ve left, but my curiosity compelled me to stay. I watched until the man was out of sight, then searched the tree canopies for anything that may have been overlooked. When I didn’t’ find anything up there, I scoured the ground, looking for one of the symbols he said had been drawn in the dirt. I didn’t find one, but I did, however, notice a couple of small, flat stones. They were smooth and black and unusual for the area. As I walked around, I couldn’t believe it when I noticed a few more. On a whim, I climbed an oak that had low, accessible limbs. My perspective was quite different from that height. As I had suspected, there were more stones. On the ground, they were practically unnoticeable, but from up there, I could see them with hardly any effort. I felt my blood turn icy when I finally noticed the pentagram that the shiny little rocks formed. And within its center was the headstone that had been used as an altar.
I climbed down from the tree as quickly as I could and raced to my bike. I couldn’t wait to get back to the safety of my grandma’s house. It was getting darker by the minute.
My mind was so preoccupied with bloody altars, pentagrams, and cemeteries, I didn’t even notice the car that was approaching from behind until it inched up beside me. I instantly felt tense. I tried my best to see who was driving with my peripheral vision. I didn’t want to make eye contact with a psychopath. When the driver tapped the horn, I almost wrecked. “Be careful, Noelle!” Came a voice from out the window.
“Mom?” I said as I came to a stop. “You got a new car?”
“It’s from Rick! Whattaya think?”
I scanned it. “It’s nice.”
“I think so too.” Her smile was so big, I could see every tooth in her mouth as she caressed the steering wheel and ogled the bright lights of her dashboard. With pride, she told me about all its features. “I’ll have to take you on a ride sometime.”
“OK,” I said cheerfully.
“Well, I better be going. Rick’s probably wondering where I am. See ya.”
“Bye, M—” I couldn’t even get the word mom out of my mouth before she pulled away from the curb. Incredible. My mom had to race home because Rick might be wondering where she was. She hadn’t seen me in who knows how long, and she couldn’t spare more than a measly minute. She never asked me how I was doing or what I’d been up to. She hadn’t talked to Grandma in forever either. For all she knew, I wasn’t even living with her.
As I pedaled, I had an epiphany. I realized that I no longer knew what my role was concerning my mom. I was used to picking up the pieces when her relationships fell apart. But with Rick around, my mom didn’t need me. If I was being honest with myself, I was jealous of Rick. I sulked the rest of the way home but finally decided that for now, I would just be grateful that Rick hadn’t broken up with her yet and that he wasn’t mistreating her. I had enough on my plate to deal with without any of that drama.
My thoughts traveled to Dani’s mom, as I parked my bike in the garage. She’d been so devastated at the funeral. My mind drifted to the first day I’d met her. I’d been ugly to Dani about her mom and all because I was jealous. I wished I had a mom like Dani’s. I remembered the photo she took of Dani and me, and I wondered if she might let me have it or at least make me a copy of it. I decided that when I brought her a cake, I’d ask.
“Grandma?” I called out as soon as I opened the door. Immediately I realized she wasn’t home. It was too dark inside, and I couldn’t smell anything cooking. This was twice now that I’d come home to an empty ho
use. I was starting to have flashbacks of living alone with my mom. I thought I’d shower but decided against it when I realized I would need to go to my room to get my pajamas. I was scared I might see something, so I turned on my heels and went outside as quickly as I could. When I saw Nolan tossing a tennis ball against the side of his garage, I waved him over.
“Hey,” he said when he jogged up the porch steps and took a seat next to me on the swing.
“You’re not going to believe this,” I said.
“What?”
I proceeded to tell him everything that had happened at the cemetery.
“Devil worshipers? That’s crazy,” he said. “And another reason why you shouldn’t be walking around alone.”
Just then, my grandma pulled into the drive. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later,” I said.
“Are you trying to get rid of me? Are you embarrassed that I’m here?”
“Just go.” He started grinning. “Oh my gosh. Would you just go already?”
“I wanna say hi to your granny.”
“Nolan!” said Grandma as if she hadn’t just seen him. “You staying for supper?”
He glanced at me and raised his brows. “Yes, ma’am.”
“How nice. You haven’t had a meal with us in years.” She opened the back door of her car and pulled out two bags. “I cheated tonight, though. We’re having KFC.”
“Sounds good to me. Here, let me help you with that,” he said as he stepped forward and took the bags from her.”
“Oh, thank you, honey. You’re such a sweetheart.” As Grandma went ahead to get the door for him, Nolan looked down at me and gave me a smug smile. I rolled my eyes and popped him in the butt as he passed.
“I’m starving,” said Grandma. “Let’s get this show on the road. Put some ice in some Solo cups, Noelle, and I’ll grab the Styrofoam plates. There’s a pitcher of tea in the fridge. Grab that too, hun.”
We didn’t say much at first; we were all too busy stuffing our faces with mashed potatoes, chicken, and coleslaw. Grandma wiped her mouth with a paper napkin. “This sure is nice.” She smiled. “It’s just like old times.”
“Thanks for having me,” said Nolan. “It’s delicious.”
She reached out and patted his hand. “You know you’re always welcome here.”
Just then her eyes caught something out the window, and she excused herself from the table and went to the door. “I didn’t realize you were coming. Come on in and have a bite.”
Nolan questioned me with his eyes, and I shrugged. I had no idea who it was either. Grandma held the door open, and Jace stepped inside. Even though he had irritated me the other night, he was as handsome as ever, and I suddenly wondered what in the world I had been thinking not appreciating the time I had had with him more. I instinctively sat up straighter and fiddled with my hair a bit. Nolan noticed because he looked at me, and he seemed annoyed. “Hey,” I said, ignoring him.
“Hey.” Jace’s smile was weak. He looked tired. I wondered if it was because of what had happened to Dani.
We made small talk about the weather and purposefully avoided mentioning anything about Dani. When we finished eating, Grandma apologized, “Sorry, I don’t have any dessert to offer. I didn’t have a chance to make anything. Heck, I didn’t even have a chance to cook.”
“We’ll forgive you, Grandma.”
She chuckled then let out a long sigh. “Well, let me grab my purse so I can pay you for the wood, Jace.”
“Oh—uh, that’s alright. I didn’t bring wood today. I actually stopped by to talk to Noelle.”
I hadn’t been expecting to hear that. “OK,” I said. “Let me just clear the table first and—”
“Nonsense,” said Grandma. “I’ve got this. Y’all get.”
Since cleaning up consisted of tossing everything in the trash can, I conceded.
“I better be going,” said Nolan as he rose from his chair. “Thanks again,” he said as he patted my grandma on her shoulder.
She squeezed his hand. “Anytime, baby. Anytime.”
Nolan said nothing to me. He wouldn’t even look at me. I followed him, but by the time Jace and I made it out the door, he was already cutting across the lawn toward his house.
“So, what is it?” I asked, cutting to the chase. Nolan was apparently jealous, and I felt terrible. I wanted Jace to leave.
“Well, for starters, I was wondering how you’re doing.” He hesitated. “Since…you know?”
I was surprised by his question. I didn’t think Jace had it in him to be concerned about someone else’s welfare. “I didn’t know her that well, or for very long, but it has been hard. I miss her.” We were both quiet for a while. “What about you?”
While he took a moment to think about his answer, it occurred to me that maybe he was trying to be careful he didn’t accidentally incriminate himself. Maybe his change in appearance wasn’t from grief, but guilt.
“I’m fine, I guess. I still can’t believe it even happened. And I can’t believe they still haven’t caught the guy. I gotta sister, ya know?”
“I’m sure Heather is going to be alright.” My attempt to comfort him was lame. I was preoccupied, mulling over his concern for his sister’s safety. Was it genuine? Did this mean he was innocent or was it a way to throw me or anyone else off his trail?
“Things like this aren’t supposed to happen so close to home—to people you know.” I nodded. “And it happened the night we were all together. Could it have happened to anyone of us?” I hadn’t thought about it quite like that before. I hadn’t considered the possibility that Dani’s murder could’ve been random and that it could have just as easily been me. His eyes flicked in the direction of Nolan’s house. “Just think, he was the last person with her.”
“One of the last. The last person with her was her killer.”
“You said it, not me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded. I didn’t mean to sound so defensive, but he was really starting to tick me off. “You can’t seriously think Nolan had anything to do with it?”
“I heard that the police have run into so many dead ends, they’re starting over. And he’s high on their list.”
“Well, they’re wasting precious time.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’ve known him my whole life. I just know.” It was quiet between us for a moment. “Look, I gotta go.”
“Yeah, me too. Tell your grandma I’ll bring firewood a little later this week.”
I only nodded. I didn’t want to talk to him anymore. I went to the porch and watched him leave. When he was gone, I walked next door and found Nolan tinkering with his dirt bike in the garage.
“What did he want?”
“Nothing really. He just wanted to see how I was doing.” Nolan rolled his eyes. “What?” He tossed a wrench harder than necessary, and it made a terrible clank. I forgot how bad his temper could be sometimes. He never scared me. I was tough, and I was used to it. But this time, it made me think of Dani, and that frightened me. “What’s your problem?”
“Don’t play dumb, Noelle, because we both know you’re not.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He likes you.”
“In case you forgot, our friend was just murdered.” I felt satisfied when he winced. “Jace and I were alone for maybe five minutes, and he literally asked me, how are you doing, and then he left. And I’m the one who’s dumb?”
“I saw you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That night. As soon as you guys dropped me and Dani off at her house, I told her bye and ran home. I saw Jace’s truck in your grandma’s driveway.”
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I gotta go.” I could hear Nolan calling after me as I practically ran to my grandma’s.
“I’m taking a shower,” I yelled just before shutting the bathroom door and switching on the water so my grandma wouldn’t bombard me with questions. Had
Nolan watched us that night? I wondered as I let the water soak my hair. I went from feeling embarrassed to feeling a little creeped out.
As I continued to work shampoo through to my scalp, I realized that something good had come from this new revelation. If Nolan was watching me and Jace, he wasn’t killing Dani.
11.
“You shouldn’t have run off like that,” said Nolan the second he saw me.
I shrugged and continued walking. “We’re getting a late start, so we better hurry if you don’t want to be tardy.” I guessed he was just glad I was even talking to him because he never said another word about what had happened yesterday.
We managed to make it to school on time, and before I knew it, it was time to leave. I was on my way to meet Nolan when Ava approached me. “Do you want to come over?”