by Dori Lavelle
My gaze landed on the large statue of Jesus that hung from the wall behind the altar, coming to rest at the pulpit.
In my mind's eye I saw the pastor standing up there, offering people hope beyond their pain and troubles. How many people came in here every Sunday carrying their burdens, wishing to leave lighter? And how many left feeling the same way? I was in no position to question God's power, since I didn't even know him. Did he really answer prayers? I decided I had nothing to lose by sending up a little prayer anyway.
“Excuse me, can I help you?” The baritone voice behind me made me jump. I quit praying and spun around. From his robe I could tell instantly that he was the pastor. He was short, with hair so gray it was almost white. Did he have problems too, like the rest of us, or was he immune to suffering?
“No.” I nibbled on my bottom lip. “Actually, yes, maybe you can. I'm Chloe Parker. I'm looking for Melanie Thompson. I heard she works here.”
“Yes, yes. Melanie is in the office. I'm Pastor Fred Jennings. Please follow me, Ms. Parker.”
As I walked behind him, I was glad I didn’t recognize him. If he didn’t know me, he didn’t know about the article I had written, and the chain of events that followed.
A naked lamp hung from the middle of the ceiling, and yet the wood-paneled corridor was dim and eerie. We turned the corner.
“Here we are.” Pastor Fred opened the door. “Melanie, you have a visitor.” He stepped aside, allowing me to enter.
In contrast to the corridor we had just left, the office was bright, airy, and spacious. My gaze rested on the woman sitting behind one of the two desks, a huge window behind her, overlooking the sea.
My breath caught as our eyes met and Melanie's eyes flickered. The only familiar thing about her was her unusually gray eyes. The sparkle she'd had in school was nowhere to be seen. Her once shiny hair was limp, her eyes dull and empty, and the bags under her eyes, visible even from the doorway. Where was the girl I had known? The girl everyone had admired? She'd had the best body, the glossiest hair, the longest legs… the best of everything. I had so much wanted to be like her back then. She had been the envy of many girls.
It seemed the tables had turned. I was no longer the frump next to her. My wishes had come true. I had become her. My makeup was flawless, my hair shiny, and I was toned and slim.
“This is Ms. Parker. I'll leave you two alone. I have to prepare for Bible study class.”
As soon as Pastor Fred left and closed the door, the shutters went down in Melanie's eyes. My heart sank. I'd be lucky to get any information out of her.
“Hi, Melanie.” I swallowed, but my throat remained dry. I felt claustrophobic even inside the large office. I would have loved to turn around and leave, to pretend I’d never seen her… the woman she had become.
“Hi.” She looked away. A blush rose up her neck from the collar of her brown flowery blouse. “I'm surprised to see you again.” She busied herself arranging the sheets of paper on her desk.
“So am I. I never thought… I didn't think I’d return.” Without waiting for an offer, I took a seat on the side of the desk opposite her. What I wanted to discuss was too important to be done standing.
I wished so much I didn't have to dig up the past, to remind her of it. She had gone through a lot already and I felt sorry for her. It wasn't fair what had happened to her family. Tasting luxury and then losing it all was cruel. “How have you been?”
Melanie's eyes met mine again. I saw sadness there, but also annoyance. “Why are you here?” she asked without bothering to answer my question.
“I was in town so I thought I'd come and see you to catch up.”
“There's nothing to catch up on. I don't mean to be rude, but I'm busy today.” She started punching holes in stacks of papers and putting them into a folder with a label that read “Offering.” She slammed it shut and stood, then walked over to one of the filing cabinets, her long, gray skirt brushing her ankles. She pushed the folder inside, next to several others. Then she just stood there, her back turned to me.
“Mel, are you okay?”
“Nothing is okay. But I'm sure you know that already. It's a small town.” Her voice was the same, even though she seemed to be stuck in someone else's body.
“Look.” I clasped my hands and sighed. “I'm so sorry about everything that happened to your family. My mom mentioned it to me.”
She turned around and shrugged. “Things happen.”
“If there's anything I can do, please let me know.”
“Forget about me; you seem to be doing just fine.” Was that criticism in her voice?
“Yes. I'm fine.” I swallowed through the dryness inside my throat. “But I never forgot.”
“Forgot what?” She returned to the desk and sat.
Was she joking, or did she really not know what I was talking about? I searched her eyes but they were blank. No emotion, like a TV that had been switched off.
“You're kidding, right? Why are you pretending you don't know what happened, what we went through together?”
“Kelly, I've moved on with my life and… so have you. I don't want to talk about the past. Wasn't that what we agreed to that night?” She shook her head. “Why are you here, really? I find it hard to believe you just wanted to say hi. You’ve been gone for years.”
“I'm sorry. I know we agreed not to bring it up again and to go our separate ways. But something is happening in my life and I think… I'm almost positive it's related to what happened.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You have problems? Really? Doesn't look like it to me.”
“Looks can be deceiving.” I leaned back, undid and then redid my ponytail. “I do have a problem. Someone is stalking me. I think that person knows what happened.”
“Whatever you’re going through, it has nothing to do with me. Maybe you made enemies in your new, glamorous life.”
She didn’t have to say it. She knew about Sage; the whole town probably did. So much for starting a new life as someone else. But I had nothing to apologize for. It infuriated me that Melanie was attacking me. I had not said one unkind word to her. But on some level I did understand her bitterness. I had the kind of life she had wanted for herself. I reminded her of what she had lost.
And the truth was, if it weren’t for me, that night would never have happened. At first, Melanie had refused to be involved, but Stacy had talked them all into helping me.
“Please, Mel; I just want to talk. Maybe you know something that can help me figure out who the stalker is.”
Melanie laughed and folded her hands in front of her. “Help you?” She scoffed. “Don’t you think I’ve done enough of that? If I could turn back time, you know what I would do? I would refuse to be pulled into your mess. I would have gone to the cops. If I had, I wouldn’t be tormented every day by this guilt… this guilt that doesn’t belong to me.” Her eyes sparkled with fury and I saw she was trembling. “I suggest you go back to where you came from and deal with your own problems. Don’t make me a part of it.”
“I’m sorry.” Tears burned my eyes. “I’m sorry for what I put you through. I just—” I took a deep breath. “If this person is after me because of what happened, you could be in danger too.”
“I have work to do. Please leave. There’s nothing to talk about.”
I pushed myself out of my chair with a sigh. It was impossible to force a grown woman into talking to me. If only the other girls were in town. One of them might have understood that if we were all in danger, the pact of not talking about what happened was null and void.
How would I move on now? Who else could I talk to? “Do you maybe have Jane or Stacy's number? I want to give them a call. I heard they're no longer in town.”
“No, I don’t.” Something flashed in Melanie's eyes, but I had no idea what it meant. “Stacy died two years ago in New Jersey.” She stood up then and walked to the door, leaving me reeling from the news she had just thrown at me. She opened the door and waited for
me to walk out of her life.
I halted in the doorway. “How did she die? Was she sick? Please tell me more. She was my friend, too.” Tears blocked my throat.
“Goodbye, Kelly.”
I nodded, but instead of leaving straight away, I dug into my purse and pulled out all the money I had on me—a couple hundred dollars in cash, and my business card. Her eyes widened when I pushed it into her hand.
“If you need any more, give me a call. I’ll be glad to help in any way I can.”
I didn’t wait for her to respond.
***
I sat inside my car, gripping the wheel, still shaken by the tragic news of Stacy's death. Among my group of friends, Stacy had been the nicest of them all. She had treated me with kindness, and looked at me as though she saw me. She’d taken me under her wing. The thought of her being dead not only saddened me, it terrified me. How had she died? Was it from an illness, natural causes? Or had there been foul play?
I leaned my head against the steering wheel, sweat gluing my skin to the leather. Maybe I was driving myself crazy, connecting everything to the past.
I prayed for the torture to end. I couldn’t bear it anymore. Being in the dark was killing me, and I was nearing my breaking point.
What did the stalker plan to do with me once the countdown was over? Did he intend to kill me on my wedding day?
Chapter Seventeen
A knock on my car window startled me and my forehead hit the horn. The man on the other side of the glass waved excitedly, his huge grin exposing unnaturally white teeth. My heart sank as recognition set in. Great. Larry, my high school crush.
Thirteen years later, I felt nothing for him. I contemplated not opening the window and just pretending he was confusing me with someone else, but then an idea hit me. I rolled down the window and smiled up at him.
A dirty mobile trailer drove by, sending dust particles floating into the air behind him, some of them landing on his now shoulder-length hair.
“I cannot believe it's you, Kelly. How many years has it been?” He still had that perfect smile, but this time it had no effect on me whatsoever.
I forced another smile onto my own face. With so many questions tormenting me, I found it hard to genuinely be happy. Would I ever be happy again after all this was over? Perhaps that was what the stalker wanted—to destroy my happiness until I had none left. “Larry, how great to see you.”
“I wasn't sure whether it was you, but I decided to take a chance. It's been so many years since we saw each other. High school feels like a lifetime ago.”
How was I ever attracted to him? Looking at him now, he wasn't all that handsome. His eyes were too close to each other, his nose too large, and his once thick hair was already thinning at the top.
“Mind if I come inside for a bit? It would be great to catch up.” He pointed to my passenger seat.
I nodded. Larry ran to the other side of the car and slipped inside. He turned to me with that huge grin on his face. He looked like a kid whose Christmas wishes had just come true. “God, Kelly, wow. You look amazing.”
“Thank you so much. You look nice too.”
He ran a hand through his hair and nodded. “Well, a guy's got to keep the ladies happy. Anyway, I heard you’re a magazine publisher now and you go by a different name.”
“Yes, my name is Chloe now. I've always liked the name. I thought, why not?” How small was this town, anyway?
“I'm so happy for you. I've been doing well myself. I'm an actor now. I've actually acted in a few movies.”
“Really? That's great.” It had to be the perfect job for someone who loved being admired for his looks. The problem was, I'd never seen a movie with him in it. “Any movies I’d know of?”
He smacked his forehead. “I should have known you'd ask that. Actually… the truth is, I've been auditioning for a couple of local films, but nothing has happened yet.” He looked so embarrassed I almost laughed. “But I've been in a couple of commercials—furniture and soap. He raised an eyebrow. “Maybe if you feature me in your magazine, it could help me get some gigs… What do you say, for old time's sake?”
I hated to tell him the kinds of people we featured were celebrities, people with the kind of fame that sold magazines. “You never know.”
He didn't respond. He was too busy eyeing me up and down, from the top of my head, down my breasts and stomach, and then resting his gaze on my lap. I hoped he wasn't thinking about what was underneath my skirt. He was making me so uncomfortable that I shifted, hoping to break his gaze. The guy I had been so crazy about once was finally looking at me as if he wanted me, but I only saw him for the womanizer he was.
In school I had been too desperate to care about the fact that he’d slept with almost every pretty girl in school. I just wanted him to notice me. When he’d asked me to be his prom date, I was so shocked I didn’t respond for a full minute. At the time I didn't care that he only wanted to be with me because of the article I had written. Larry had been smart. He loved to be the center of attention. He'd known all eyes would be on me, the fearless girl who went above and beyond to get a story that left everyone in awe. It didn’t matter that he was not attracted to me. The spotlight was what he cared about.
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, we never made it to the prom together. The sensational article had gotten me banned from going to prom, as well as attending the official graduation ceremony.
“So, how long are you in town for? Maybe we can have a coffee or something.”
“I'm not staying long. I'm leaving tomorrow, actually. I won’t have time. I have a lot to do in town.”
“That's a big shame. It would have been nice to catch up.” He cocked his head to the side and gave me a look he probably intended to come across as sexy, but it only made him look desperate. “I've thought about you a lot over the years. I wondered where you had gone off to, whether if you had stayed we might have had something… after our almost prom date. If you ever come to town again, give me a call. I'd really love to have that coffee.” He pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to me.
As I reached for the card, I felt a twinge. He was trying so hard. While I was thinking of ways to let him down gently, my gaze landed on the hand holding the card. He wore a wedding band. What an idiot! I met his gaze head on. “You're married? Congratulations.”
He gave a nervous laugh and covered his left hand with his right. Did he think if the ring was out of sight it meant the vows didn’t exist? My stomach turned, and my heart went out to his poor wife. Thank God I hadn’t ended up with him.
“Yeah, I am.” He glanced out the window for a moment. When he looked back at me, the confidence in his eyes had returned. “But you know, there's nothing like the kind of bond you form in high school.”
“Don't talk like that, Larry. High school bond or not, you're a married man. Be respectful to your wife.”
Shame clouded his face. “I guess you're right. I made my bed, now I have to lie in it.”
“You got that right.” I toyed with a lock of my hair. “Speaking of high school, are you in touch with anyone? I just went to see Melanie.”
“I bet you got a shock.” He snorted. “Can you believe she's the same girl? She's one big mess now.”
“She and her family apparently went through a lot. I think she's doing the best she can.”
“But to let herself go like that. She was so hot back then.”
Larry’s voice made him sound like a man, but beneath it all he was just a teenager, like a boy stuck inside a man’s body. “Have you seen Stacy and Jane since they left town?”
“Funny of you to ask that. You guys were friends, weren’t you?” He scratched his beard as if he had fleas. “Well, I heard Stacy is dead, but her body was never found. She just disappeared from one day to the next.”
“And they just assumed she died?”
“What else could have happened to her? There were all kinds of ridiculous speculations drifting around.”
“It doesn't matter anymore.” Larry cut through my thoughts. “Life goes on. Are you sure you don't want to have a drink with me?”
“Maybe some other time. I have a lot to do before I leave tomorrow. And I have to call my fiancé to let him know what time I'll be arriving in Boca Raton.”
“Fiancé.” He cleared his throat. “You're getting married?”
“Yes, I am.” I lifted my left hand. The sparkle of the diamond still made my heart flutter.
“Who's the lucky man?”
“Miles Durant.” I expected he’d know who Miles was.
His jaw dropped. “The Miles Durant?”
“You know him?” My heart almost exploded with pride at being the fiancée of one of the most well-known men in America.
“Who doesn’t? How could I not? He's one of the greatest successes of our time.”
I smiled in response. “Larry, thank you so much for coming to say hello. I really have to get going, though.” I paused. “But can I ask you something?”
“Sure, what do you want to know?” The shock of my engagement was still visible on his face.
“Do you know anything else about Stacy? Whether she was married, what she did for a living? I just… she was my friend. It would be nice to know more.”
He rubbed his chin. “She was apparently a wedding dress designer. That’s all I know.”
“Thanks. It's so sad that she… she died.”
“You can say that again.” Larry sighed with defeat. “Okay, I’ll let you go... future Mrs. Miles Durant.”
“It was nice talking to you, Larry. See you again sometime.” I bet he wished now that he had given me a real chance in high school.