Aunt Morgan was busy whisking eggs by the stove while Noah set the table and Lucy poured orange juice into tall glasses. Uncle Johnny was busy taking homemade biscuits out of the oven. No one seemed to notice me standing in the kitchen entryway.
"Good morning everyone," I said. "Is there anything I can help with?" I walked over to where my aunt was standing, managing three pans atop the stove.
She smiled, gave me a quick hug and said, "No, honey. I think we're just about done here. Why don’t you find yourself a seat at the table? I sure hope you're hungry."
I loved how my aunt had adopted a Southern accent along with the Southern charm and cooking. My mouth salivated as I sat and watched everyone place food on the table. Never had I ever seen such a large breakfast‒I was in carbohydrate heaven! I wasn't typically a big breakfast person, but with a spread like that, I could learn to be one.
Noah leaned in to give me a quick kiss on the forehead and then sat down next to me. "Good morning, sunshine," he joked.
Lucy placed a large cup of steaming hot coffee in front of me and sat down on my other side. "I thought you could use this. You look exhausted." Lucy offered me a smile as she watched me take a sip of liquid heaven.
"Thanks," I managed after I'd swallowed.
Once everyone had found their seats, we all loaded our plates with decadent, moist scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, spicy golden sausage, and fresh biscuits with honey and jam. After a large breakfast like that, I'd need a nap to recuperate.
"Morgan, thank you so much for making this amazing breakfast," Lucy, always polite, said. She continued to rave over the food for several minutes thereafter.
"Thank you so much, sweetie, Morgan said. "I love to cook. Usually, it's just me and Johnny here, and occasionally some of the farmhands, but I'm so happy to have you all here." She smiled and held Johnny’s hand as the two of them looked around at their full table. My aunt had tried for years to have children, but after two miscarriages they agreed it wasn't in their plans to have children. They filled the void with their animals instead, who they loved almost as much as some people do their children.
Noah nodded his head in agreement with Lucy. He began to speak, but his mouth was full, and his words came out muffled. We laughed as he continued to stuff his mouth with eggs.
"Morgan, I just love this house. How long have you lived here?" Lucy looked around the Southern- style kitchen. The wallpaper was filled with a countryside display. Colorful roosters decorated the tops of the light maple, wood cabinets. The entire house looked as if it would be at home in a Southern Living magazine spread.
Aunt Morgan washed her biscuit down with a large gulp of orange juice and began to speak. "We bought the home about fifteen years ago, right after we moved here from California. The house had been built sometime in the late 1600s. I've found several artifacts left behind by the previous owners. Apparently, the property had been owned by members of the same family until we came along and bought it. It was a foreclosure sale, so I know it must have been hard for the family to lose such a valuable part of their ancestry." She frowned a little as she spoke. Though the house was charming, it was a charm that had been built up through years and years of another family's lives.
"What happened to the previous owners?" I asked, curious as to why anyone would ever give up such a valuable part of their heritage.
"I don’t know. From what the Realtor told me, they just picked up and left without any warning. Sounds odd, but we didn’t really care about the back- story. We got a great deal on the house. We're still remodeling and updating, but I just love old farmhouses."
Aunt Morgan changed the topic by turning to Uncle Johnny to begin mapping out their day–Uncle Johnny needed to go to town to pick up supplies for the farm.
After we finished eating, Noah, Lucy, and I offered to clean the kitchen while Aunt Morgan and Uncle Johnny ran their errands. Since it was Sunday, we didn’t officially start working until the next day, so we had the time to relax and enjoy ourselves. Lucy opted to take a nap and lounge around the house, reading and drinking sweet tea, saying she wanted to really absorb the Southern lifestyle.
Noah grabbed my hand and led me out onto the large, wraparound porch. "This summer's going to be amazing." He gazed down at me and smiled, making my legs weak and my stomach fill with butterflies.
"Yeah, cleaning out barns sounds exciting," I said, being ironic.
"No, I'm serious," he continued. "We get to spend part of the summer together, plus we get paid."
I loved how optimistic Noah could be. He seemed to love life no matter what we were doing, always finding the positive, no matter the situation.
I pulled him close to me and gave him a light kiss. "You're right, Noah. This summer will be awesome." I led him off the porch and onto the soft, green grass.
We decided to take a walk down to the pond that we saw through the kitchen windows. It was a short walk, but we took each step slowly to make the most of our time together.
We spent the entire afternoon laying in the tall grass and taking in the fresh smells and sounds of the countryside. After a while, we decided to head back to the house and get ready for dinner. I was sure Lucy would be wondering where we'd been all day and that my aunt and uncle would be back from town.
Knowing this town didn’t offer much more than a Wal-Mart, couple of restaurants, and a movie theater, I figured we might as well enjoy one of the accommodating venues. "Hey, maybe we could ask if we could borrow one of the farm trucks tonight, so we can go see a movie in town," I said.
"Sure, that sounds good."
Noah helped me off the grass and started talking about some action movie or other he hoped would be playing. As much as I tried to listen to him, my eyes were drawn to a white flash I saw over by a large oak tree near the pond.
Time seemed to stop for me. I couldn’t quite make out the form, but I saw icy blue eyes that made me freeze in place.
Noah noticed my strained expression, took a step away from me, and said, "Sadie, what are you looking at?" His tone was curious and a little bit frightened.
"I just thought I saw something," I muttered, searching the oak tree for any sign of the figure.
Noah laughed and looked around. "Sadie, we're in the middle of the country on a farm. It was probably a bird or a bear or something."
When I was finally able to move and think clearly again, I laughed out loud. "A bear?" I asked, mockingly. "Where do you think we are: the mountains?" Leave it to Noah to make me laugh when I needed the release most.
"You're right," I conceded. "It was probably nothing. Let’s go back to the house and see what everyone's doing." As I walked back, arm in arm with Noah, I turned around one last time to see the same pair of chilling, evil-looking, blue eyes, watching me from behind the tree, their turquoise glow shining through the dimming light.
In my heart I knew this wasn’t some strange farm animal, or as Noah had joked, a bear. No, something was watching me. Just as I thought my summer was going to be amazing, the realization that my life was wicked and full of devastating surprises reached up to smack me in the face once more.
Chapter Six
I awoke the next morning in a damp, warm, pool of sweat, trembling, my heart racing deep inside my chest as memories of the night before flooded in. My pajamas were drenched and clinging to my body, which felt warmer than usual. I had an insane dream while sleeping about those piercing blue eyes I'd seen down by the pond, their wicked, blinding glare following me as I made my way through the farm. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to escape their gaze. Even when I closed my eyes in the dream, the eyes were there. Fear and panic took over as I searched for a body connected to those eyes.
When I jolted awake, it was with my mouth wide open, as if I were about to scream.
Having noticed my panic-stricken state, Lucy jumped out of her bed and ran to my side. She called out to me, sounding like she was far away, fear evident in her voice, "Sadie, are you okay?" I felt her push my
drenched hair away from my forehead.
I shook my head, sat up in the bed and tried to compose myself. My mouth was dry, and my throat ached to speak.
"Yes, I think I just had a bad dream," I replied, trying to push aside the frightening eyes that seemed to stick with me, even though I was awake.
"You don’t look okay," Lucy noted, carefully inspecting my appearance. "Should I go get your aunt?" She stood and began to walk toward the bedroom door.
"No!" I shouted, jumped out of bed, and ran to her side. My voice had reappeared. It still sounded a bit scratchy, but at least it was understandable. I put my hand on the doorknob and held the door shut.
Lucy eyed me closely, but she took a step away. She raised her eyebrows, pursed her lips, and continued to try to figure out my shocking reaction. "You don’t look fine," she began. Then her eyes grew wide as realization struck her. "Oh, no‒I know that look. That’s the look you get when you're dealing with the dead and you're afraid. You saw something, didn’t you? Did some dead girl come to you again?"
I sighed, pulled my hair from my neck and started to fan myself.
"No, I haven’t seen any dead girls. I just had a bad dream. I don’t want to worry Aunt Morgan or Noah. Can't we just drop it?" I asked, forcing a smile.
"Fine. I'll leave it alone for now, but if you start acting weird today, I am totally telling Noah," she informed me. "Now, go take a shower and then we can meet your aunt and uncle downstairs." With that, Lucy dropped the subject entirely.
Once more, I found myself thankful for Lucy’s friendship. She cared for me and always worried about me, but she knew when to leave me alone and stop asking questions. I followed her orders and took a long, refreshing shower before dressing in a pair of loose athletic shorts and a t-shirt.
We met Noah, Aunt Morgan, and Uncle Johnny for breakfast before we all began our day. Thankfully, I had plenty of duties to keep my mind occupied, even though I couldn’t help thinking about those eyes and who or what they belonged to. Eventually, I pushed the thought out of my mind and spent the day helping Aunt Morgan and Lucy organize sales receipts and my aunt's monthly calendar.
After dinner, I went for a long run after the sun began to set. The air grew cooler as the sun seemed to melt behind the increasing clouds. When I arrived back at the house, I discovered that Aunt Morgan, Uncle Johnny, Lucy, and Noah had all ventured out to the grocery store, Aunt Morgan having quickly realized that feeding three teenagers would necessitate several grocery trips each week. Thankfully, my parents had sent money to help with the growing grocery bills. Noah, alone, could eat enough for three people.
I took advantage of the silence and alone time to sit and watched a mindless reality television show, called The Luxurious Lifestyles of Women. I was laughing at two women who were fighting about rumors they'd each spread about the other and screaming profanities when everyone returned from the store, their arms loaded down with plastic bags.
Noah saw what I was watching, shook his head, and laughed. Aunt Morgan motioned for me to follow them into the kitchen, so I could help unload the bags. Once everything had been put away, I returned to the living room and my comfortable position on the couch to watch a movie with Noah and Lucy.
I spent the rest of the evening thinking about the mesmerizing eyes I'd seen down by the pond the night before, and my mind wouldn't focus, despite the action-packed movie, my mind couldn’t focus. Noah could tell something was wrong by how quiet I was, but he didn’t push me to talk, which was another thing I loved about Noah–he never intruded and always let me have space when I needed it.
Later that night, I found my uncle sitting alone in the den. He laid back in an old, burgundy recliner, watching the news on their flat-screen television which was set over the stone fireplace. The television seemed odd in the room, as everything else in the home seemed so rustic.
"Hey, Uncle Johnny," I said, almost whispering his name so I wouldn't startle him. Noah and Lucy were outside talking to their parents on their respective phones. I would call my parents later, but first I had something I needed to ask my uncle.
"Oh, hey, Sadie." He sat up and turned off the television as I stepped into the dimly lit room.
"Sorry to bother you," I mumbled as I walked over and sat across the room from him on the plush, leather sofa. "If you have some time, I wanted to ask you some questions about the farm." I tried to sound calm and collected so I wouldn't reveal the terror that had been building inside of me.
"Sure, Sadie, what do you want to know? Are you wondering if we're going to actually make you clean out the stables?"
I was relieved he was making a joke, I have to admit. So much of my life was serious, it was nice to have some light-hearted moments every once in a while.
"No, I just wondered if you could tell me more about the people who used to live here," I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
He turned away from me as he thought. "Oh, well, let me think about that." He rubbed his jaw as he tried to recall information. "I remember hearing about a family that lived here many years ago. They had a daughter who was murdered or committed suicide. The details are a little foggy. I think she'd been engaged to a boy who went off and fought in the Civil War. The family remained here until both parents died off. No one lived here after that. Your Aunt Morgan and I bought this house for a great price and fixed it up. I don’t really know much more than that, but if you're really interested, you could check up in the attic. I know your aunt stored some boxes up there that she found in the basement." He eyed me cautiously. "Why do you want to know, anyway?"
I laughed nervously as I stood to leave. "Oh, you know: I love history," I joked, but quickly left the room before he could ask me any more questions.
Later that evening, I decided to take a walk after dinner. I wanted to be alone, a statement that seemed to upset Lucy and had Noah questioning me. After much arguing, I'd persuaded them to trust that I was fine and just needed some time to catch my breath. Though they didn't understand my desire to be alone, they at least respected my wishes and let me go to it. Before I left the house, I spotted them sitting in the living room. Lucy was captivated by one of our favorite television shows, Snotty Housewives, and Noah was playing a game on his phone.
The evening sun had begun to set behind the trees and the sky was filled with glorious oranges and reds that could only be painted by a setting sun. A slight breeze rushed through the trees, providing a break from the humid summer heat.
I walked slowly, taking in the setting around me, listening to the bird’s chirp and the horses galloping in the pasture. In that moment, I understood the appeal of country life. Sure, I loved Salem's busy, city life, with its coffee shops on every corner and attractions that seemed to constantly bring in the tourists, but everything here seemed so relaxed and calm. Life seemed to slow down when you stepped away from the city streets and onto the Bluegrass Hill. When I realized I'd been walking longer than I'd expected to, I turned to make my way back to the house. My mind had wandered back to last year, and my crazy adventures with Noah and Lucy. The sun had fully set and the white light from the moon glowing in the black sky. I'd forgotten how dark it could get without street lights and buildings to illuminate the night. I focused on the light from the barn and began walking in that direction.
As I rounded the corner, the glowing lights hanging over the barn doors grew to near blinding proportion. I wiped my eyes and noticed red markings across the white, barn doors, and willed my eyes to adjust to the bright light contrasting the night sky. I stepped closer and was able to make out the script:
Leave This Place or Die
The cryptic words were smeared in what looked like dark red blood. Shocked, I let out a frantic shriek and took a step backward. Fear took hold, and before I knew it, I was rushing to the side of the barn where they kept the long hose they used for cleaning out the stalls and turned on the water.
My first thought was to run and get my aunt and uncle, to show them the terrible message th
at had been left on their barn, but a stronger emotion stopped me in my tracks, something that came from deep inside of me, that told me not to tell anyone about it. In my soul, I knew this was not something that had been written by the living. No, this was the kind of message that had been left by someone angry, someone who couldn’t understand their fate.
I sprayed the cryptic message from the doors, constantly checking behind me as I did to ensure no one was coming. The last thing I needed was to have to explain this to my aunt or uncle, or worse, to Noah and Lucy.
Chapter Seven
The next morning, I tried to act as normal as possible. Well, at least, based on what normal meant for me. We spent our morning, as usual, tending to our assigned duties. During our afternoon break, I listened to Lucy sing along with her iPod, almost forgetting about the night before. We stood on the porch of the office behind the house and watched the busy farm. Max was sprawled out on the wooden porch, taking his second nap of the morning. I laughed to myself, watching him snore and drool.
"Sadie, this is awesome." Noah turned the tractor's ignition off and jumped down. After much debate, Uncle Johnny had agreed to train Noah how to bail hay using the tractor, and Noah had jumped at the chance to drive such a large machine, and he volunteered anytime something on the farm needed to be done that required one. The thought made me laugh. Noah could always find something he loved. He wiped his sweaty face with his already damp t-shirt, revealing his chiseled and tanned stomach as he did, and I couldn't help but stare in admiration.
The sun stood proudly in the sky, scorching everything below in the one hundred degrees. Not a single cloud dared show itself.
"I know," I yelled, waving at him as he came forward. "You look like you're having fun." I mused at the kid-like smile he wore proudly.
Wicked Lies Page 5