Wicked Lies

by Michelle Areaux

  Melanie laughed and whipped her head around to face me. Her evil eyes glared at me as she mocked my anger and confusion. "Yes, you stupid girl‒I found you. You thought you were being clever, but I have been around much longer than you and I have learned a few tricks along the way."

  I tried to hold back my anger by taking a deep breath before I spoke. "I knew you were evil when I learned about what you did to this town and to Bethany, but once I realized you were related to that crazy girl, Hailey, I knew I was in trouble. I had to hide some of my plans from you or you would have intervened long before now."

  Melanie placed her hands on her face and pretended to quiver in fear. "Oh, no–you outsmarted me!" she yelled. Her voice quickly turned into a deep laughter that shook the ground below my feet. "I've known your silly plan since the first day you found the letters in the attic. I just pretended to be ignorant of your plan. It's been so entertaining watching you squirm as you tried to uncover the truth." She laughed again, throwing her head back toward the sky.

  My anger could no longer be contained as I'd realized how truly evil, she was. "You knew what we were doing?" I screamed, my voice slicing through the night air. I fought with myself to not lunge forward and take her out, once and for all.

  Noah and Lucy stood there, frozen, looking like two statues. They were in the presence of two angry ghosts and they were mesmerized by a fascinating fear. Their eyes were locked on the scene before them, almost as if they were in a strange sort of trance.

  "Of course, I knew!" Melanie snapped, turning her head sharply toward me. She laughed a shrill sound that almost stopped my heart. "I've followed you and your dumb little friends since the moment you arrived in Nicholasville. I knew all about your stupid plan to get rid of me and bring Bethany here. Why else do you think I tried to kill you both times?

  "I had to stop you. You are messing in my business. William is supposed to be mine. I could have made him love me, but Bethany got in the way and I had to kill her. You got in my way, too, and now I will have to kill you as well." Melanie lunged at me, but before she could reach me, William appeared, blocking her from getting to me.

  I gasped and fell back, thankfully, into Noah's arms. He held onto me tightly as we watched the scene unfold in front of us. William looked like a rabid animal as he glared at Melanie. "Stop this Melanie," he called out, his voice shaking the ground underneath us. "William," Bethany whispered as the realization struck her that it was William who was standing before her. William took the sight of Bethany in‒the sight of the love he lost.

  "Bethany, my love," he cried as he changed directions and pulled Bethany into his arms.

  He embraced her with a passionate kiss that I swear I could feel in my soul. After unlocking their lips, they stared into each other’s eyes, almost unsure if what they were seeing was real or a dream.

  "He moved," I whispered quietly to Noah and Lucy who were watching William and Bethany closely. "He left his grave–we did it!" I wanted to dance. I wanted to jump up and down. For the first time in centuries, William had left his grave. His love for Bethany and the prospect of seeing her again had proven stronger than any evil spirit's hold.

  "No!" Melanie shouted. A strike of lightning streaked through the black sky. Thunder boomed overhead, and the wind began to swirl around us like a tornado. "This isn’t supposed to happen. William was supposed to be mine." Screaming, Melanie lunged at Bethany, knocking William out of her way.

  Melanie held tightly onto Bethany’s neck as Bethany struggled beneath her grasp. Bethany choked out, "How did you get across the boundaries? You are evil. You can’t be with resting souls," as she fought back, pushing Melanie off of her.

  "I broke through," she laughed. "That hold is not stronger than me. I have been so afraid of trying all these years that I never once dared step foot in this cemetery. But today, learning that stupid girl was going to wreck my plans, I had to try. And look: I am still here." Bethany glared as Melanie spoke.

  "You made everyone think I killed myself!" Bethany cried out, her body shaking in anger. I could almost see the hateful energy vibrating inside of her as she faced Melanie. "My poor family was devastated," she continued, struggling to keep her body still. "I had to watch them cry and mourn me because they thought I had killed myself. How could you do that to me? We were friends."

  Melanie laughed, unaffected by Bethany’s pained expression. "We were friends, once, but then you took William. I loved him, but you took him from me. Of course, I killed you. My plan worked, too. No one ever questioned me or the cause of your death. Everyone thought poor Bethany had committed suicide because her sweet fiancé William never came back for her." Her voice sent chills down my spine as I watched the evil radiating from her face.

  Bethany’s mouth twisted, revealing a pained expression as she watched Melanie, someone she'd once considered a friend, explain how she'd brutally betrayed her. It was undeniable that Melanie was spiteful and dangerous, but now I was sure she had returned from the deep pits of hell. Only someone influenced by the pure evil of the devil could commit such heinous crimes.

  William pulled Bethany close to him and confronted Melanie again. "Melanie, you have to stop this. I told you, before I left for the war, that I didn’t love you and never would. I love Bethany, and I will spend eternity with Bethany, not you." He bellowed the words from deep within his soul. He looked dashing as he stood there in his Army uniform, holding the woman he loved.

  Having gained my senses and my voice back, I approached the three of them. "Melanie, it is time for you to move on," I said. "Please let William and Bethany move to heaven without any more trouble. They are soul mates. You need to find peace within yourself and just let go. Your wicked lies killed Bethany and destroyed an entire town." My words shot through the air like bullets.

  I waited for a response. We all waited for a response.

  Melanie glared at all of us, evil seeping through her eyes. As her anger began to grow, so did the storm surrounding us. A bolt of lightning struck a foot away from me, knocking me violently off my feet. I fell hard to the ground as the wind began to intensify. The storm within Melanie had exploded and was taking over outside.

  Lucy and Noah struggled to stay on their feet with nothing to hold onto to keep them balanced, and they, too, toppled to the ground. I saw Noah’s head hit one of the grave markers and I screamed out. I had to get to him, but I couldn’t. My body was in pain and I couldn’t find the strength to move myself toward him.

  Lucy, who had seen Noah hit his head, began to crawl toward him, calling his name.

  He moved, lifting a hand and touching it to his head. When he removed his hand, bright red blood covered his palm.

  I cried out for him, screaming his name and forcing my body to crawl to him. I pulled at the damp grass, kicking my legs behind me as I slowly inched myself over to where Noah lay in pain.

  Melanie jumped over my body, flying through the air to grab Bethany, pulling her away from William. Both girls were sent spiraling into the sky. The wind had developed into a funnel. Their anger was building the storm as they swirled around in the black sky, their bodies clashing, causing tiny sparks to bounce off of them and fall to the ground. One of the sparks hit my arm; it felt as if I'd been burned, the fiery ember having seared my skin. I cried out in pain. Through my own screams and the raging wind, I heard Noah and Lucy yelling out in pain, too. The embers continued to fall all around us, like rain, as Melanie and Bethany continued their fight above.

  "I will rip off your head and end you now," Melanie screamed, her hands tightly wrapped around Bethany’s throat.

  With a force only a desperate woman could muster, Bethany twisted out of Melanie’s hold and snapped Melanie’s neck like a twig. In a quick flash, Melanie disappeared, and Bethany fell from the swirling wind into the arms of William who had been watching helplessly below.

  The storm subsided as Melanie became nothing more than ashes falling from the sky. She was no longer a presence on this earth. She was go
ne. Where she went to, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that Melanie was gone forever, and so was the evil that had been haunting the town.

  "Sadie," Lucy called as she ran to me. "Are you hurt?" she asked inspecting my body.

  "No, I'm fine," I said, cringing from the overwhelming pain. My body felt like I'd been crushed by a blazing truck as the burns and cuts pulsated, revealing a deeper hurt than I could have ever imagined.

  "Where's Noah?" I cried as Lucy helped me stand.

  Noah rubbed his head as he limped slowly toward us. "I'm fine, don’t worry," he said as he smiled my favorite, charming, Noah smile and I felt instantly relieved. As long as my friends were okay, everything would be fine.

  "We can’t thank you enough for everything you did," William stated. "You brought Bethany to me. You saved her."

  I smiled and placed my head against Noah’s shoulder. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get rid of her," I joked.

  "Sadie, you gave me the peace I have been searching for…well, forever. Now we can be reunited with our families and spend eternity together," Bethany announced as she hugged William tightly. The love between them was electric.

  "I'm just glad I could help. I'll see you again, someday," I said as I struggled to hold back my tears, genuinely happy for them. They had found each other, and now they could move on.

  William and Bethany waved, and walked through the cemetery as a heavy fog began to fill the space. Noah, Lucy, and I watched as they disappeared into the mist. Unable to hold back any longer, I let the tears I'd been fighting come crashing down. I cried, hard, into Noah’s chest as he held me tightly. Lucy cried, too, standing next to us. Even though Noah will never admit it, I swear I felt a tear fall on my head.

  The three of us held onto each other, and as we limped back to the truck, we realized we looked like we'd just been in a fight. Noah’s head was still slightly bleeding from the cut he'd endured from his fall and Lucy had small burn marks on her arms where the embers had made contact. My hair was disheveled from the insane wind created by Melanie’s storm and my body had more cuts, burns, and bruises than before I'd left.

  "Great," I muttered as I climbed into the truck.

  "My mom's going to kill me when she sees us." Lucy and Noah nodded their heads in agreement.

  "At least it won't be the first time someone had tried to kill you tonight," Noah joked as Lucy stared daggers at him.

  "Okay," I said, "seriously–my mom's going to freak out. This is worse than the car accident. She's never going to let me leave her side again," I said, near tears.

  "I guess you'd better come up with a story good enough to get us all out of trouble this time." Noah laughed with uncertainty. He offered me a slight smile, but even his famous Noah smile couldn’t make me feel better this time.

  I huffed, knowing there was nothing I could do or say this time. I might as well accept it: I was going to be grounded for life.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I stepped through the front door of my aunt's house, preparing myself for the epic meltdown my mom was sure to have. When she saw me bruised and cut even more than before I'd left, she let out a blood-curdling scream that anyone in a ten-mile radius of us would have heard. "Sadie, what happened to you?" she shrieked as she ran her hands over my fresh cuts. Tears filled her eyes, and a rush of guilt shot through me. The pain the guilt brought with it hurt worse than any injury I'd sustained.

  Her eyes fell on Noah and Lucy and her tears started to gush.

  "What happened?" she whispered as Aunt Morgan and Uncle Johnny came running out of the kitchen to observe the scene. Aunt Morgan let out a scream and Uncle Johnny cursed under his breath. I knew we looked terrible, but I hadn’t prepared myself for this type of a reaction.

  "We're fine," I yelled over their cries. "I promise: we're fine."

  Max, who'd been lying on the couch, slumped off and waddled over to where I was standing. Confusion showed on his poor face as he took in the reaction to our presence. In that moment I wanted to just hug him and go hide under the covers of my bed.

  "You are not fine," Mom cried again. Even in the commotion, she had somehow found the time to pull her cell phone from her purse and dial my dad’s number. She turned her attention back to us and cried as she held the phone close to her ear. "You all look like you've been in a fight, or another wreck.

  "What happened to getting ice cream?" she asked, turning her attention toward Noah.

  He hung his head low and mumbled how we did get ice cream, but that our plans had changed.

  "Mom, I promise: we're fine. Please don’t make me explain what happened. You just have to believe me when I say we're fine and ready to go home." I reached out and took the phone from my mom to hear my dad calling her name.

  "Hey, Dad," I said, trying to mask my pain. "I just wanted to say hi, and tell you I love you. I think we're leaving tomorrow. I'll see you later." I stopped talking and waited for his reaction. I knew he was upset and worried about me after my accident.

  After a long pause, he said, "Sadie, I love you and I worry about you so much. When you get home, we're going to have a few very serious conversations. There's so much to discuss about your dishonesty and exactly what you've been up to this summer." He paused and sighed through the phone. "Please try not to get yourself hurt again."

  "I promise, Dad: I'll be careful." I almost cried again as I listened to the sadness of his voice. I hung up the phone and gave it back to my mom.

  My mom sighed as she held her phone tightly against her chest and watched me carefully. She dried her eyes after a moment and looked over at us. She was fighting within herself, I could tell. I knew she wanted to demand I tell her what had happened, but I also knew she wanted to believe in me. She nodded her head in the end, having decided to give up the interrogation.

  Still angry, my mom told me, Noah, and Lucy to get our bags packed because she'd booked all four of us a flight at six-thirty the next morning. We decided not to argue and made our way slowly up the stairs to pack our bags. We took turns showering and then decided to have a talk with my mom, Aunt Morgan, and Uncle Johnny before we headed for bed, having decided that the adults deserved some form of the truth. We'd put them all through so much, we owed that much to them, at least.

  We found the three of them seated in the living room, sipping warm tea, and talking. They stopped talking upon our arrival and turned their attention to us. I'd decided to take the lead and begin the conversation. I seated myself on a wooden chair by the fireplace while Noah stood beside me, and Lucy sat in the recliner next to the couch. "We want to talk to you," I stated.

  "We're ready to listen," my mom said. She sat her cup of tea on the end table, folded her hands in her lap, and sighed, preparing herself for what I was about to say.

  "Mom, Uncle Johnny, Aunt Morgan," I began, making sure they knew my apology and confession was meant for all of them, "I'm going to explain what happened. Please don't ask questions–just let me explain.

  "So, when I arrived here, I noticed some strange things around the farm. I found a box of photos and letters from the original owners of the house. I was intrigued so I decided to research the people. A girl named Bethany lived here. Her fiancé went to fight in the Civil War and was stationed, at Camp Nelson for a while. I learned through different forms of research that she was killed by her jealous best friend, named Melanie. Her fiancé, William, was so distraught, he couldn’t live any longer. He was killed at war and buried at Camp Nelson. Bethany's buried on this property.

  "Over the years, stories have circulated that a ghost has been haunting the town. Even you, Aunt Morgan, said that strange things had happened around here, and you joked it might be ghosts. I believe it was a ghost, or ghosts, causing your problems. But tonight, Noah, Lucy, and I ended that theory.

  "There are no more ghosts haunting this town or this house. We had to handle a few things and that’s why we look so rough. We're all fine, we're all safe. I know this is a lot to handle and some of it may seem crazy, b
ut it is all true."

  I stopped talking and watched everyone around me. I knew it would take a while for me to earn their trust back. I'd lied to my mom and my aunt, and I'd put myself in danger. I could only hope they believed me. The funny thing about lying is that sometimes people lie for selfish reasons or to get themselves out of trouble, but I lied to save those around me, who I loved more than anything else in the world. Regardless if they understood or would ever know, I never lied to gain anything for myself. I only lied to save those that I loved.

  "Is that why you've been so secretive?" Uncle Johnny asked.

  "Yes," I answered looking him directly in the eye. "I was on a mission‒a job‒to uncover the secrets behind the hauntings, and I believe I've found my answers."

  "And you're fine?" Aunt Morgan reiterated. I nodded and smiled. "Yes, I promise."

  I watched as my mom and aunt exchanged nervous glances. They seemed to be communicating among themselves, almost as if they were having a conversation only they could hear or understand. When they were done, they turned to me, their eyes focusing on mine.

  "Is there anything else you want to tell us?" Aunt Morgan asked, her tone serious and strong. "We can talk in private, if you'd like," she added, her eyes burning into me. The way she'd spoken to me sounded as if she was begging me to indulge her with more information. Almost as if she could tell I was keeping a dark secret from her, and the wicked lies I'd been telling for so long to protect my family almost came flooding out.

  For a brief moment, I felt the urge to tell my mom and aunt that I was a messenger to the dead, that I could communicate with and see dead people. I wanted to share my secrets and stories and fears with them. I couldn’t explain the strong pull–it was enough to make me want to scream–but I didn’t.

  My mom stood, and walked over to me, and hugged me to her. She whispered softly in my ear: "I believe you. I don’t understand everything, but I trust what you did was right."