Grinning, Lexi shoved the last piece of bacon in front of her mom’s face and jokingly asked, “Want some?” Her mom wrinkled her nose distastefully and batted her hand away. “Cute, Lexi,” her mom said, laughing.
*
Lexi followed her mom into the Stillwater Inn & Suites. Glancing around, she found herself unimpressed by the tacky salmon colored carpet and clashing mocha painted walls in the hotel lobby – but reminded herself that it was the best that the town had to offer. Lexi and her mom had searched online and found that the Stillwater was the only hotel in Briar Creek with at least a four-star rating.
“Good day, ma’am. How may I help you?” a short man with a thick mustache who was working behind the front desk asked Lexi’s mom. Lexi tried to ignore the dark red stain on his shirt, which she assumed he must have spilled on himself during his lunch break – classy.
“I have a reservation,” Eileen answered, pulling out her Coach wallet and reaching for one of her many credit cards.
“May I have your name?” the man, whose nametag said Steve, asked.
“Eileen Hunter,” she replied. Feeling impatient, Lexi tapped her foot.
“I’m sorry ma’am, but we don’t have a reservation under your name,” Steve said. “How did you book your stay? Online or by phone?”
“I called,” Eileen answered, with a puzzled expression on her face. “Are you sure there’s no reservation? Would you please double check?”
Steve tapped on the computer for a few moments before glancing up at her. “No reservation ma’am. I’m terribly sorry,” he said.
“Well, do you have any vacancies?” Lexi could see how annoyed her mother was becoming.
Shaking his head, Steve replied, “No, ma’m. We don’t. I’m sorry. We’re booked for the next two weeks.”
“Thanks,” Eileen said turning away and opening the hotel door. Lexi followed her and heard her mutter under her breath, “Like that many people visit Briar Creek.”
When they went back to their car, Eileen opened the rear passenger side door and stuffed their luggage in the back seat. Lexi sat in the front seat and turned to look at her mom. “Now what are we going to do?” Lexi asked.
“We’re going to have to stay with Aunt Violet,” Eileen answered hesitantly.
“Well, I thought we should stay with them all along,” Lexi said, pointedly.
“I know you did, Lexi,” Eileen pacified her. “I’m just going to give your aunt a call to make sure it’s okay that we stay first.”
Dialing the phone, Eileen waited for her sister to answer the phone. When she didn’t pick up, Eileen decided against leaving a message. “She’s expecting us over there soon anyway,” Eileen said, turning to Lexi. “I guess we’ll just let her know when we get there.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine with it, mom,” Lexi said. “She is your sister, after all.”
“I hope so,” Eileen said, pulling out of the hotel parking lot.
*
Lexi’s breath caught in her throat as her mom pulled their silver Ford Focus onto the gravel road that lead to Violet and Tommy’s house. Before her stood the daffodil yellow, three-story house, imprisoned by the white picket fence that she had been too afraid to climb as a child (despite Austin’s many attempts to convince her to jump over it when they pretended they were Power Rangers). Inside the fence had always felt like the safest place to Lexi; it was Austin who had always seemed like he was trying to break free.
The house brought back an array of childhood memories: holding lemonade stands at the end of the driveway, baking cookies with Grandma Jean, and climbing the snow banks that encircled the lake she wished she knew how to ice skate on. Thinking about her past made her feel a twinge of emptiness. Maybe Briar Creek could help her open the door to the life she had missed out on when she and her mom had picked up and left.
Unfortunately, the house also brought back bad memories, like the night her father went missing. They had searched for a few hours before coming to the assumption that he had left on his own accord. No one had even bothered to file a police report. At the time, her mother had told her that the police wouldn’t look for a grown man so they shouldn’t waste their time on filing a report. Still, the search (or lack thereof) struck Lexi as odd years later, when she was old enough to know that you wouldn’t just let someone you love disappear without trying to figure out where they went, with or without the help of the police.
Lexi had always wondered if her mom and dad had had deeper problems than she was aware of, but it was yet another item on her list of things not to ask about. Lexi’s resources were limited. She couldn’t ask her mom, and they didn’t have contact with any other family, since Lexi’s grandparents were dead and Violet was her mom’s only sibling. Lexi knew that her dad had a sister, Simone, who she had met a few times when she was a kid, but her mom hadn’t kept in touch with her any further than sending her a Christmas card every year.
Glancing around, she could tell that not much had changed since she and her mom had moved away. The houses surrounding Aunt Violet’s house still looked the same, except for the Kelly green house across the street. Once bright and cheery, it now looked like a house that would be featured in a slasher film.
One of the upstairs windows was boarded shut and most of the shingles had begun to pull up off the roof. The grass hadn’t been cut for some time now. In between the two jungles of grass lay a broken pathway that led to the front screen door, which looked like it was about to fall off its hinges at any moment.
Lexi thought back to who had lived there. Years ago, it had been home to a teenager named Kevin who had lived there with his family. Lexi’s mom still occasionally made fun of her because he had been her first childhood crush, even though he was way too old for her. Once when he was out getting the mail, Lexi had asked him to marry her. He said yes and she had worn a ring pop for the next week. Her heart was broken when Kevin’s family had picked up and moved out of Briar Creek without a word to anyone just days before their “wedding.” Shortly after, an old man had moved into Kevin’s old house. Deciding that he must have passed away by now, Lexi wondered if anyone was living in the house these days or if, by the looks of it, it was abandoned.
“Lexi, get the bags,” her mom instructed, bringing the car to an abrupt stop and snapping her back to reality.
Lexi got out of the car and walked around to the back passenger side door and grabbed the plum-colored Louis Vuitton luggage and their Coach handbags from the backseat. She tiptoed, trying to keep her ballet flats and the luggage that she was carrying out of the muddy patches that lined the dirt driveway. As she walked up the front porch steps, she noticed the tiny “L.H.” and “A.G.” – her and Austin’s initials that they had carved into the wood when they were kids.
Unsure of what to expect, Lexi stood awkwardly on the front porch and waited until her mom was standing next to her before she rang the doorbell. She listened as it dinged loudly and heard the muffled, “I’m coming!”
When the person on the other side fumbled with the lock and flung the door open, Lexi felt her stomach lurch into her throat.
Violet stepped out from behind the door; her hair a shade redder and her skin a bit more wrinkly than Lexi remembered. She also looked about thirty pounds lighter, but otherwise, she was the same old Aunt Violet.
“You’re here! I can hardly believe it,” Violet said, embracing Eileen in a tight hug, looking just as nervous as Lexi felt. Lexi breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as awkward as she was expecting it to be. Maybe she and her mom would even reconnect with Violet and it would be like old times.
“And Lexi too! I wasn’t sure if you’d come but I’m so happy you’re here. You’ve grown so much.”
“They let her take her finals a day early, so she’s on her summer break now,” Eileen said, answering the unasked question of why Lexi was there when she was supposed to be in school.
Making her best attempt at giving a genuine-seeming smile, L
exi leaned in for a hug. She noticed how frail Aunt Violet felt. “It’s been a long time. I’m sorry about Austin.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. Me too.” Something in Violet’s voice sounded cold and detached. It would be hard not to detach yourself from the world if your only son was attacked by a wild animal, though, Lexi thought. She couldn’t even imagine how her mom would react if it were Lexi who had been killed. Lexi decided that Aunt Violet must be really strong for being able to stay so composed.
Opening the door wider, Aunt Violet invited them in. Lexi glanced around the living room. Not much had changed, except that there was now a huge pile of stacked boxes that was hiding the majority of the maroon couch. Lexi assumed that the boxes contained Austin’s stuff, and found it strange that her aunt and uncle had packed it up so soon. Maybe it was better that they dealt with it now instead of becoming one of those parents who kept their child’s belongings for years, never allowing visitors into the bedroom that their deceased child had once slept in. That was just creepy.
A heavy breathing reminded her of Uncle Tommy’s emphysema. She glanced up as he stepped into the room. “Well, I’ll be damned. I didn’t expect the two of you to come. You’re just in time for lunch. Hey, kiddo, why don’t you help me cook the burgers? You can put the pickles on them.” Lexi grinned. Putting pickles on the cheeseburgers had always been her favorite childhood job.
For the first time in a long time, Lexi felt like she was finally home…but she couldn’t help but wonder what had taken her mom so long to come back to the place where Lexi knew they both belonged.
****
Chapter 2
Austin’s funeral turned out to be a big blur for Lexi. It was bad enough that she had never been to a funeral before, but it was even more awkward to go to the funeral of someone that she hadn’t seen since she was a kid. It wasn’t what she expected. Granted, she didn’t know what people did at these things – but she also wasn’t expecting them to kiss Austin’s corpse. As she refrained from the line to kiss Austin on his cheek, she shivered; it was like a kiss with death. She wasn’t sure if she would have kissed him even if she had known him better.
One of the things that surprised her about Austin’s funeral was the number of people that came. She guessed that his entire high school class must have been there, along with family and neighbors. Austin had been timid as a child, but he appeared to have been Mr. Popular before he died. From the conversations she had overheard so far, everyone had said that he had amazing football abilities, and that he was a “happy-go-lucky jock that didn’t have a care in the world.” His closer friends had also said that he was a social butterfly who had been the life of all their parties. The pictures at the memorial service showed the shining star football player that everyone described, but to Lexi, his smile looked forced. Maybe he wasn’t really the happy teenager that everyone thought he was.
After the memorial service, everyone had headed back to Violet and Tommy’s. Lexi wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself; she felt out of place with Austin’s friends and she couldn’t stand to watch the pained expressions of her aunt and uncle. In an effort to escape, she headed for the bathroom.
When Lexi got to the top of the staircase, she noticed two puffy-eyed girls talking to each other in low voices.
“No, I’m not overreacting. I just think it’s weird that Mary-Kate is the last person who saw him,” the blonde girl whispered to the girl with jet black hair and caramel skin. “I don’t get why the cops aren’t even looking at her as a suspect.”
“She’s the mayor’s daughter; of course they’re not going to suspect her. It would draw a ton of unwanted attention. Besides, what are the chances of a girl her size…you know,” the brunette responded, looking around uncomfortably. Lexi thought that it sounded as though they had already had this conversation – maybe even more than once.
“Things were weird between them though, Julie. She was really clingy and obsessed with him. The rumors were that he was getting ready to dump her. Isn’t that a coincidence?”
“Maybe, maybe not. Either way, what could we do about it? Go to the police? They’ll never listen to us. They want everyone to think that Austin was attacked by a bear or maybe even a mountain lion. Then we’ll end up looking bad because everything the mayor’s daughter does is golden,” she said cattily. Through the blonde’s snickers she continued, “But we all know what Ms. Goody Two Shoes does in her spare time.”
The blonde looked up sharply through her fit of laughter and her eyes narrowed, as she noticed that Lexi was listening in on their conversation. Shooting a few glares in Lexi’s direction, she made her way downstairs, pulling Julie along with her. Lexi wondered if it had really been that obvious that she was eavesdropping on them.
Remembering what she came upstairs for, Lexi made her way to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. She glanced around the room, taking note of the peeling floral wallpaper, which Aunt Violet had left intact all these years. Turning on the faucet to splash cold water on her face, she looked up to check her hair in the mirror. Looking past her reflection, she noticed a hole in the wall behind her. She turned around, examining it. It wasn’t a huge hole, but it was obvious that it had been made by a fist.
She wondered what had happened to cause someone to punch the wall. Lexi couldn’t imagine her aunt and uncle leaving evidence of a fight for all of Briar Creek to see today. It must have happened recently, and they just hadn’t thought to patch it up in the midst of everything that was going on. Maybe Austin had gotten into a fight before he was brutally mangled to death.
Lexi shuddered and turned around to finish washing her hands. Stop thinking about this, she told herself, staring at her pale reflection in the mirror. But the image she had created of Austin laying lifeless in a pool of his own blood kept popping back into her mind.
*
Rubbing her wet hands against her dark wash Levi’s, Lexi shook the image from her head. She unlocked and opened the door – only to find herself standing face to face with Kevin. He was the same cute guy who had lived across the street from her when she was a kid. He still had the same dark hair and chiseled chin. Nothing had changed about him. She wondered how that was possible; he would be almost thirty years old by now.
Feeling her cheeks getting hot, she forced herself to smile. “Hey, Kevin. I didn’t know you moved back here.”
“Oh, I’m not Kevin. He was my older brother,” the guy standing in front of her said in a velvety voice. Lexi thought for a second that she saw his eyes flash, but then realized that it must have been the lighting.
“Was?”
“There was an accident a few years ago.” He shifted his gaze uncomfortably away from her as if he was afraid to look her in her eyes. “He flipped his motorcycle.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that,” Lexi said, a bit shocked. She never would have admitted it out loud, but she was secretly hoping that she would run into Kevin this weekend. Why couldn’t Lexi remember Kevin having a younger brother? She guessed that her memory must be foggy because she had been so young.
He stared at her intently. “I lived in Denver most of my life. We moved back here last year.”
Finding it hard not to get lost in his deep blue eyes, Lexi stuttered, “I-I haven’t been back here…not since I was a kid. Not until now.”
Get a grip, she told herself. Stop sounding so pathetic. It’s just Kevin’s brother. It’s not like he’s Channing Tatum, though Kevin’s brother could probably play as his stunt double, she thought dreamily.
“Seems like an odd time to come back,” Kevin’s brother said. “I’m sorry about what happened to your cousin. It must be hard for you. I remember how close you two were.”
Lexi couldn’t help but sense the chemistry between them; it was as if a magnetic force was holding her eyes to his. She wondered if he felt it too. Her heart sped up and she couldn’t force herself to look away – not that she was sure she really wanted to. Breaking his gaze, he smirked an
d looked down the hallway.
Finally able to compose herself, she said, “Thanks. It’s strange, though…I didn’t really know him. Most of what I have left is memories. We didn’t talk to each other for years.”
“I see. Well, if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me. We moved back into the same house.”
“Thank you,” Lexi said, turning to walk away. Looking back at him, she asked, “Wait. What’s your name?”
“Gabriel. Most people call me Gabe.”
“Okay, well, I better get back downstairs,” she hesitated, not sure if he wanted to talk more. He nodded silently.
Lexi felt his eyes on her back as she slowly walked down the hallway.
When Lexi turned for a final glance at Gabe, he was already gone.
*
Downstairs, Lexi noticed that most of Austin’s mourners had left while she was upstairs. She breathed a sigh of relief. Talking to people she didn’t know about someone who she hadn’t seen in years wasn’t on the top of her to-do list right now.
Sitting down on her aunt’s maroon microfiber couch, Lexi stared at the Hibiscus design on her left middle fingernail. The rest of her manicure was starting to chip. She made a mental note to make an appointment at the nail salon when she got home.
She looked around for her mom, who she hadn’t seen since they got back to Violet and Tommy’s house hours ago. She was probably either outside smoking a cigarette or in Grandma Jean’s room, Lexi decided.
“Rough day for you, too?” a deep voice asked her. She glanced over as a blonde, tan guy sat down next to her. She recalled that he was Austin’s best friend, Dan. Aunt Violet had introduced her to him at the funeral.
The Briar Creek Vampires 01 - Kiss of Death Page 2