Copyright
Shadowed is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SHADOWED: A Novel
Copyright © 2020 by Michelle Areaux
All rights reserved.
Editing by KP Editing
Cover Design by KP Designs
Published by Kingston Publishing Company
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Table of Contents
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
From the Author
About the Author
Extras
Dedication
In every darkness, we can find light. For me, in my darkest hour, my light was and always will be--Anthony Areaux.
Thank you to my supportive husband who has believed in me every step of the way throughout my publishing journey. More importantly, he found me when I needed him the most. He helped me realize the true meaning of love and acceptance. He chose me to be his wife and I will forever be grateful for his love and unending support.
So, if right now you find yourself trapped in darkness, be patient. Everyone has a light that will save them.
Prologue
In a world shadowed by darkness, I find my solace.
Well, at least a piece of it.
“I can’t lose you now,” I plead, wiping away the tears that sting my eyes.
He looks at me briefly, before his golden eyes close again.
I gasp, unable to hold back the devastation I feel in my heart and soul. I beg and plead for the pain to stop. To take him out of his painful misery.
Instead, they continue their cruel torture.
I realize in that moment, it is up to me to end this.
While I only had him for a few months, it seemed like an eternity. Being blinded to the evils surrounding this world, I couldn’t bring myself to accept the truth.
But now, I have no other choice.
Chapter 1
I think I am hallucinating.
Standing in front of our living room window, my hand rests on the cool panes of glass. My eyes are locked on the image across the street, my legs holding firmly in place, refusing to allow me to walk away. My heart jumps a little with the intensity of this moment.
For the first time in my life, something extraordinarily peculiar is happening in my little bubble of existence. A new family has moved into my neighborhood.
Or, if I am being honest, the real shock is that someone is showing interest in my small hometown, that barely registers as a blip on the radar of towns in America.
I know that sounds like I am being a little bit dramatic, but I’m not. Trust me.
In our small town of Edison, Washington, the thought of someone new moving to our gloomy part of the world was almost unheard of. Actually, most people tried to escape our town-- not come in willingly. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not because we are burdened with crime or live in an ugly part of the world. It’s just that Edison is small-- and surrounded by nothing but vast forests and ocean. No big city lights can be found here.
A family was moving in, that much we knew. But who they were or where they came from, had been a mystery buzzing around town all week.
They snuck into Edison, bringing a cloud of thick fog with them that seemed to blanket the whole town. The skies remained a gray overcast, and I couldn’t help but sense the gloomy atmosphere that began.
“Our town is quaint,” my mom said, as she watched me eye the moving truck.
“That’s just a nice word for boring,” I said, my eyes never leaving the large truck. My hands slide down the glass and my fingers revel in the icy touch.
When the news came out around town that a new family was moving into Edison, everyone broke out into a frenzy. Talk of who would meet them first and what they would look like seemed to be the number one topic of gossip for the last week. I have to admit, our town is beautiful if you love mountains that touch the sky and water that surrounds the entire peninsula. Houses climb the mountains and hills and rocky beaches welcome boats. Clouds seem to lay on top of the large, snow-capped mountains, and a heavy fog rolls in and stakes its claim daily. When you think of Washington, your mind typically imagines Seattle and the Space Needle or the Pike Street Public Market with its original Starbucks attracting tourists daily. You might even consider Spokane or the tiny town of Forks, where a vampire and a human found love...but that’s an entirely different story. But Edison-- we weren’t really making our mark on any tourist sites.
The only issue was, none of us had actually seen the new family. They were still these elusive people who were taking over a house in my neighborhood. A house that had been vacant for the last ten years, ever since the previous owners passed away.
“Why would anyone want to move here?” I asked, pulling the blinds back and turning to face my mom.
I walked further into our small living room. Outside the window behind me, there was a perfect view of the neighbor’s house and the towering, snow-capped mountains behind them. In front of me, just beyond the kitchen window, I could faintly see the water that surrounded our small town.
In Edison, most people here were either in the fishing or logging industry. There really wasn’t much else here, so when I heard the news that a family had chosen this place as their home, well… you can understand my shock.
“It’s not right to judge people, Henley. Maybe they inherited that old house. From what I heard from Susan down at the bank, the house has been passed around the family for years. No one wanted it…” her words trailed off as she realized that she was, indeed, proving my point.
“See,” I smiled.
Tucking a loose strand of my dark-colored hair behind my ear, my mom gives me a knowing look from the twinkling in her eye. I can already tell I won’t like the next words out of her mouth.
“You know, Henley, I heard that they have teenage boys. Maybe you could run upstairs and dress in a cute outfit. Strut yourself over there when they get here and introduce yourself,” she says, with a sly wink.
Sighing, I batted her hand away. I know my mom believes I live my life in a constant state of disarray, but I like the way I look. I dress for me-- no one else. Suddenly though, I can’t help but feel a tad bit self-conscious as I glance down at my wrinkled Edison High t-shirts, denim jeans, and black Converse sneakers. To my mom, I should dress more like the popular kids at school. But to me, well, I have already accepted my fate as the school loser. I just wish she would come to terms with the idea,
too. That thought reminds me that whoever moves in will want nothing to do with me.
“Mom, we have been over this a million times. I refuse to change. Besides, I only have another year left in this place, and then I can escape,” I remind her, as I make my way to my bedroom.
Ever since I could remember, I had a strategic plan to find freedom outside the confines of the small, West Coast town my parents forced me to live in. On more than one occasion in my childhood, I had packed a bag, found a route to the nearest large city, and made a plan to start a new life.
Rolling her eyes, my mom sighed as she turned on her heels and went back into the kitchen. “Dinner is in half an hour when your dad gets home,” she yelled over her shoulder.
My dad worked as a logger and often worked long hours, where days went by that I never saw him. It was a dangerous and physically grueling job. My late grandfather had moved to Edison with my grandmother to begin a new life. My parents met and decided to stay. My dad worked harder than anyone could, and I knew he did it for us. So, I tried not to complain too much.
****
As the evening sun began to set, and the sky above became painted with oranges and reds, I heard a car door close. Assuming it was my dad, I stumbled down the stairs. I rushed to the room, expecting to see my dad in his plaid work shirt and dirty jeans.
“Mom, I think dad is home,” I called, as I glanced out the living room window once again.
However, instead of seeing my dad pull up in his old Chevy truck, I saw a large SUV pull up just outside my house.
Stopping dead in my tracks, I caught myself spying on the people outside. I had never seen this vehicle before, but somehow I just knew that it must belong to our new neighbors. I stood there frozen in place; my breathing slows as I anxiously waited for someone to emerge from the SUV. Sure, I had made my own snarky comments about why these people would move here on their own, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t above joining in on the hysteria. What else was I supposed to do?
“Henley,” my mom called, but I swiftly turned around, holding up my hand and shushing her.
“They are here,” I whispered, as I beckoned for her to come spy along with me.
As much as I liked to pretend, I wasn’t completely and totally intrigued by the thought of new people moving here; I couldn’t control myself. I tried to convince myself it was all because of my mom; but as I stood there, whispering the words, I knew there was no fooling myself.
“Henley, don’t you know it’s not polite to stare?” she asked, but her own hypocritical words hung heavy in the air as she raced to join me in the living room again.
Standing next to me, we watched intently as the driver's side door opened. With large eyes, we strained to get a glimpse of who would be our new neighbor. To our surprise, the rest of the car doors opened and the family emerged.
A tall man with dark hair closed the driver's side door as a woman emerged from the passenger's side. The back two doors opened and three teens, roughly around my age, tumbled out. A girl with short, dark hair and legs-for-days gave the house a disgusted look. A boy who seemed to be uninterested in it all, stared down into his phone, which he held tightly in his grip. Finally, a tall boy with the same dark hair stood behind the rest of his family. With his hands tucked deep into his jeans pockets, he seemed reluctant to move any closer to the house.
“Well, they look like a nice family,” my mom said. I turned to look at her and I could see the eagerness twinkling in her baby blues to get to her phone and be the first one to spill the news that the new neighbors had arrived.
It was almost like they had landed in a spaceship and were from outer space!
“Maybe,” I grumbled, still unsure about these people.
Suddenly, the boy, standing alone behind his family, turned and caught me snooping on them. Our eyes connected for a brief moment before he gave me an angry snarl that had me stumbling backward.
What was that?
“I need to go call Susan,” my mom stated, as she rushed to the kitchen to retrieve her phone.
I dared to look back out the window again; and when I did, the entire family was gone.
Just disappeared, like they had never been standing there in the first place.
I blinked, just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. When I looked again, the SUV was still parked along the curb, but the family was gone.
Lights glowed from inside the house.
“That’s weird,” I said aloud to myself. How did they have time to get inside and turn on the lights? I literally just turned around for a second.
I shook my head, unsure of what to think. Peeking out of the window again, something in the far, second-floor window caught my attention. As my gaze moved up, I felt my cheeks burn and nervous energy flow through me. As my gaze finally landed on the window, I caught a pair of red eyes staring back at me. It was the same boy who had given me the nasty stare just moments before.
I closed the curtains and took a step back. My heart was racing so fast, I feared it might jump right out of my chest. With labored breathing, I slowly walked into the kitchen where my mom was blabbing the news to anyone who would listen.
Sitting down at the kitchen table, I tried to calm my nerves. I wasn’t sure what had just happened; but I know one thing for sure, there was something strange about the new family.
Chapter 2
The next morning, my eyes burned as I caught the morning sun intruding into my bedroom. I had stayed up all night. The look in those eyes-- those red eyes glowing at me-- had sent shivers down my spine. Too afraid to fall asleep and too unsure about whether or not to tell my mom what I had seen, I excused myself up to my room after my dad had gotten home way past dark.
Fear had engulfed me, and I had been too much of a baby to look outside again. I’m not sure what I had expected to see, but I wasn’t up for nightmares.
Now, I had to get ready for school. A school that housed around three-hundred students. Great. Most kids still ignore me. Even though we have all gone to school together since pre-school, the majority of them act as if I don’t exist. Well, everyone but my best friend, Amy. She and I had found a friendship after meeting in sixth grade. Her dad worked on a fishing boat that shipped out for days and weeks at a time. We found comfort in one another and a shared hatred for our school. Over the years, we had devised a plan that after high school graduation, we were both escaping this small town and heading to the furthest college that accepted us. As a junior, I only had one year left before I could be free. The thought caused a smile to form on my overly tired face.
Now, I sat on my bed and allowed my anxiety to get the best of me. What would Amy think of this new family? Sure, we had both heard the town gossip, but now that they were here… it was real. Plus, I’m pretty sure I hadn’t made the best first impression.
A buzzing on my nightstand brought me out of my own thoughts. My cell phone was ringing; and as I looked down, I saw Amy’s face appear on my screen. Picking up my phone, I heard Amy’s voice break through the silence of my room.
“Hey, have you seen the new neighbors?” Amy asked, her voice way too perky for this time of the morning.
I sigh and fall back onto my bed. “Yeah, sort of,” I say, a yawn escaping my lips.
“And you didn’t call to tell me?” she yelled. “I had to hear the news from my mom, who heard it from your mom. But my own best friend couldn’t call me!”
I could just see her now, her blond hair nervously twirled around her finger as she paced her bedroom. Her blue eyes would be locked outside her window, glaring down my house just two streets away--down the hill, from my house.
“Calm down,” I laughed. “I only saw them for like a second,” I said, which wasn’t really a lie.
“Still,” she huffed. “I better hear every single detail,” she insisted.
“Fine, but I have to get ready for school or I won’t make it to see you,” I stated, before hanging up.
&nbs
p; After taking a quick shower, I dressed in a pair of denim jeans, loose black t-shirt, my red Converse sneakers, and then pulled my long, black hair back into a high ponytail. I added some light foundation and just a pop of mascara to highlight my green eyes. Grabbing my backpack, I bounced down the stairs, making sure not to look out the windows as I passed them.
My mom was sitting at the kitchen table rambling about the new neighbors to my very tired dad. When she spotted me, she jumped up and handed me a plate of eggs and toast. My mom wasn’t your fifties housewife; but with her job as a website designer, she was able to stay home. For some odd reason, she enjoyed staying home and taking care of me and my dad. For me, I wanted more and something different...a concept my parents just couldn’t understand. I practically inhaled my breakfast before rushing out the front door. I piled into my old Ford Explorer and began the short drive to my high school.
Winters could be brutal around here and the terrain didn’t seem to support smaller, more fancy cars. So, my mom’s old Explorer became mine. I wasn’t complaining though, many kids walked to school, so for me to have my own ride was a blessing.
When I arrived at school, I realized I was running late. The parking lot was full and only a few kids loitered around. Grabbing my bag, I shifted it on my shoulder and ran up to the front of our one-story school. Before I walked inside, I looked around, checking to see if he showed up. I knew it was silly, really. From the looks he gave me last night, he clearly didn’t want to be bothered with the pesky neighbor. And, that was fine by me.
“Henley, what are you doing?” I heard Amy yell.
I heard the heavy door close behind me and I spotted Amy just down the hall, waving at me from our shared locker. I hurried over and dropped my bag to the ground.
“Sorry, didn’t sleep last night,” I whined, as Amy eyed me carefully.
“Why? Were you up all night-- spying on the new neighbors?” she asked, laughing a little as she handed me my math book.
Shadowed (The Shadow and Moon Series) Page 1