Silverweed

by Dorlana Vann

  He had a different future in mind. But when he tried to bring it up, she said they could compromise, which he had interpreted as hog tie. He thought they needed time apart. They needed to break up, but he hadn’t wanted to say the words.

  When he closed his eyes, he saw Summer’s face and her expression after he’d completed what he thought he had to do: her mouth fell open and giant tears dropped from her stunned eyes.

  Aiden’s head pounded now, and a sudden wave of sorrow caused his muscles to tighten. As he allowed everything to sink in, he understood what he had truly done; he had broken the heart of the one person he cared most about in the whole world, and then ran away instead of facing the consequences.

  Chapter 4

  I Will Be Careful

  Aiden groped for the quilt he had kicked off during the night and snuggled under it. He wanted to sleep more, but his need to pee wouldn’t allow him to stay under the covers a second longer.

  He walked barefooted down the hall, searching for a bathroom; cold air seemed to seep in through the walls and up from the hardwood floor. Thankfully, he had fallen asleep fully clothed, but he still wished he would have stolen the blanket off the bed.

  As he approached an open door, heat, like waves of joy, welcomed him inside a spacious bathroom. An even stranger heater than the rusted-green one in the guest room —gas and open-flamed—was inset above the toilet. The warmth against his face made him want to stand there all day.

  The smell of bacon was what eventually pulled him away, and he followed his nose to the kitchen where he found his mom.

  “Morning,” he said.

  Lucy jumped. “You about scared me half to death. I didn’t see you standing there.” She continued putting steaming biscuits in a basket without a “Good morning” or a smile. Her entire body drooped. Something was wrong.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked.

  “Always.”

  “I guess we won’t sit in the formal dining room this time,” she said without sarcastic tone or a smile. “Will you help me set the table?” She pointed to the small, round breakfast table by the bay window.

  “Oh crap, mom, look! It’s snowing!”

  “You haven’t really seen it snow, have you? You might see more than your share. A snowstorm, possibly even a blizzard, is headed this way.”

  “Is that what’s bothering you?” Aiden took the serving dishes heaped with scrambled eggs and bacon to the table.

  Lucy carried a pitcher of orange juice to the table and sat down. She stared out the window. “Have a seat.”

  “What about Granny?”

  “I’ll get her in a minute. There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

  He sat down and poured himself a glass of juice. “What’s wrong now?”

  “I talked to your dad last night.”

  “Okay.”

  “Riley’s worse, and now he’s sick too; they have the flu.” She shook her head and touched her face. “He told me not to worry about them, but he’s in no shape to take care of himself, much less a sick three-year-old. They have fever, chills, and can’t keep anything down.”

  “Okay, well, let’s go.”

  “I haven’t even talked to Mother. I can’t pack her up and hope she’ll cooperate. I don’t have time for all that. We can’t leave her here alone, either.”

  When it dawned on Aiden what she was getting at, and he felt sick to his stomach. “So one of us has to go and one of us has stay here,” he concluded with a huff.

  “I’m going to buy a ticket after breakfast. It’s up to you whose name is on it. Do you want to go home and take care of them or stay here and take care of Granny?”

  “What about Diesel? Did you call him?”

  “He didn’t answer.”

  “Figures.” He eyed his orange juice as he swirled it around in the glass, trying to overlook his mom’s puffy eyes and red nose because he knew which choice she preferred. But staying with Granny in the old house would be terrible. Take care of Granny. He didn’t know anything about taking care of an older person.

  But then he began to think about what a handful Riley could be even when he wasn’t sick. And barf. Ugh. He and vomit didn’t get along at all; one glimpse and there would be three people to clean up after instead of two. And there was another reason; he wasn’t sure he was ready to face Summer. She had said she wanted to talk before he left town. But he needed more time to analyze everything. “Go on,” he said. “This really sucks. I can’t believe this. I guess I’ll stay here with her.”

  She pressed her lips together as tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

  “Don’t cry, Mom. It’s fine. I know it’s the only thing to do.”

  “A couple of days,” she said wiping tears from her cheeks. “That’s all. I promise. Maybe Diesel will come back soon.”

  “Well, I’m not going to count on him coming to my rescue.”

  “I really hate leaving you when that storm is coming. Make sure you stay inside. Have you ever made a fire?”

  “Don’t worry. I can take of myself. I’ll be careful with the fireplace. I’ve been camping … once.”

  She sniffled and then straightened. “Okay, I asked Mother about a doctor, and she doesn’t have one. All she does as far as medicine is eat those muffins.” She shook her head. “The first thing I’m going to do when she moves in with us is take her to Dr. Stanley. Oh, and don’t worry, she’s self-sufficient. She only needs help getting on the chairlift and while downstairs. You don’t have to help her to the bathroom or anything. Her room is set up for her.”

  Crap. That hadn’t even crossed his mind

  “All you have to do is cook and help her down here to eat. If you need anything like meat or garden vegetables, there should be some in the deep freeze in the basement.”

  “Basement? Just when I thought this house couldn’t get any creepier.”

  “You think basements are creepy?”

  “Doesn’t everyone?”

  She laughed. “Not if you’re not from Texas. It’s just another room to people here. Okay now, if Granny needs you she will—” They heard a buzzing sound coming from the wall – “buzz you.”

  “Right,” Aiden said.

  “I better go get her. I can already hear her complaining about the cold breakfast, you know. Are you sure about this?”

  “Yes.” No. “When are you leaving?” he asked as she stood.

  “There’s a flight at noon.”

  After breakfast, a silent, awkward eating experience with Granny, Aiden walked out back. The cold air immediately filled his lungs, and he decided the sensation wasn’t so terrible. The snow flurries fell lightly, and he ventured beyond the covering of the porch and let them drop on his face. He smiled.

  Snow had started to stick to the ground and had accumulated around the bases of the skinny tree trunks. He made his way toward a stream that ran down a distant hill, passing a nice-sized garden, most of the vegetation cleared or dead.

  The atmosphere was almost magical. He wondered if people who lived in this sort of climate always became happier when it snowed. He found himself wishing he could tell Summer about the snow and about his crazy cousin and their strange house. He also needed to tell her he was sorry for the way he’d handled everything.

  Thinking back, his face flushed with shame. He had asked Summer’s best friend, Candi, over to his house under false pretenses; he had also invited Summer. At the precise moment the door opened, and he knew Summer was walking into his bedroom, he kissed Candi.

  He pulled out his cell phone, now, checking it again. Still no calls from Summer. The message she had left the day after he pretended to cheat on her indicated that Candi had told her that before that moment, nothing had ever happened between them. Apparently, Summer had believed Candi, and she wanted answers.

  Aiden didn’t pay much attention to the sudden gust of wind that sent settled snow flying. He stared at his phone, Summer’s name highlighted; all he had to do was press call.
<
br />   “Aiden!” Lucy called from the back door.

  He tucked the phone back into his pocket and jogged up to the house.

  “I called a cab,” she said, suitcase in hand. “It should be here any minute.” She handed him car keys. “I know I’m not supposed to, but I’m leaving you the rental in case of an emergency. Don’t go anywhere unless you must. It can get real bad out, real fast. Try and stay put. It’s possible that you might lose power.”

  Aiden followed her through the living room and into the foyer.

  “You can ask Granny if you have any questions. She’ll know what to do.”

  “Just hurry, okay.”

  She nodded and set her suitcase down long enough to give him a hug. “I will. I love you.”

  They heard a horn. “Two days tops,” she said as she opened the front door. “You’re the greatest son a mom ever had.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

  They walked outside, Lucy stepped inside the taxi, and waved sadly as she rode away.

  Chapter 5

  Half a League from the Village

  Scarlet grabbed the red bikini she had bought at the end of last season, yanked off the tags, and threw the bathing suit into her already stuffed suitcase.

  When she had searched for flights yesterday, she was disappointed to find no seats available until the next night. They purchased their tickets online, Diesel had crashed on the couch, and now all they had to do was get to the airport within the next couple of hours. For the first time in her life, Scarlet foresaw happiness in her future.

  “Are you sure you packed the right clothes for me?” Diesel sat on Scarlet’s bed, hands above his head holding onto the headboard. He wore his black shirt again, even though she had packed him several less mournful ones.

  “You can buy you some board shorts and flip flops when we get there.” She jumped on the bed and crawled onto his lap. “Cancun! Beaches and sunshine, baby!”

  “And we’ll be all alone,” he said.

  “You like, huh?”

  She recognized a small part of the pre-dead-mom-Diesel as he arched his eyebrow and gently pulled her toward him and kissed her.

  Scarlet felt something press against her chest. “What’s that?” she asked, sitting up. They had been together for over a year, and she had never known him to wear a necklace. She put her hand inside his shirt and pulled out a chain that hung from his neck with a piece of paper attached to it that read:

  ABRACADABRA

  ABRACADABR

  ABRACADAB

  ABRACADA

  ABRACAD

  ABRACA

  ABRAC

  ABRA

  ABR

  AB

  A

  “Oh, Diesel. Come on! Abracadabra? Are you for real?”

  He snatched the necklace from her hand. “You don’t understand.”

  “Yes, I do. Those … women are inside your head.” She stared at him as he tucked it back inside his shirt. “Take it off.”

  “I can’t … not for another five days.”

  “Abracadabra is a stupid pretend word that magicians use to distract an audience before they try to fool them with their tricks. It’s not real magic.”

  “It has real power if worn in the correct way,” he said in a low voice. “In five more days I’ll toss this over my left shoulder into running water, and my bad luck will disappear like the letters.”

  She shook her head. “Do you hear yourself?”

  He held his mouth tight and didn’t blink. After a second, he said, “You got your way. I’m going with you. Can’t you leave this alone?”

  “Fine! Wear your stupid charm necklace if you want; let’s just get out of here.”

  “I will.”

  “Fine.”

  “Fine,” he mocked. A tiny smile peeked out of the side of his mouth as he touched her hair lightly. “Kiss me.”

  “Fine,” she whispered, pressing her lips to his.

  “Scarlet!” They heard her mom, Theresa, calling from down the hall.

  Diesel shoved at Scarlet. “Get off, move,” he pleaded.

  “What? Really? Fine.” She took her time and still had one leg on Diesel, as the door opened.

  Diesel gave her a little push and she had to catch herself from falling. She shot him a look. He was no fun.

  “I wanted to let you know that we are about to get a lot of snow,” Theresa said from the doorway. Then she noticed the suitcase, open and packed. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing. Can you shut the door when you leave?” Scarlet waited for her to respond. Although her mom appeared plenty upset—her mouth tightened, and her eyes avoided Scarlet’s—she still shut the door without a word.

  “Go tell her what’s going on,” Diesel said.

  “Why? I’ll call her later. If I tell her now, it will only start a fight.” Scarlet bent over and zipped up her suitcase.

  “You can’t leave without telling her. You know how she gets if she doesn’t know where you’re at. Come on.” He winked at her the way he always did before he said, “Who’s my girl?”

  Her normal response was, “I’m nobody’s girl. I’m my own woman.” However, the thought of talking to her mom had her in no mood to kid around. She stomped out of the room.

  Scarlet found her mom in the mud room on the other side of the kitchen folding a load of laundry. That was all Scarlet ever knew her to do—work. She had told Scarlet several years before that the reason she left her dad was so that Scarlet would have a better life. Scarlet didn’t see it that way; she didn’t know how anyone could be so screwed up that they thought being alone was better. She wished her mother had fought a tiny bit for her dad. But no, she gave him away to that skank her dad referred to as “your stepmom.”

  Even though Scarlet wasn’t sure what she wanted out of life, she did know it wouldn’t be anything like her mom’s life. Her mom woke in the mornings and had the same day, every day; it would be the same hard-working day, over and over, until she died.

  “I’m leaving,” Scarlet said. “Diesel is taking me to Brianna’s cabin. Her family is going there for the holidays.”

  “Is he staying?”

  “Who Diesel? No, of course not. He has to take care of his Granny.”

  “Oh. Right. Is he okay?”

  Scarlet shrugged.

  “When are you coming back? I thought we were going Christmas shopping. I took off those couple of days.”

  “I’ll be back for that.” She’d already lied about everything else. Besides, she refused to ruin her life because of guilt. Her mom would be fine after the initial shock. Probably better even. Maybe she could quit one of her jobs if she only had to take care of herself. Scarlet didn’t plan on living there much longer anyway. She’d be eighteen in a few months. “Look, I gotta go.”

  “Call me or text me when you get there? I’m worried about the storm.”

  To satisfy her, Scarlet agreed. Her mom gave her a long hug, and Scarlet wondered if she actually knew she wasn’t telling the whole truth. She told her, “I love you, mom. And don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

  When Scarlet walked into the living room, Diesel stood with his arms crossed watching the weather on the television. He had brought the bags out of the bedroom with him and set them by the front door.

  “Done,” Scarlet said. “Are you happy? Now let’s go.”

  “Wait a minute.” He held her coat out to her.

  A woman in blue suit told the viewers about the winter weather alert. Scarlet didn’t pay attention to exactly what she said; all she heard was: “Leave! Or you’ll be stuck here forever!” She quickly put on her coat, releasing and tossing out her loose curls with a shake of her head. “We’re going to miss the flight,” she whispered harshly. “We gotta go.”

  Diesel picked up Scarlet’s suitcase and duffle bag. “Has anybody ever told you how impatient you are?”

  “You’re just slow.”

  After Diesel walked out the front door, Scarlet took one last
look around the living room. She groaned at the bare Christmas tree she had never found time to decorate with her mom. She shook it off, grabbed her purse from the end table, but left her phone sitting there. If she “accidentally” forgot her phone, her mom couldn’t bug her. When they were settled, she would explain everything.

  She reached inside her purse and took out her keys. They were taking Diesel’s car to the airport and since she wouldn’t be needing her car any longer, she placed the keys next to the phone. When she contacted her mom later, she would also tell her to sale the car and keep the cash. That would help, right?

  Scarlet walked out the door, stopping suddenly to keep from running into Diesel. “What are you doing?”

  “I’ll be back,” he mumbled, staring up at the sky.

  “What do you mean? Be back?”

  “I have to go to the house.”

  “Oh no, you don’t! We’re going to the airport, now! You’re never going back to that house. Do you hear me? I’m tired of this, Diesel. I’m not going to put up with this anymore. I think I’ve actually been more than patient. Don’t you think?”

  “There’s something I have to do.” He kissed her on the mouth, dropped the bags, and ran to his car. The engine revved as he barreled out of the driveway.

  “What the hell? Diesel!” She threw her hands up, and a gust of wind caused her to shiver. As she wrapped her arms around herself, she glanced up to where Diesel had been staring. Soft Snowflakes fell on her face as she watched the clouds drifting across the dark sky, showing only mere glimpses of a white moon.

  “He’s insane,” she said as she grabbed her bags and faced the icy wind to her car. She tossed everything into the backseat. After getting into the driver’s seat, she sat for a moment trying to unclench her teeth. Determined not to cry over Diesel’s foolishness, she breathed heavily, in and out through her nose. It didn’t help. “Ahhhhh!” She hit the steering wheel with the palms of her hands.

  She would freeze to death if she tried to wait in the car because no telling how long Diesel would be at the house without her there to push him along. If she had her own money, she might have left his ass there. Start over on her own. Maybe.