Her mother shot her a sideways glance. “Kaylee, don’t be that way. It doesn’t have to be that black and white. There’s still—”
“Just drive, Mom.” Kaylee turned back to the bleak landscape that matched her mood and her outlook on this whole situation. “I’m done talking about this right now. In fact, I don’t want to talk about it ever.”
Her mother sighed once again. “Very well. If that’s what you want.”
Yes, Mom, it is what I want. Kaylee crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, still gazing out the window. She wasn’t sure how much longer it would take to reach their new house, and she wasn’t about to ask her mom, so she decided to keep her mouth shut and wait. She wasn’t exactly in a hurry to get there after all.
***
“Well here we are. This is the place.”
Kaylee resisted the urge to make a snide comment about her mother’s unnecessary statement. She could already tell that they had arrived when her mother parked the car in the driveway.
Although this was her first time seeing the new house in person, she had seen pictures of it back when her mom first talked to her about moving out to this “ultra-modern and ultra-safe neighborhood” or whatever the hell the website described it as. Kaylee wasn’t sure how she would describe it yet, but the word monotonous did come to mind.
Every house in the neighborhood looked identical. And there were dozens of them. All two-story, white or off-white homes with shingled roofs, and front yards that used rocks and cactuses for landscaping. Seriously, who the hell would use a cactus for landscaping?
Probably someone who lived out in the desert and didn’t went to spend time and money on lawn upkeep.
Kaylee realized that she was actively looking for reasons to not like this place, but she couldn’t help it.
Her neighborhood back home—or her former neighborhood as she was going to have to get used to calling it—was much more welcoming than this. Every house had its own unique charm and character. Lush green lawns out front, dotted with cute—or sometimes hideous—lawn ornaments, tall maple trees lining the streets with beautiful red leaves in the fall, and a familiar face living behind just about every door.
Not at all like these mass-produced track homes that looked like they had all been made with a giant cookie cutter. All they did was make her miss her old home more than ever. She never realized how much she loved that house until it was gone, sold to some slick-talking man from out of state with an unsightly bald spot and crooked teeth. He intended to fix it up and flip it for probably close to twice the money that he paid for it.
But that wasn’t what bothered Kaylee. She really didn’t care that her mom was probably being screwed out of money. She’d gladly trade all the money in the world for a chance for her life to return to the way that it used to be.
Back when she had a home where she felt safe.
A school where she felt comfortable.
And most of all, when Chelsea was still alive.
Tears stung her eyes just then, which were quickly wiped away before they had a chance to escape down her cheeks. And before her mother could spot them.
She was sick of crying.
She could understand it happening when she thought about Chelsea . . . but she often found tears in her eyes at times when it didn’t even make sense. Sometimes she would tear up without having a clue what brought it on. And anything that reminded her of Chelsea and the life that Kaylee left behind was certain to get her tear ducts working.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Kaylee’s mom asked as she unbuckled her seatbelt and then opened her door. “Let’s get in there and check it out.”
“Yeah. Can’t wait.” Kaylee unfastened her own seatbelt. Her mother would have to be a moron to not pick up on the sarcasm in her tone.
Stepping out of the car, Kaylee took a long look at the house. Her house. Or it could be the next-door neighbor’s house, or the neighbor down the street for all the difference that it made.
“So what do you think?” Her mother moved to stand beside her. She raised her arm as if she were about to put it around Kaylee’s shoulder.
But Kaylee was quick to move forward a step to avoid potentially get wrapped up in her mother’s unwanted affection.
“I think it’s a place to crash,” Kaylee said with a dismissive shrug of her shoulders.
“Well, I think it’s a lot more than that. I mean, look at this place. I really think you’ll be happy here. Maybe even happier than you were back at our old house.”
Kaylee looked at her mom with eyes narrowed. “No. That’s definitely not going to happen.”
Not waiting to hear another word from her mother, Kaylee marched around the car and popped open the trunk. There wasn’t much in there. Just a handful of bags and some boxes. The movers already brought the majority of their belongings inside a few hours ago.
The only thing that Kaylee grabbed was her backpack. Pretty much every possession she cared about was inside.
“Need a hand with anything?” her mom asked.
“Nope. I got what I need right here.” Kaylee slung her backpack over her shoulder before she walked right past her mom without looking at her. “The rest is all yours.”
Kaylee made her way up to the front door, and while on her way there, she got her first glimpse of one of the neighbors. She figured it would be some bitchy old woman with a glass of red wine in one hand and snobbish look on the face that she paid for with her dead husband’s money. Maybe it was just her cynical view on life, but that was the sort of person that she expected to find living in a neighborhood like this.
But the person she saw next-door, leaning against the porch railing with eyes glued to the screen of her phone, did not fit that profile at all.
She actually reminded Kaylee a little of Chelsea. The same brunette hair, the same soft features, and deep brown eyes. But the similarities stopped there. And she also looked a little older than Chelsea. Most likely a year or two.
Not that it mattered.
Even if they looked exactly the same it wouldn’t make any difference to Kaylee. Whoever this girl was, she wasn’t Chelsea, and Kaylee had no interest in a lookalike.
Coming to a stop right outside the front door, Kaylee put one hand in her pocket while the other gripped the strap of her backpack. She leaned against the wall while waiting for her mom—who had the key—to join her. As she waited, she noticed the girl on the porch glance in her direction and offer a smile and a wave.
But Kaylee didn’t return either. Instead, she looked down at her feet and pretended like she never even saw her.
A moment later, her mother appeared, carrying two boxes at the same time, one stacked atop of the other, making it difficult for her to even see where she was going.
“Wow, these things are heavy. Kaylee, sweetie, do you think you could reach into my pocket and get the key out. I can’t do it with these boxes.”
Kaylee heaved a sigh. “Yeah. Sure. I’d love to.”
“Thanks. It’s in the left one.”
Kaylee slipped her hand into the pocket in question and extracted the key to the house, which she held up so that her mom could see.
“Great. Now, think you can open the door? And quickly. Like I said, these boxes are pretty heavy.”
“Got it.” She went to the door and slid the key into the keyhole before giving the knob a turn and pushing the door open. Then she motioned for her mom to go ahead. “After you.”
“Thank you.” Her mother entered the house, still balancing the two boxes precariously atop of one another. The weight of the boxes coupled with the fact that they obscured her vision seemed like a recipe for disaster.
But Kaylee couldn’t be bothered to lend a hand. Maybe it was just her selfishly trying to take any chance she could get to get back at her mom for moving them out here, which was immature and she knew it, but that didn’t mean that she felt bad about it.
Sparing one last look at the girl next door, Kaylee decided that
she didn’t look as much like Chelsea as she initially thought. Then she followed her mom inside the house and shut the door behind her.
That was when she heard her mom scream. Followed by a loud crash.
3
“MOM? MOM, ARE YOU OKAY?” Kaylee rushed across the foyer and into the kitchen.
And saw her mom standing with the two boxes—and their contents—scattered all around her feet. She looked over her shoulder at Kaylee.
“Dammit. You’d think that five years of waitressing after school would have made me less of a butterfingers.”
“That’s great, Mom. Did you really have to scream like that? I mean, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Sorry, sweetie. I was just startled. That’s all.”
“Yeah. Great. Whatever.” Kaylee rolled her eyes and walked past her mom, stepping over the mess on the floor as she did. “I’ll be in my room if you feel like bothering me. Oh, and next time you decide to scream, try to make sure there’s actually a good reason, okay?”
Kaylee went straight up to her room and then shut the door.
Well, here we are I guess, she thought to herself before dropping her backpack down on the bed.
This was it.
This was the room that she picked out for herself when her mom showed her pictures of the place online weeks ago. Since first seeing the house, her mother had consistently sung praises about it as if she were Columbus discovering the new world, but Kaylee had a much more conservative view.
To her, it was just another house.
Sure, it was a big house. A modern house. A nice house. But a house wasn’t going to change her life. It wasn’t going to fix anything, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to bring Chelsea back.
And here come the tears again.
She wiped her eyes and sat down on the bed. Now wasn’t the time to get all emotional. There was unpacking that needed to be done.
Her bed and desk had both been moved into the room already—the bed in the corner furthest from the door, and the desk up against the wall underneath one of the two windows in the room—but there was still a stack of boxes just waiting to be unpacked. And as much as she wasn’t looking forward to unpacking, it was better to get it over with now than put it off so that her mom could try to “help” her with it later.
But before she got to the boxes, she started with her backpack. She unzipped it and then reached inside. The first thing that she pulled out was her sketchbooks. A small stack of five—all but one completely filled with doodles and drawings.
And that one wasn’t even half way filled. In fact, every page was blank. She got it only days before Chelsea died, and hadn’t drawn in it yet. She hadn’t drawn at all since losing her best friend. She wanted to, and had sat down probably a dozen times with the intention of doing so, but it never happened.
Each time, she would end up staring at the blank page, chewing on her pencil while trying to think of what she wanted to draw, but she was never able to get herself to put pencil to paper.
But she wanted to change that. Drawing for her wasn’t just a pastime. It was her passion. Her sanctuary. She couldn’t even begin to count the number of times that she lost herself in her drawing and forgotten all about any of the stress in her life. It had been her savior when her parents were going through their messy separation six years ago, providing her with an instant escape from the arguing, the fighting, and the finger pointing.
But it didn’t provide her with any relief from the pain of losing Chelsea. How could anything help relieve that pain? Chelsea was her best friend. The person that she loved and trusted the most. And despite what her mom might think, losing someone like that wasn’t something that you just got over.
On the best days, the pain was a dull ache deep in her core that she couldn’t escape, and on the worst days, it was a heartache so severe that it sapped away her will to do literally anything.
Setting the stack of sketchbooks down on her desk, Kaylee reached inside the backpack again and took out a framed photo of her and Chelsea that she took only weeks before Chelsea was murdered.
In the picture, Kaylee and Chelsea were sitting beside each other on the porch swing in Chelsea’s backyard. Arms around each other’s shoulders and smiles lighting up their faces. Kaylee could remember that day like it was yesterday. There was nothing special about it. Just a day like any other. But it felt much more special now. Every memory of time spent with Chelsea seemed precious now that she was gone. The day that Chelsea died, Kaylee felt like a part of her was lost forever, and now all that she had left were those memories.
Returning to the desk, Kaylee set the picture down. As she did, she noticed a car pulling into the driveway across the street. It was some kind of beat-up old sports car. She didn’t know the make or model, but she also didn’t know the first thing about cars so it was no surprise that she couldn’t identify it. Even with the window shut, she had no trouble hearing the heavy metal music blaring from the car.
But the moment the music ended and the car door opened, Kaylee lost all interest in the car itself, and instead found herself very interested in the driver.
He was tall and slim. Dark hair reached just past his shoulders, reminding her of a raven’s feathers. His clothing was also dark, especially the leather jacket he wore. It was hard to say for sure from a distance, but he looked to be around the same age as her.
Well, hello there . . . Kaylee watched him shut his car door and then stuff his keys into his pocket. He was starting to head towards his house when he came to a sudden stop and looked over his shoulder.
Was he looking at her?
Kaylee couldn’t be sure, but she moved aside and pressed her back against the wall just in case. Heart thumping rapidly in her chest, she counted to ten in her head before braving a second peek out the window.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
He must have gone inside.
Kaylee plopped down in the chair in front of her desk. Rested her chin in her hands while staring out the window and hoping that the boy would emerge from the house again, even though she didn’t actually believe it would happen.
Hmm maybe this place won’t be so awful after all.
It dawned on her that this was the first time she’d even thought about boys since Chelsea died. And even after more than three months, it still made her feel guilty. It reminded her of having to tell Kevin about Chelsea’s death.
He was devastated.
Kaylee hadn’t realized just how much the two of them loved each other. Why should she get to share that kind of love with someone when Chelsea already lost it? It didn’t seem fair.
She tried to imagine what Chelsea would say if she were here right now. No doubt she would tease her. As much as Kaylee loved to tease Chelsea for being such a goodie two shoes, Chelsea was just as happy to tease her right back for being a little too carefree when it came to dating. As obnoxious as that teasing could be, Kaylee would love to hear some of it right now.
“Hey.”
Kaylee jumped when she heard her mother’s voice. Bringing her right back to reality after being lost in her thoughts and memories. She turned around to find her mom standing in the doorway.
“What do you want?” Kaylee asked, brushing her bangs out of her face before crossing her arms over her chest.
“Sorry. Did I startle you?”
“No, I’m fine. What do you want?”
“Well, this whole unpacking thing is not going to happen in a day, so what do you say I order us a pizza. I’m starving, and I got to believe you are too after that long car ride without anything to eat.”
“Yeah. Sure. That’s fine.”
“Alright. What do you want? Pepperoni? Hawaiian?”
“Whatever. I don’t care.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’m sure.” Kaylee turned back to her backpack so that her mom wouldn’t see her roll her eyes. “I still have a lot of unpacking to do if you don’t mind.”
&nb
sp; “Oh, do you need any help?”
“I got it, Mom.”
“It’s no trouble at all. I don’t mind helping out. I can get started on one of these boxes over here.” Her mom went to the stack of boxes and started to rip open the one on top. “I bet it’s going to be nice to have a big walk-in closet, huh? That’s a big step up from—”
“Mom.” Kaylee marched over and snatched the box away from her. “I told you I got it. I don’t need your help.”
“Okay. Okay.” Her mother held up her hands and took a step back. “I was just trying to help. No need to bite my head off.”
“I’m not trying to bite your head off, Mom,” Kaylee said through clenched teeth. “I’m just asking you to let me do this on my own. It might shock you, but I can manage to unpack a few boxes all by myself.”
“I never insinuated that you couldn’t. Where is this coming from? Why am I the enemy all of a sudden?”
Kaylee set the box back down atop of the others. “I didn’t say you were the enemy.”
“Well, you’re certainly not treating me like a friend right now.”
“That’s because I’m not looking for a friend. Now can you please just let me finish this? Alone.”
“Alright . . . I’m going.” Her mother started for the door. “I’ll let you know when the pizza gets here.”
“Fine.” Kaylee looked down at her feet to avoid any chance of an awkward meeting of her mother’s gaze as she was leaving.
As soon as her mother was gone and the door was shut behind her, Kaylee returned to the window, part of her hoping to see the boy across the street looking back at her again, but there was no sign of him.
She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the photo of her and Chelsea, and the tears threatened to come spilling down her cheeks once more.
It took every ounce of willpower she could muster to keep them at bay. And even still her eyes started to flood, blurring her vision as memories of the past flooded her mind.
The Killer Next Door: A Murder Mystery Page 2
