“I thought you said it’s gone.”
“Well, I didn’t kill it, you know.” A sharp, prickly feeling radiated down my spine at the thoughts of one very not dead rattlesnake. Jess was right. I didn’t have a choice.
With my ankle, it took some effort to get up on the horse. Jess climbed up behind me. I held a tight grasp on the saddle while he handled the reins. It was a completely different experience with someone else in control of the horse. We slowly trotted back to the barn.
“Alex, I’m really sorry. I didn’t think any of this would happen. I should’ve had Uncle Frank out there with us.”
“Um, that may have been scarier than BB and the rattlesnake combined.”
“I know,” his voice came with a burst of laugher behind my ear. “He’s my uncle, but he’s just plain scary sometimes. I turned ‘round the other day in the barn and he’s just standin’ there. Watchin’ me. Cigarette hangin’ from his lips. I don’t know how long he’d been there. He spit on the ground and said, Boy, you better hurry it up or I’m turnin’ the lights out and leavin’ you in here in the dark with the rats cause you ain’t goin’ home ‘till it’s done. Then he used that gross bandana ‘round his neck to wipe his nose. That thing ain’t ever been washed. Every day. Same ol’ snot.”
“Eeew. Have you ever thought Uncle Frank looks like that guy from City Slickers?”
“City Slickers? Like the old dude with the gold?”
“That’s the one.”
“You’re right,” he giggled. “You wanna sneak in his house? See if he’s hidin’ gold under the floor boards?”
“I bet he has shrunken heads or something.”
“Maybe I’ll just tie you up in there one night. See if they come alive. They might bite you.” His fingers pinched my sides. “Eat your toes for supper.”
“Jessup Mason!” I gasped at him. He laughed so hard I felt his body shaking the horse. “Stop it. We’re gonna fall off.”
“Ok, I’m sorry.”
“You think BB will come back?”
“She’ll find her way back. Hope it’s fast though before Uncle Frank finds out.” He stayed quiet for about twenty seconds and then asked sweetly, “Sooo, you willin’ to try horse ridin’ again?”
“I don’t know.” The sway of riding on Clive was nice but not enough to try it again alone. “Maybe I should stick to just petting animals.”
“You can pet BB. I won’t try to make ya ride her again.”
“I was thinking more about one of the dogs in the barn.”
“You like dogs?”
“Yeah, I use to have one of my own. Before we came to Arlis. His name was Digger.”
“Why didn’t ya bring it?”
“He couldn’t come with us. Dad didn’t know where we were staying, so I left him with our neighbor.”
“We should go get ‘im now. Why haven’t you?”
“I asked my dad about Digger after we got moved into the ranch house. He said Digger got sick or something. He died not long after we left. I guess it was the truth. Our neighbor didn’t like him much. He probably just didn’t take care of him and Digger got ran over,” I shrugged. “I thought about it some. Not knowing the truth. But I figured he was dead either way.”
“Why didn’t ya tell me your dog died?”
“I don’t know,” I muttered.
“I’d be real sad if I lost BB and Clive.”
The loss of Digger was a story that should bring a child to tears. I spat out the words in a flat tone knowing it was easier to feel nothing than something. Digger was from another time and another place that existed before Arlis. “I don’t cry, Jess.”
“Not even when you’re by yourself?”
“No.”
“Oh.” His voice seemed strange. Sitting in front of Jess, I couldn’t see his face to read what he really was thinking. “I’m sorry ‘bout Digger.”
“It’s ok. He had nothing to do with here anyway.”
Picturing his mangled and bloody body, I bit down hard on my lip and tasted the metallic salt on my tongue. Digger was in the ground now, the same as my mother. Deep down in the dirt with the bugs.
Jess and I rode the rest of the way, hearing only the sounds of the meadow and an occasional snort from Clive. Deep thoughts circled around in my mind. I trusted Jess. My trust let him cut my hand to seal our friendship in blood. I really wanted to mean it as much as that blue-eyed boy. I wanted to find a way to keep him forever, but the idea of forever just felt impossible.
We returned to the stables and Jess called his father. Dr. Mason looked over my ankle and determined it was a bad sprain. After two days of searching, Uncle Frank found Blue Bonnet and turned five shades of red, yelling at Jess. He got a list of chores a mile long to remind him of the responsibilities when having a horse since he’d apparently forgotten. I promised Jess to help after my ankle could stand the pressure. After all, we swore in blood.
A week, after the horse incident, my ankle held enough weight to help Jess out in the barns. I was getting ready when a faint knock echoed off the wooden door in the living room. I found Jess on the other side.
“I thought I would meet you at the barn,” I said, confused.
“I know. But I got a surprise for you.” He got all fidgety with excitement, making the words slurring together He handed over a box with a lid on top. “Open it.”
I pulled the flaps back and peered inside the present. A set of green eyes stared back from an orange, furry face.
“You got me a kitten?” I said, pulling the little body from the box.
“I found her this mornin’ out in one of the sheds. I know she’s not a dog, but I kind of liked her.”
“She’s really mine?” I asked, rubbing the soft fur against my check. I heard a small purr come from deep in the little kitten’s throat.
“If you want her. I, um, thought maybe you’d forgive me. I’m sorry I got you hurt.”
“I wasn’t really mad at you.”
“No?”
“No.” I smiled, rubbing the orange fur on my cheek again. “She’s really awesome. Thank you, Jess. I really mean it. What’s her name?”
“I thought ‘bout Carrot since you know, she’s got your orange hair.”
“I don’t have orange hair!”
“Whatever,” he said back with a wicked grin. “Pumpkin.”
“I’m going to choke you, Jess Mason!”
“You can kill me down in the stables. Come on. We gotta go. Get your ugly shoes on,” Jess laughed straight in my face. I stared at him a few minutes, trying to give the worse possible glare to that dang boy. I would knock him in the head one of these days.
I handed the little orange ball of fur over and walked back to my bedroom. Carrot. It was a stupid name, but I liked it. Typical Jess. I laughed to myself. Sweet with a gift and then ornery with the delivery.
Carrot wasn’t the only thing that came from our horse riding incident. Mrs. Mason said I needed real lessons if I planned to ride at the ranch. I worked with a trainer twice a week. It was a little difficult the first few classes since I refused to get on a horse. As the weeks passed, I learned to not be afraid and formed a level of control that could have stopped Blue Bonnet on that wild afternoon racing across the meadow. I convinced my father I was truly thankful to the Masons’ for the lessons. Deep down, the contempt remained, as it was just another item penciled onto the never-ending Mason List.
Chapter 13
Today, 10:35 p.m.
The meadow fades away in my dreams. I wake again on the soft pillow. The warmth seeps into my skin, flooding me with comfort. I reach up to scratch my nose, but my wrist holds tight in the restraint. The damn thing still has me captive.
“Your dad should be back soon with the doctor.”
I jerk, realizing my head is cradled in the lap of the beauty queen. “You’re still here?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Your dad asked me to stay.”
“Oh.”
Her fingers brush through my red hair like I am a child. The motion feels soothing even if I am dead on the inside.
“He wants me to help clean you up when they take these off.” She smiles again. “Would you be ok with that?”
“I…I…don’t know.”
“They’re bringin’ you some clothes. I can help rinse you off in the shower and put ‘em on.”
“They?”
“I don’t know. Your dad didn’t say.”
I forgot my clothes were still the same. The same white shirt and jeans caked in dirt and vomit and blood. The red liquid soaked into everything and dried a solid black. The images flash again; vivid pictures captured in my head forever. My fingers twitch into a fist and my teeth bite down hard into my skin. I can’t breathe. I want to curl into a ball but the ankle clasps make my body thrash against the mattress.
“Take a deep breath, Alex. It’s ok. Breathe in. Breathe out. It’s goin’ to be ok.”
“No…”
“You have to be calm when the doctor comes or he won’t take them off.”
“I want…I want,” the air comes in jagged gulps, “to see Dr. Mason.”
“Breathe.” She rubs a hand against my arm. “Breathe.”
I cry. I cry ugly tears that shake my whole body. Nothing in my life will ever feel as painful as today. I feel alone. I feel hollow. The beauty queen curls her small body around my tall frame as I cry snotty tears into her pretty hair. At this rate, they would keep me all night. My eyes close and my thoughts swirl back to the memories of the last time I slept in the Arlis hospital.
Chapter 14
When I was twelve…
I was bored out of my mind after a brutal two days stuck in the farmhouse. The sky had drizzled freezing rain all night, which turned into snow toward morning. Storm of the century, according to every resident who purchased shovels and chains from the hardware store.
The living room held six new drawings from the last two days of confinement. I was officially out of ideas and needed something else to occupy my time. Jess called a little after lunch. He wanted to pick me up on his four-wheeler to go back to his house and watch movies. As it turned out, Jess promised his mother he would stay at my house until the snow stopped blowing. Double cover for his stupid idea. If only he’d told me of his little plan, I would have dressed better.
My skin turned to ice as we bounced deep into the meadow on his four-wheeler. Jess punched the gas, hitting another drift. My arms clenched tighter around his waist in a vice grip. I wore only a small jacket and pair of fancy gloves that were Christmas presents from the Masons. Without layers, the frigid air slapped me in the face. I buried my frozen nose into Jess's back to keep my eyes from freezing shut.
“Where are we going?” I shouted the words over the sound of the four-wheeler.
“We’re almost there,” he yelled over his shoulder. “It’ll be warm in the house.”
“What house?” I pulled my face free to look around the area. Over the last four years, Jess dragged me all over Sprayberry into every nook and cranny except Uncle Frank’s place. Nobody ventured inside the spook house except the man himself.
“Up there,” Jess motioned to the trees.
Peering through the thick snow, I saw the outline of what resembled the wooden boards of a treehouse. “You decided today was best time to take me here? In a blizzard?”
“I know, right? It’s gonna be so cool.”
“Are you insane?” My breath formed each word in the cold air. “We have to go back. It’s snowing harder.”
“Come on.” He jumped out of the seat and stomped through the snow to the tall oak.
“Jess…we can’t.”
He met my protest with a giant snowball, which smacked me in the chest. I formed one of my own and ran through the tall drifts to shove it down the back of his shirt. Jess spun around and put me in a head lock. His free arm grabbed a wad of ice, twisting it against my neck.
“Mercy!” I screamed.
“You goin’ up?”
“Yes! Ok! Yes! Now let me go!”
He loosened his arms. “I promise. We won’t stay long.”
“You drive me crazy.”
“I know,” Jess grinned, as the snow gathered on his long eyelashes.
As we reached the back side of the tree, I saw a ladder built into the trunk, leading up to a landing platform. “You go first and I’ll come up behind to make sure you don’t slip.”
I felt nervous, climbing the tree that towered about three times higher than mine back in Dallas. My gloves stuck to the icy rungs while I took each step with Jess right behind me. We stopped at the landing platform, about forty feet off the ground. Jess reached around to unlatch the door.
It felt warmer inside the house without the wind pelting us with snow. In all the years living on the ranch, today marked the first time Jess ever brought me to his secret tree house. Two large windows sat on the back side, flooding the house with light. A Texas Rangers banner covered one wall while the other side was lined with hooks, holding various ropes and gadgets from the ranch. In the corner, a shotgun leaned against a metal tub filled with old toys.
“How often do you come out here?” I asked, looking at a shelf of jars that circled just below the ceiling.
“I don’t know.”
“You build it?”
“Not really. The Jessups haven’t always owned the whole ranch. I found the house and showed it to my dad. We fixed it up. That’s why you can still use it. Mother hates the whole thing.”
“That sounds about right.” I pointed up toward the shelf. “So why all the jars?”
“Spider collection.”
“You serious?”
“Yeah, but that was a few years ago. They’re all empty now.” Jess pulled me by the arm over to the window. “Come on, you need to see this.”
The view from the tree house left me speechless. A whimsical display of snow coated the sky, swirling down in the air. Instantly, I knew why someone picked this tree for the house. The tall oak rested on a small hill, with a view that went for miles and miles.
Jess pulled out a large blanket to wrap around us while we watched the snow. The musty fabric blocked out very little of the cold air. Shivering, I scooted as close as I could to him, trying to get warm.
“You were right. It’s amazing,” I said, hypnotized by the millions of sparkling flakes. “I haven’t been up in a tree since back home.”
“Before you came here?”
“Yeah.”
“What was it like back then?”
“The end was a lot like what you saw, I guess. But, it was different before she got sick. We still had our house.”
“What’d you do for fun?”
A smile crept over the corners of my lips with the memories of another time, another place. “We had this garden. I spent a lot of time climbing the trees and I wore princess dresses.”
“You’re lyin’. You…in a princess dress?”
“It’s true. I had several of them covered in jewels. I had a crown and wand too. Sometimes, I even liked to pretend that I was fairy princess with magical powers.”
“That’s ‘bout the funniest thing you’ve ever said,” Jess busted out laughing.
“What? You don’t think I could wear a tiara?” I moved my fingers into a makeshift crown right on top of my head.
He laughed even harder. I liked to watch Jess when he got twisted up half silly. His face got lost in the moment, so carefree with nothing holding him back. I watched until it became contagious. My lips busted open in a gush of laugher, making me fall over backwards against the hard boards. Jess peered down at me with a funny smile.
“What?” I asked rolling my eyes.
“I like it when you laugh like that. You sound happy,” he shrugged. “Makes me wish I’d known you back then.”
“Oh,” I whispered, imagining the sad idea of the impossible. Jess without the tragedy of death. Jess without the Masons paying for my very existen
ce.
My laughter faded into a frown. Sitting up, I looked out the window. The storm got worse as we sat in the house. A stab of fear traveled through my skin, seeing the meadow lost under the mounds of thick snow.
“Jess, we probably should go.”
“Crap, it’s startin’ to look bad.”
I wanted to say, it looked bad when we arrived, but that was beside the point. We rushed down the ladder, only to find the four-wheeler wedged in a snow pile under the trees. Jess tried to go forward but the rubber tires spun under the drift. The whole machine vibrated as the motor grinded with a strange noise.
We climbed off and tried to dig it out. My numb fingers hurt under the wet gloves. “Do you have anything up in the house we could put under the tires?”
“I don’t think so,” Jess muttered. His eyebrows scrunched up as he stared at the four-wheeler. “This ain’t workin’. I think we should just stay up there. It’ll be worse to get the four-wheeler goin’ and get stranded. I think somethin’s wrong with the motor.”
“How are we going to stay warm? It’s not much better in the house.” My voice betrayed what I was feeling. The cold air slapped me in the face. The once magical flakes turned into chaotic weapons.
Panic crept into my thoughts. Jess and I both had lied. My father thought I went to the Masons. His parents assumed Jess sat tucked away at the farmhouse. They had no idea where to even look. Horrible thoughts of our frozen bodies spun through my mind. Our faces black with oozing parts that burst in the snow. We would die.
I felt sick to my stomach. Taking in a deep breath, my lungs hurt feeling the bitter air. Jess came over and placed a hand on each of my shoulders. His black hair fell out of his stocking hat and froze to his forehead.
“It’s goin’ to be ok. I promise.” The bright eyes lacked his ever present confidence. “I got an idea that might buy us some time. That old tub up there is metal. We could build a fire in it.”
“The treehouse will just fill with smoke.” I muttered, feeling another chilly blast hit my backside. The storm continued to attack from all directions.
“We could crack the windows?”
The Mason List Page 7
