by J. E Hanson
She nervously taps her hands on the door, “This feels really eerie. You can almost sense that something evil is lurking over this road, and I feel like someone is watching us. I normally never say anything like this, but I can’t shake the uneasy feeling either.”
We drove down the road against my better judgment. The driveway remains empty with the exception of my Mustang. A security light remains on from a distance, and everything is untouched. I glance over to see an old farmhouse, and the mailbox clearly displays Ocean on it. There’s a flashlight in the car to aid with our sight.
She stops me from moving on further, “Let me call Spike, okay?”
There is an uneasy feeling as if someone is watching us. She takes my phone, and she dials Spike's phone several times. She left him a few messages. He must be in a deep sleep, or his phone is off. She scrolls through my phone contacts, and she finds Snow’s phone number. She quickly dials his phone number. We step up on the rickety front porch. I stare at the old decrepit swing hanging there. She’s able to get a hold of Ice, and he’s bitching over the phone. I know the guys will be here soon. Ember glances at her watch.
“I managed to get a hold of Ice, and he’s pissed at us. He’s waking the others up right now.”
I attempt to open the front door, but it won’t even budge. There is a notice on the front door.
“Are you sure you want to do this? I believe that nobody has touched this house, since they found you.”
I jiggle the front door even harder, but it doesn’t open. I stop, and search for a spare key. The spare key remains hidden inside the flowerpot. I chose to try, and open the front door with it. The front door opens, and we step inside the muggy house. I peer around the room, and realize that we are standing in a living room. The couch is solid charcoal leather, and the back of the couch has dust. I peek at the walls to review all the pictures that are hanging there.
Ember blows the dust off all the pictures, “Your mom and dad are on a motorcycle together in this one.”
I stare at them, and they are wearing mortal clothes. They are in love and so happy together. I notice my dad’s Mohawk, and I giggle at their picture. My dad has tons of piercings and tattoos. He also has cobalt eyes. I believe my eyes resemble his over my mom’s eyes.
I point at the picture, “I have his nose just as Spike says.”
There’s another picture hanging on the wall, and there are two couples standing right beside each other. I inspect it further to see that one couple is my parents, and the second couple is Joseph Cirrus with Jesse's mom standing in front of him.
I let out a loud whistle, “That makes it even more real! That’s Clover Hurst, and she’s Jesse's mom!”
I point to the picture, and she stares at it intently, “Oh wow! That’s definitely old! Do you notice the guy to the side eyeing Clover as if she’s lunch to him?”
I didn’t recognize it until she points it out to me, “Holy shit! That’s Jesse's dad! Oh, wow! That’s insane! They all must have been best friends at one time.”
I stare at the motorcycles they sit on. Joey’s hair in this picture is long and blonde. My attention refocuses on the kitchen that’s near the living room. The pots and pans are still on the drying rack. There are baby bottles still in the sink. The mold and crud is making me want to puke. The first place I go to is the fridge, and it reveals maggots. Ember has to step outside to throw up. I survey their kitchen, and there’s a staircase off to the side of the living room. I don’t have any memory of this. I can hear four cackles from a distance.
Ember walks in, “I think the guys are here. We are going to be in so much trouble, Rosalie.”
I won’t wait, and I start to ascend the stairs. There are a couple pairs of headlights outside, but I continue. I open the first door to a bedroom, and I assume that it’s Everest's room. All the naked women hanging from his walls, grosses me out.
I shield her from his need for naked women, “There’s nothing in this room. This must have been Uncle Everest's room.”
Spike’s voice echoes through the house, “Rosalie! Where are you?”
“You can speak a little nicer to me!” I yelled back.
The lights mysteriously turn on, and Spike must be behind the sudden lights. There’s no use for a flashlight now. We can see more pictures down the hallway. We open the second door, and I finally found my old nursery. Spike makes it to me in five seconds.
I try to walk inside, but he blocks me, “You will never leave my sight again! I have to check everything, before you enter, Rosalie!”
I wait for him to give me the signal. After he gives me the signal, I return to my nursery for the first time in over eighteen years. My name is in royal blue letters above my crib.
Ember covers her mouth, “Oh that is definitely putting things in perspective for you. It’s almost like they went on vacation, or froze your house in the same state as it was eighteen years ago, Rosalie.”
I begin to search for clues. There is a baby book with my name on it, and I will take it with me, when we leave. A few extra pictures make it difficult for me to see. My parents have pictures of me everywhere with them. Spike squats down, and he closes his eyes. He seems to feel, what I’m feeling inside right now.
I open the closet door, “This is not the closet that someone would leave me in. There’s too much clutter in this closet.”
I stare at all my baby clothes that my mom made for me, and tears start to fall.
Ember points, “Those are some really cute baby outfits. I like the little royal blue baby bikini.”
“That was definitely mine.”
I found a baby bracelet with my name engraved in it, and now the baby bracelet sits in my front pocket.
“Do you know where their bedroom is? I would like to see their bedroom now,” I ask Spike nicely.
He stands up, and he escorts me out of my old nursery. Spike keeps me close to him as we walk past the bathroom. We come to another oak door, and he opens it for me.
Inside their bedroom is a bassinet that sits right beside their bed. The very first thing I do is inspect their beds, by jerking their blankets back, but it reveals nothing new. There are no traces of blood anywhere on their sheets. Spike stares at me intently. To my astonishment, the sheets are perfectly clean. Ember on the other hand, has to leave to throw up again. The maggots she saw earlier are still making her sick.
“There’s no trace of blood on these sheets. Did someone return to change their sheets?”
“It is normal not to find any blood. That tells me that a very old vampire drained them.”
We search their room for evidence, “I’m trying to figure out what happened to them, Spike. Please don’t be mad at me. I know that I’m irresponsible for not asking you, but you also had to have known that I was going to return.”
I yank the closet doors open, and there is a clear spot on the closet floor, “Oh, fuck no! Please tell me that I wasn’t in the fucking room, when they were being murdered!”
“There’s no way we can know that for certain.”
He squats down, and he sniffs the closet floor, “Unfortunately, I will say that you were in this closet, when you were found. This closet reeks of urine.”
I sit beside the closet door, “I was left here for three fucking days, Spike! This has to be some kind of conspiracy! I believe that they were drugged! My mom and dad would have never concealed me in a closet!”
He notices another blanket on the ground, and he takes it from the closet. We take a gander at the royal blue blanket. There’s a very large stain on it.
He takes a whiff of it, “This has tranquilizers in it Rosalie, and smell it.”
I lean over and smell the stain, “Why would anyone give a baby tranquilizer? I don’t believe that my parents would give me something that potent to put me to sleep.”
Spike paces back and forth, “You were born in April, and they were murdered in August. Ember was born in August. Things are not adding up here, Rosalie. I want to check Eve
rest's room real quick.”
We reenter Everest's room, and Spike starts opening drawers. The first drawer I open reveals a clear orange bottle with pills in it. I pull it out and Spike notices it.
“That is exactly what I’m searching for, Rosalie.” He takes the top off to reveal these huge horse pills, “These are what they give fairies, when they are seriously injured. There is no way that Blaze and Rosebud would ever take these—or give these to you. I think someone planted these pills here.”
We take the evidence with us downstairs, and I notice two motorcycles are sitting in the driveway. Ember is missing along with my car.
Blade sits on the counter, “Snow and Ice took the car back to the RV. Gabe took Ember with him on his motorcycle. She couldn’t stop puking outside, and she didn’t like it here.”
I reopen the fridge, and I snap my fingers. The maggots disappear, and Spike stands right behind me. I pull out a large pitcher of water, and I sniff it, “Spike, please smell this.”
He sniffs it and he’s shaking his head with disgust, “Someone dropped these pills in their water. The more we stay here, the more we find clues to who is behind this.”
I gaze into his crystal eyes, “Who has the most motive to kill my parents?”
He pinches his chin with his index finger and thumb, “I honestly can’t think of anyone, who would do such a vile act. You know it almost has to be a fairy, who is behind this fucking plot. I will have to think about it, and discuss it with Oberon. I’m calling in the FOL to make sure they take all the evidence. I want the jerk or bitch, who did this captured. This really scares me, Rosalie, because they could be targeting you in the near future. You will have to remain on your guard more than ever.”
There are two ashen mugs in the sink, and I quickly sniff them, “They must have drunk the water. Their mugs smell like tranquilizers.”
He sniffs, and he makes a repulsed expression, “I can’t believe Blaze didn’t smell the fucking tranquilizers! He should have been able to smell it!”
“Water fairies have trouble with water sometimes, and salt can throw us off. I found that out the hard way, when Ashe spiked my water a few times. He pulled pranks on me, and he got me good. I learned quickly to never drink offered drinks from anyone ever again.”
“I forgot about that. Do you think someone offered them mugs then?”
“That’s what fairies do. We trust each other too much, and we will ignore the scents. If someone throws salt in their mugs, it disables them from smelling the tranquilizers. Now I believe someone may have offered the mugs, and that also tells me that it has to be someone very close to the both of them. They had to have trusted the same person. Did my dad trust a lot of fairies?”
“Your dad never liked a lot of fairies, and he rarely hands out his trust. I know that he trusted Joseph, Oberon, his brother, Wally, my brother, Everest, and me. He had a lot of trust issues too.”
The thought pops in my head, “Do you think Joey was behind this?”
“I’m pretty fucking sure that he would never do this to his best friend. I’m actually a hundred percent sure that he would never have done this to you—or your parents.”
“I find it odd that only Oberon and Everest are accounted for. There hasn’t been any word from Joey, Walter, or my dad's brother. It doesn’t look good on those three, when you think about it.”
“I want you to know that Joey was already long gone, before your parents were murdered. The last I heard is that he was here for your birth, and that was the last time he saw you. You need to understand that. Phoenix isn’t involved either, because he was in prison for almost a year, before they were murdered. You can’t go around accusing innocent fairies, Rosalie. The bottle of pills, were found in Everest's room. The evidence against him is overwhelming.”
“I have to see, who my dad would trust to take those mugs from. I really don’t want it to be Everest. He’s blood, Spike! I refuse to believe that he could have possibly done something that sick and twisted.”
“The only other people left; is myself, my older brother Blade, and Oberon. Do you believe I would ever do something this heinous to you?”
“I believe you’re hiding something from me, but it’s definitely not my parents’ murders. I think I know you well enough, Spike. You’re not capable of doing something like this and plus you barely recognized me, or my scent at the FOL mansion. I believe you had numerous chances to kill me, but you haven’t.”
He leans in, and he kisses my lips softly.
Blade continues, “I honestly detest Meropis Prison, and I’m too lazy to carry out a heinous murder plot anyway.”
“That’s for sure! You’re quite the lazy fuck.”
Spike places both of his hands on my face, “I think our time visiting your parents is now over. Shall we return to the RV and head for North Carolina now?”
Their motorcycles are with them. I nervously glance at him, and he starts his slate Harley with the aureolin lightning bolts on each side.
He drops his shades over his crystal eyes, “Are you coming?”
He glances behind him, and I have no other choice. For the first time, I sit behind him, and he tells me where to put my feet. I hold on to him tightly, and we’re off. I’m not a fan of bugs, and so I keep my head buried in his back. We storm down the dirt road, and we leave the eerie driveway. My arms wrap around his muscular body. He pulls onto the main road. The light changes to red, and there’s the old group home.
I point to it, “That was the group home I stayed at.”
Spike shakes his head with disgust, and we disappear into the night. He drives on the interstate, and he passes other vehicles on the road. We are back at the RV within minutes. He pulls his motorcycle back on the lift, and he cuts the engine off. I know he’s about to give me another lecture.
Instead, he stands up, and he picks me up, “Please tell me where you’re going next time. Just ask me to go with you. That is all I want from you. Is that so hard to ask me?”
I shake my head no, and he kisses my lips. My body rises to full attention from his enticement.
Chapter 11
We make it to North Carolina after visiting all the remaining states. I have two more weeks before the big competition. Spike keeps his promise at a VIP cottage in North Carolina. He parks the RV at the bottom of a mountain, and we take his motorcycle up the mountain. I whistle from the view, and thought this is insane. After the short ride up the mountain, I trail behind him on a perfectly paved sidewalk. He produces a set of keys from his front pocket. The cabin has a huge wrap around porch with a cedar porch swing. This cottage smells brand new to me. He unlocks the front door, and he attempts to usher me inside.
“You can enter my house—if you want.”
I stare at him lost in confusion, “You told me a cabin, and this isn’t exactly a cabin.”
Spike takes my hand, and he pulls me inside his house. For the first time in my existence, I’m afraid to touch anything. The first room has all slate leather couches, and a huge 3D television set hanging from the ceiling. The next room adjacent to his living room is his dining room. The dining room overlooks the mountainside. I notice a cherry table with chairs around it, and the wood is perfect and clean. The rug laying on the ground is authentic. Spike left and returns with a stack of mail in his hands. The windows go from floor to ceiling with a seat running along the windows. His house makes me extremely nervous, and I feel uncomfortable to sit down anywhere. He laughs at my reaction to his house, “You can sit down, Rosalie. You won’t break anything.”
There’s even a chandelier right above my head. The chandelier has crystal and diamonds in it and it sits in a gold piece. There isn’t a speck of dirt anywhere.
I nervously sit down, “Are you renting this?”
“I would say that I was, but I would be lying to you. This is actually mine.”
I immediately believe that he’s a drug dealer, or even a pimp of some kind. He said he makes deals.
“Are you
hungry, or thirsty?” He casually asks me.
For the first time during this vacation, I’m literally speechless, “You have a nice house, Spike. I guess I am. I hate to ask this, but where are our bedrooms?”
He points upstairs, “Thank you for the compliment. Ember and you can sleep in my guest room upstairs. That bedroom has a huge bathroom for you both.”
I follow behind him into the kitchen. His kitchen has marble countertops with stainless steel appliances. He hands me an expensive water bottle. I sit at his bar and I’m afraid to put fingerprints on it.
He opens the expensive water bottle for me, and he’s grinning, “You seem stunned, Rosalie. Is everything okay?”
“Did anyone die for this?”
He shakes his head no, “Why would you think someone died? My house is custom made to my specifications.”
I sip the expensive water, “I’m honestly confused right now. Do you by any chance have a flat yard anywhere?”
He points out the windows, “If you walk a mile that way, you will come up to a clearing, and that’s the only spot flat enough. You may also use my dance studio downstairs, if you need the extra room. Why would you need my flat yard anyway?”
I remember the upcoming dance competition, and I have to lie to him once again, “I need to practice my routine for my mortal competition. Out of habit, I have to nail it on the first try.”
He leans in, and he kisses my lips, “Can I watch you?”
I lie and come up with even more excuses, “I would like to practice on my own. I appreciate the help, but I need to do this by myself. You would only be a distraction, and I need to maintain my focus.”
