He stood, walked a couple of steps, then turned to face Valie.
“There's nothing more I need to do for Magnus, he won't need to kill me for failing, I'll be dead soon regardless. Magnus doesn't have anyone anymore. The attacks on you were prompted by Magnus, but fueled by myself, Dation, Millisyn and Morbis. He wanted you all dead. Plain and simple, he wanted you dead out of hate, greed and revenge. As for the four of us? We wanted to live, we just wanted the pendants. Enjoy your life,” he forced out. “And...keep an eye on that little one.”
Chapter 27
The next morning, Valie didn't tell Trent and Maddy about the late night visit from Hunter. It wasn't anything they really needed to hear. It was something to be aware of, that Magnus still wanted Maddy, but with no one left to do his dirty work, who knew if he would even try. Valie put it out of her mind.
While Maddy was taking her hour-long shower in the morning, Valie pulled Trent aside. There was something that she had been thinking about doing and she wanted Trent to go with her.
“I want you come somewhere with me.”
“Okay,” he said nonchalantly, “where?”
“Just a ride.”
Valie cracked open the bathroom door to tell Maddy that she and Trent were leaving and they'd be back in a couple of hours. Emma and Casey would be there soon to start getting ready for homecoming, but they could start without her.
“Okay!” Maddy called in a sing-song voice.
They got into Leon's mini-van and pulled out of the driveway. Valie had a piece of paper that she had printed off the internet, giving her directions.
“Where exactly are we going?” Trent mused.
“Somewhere,” Valie said, taking a tip from Phaedra and Vincent. The less he knew the better, she figured, for now anyway.
Trent groaned, “Can we please not do the secret thing anymore?”
“It's not a secret, you'll know in about an hour.”
They drove, listening to the radio, Trent throwing Valie glances whenever she looked at her paper for directions.
Finally, after a long stretch of peaceful highway, they rolled into a small town.
Trent sat up and turned down the music, “Oxford? Why are we here? This town isn't even big enough to have a population...see!” He exclaimed as they passed the green sign that said “Unincorporated.”
Valie shushed him. They turned off the short main road, past the Fire Department that was merged with the library, and she stopped them in front of a small, white house, squinting her eyes to make sure she had read the address correctly.
“We're here,” she announced, unbuckling her seat belt and getting out of the car. Valie marched up the walkway and peeked into the windows.
“Valie! What are you doing?!” Trent called after her, horrified at his cousin peeking into the windows of some random house.
Valie was about to answer him when an elderly woman stepped off the porch to the house next door and asked the two if they needed help with something.
"Can you tell us anything about the previous tenants?" Valie asked her with a friendly smile.
The woman looked at the house and then back at Trent and Valie. "I've lived in this neighborhood fifteen years. In all that time, there was the same tenant. Not a very friendly man, never joined in on neighborhood events, didn't hand out candy on Halloween--no he was...he was a very,” she seemed to be thinking on how to finish the sentence, then in a whisper, “well, a very anti-social person. His daughter was a very lovely young woman, though.” She finished gleefully.
“He had a daughter?” Valie asked.
"Yes. Sevenly was her name. Different name, but she was a sweet girl. I invited her over often. She sometimes came and had dinner with me, it was nice to have the company," She chuckled.
She held up a hand, "Oh wait, wait, just hold on for one second," she turned and walked quickly back to her house.
“Valie, what are we doing here? What are you getting us into?!”
“I had to come see where she lived. She was one of us, Trent.”
He looked back at her, like he'd suddenly acquired a bad taste in his mouth.
The woman came back out, holding a picture frame.
"Here she is, she had given me one of her senior pictures, several weeks back."
There in the frame was a picture of a young woman with long, wavy blonde hair, with light brown eyes and a wide smile. Valie felt as if Sevenly was looking right through the picture at them.
"She was certainly beautiful. She had a beamin' smile, really a great kid," the woman leaned in close to them, "she had gotten herself into some trouble if you know what I mean."
"What kind of trouble?" Trent asked.
"Pregnant. I can spot a pregnant teen from a mile away, I was one after all. Had my little Jack when I was just sixteen. No, she tried to hide it, but I could tell. She had a thin frame and suddenly when I would see her, she'd be wearing some loose clothes and her belly was getting bigger. I haven't see her though, no one has been to the house in a few weeks."
It was because she was killed, Valie wanted to tell the woman, but with that, would've come questions. Seeing where she lived and hearing about who she was made her seem all the more real. Valie wanted to know her and didn't want to give her picture back, but she did.
"Did she...have a boyfriend?" Valie asked, fighting back the tears.
"Well, sure. Scott...Scott King is his name."
"Thank you for your time, ma'am," Trent said, pulling Valie by the arm and they walked back towards the car.
"He lives just down the block!" she yelled behind them. Valie turned around.
"He lives on the corner, a big yellow house, can't miss it."
Getting into the car, Valie wondered why the woman didn't ask them questions about who they were, but she had also seemed like the type of person who loved to talk, even to strangers. Valie got the feeling she would've continued to talk for hours if they didn't leave when they did.
Trent already knew what his cousin was thinking, "No. No, we're not going."
Like he had a choice.
"Look, not for nothing, but I just don't think it’s a good idea, Valie."
Not a minute later, they came to the big yellow house on the corner. It was easy to find, it was a small town and the only yellow house on the block.
They walked up to the front steps. Trent was fidgety. Valie felt bad for forcing him along, but only for a moment.
Valie knocked softly on the door. Trent had a scowl on his face.
The door opened and a woman stood there.
"We're looking for Scott King," Valie said swiftly.
The woman looked at them curiously, wiping her hands on a dish towel, then called for Scott over her shoulder.
Then, a young man came to the door. He had classic American good looks, blonde hair neatly parted, wearing a yellow polo and jeans.
He looked at Trent and Valie, clearly confused. "Yeah?"
"My name is, Va...Veronica and this my cousin Kent."
“Seriously?” Trent asked.
"We are here to talk about Sevenly," Valie said to Scott, ignoring her cousin.
Scott hesitated, but then grabbed his sweater that was next to the door and yelled to his mom that he would be right back.
He led them to a picnic table in the backyard of the house. Trent and Valie sat across from him.
"You two don't look familiar, how do you know Sevenly?"
"Friends of the family," Valie said quickly.
"Sevenly didn't have any family..."
Valie didn't say anything and he didn't press it.
"She's been missing, you haven't seen her have you?"
Trent and Valie both shook their heads.
"What are you here for then?"
"We just...we were visiting, saw she wasn't home, and we heard you two were close."
"We're more than close, Sevenly is the love of my life. We're always together. My mom lets her sleep here because her dad's a strange guy. The les
s time Sevenly spends around him the better. I don't think he ever really hurt her, but he's strange."
"What about him was strange?"
"He's not there a lot, or hardly ever. It's like that house is his second home. I don't know what he did for a living. He always made sure Sevenly kept the curtains drawn, he didn't want her to have any friends, he wanted to keep her withdrawn like him, but she was strong and managed to escape the weirdness..."
Scott put his head down for a moment, and when he lifted it, his eyes were welling up with tears.
"I love her so much. She's the best person I've ever known. We walk to school every morning together, then two weeks ago...she was just gone. I'm so worried that something happened to her. She would never ever leave without telling me."
"Was she pregnant, Scott?" Valie asked.
He nodded, "It wasn't something we planned, obviously, but she wants to keep it. She's determined. Her plan has been to go to school, have the baby and continue on to college, and I will be by her side through it all. Well, that was our plan...but now she's gone...just vanished."
Valie reached her hand across the table and set it on top of his, "I'm so sorry."
He reached for his wallet, fished through a few pictures, and slid one across the table, "This one's my favorite."
Valie held it delicately in her hand, like it was a bubble. It was a different one than the woman had showed them. Sevenly's long hair was curled all the way through, she was wearing a white peasant shirt and smiling sweetly in front of a lilac bush.
"The baby is due in four weeks..." he wiped his face and laughed, "I'm sure she's fine! You guys should come back in a couple of days if you were looking to visit with her. I'm sure she'll be back by then. Excuse me."
He got up from the table quickly and went back into the house.
"We should've told him," Trent said sadly.
"We can't," Valie said regrettably, looking down at her picture.
"What do you think they did to her?"
"I don't want to think about it." Valie looked at the picture once more and put it in her pocket. "Let’s go."
Valie thought about Sevenly and her life. They tried to lock her away, but it seemed her spirit wouldn't be hidden. That's not something you can "create," it wasn't something they could make to be what they wanted. Her spirit and her mind was her own and Valie bet it was as beautiful as Sevenly was.
Trent put his arm around Valie, "Let's go home."
Once they returned home, they could hear giggling right away. Casey and Emma were already there. All in Valie's room, the girls were helping Maddy with her hair.
Valie greeted them, but told them she would be right back. They didn't seem to notice.
The season for planting flowers was long over, but in the kitchen Valie had a small packet of forget-me-not seeds that she had saved from last spring. She grabbed them and went to the backyard near the American Holly tree that they had planted in memory of Leon. He'd always loved Christmas and the American Holly tree bloomed what looked like pieces of Holly. He would've enjoyed it, they knew.
Valie dug a deep hole and dropped in the flower seeds. She brushed the dirt back in, then looked at Sevenly's picture once more. Even though it was only a photo, Valie could feel the energy and it felt good. It felt right and, while she stood there, it almost seemed like they knew each other at one point.
"It's ironic and sad, but you saved Trent's life. I'm so sorry you died, Sevenly. I'm sorry you weren't able to have your baby and I'm sorry that we never got a chance to meet, that you never got to meet the rest of us. In sorts, we all completed each other as The Wozniak Five, and without you...well, I guess it was never meant to be anyway.”
Valie's eyes brimmed with tears and it felt appropriate, she didn't try to stop them, "I'm sorry you're not here with us." Valie bowed her head and walked away, hoping the flowers would bloom for her, even in the cold weather, under the protective shade of the American Holly tree when needed and enjoy the sun when it was given.
Chapter 28
Maddy wore Valie's homecoming dress from the year before. It was too long, of course, but Emma had brought a needle and thread to shorten it.
Trent walked past Valie's room as the girls all scattered getting ready with makeup and hair. He stepped in, took a bow while shielding his eyes, “Ladies.”
"Get out of here, Trent!" Casey yelled throwing a pillow at him.
"I didn't look!" He laughed and backed away.
Emma was in charge of hair. As she started to pin Maddy's up in a precious up-do, Maddy told the girls a story about a trip that she took with Trent.
Of course, they didn't know that the trip was just a couple of weeks ago.
"We were just driving," she started to say, "when we saw an animal on the side of the road. It had been struck by a car, but it was still alive. Trent pulled the car over, took off his shirt, and picked it up. It was a small dog. He had a broken leg. Trent insisted that we take it to the nearest veterinarian..." she looked up at Valie, "even though we were on a tight schedule."
"Trent's such a sweetie," Casey said with a slight smile on her face.
"Yes, he is," Maddy agreed.
As Casey and Maddy continued on with their giggles, Valie went to the bathroom to curl her hair. Valie was never much on doing a lot to her hair, so she had put loose curls in it and ran her fingers through it.
Emma came up behind Valie and fluffed her hair a little. She reached for the bottle of hair spray and spritzed it.
"How are you doing?" she asked sounding so much like an adult, compared to the giggles in the background.
"I'm okay."
Valie eyes met Emma's in the reflection of the mirror.
"You sure?"
Valie nodded. Emma continued to fluff and spritz her hair, "I did call the police that day you called me...I was so scared.”
Valie turned to her, “I'm sorry I put you in that position.”
“When you're ready to talk about what happened...what really happened...I'll be here.”
Valie knew she didn't believe the story that she and Trent told. Emma was smart. She also knew that if they weren't telling the truth, there was a reason for it. Maybe someday Emma would know the truth. “Thanks, Em.”
Valie's dress was dark blue. It made her eyes pop, Casey, Emma, and Maddy all assured her. It was a strapless empire waist dress that hit just above her knees.
The girls told Maddy she looked beautiful in Valie's red dress from last year. It was still a little long despite Emma's alterations, but she looked pretty nonetheless.
In classic Casey style, her dress was short, pink, and sparkly, while Emma went with a black halter dress that flattered her perfectly.
The four girls waited in the living room for the limo. Trent joined them in his tux, the same one from last year, but he wore a red bow tie to match Maddy's dress.
"Trent!" Maddy exclaimed, "You look dashing!"
"Dashing, indeed," Casey said with a wink.
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. It was Charlie and his friend Eddie, who was Charlie’s cousin from another high school to be Casey's date.
They piled into the limo that Charlie had so graciously offered to pay for and arrived at Charlie’s house to take pictures. His parents “ooo'd” and “ahhh'd” over the girls' dresses.
Valie was the only one without a date, but it wasn't awkward. She got the feeling that everyone was avoiding couple pictures so she wouldn't feel left out. They were all laughing, doing silly poses and having fun. It was the night that Valie had envisioned for them.
By the time they left to go to dinner, each was seeing spots from what seemed like thousands of flashing camera lights.
At dinner, it felt like old times to Valie. Maddy fit in well with her friends. They were good people, so Maddy's OCD antics and sometimes know-it-all personality didn't really faze them, they could see her kind heart.
Once they got to the dance, Valie had let go of all the sadness and frustration of
the recent days and just decided to enjoy the night with friends, dancing and laughing, not caring if they looked stupid or if they got strange looks from their classmates.
Their gym had blue and white balloons everywhere, a tan tarp covered the floor, with confetti sprinkled on top to create a fancier look, and stars of all different sizes hung from the ceiling. Blue, white, and gold lights hung from the ceiling too. The student council had seemed to really make a good job of creating a “star filled night” as the theme advertised.
Once the slow songs came on, Valie sat down at their table to catch her breath. Trent came and sat by her.
"This is fun, right?" he said brushing sweat from his forehead.
"Yeah, it is. I'm glad we came," Valie said with a smile, admiring the decorations around them.
Trent looked at her thoughtfully, "You miss him, don't you?"
“Of course I miss him, he was my uncle,” Valie pouted instantly feeling bitter that he had to bring that up at that time.
“No, not my dad. You miss Carson.”
When he said the name, Valie's heart skipped a beat.
She shrugged, "I have everyone I need right here." It was a lie. As much as she wanted it to be true, it wasn't. Valie was grateful that she had the people she did, but it didn’t make her miss Carson any less.
Trent chuckled, apparently deciding to humor her. "You wanna dance?"
"Nah, I think someone's waiting on you." Valie motioned to Maddy who was standing by the punch, watching the couples dance.
Trent patted Valie's hand and walked towards Maddy. He approached her and Valie could see Maddy jump up and down excitedly.
Valie smiled as she watched her friends dance under the starry decorations. It was funny to her, watching Trent and Maddy dance, she was so much shorter than him, even in her little kitten heels.
Valie wanted a breath of fresh air. She decided to go outside while all of the couples were dancing. She knew she wouldn't be missed just then, so she stood and walked out the side doors of the gym. Her heels clicked against the tile in the empty hallway. She felt oddly at peace. She felt safe in the familiar surroundings. The place where she had good memories, not only with her friends, but with her uncle.
The Pendants and the Mystery of the Wozniak Five Part I Page 23
