Wayward: St. Croix Falls Book 1

by Melody Personette

  Angelica glanced down at her attire and then shrugged. “A little dirt never hurt anyone.”

  “Alrighty then. I’ll be right back.”

  “Kay!”

  Mia shut the door and stood there for a minute. She gave herself a minute to process the fact that the first thing she did today was plant flowers. Then with a tired sigh, Mia padded up the stairs. She peaked into the master bedroom and found her mom passed out on her air mattress. The moving truck guys were supposed to come today.

  She’d committed to this, and she had a feeling Angelica wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Downstairs she started some coffee, grabbed a granola bar and shoved her feet into flip flops before leaving the house. Outside she found Angelica on her hands and knees digging up the ground beneath their windows. Her skirt was going to get grass stains. Mia hadn’t pegged her for the kind of girl who could care less about what happened to her clothes.

  “Hey,” she called when she saw Mia walk out. “Grab a shovel and help me out.”

  Mia didn’t argue. She grabbed one of the shovels and got on her knees next to Angelica. “Just so you know,” she said, waving the shovel. “I’ve never gardened. The one time I took care of a plant it died a bitter, horrible death.”

  Mrs. Nelson had entrusted her with her tomato plant for a summer when Mia was twelve. Suffice to say Mrs. Nelson never let her anywhere near her garden again. Angelica laughed as she finished digging. “Nonsense! I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

  Before Mia knew it, Angelica had the whole ground turned and plowed or whatever and holes ready for flowers. She was like a gardening machine. “Wow, you’re really good at this,” Mia said as Angelica handed her a thing of wild pansies to plant.

  Angelica beamed. “Thank you! I love gardening. It’s so peaceful, and I find plants to be good listeners.”

  “What?” Mia asked as she set the pansies down in the hole.

  The girl laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not crazy. I… I don’t know, plants are good listeners. They keep your secrets. Sometimes I like to sit out in my garden and talk to them. My parents aren’t around a lot.” Her laughter and smile died out at that point. “So sometimes the plants are the only company I have.”

  Mia frowned, packing dirt in around the pansies. “I thought you were the captain of the cheer team and a bunch of other stuff at school. No offense, but I sort of pegged you as the ultra-popular girl.”

  “None taken.” Angelica shrugged planting a begonia. “I kind of am, you know the stereotypical popular girl but… not because everyone loves me. It’s just because I happen to be in charge of everything. I don’t have a ton of friends.”

  Mia was taken aback. She paused her gardening to watch Angelica plant a few marigolds. She held the flowers with such gentleness and handled them with a reverence Mia couldn’t quite understand. Though her cheerfulness had taken Mia off guard at first, Mia couldn’t understand how anyone could not like Angelica. She just seemed so… genuine. As cheesy as it sounded the girl was a ray of sunshine. And yet… the fact that she didn’t have a lot of friends and understood loneliness made Mia like her a little more.

  “Me too,” she said at last, leaning back on the heels of her feet. “My dad… well, he’s been out of the picture for a long time, so it’s just been my mom and I for a while. She works a lot and I don’t know, I guess I have a hard time fitting in at school because I don’t have a ton of friends either.”

  Angelica glanced at her and placed a delicate hand on Mia’s where it rested in the dirt. “Well you do now,” she said with such earnestly it almost made Mia choke up. Seriously, how could someone not love this girl? She was so sweet.

  Mia smiled, her heart lightening a little at the realization that she had made a friend. A real friend in a matter of three days since moving there. Go figure. Angelica let go of her hand and went back to planting those marigolds.

  They were almost done planting the flowers when the front door to the house to the right opened and shut. A warmth spread over the back of her neck and flushed her face when she felt Rhett staring at her. Blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes, Mia glanced up and found him doing just that. He had those stupid sunglasses perched in his hair and the same smirk on his lips. Today he was in a pair of ripped jeans and a hunter green V-neck tee. He looked way too good in them. He raised his eyebrows at her like he knew what she was thinking. Mia’s face heated up even more. Angelica glanced up too and went still as a statue when her eyes locked onto his. Rhett’s smirk faded. His gaze hardened. What was up with the two of them?

  “Don’t mind me,” he called, winking. Only he could pull off winking twice in the past two days. “Just heading out. Happy gardening Angie.” He said her name like it left a bitter taste on his tongue. Mia drew back as if stung but Angelica didn’t seem phased. She wrinkled her nose at him before turning back around and digging into the dirt with a viciousness Mia hadn’t thought she was capable of. Rhett’s laughter drifted to them on the breeze. Mia watched as he shut the car door behind him. He whipped out of the driveway and down the road.

  Mia watched his car until it disappeared around the corner. Only then did she turn to Angelica who was focused way too intensely on her planting. “What is up with him? And you? The two of you. You don’t seem to like him and well, he just said some stuff last night to me that insinuated that he wasn’t a fan of you either.”

  Angelica’s head whipped up so fast Mia was afraid it might snap off her neck. “What did he say?” she asked.

  Mia drew back. “I don’t know just… stuff.” She didn’t want to make her feel bad, but from the fierce look on Angelica’s face Mia had a feeling nothing Rhett could say about her would hurt her feelings. “Just that you aren’t as nice as I think you are and that I should stay away from you.”

  Angelica snorted and rolled her eyes, turning back to her planting. “That is so typical of him.”

  “Why? Why doesn’t he like you?”

  “Because I…” her face screwed up like she was resisting the urge to say something. A minute later she blew out a breath and shook her head. “Because he’s a jerk.”

  “Yeah but…” Mia didn’t know what to say to that. He was a jerk, but could that really be the only reason he didn’t like Angelica? It felt like there was more to it. “He just seems to have a personal issue with you.”

  “It was a long time ago,” Angelica said at last still not meeting Mia’s eyes. The lively, sunshine Angelica was gone hidden behind a brick wall of coldness. “I don’t want to talk about it and besides, it's in the past.”

  “Yeah seems like it,” Mia muttered.

  Angelica sighed and finally glanced up at her. She rubbed the back of her hand against her forehead, leaving a smear of dirt on her flawless skin. “OK, so maybe it’s not so much in the past, but do yourself a favor and stay away from Rhett.”

  “That’s pretty much exactly what he told me about you.”

  “And yet here you are.”

  “Here I am.”

  For a second, they were caught in a staring contest and Mia felt that if she broke eye contact first, she would lose. She set her jaw, making Angelica know she wasn’t some pushover. One way or another she was going to find out what the heck went on between her and Rhett. Mia thought she’d almost gotten to her. Angelica looked about ready to crack and spill everything when the front door opened, and her mom stepped out. They both glanced away at the same time and Mia huffed out a frustrated breath. She almost had her.

  “Oh, there you are Mia,” her mom said, her eyes widening when they snagged on Angelica. She wrapped her bathrobe a little tighter around herself, her fingers going to her bedhead. “Oh, hi there, sorry, I didn’t know we had company.”

  Angelica jumped up, her cheery smile back on her face. Mia’s new friend shook her mom’s hand vigorously. “That’s alright! Mia and I had talked yesterday evening and made plans to do some gardening this morning. It’s a pleasure to meet you and welcome to the neighborhood!”


  Mia watched with suspicious curiosity as Angelica’s enthusiastic charm drew her mother in too. Her mom’s smile widened. “It’s nice meeting you too and it’s so good to see Mia making friends already. Do you go to the St. Croix High School?”

  “Of course! We’re a pretty small town, so the only high school we’ve got is that one,” Angelica said jokingly. Her mom laughed, and Mia’s eyes widened. No that her mom didn’t laugh but… she didn’t make a habit of laughing so freely. “I told Mia on Monday I can help her find her way around.”

  “Oh, how lovely. That is so sweet of you!”

  “Of course, you have an amazing daughter. I’m so glad you guys moved in, so we could meet. If you don’t mind, we were just going to finish up this patch,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder at Mia and the garden.

  Her mom nodded. “No problem. Stay as long as you want. Make yourself at home. I have to hop in the shower and head out, but feel free to hang out here.”

  “Right! You’re the one who bought that old store downtown,” Angelica exclaimed.

  Mia’s mom nodded. “Yes I am.”

  “Wow, that’s pretty cool. What are you turning it into?”

  “Well, I’ve always wanted to own a bookstore and since there doesn’t seem to be any competition around here, I like my chances,” her mom said, grinning.

  Angelica let out a squeal. “Oh, that’ll be perfect! Everyone would love a bookstore. It was so nice meeting you Mrs. Avery.”

  “Oh no need for formalities. Just call me Dela. That’s what my friends call me,” her mom said with a wink.

  Mia resisted the urge to face palm. Rhett could pull off a wink. Her mother? Not so much.

  Angelica didn’t seem to mind, though. She fixed Mia’s mother with her biggest, brightest smile. “Well then it was so nice meeting you again Dela. What a pretty name. Is it short for Delilah?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “So pretty.”

  “Thank you!”

  By the time her mom headed in to shower and change she was practically glowing from all the sweetness oozing from Angelica. Angelica spun around and went back to digging while Mia shook her head. “Not to be frank but you’re kind of… I don’t even know what.”

  “What do you mean?” Angelica asked, glancing up at her with eyebrows furrowed.

  Mia gave her a doubtful look. “You’re kidding right? Do you not know the kind of effect you have on people? Not a lot of people can make my mom laugh like that or walk inside looking like she just won the lottery.”

  “Never diss the power of manners and a beautiful smile,” was all Angelica said.

  Mia laughed and shook her head again, getting back to finishing up the flower planting. Her mom left a little while later, after chatting with Angelica for another five minutes before Mia finally made her get in the car and drive away. It was as if Angelica was a magnet and everyone in her proximity was drawn to her. Everyone except Rhett of course.

  By the time they finished up the flower planting, Mia’s stomach grumbled, and she realized she’d barely eaten anything for breakfast. Just as she got up and was about to offer Angelica something for lunch, a giant orange moving truck came down the street and pulled up in front of the house. And just like that, Mia forgot all about her hungry stomach.

  Chapter Four

  “It came!” she shouted, jumping up and down before bolting for the gate to open it for the moving guys.

  Angelica was at her side in an instant. “Oh, is this all your stuff?”

  “Yeah! Oh, I am so happy they actually came today. I need my bed and my couch and my bookcases!”

  The guys got out and opened the back of the truck. Her mom had paid to have them move everything inside too. Angelica clapped her hands and squealed. “Oh goodie! I love interior design. Do you want some help?”

  “Sure. That would be great actually. I don’t think I could move all this stuff into the right rooms by myself.”

  “Yay,” Angelica squealed again.

  They helped the moving guys with what they could, quickly filling the front dining room and the back living room with everything from the kitchen table to the couches. Mia signed a paper for them, and they were off. When she came back inside all she wanted to do was slump onto their worn, black leather couch and take a nap. Getting up this morning and instantly being outside was not her thing. Before Mia could plop onto the couch, Angelica clapped her hands and started ordering her to help move stuff.

  Moving furniture around the downstairs ended up being the rest of her day. It was nice actually. Besides the odd moment with and about Rhett, Angelica was good company. They giggled and laughed about various things. Mia gushed about the city when Angelica asked. She had never been to a city, so Mia tried to paint the most vivid picture she could of it. As they moved the furniture to where it needed to go, Mia told her about her old school, about the rooftop of her apartment complex and all the noises and sights of the city.

  When Mia asked Angelica about her time in St. Croix Falls it was much less exciting. Mia made sure to seem just as enthusiastic about her stories as Angelica had been about hers. Angelica told her about all the guys she’d dated and had to turn down. About last year’s homecoming where they had the party in the giant rec center in the middle of town. There had been an accident at the rec center’s pool that night, and the whole student body was banned from there now.

  When they got all of Mia’s stuff to her room, Angelica stopped to survey the space, her hands planted on her hips. “You know what would make this room look ten times better?”

  “Hm,” Mia asked, busy moving the bookshelves to where she wanted them to go.

  “Maybe a purple-ish colored paint. The walls are sort of blah.”

  “I agree,” Mia said, hands on hips as she surveyed her room.

  “We can run to the store and get some. Or I can go get some.”

  “Well it’s kind of my room so don’t you think I should be involved in the paint color picking?”

  Angelica looked like she wanted to say no but thought better of it. Mia grinned. She was starting to realize that a person had to be OK with voicing their opinions with Angelica, or she would bulldoze right over them by accident.

  “Fine, you can come. We can go pick some up once we finish rearranging everything and maybe we can find some décor for the downstairs.”

  Because, apparently, the downstairs wasn’t nice enough with just the furniture. It had to be decorated too. Mia was interested to see what the inside of her house looked like. Probably like one of those show rooms in IKEA.

  Once they went back downstairs and the furniture was in the right place (the right place according to Angelica), they headed out to find some decorations. Mia wasn’t sure where they would find things nice enough for a house in town.

  The only place she’d seen was the Casey’s gas station and a few small shops. No Home Goods or Target in sight. But Angelica pulled her hot pink car into a parallel parking spot in front of one of the shops and got out. Talia’s Antique Store read the sign over the door with the windows showing off cute little pieces of furniture and nick knacks. Her mom’s store was sandwiched between one of the boutiques and another antique store across the street. Next to Talia’s Antique Store to the left was small boutique and on its other side was a store that looked rather out of place amongst the cute shops.

  Mia paused to stare at the storefront. The Strange and Unusual: Oddities Parlor. Crystals sat along the window front in varying sizes along with a gauzy cape that looked like it was made of shadows and a pair of knitted gloves that gleamed like spider’s silk. Strange and unusual indeed. Movement behind the window caught Mia’s attention but when she tried to focus to see who was in there, she only caught sight of a shadow.

  “Mia,” Angelica said, bringing her back to the present with a hand on her arm.

  Mia glanced up at her. Angelica gave her a tug toward the antique shop. “We should get our stuff, remember?”

  “Right… What i
s that store, though?” she asked, pointing at the unusual one.

  Angelica’s pretty face twisted into something distasteful as she tugged Mia to the antique store. “Just a store for superstitious crazy people. It’s got all that new age stuff in it. Crystals and herbal remedies and all that.”

  Not that Mia was into crystals and spell books, but she didn’t mind some all-natural remedies. She made a mental note to take a peek in there to see what sort of herbal remedies they had in there. But first… The bell over the door rang as they entered the antique shop and a tall willowy woman glanced up from a book behind a desk on the right of the front door. She was pretty in a delicate and fragile way. Her skin was the smooth brown of tree bark with matching brown eyes and coiled brown curls framing her kind face. The store keeper smiled when she saw Mia and then her smile widened even more when she saw Angelica. “Angie! Long time no see,” she said, coming around the desk to embrace the girl in a hug.

  Angelica hugged her back just as tightly. “Nice to see you too Hazel. Sorry it’s been so long. I’ve been kind of busy.”

  They separated, and Hazel waved her words away. “Oh, its fine. Just don’t make it a habit. I missed you.”

  “I missed you too. Oh, this is Mia, her and her mom are new to town. Her furniture just arrived, and I brought her over here to find some decorations for the house,” she explained, giving Mia’s back a small push toward Hazel. “Mia this is Hazel. She’s an old friend.”

  Mia held her hand out and offered a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

  Hazel shook her hand, smiling back. “Nice to meet you too. Please, feel free to take as much time as you like. We’ve got a little bit of everything in here.”

  “Thanks.”

  “We’ll be back,” Angelica said, grabbing Mia’s hand and pulling her toward the basement stairs. “She keeps all the best stuff down here.”

  They descended the stairs and Mia found that as per usual, Angelica was right. Hazel did have some great stuff down there. Little pictures for walls, embroidered couch cushions and more.