Swift

by Heather London

  “Uh, thanks for the heads up, Aunt Rose. I will go down there and apply this week,” I promised.

  “Great! Well, that was easy.” She smiled and patted me on the back. “I’m off to work. Someone called in sick, so I will be pulling a double shift, which will leave you on your own for dinner tonight. Call the hospital if you need anything,” she shouted while on her way out the door.

  “Will do!” I shouted back as I heard the door slam.

  On my own for dinner tonight? I was on my own for dinner almost every night. When Aunt Rose wasn’t working or sleeping, she was usually with her boyfriend Jack. But it was cool because I actually liked being alone, and I liked Jack. By the looks of it, he and Aunt Rose made a strange couple. Aunt Rose was a petite woman with short, blonde hair while Jack towered over her and wore a pony tail down his back. But I guess in their situation, opposites do attract. Jack and Aunt Rose had been dating for a few years now, and he owned a car detail shop in town. The kind of shop that you bring your car in to if you want to turn it into a flashy one. The kind of car that would draw attention in a crowd. That’s why I respectfully declined each time he offered to fix mine up if I ever got one. It’s not that Aunt Rose didn’t try her hardest to buy me a car for my sweet sixteen; it’s just that I never wanted one. I lived three blocks from school, six blocks from the town center, and a couple miles from the cemetery. Why would I need a car when I could just walk? But just because I didn’t get a car doesn’t mean I didn’t get my driver’s license. It was necessary for emergency’s sake and the occasional grocery trip I made.

  I headed upstairs, peeled off my clothes, and threw my pajamas from earlier that morning back on. I curled back up in bed, hoping that drowsiness would consume me, but no such luck. So much for beauty sleep, I thought to myself. As I lay there, the thought of the party slowly crept into my head and then panic set in as to what I would wear to the dreadful event. The thought turned me into a crazy person. I got up out of bed and began to tear through my closet to find anything appropriate for the Hawaiian theme—something, anything that would allow me to blend in. Go unseen if at all possible.

  But I couldn’t find anything appropriate. I spent the rest of the day picking up the mess that I had made, which led into doing laundry, cleaning out from under my bed, and rearranging my entire room. A part of me was annoyed at myself for starting the process, but another part was thankful for the distraction. Since school had ended, I had been having trouble keeping myself busy. I was actually looking forward to getting a job. Maybe this job at the library would be a good thing. Actually, if it was going to help me buy my ticket out of Marblehead, it was a great thing.

  Before I knew it, it was dark outside, and after popping a TV dinner into the microwave, I parked myself on the couch for the rest of the night.

  The next morning came too soon, and I woke up feeling nauseous. Unfortunately, not in a sick way, more like I had been dreaming about the impending party all night long. There was still the problem of what to wear, so I picked up the phone and dialed the only person I knew who could help. “Rebecca, hey, it’s Meredith.”

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “You are going to the party tonight, right?” I asked, hoping Roger was telling the truth and it had not been just some ploy to get me to go.

  “Uh, yeah. Roger told me that you wouldn’t go unless I went,” she said in the shrill voice that would make me cringe if it was not coming from her.

  “He said what? That little …” I trailed off, fuming on the inside.

  “Huh?” Rebecca asked, sounding confused.

  “Oh, nothing, just telling myself to punch Roger later when I see him.”

  “O-kay. But you are going, right? I mean, I would not feel comfortable without you there,” she said, suddenly sounding panicked.

  “Why? You know more of those people than I do.”

  “Yeah, but you are best friends with Roger, the most popular guy in school. I was actually going to call you later to see if we could ride together.”

  “Well, Roger is picking me up at 9:00 p.m. Do you want us to swing by and get you?” I offered.

  “That would be awesome.”

  “How about us hanging out later, maybe go shopping together? I need some help with what to wear. I’m not very good at these things,” I said urgently, my voice breaking from my slight panic.

  “You look great in anything, Meredith. Just wear something you are comfortable in and you’ll be fine,” she replied reassuringly.

  How about jeans and a T-shirt? I thought to myself. How would that look at a Hawaiian-themed party?

  “Are you free today or not?” I asked, trying not to sound too anxious.

  “Really wish I could, but I still have relatives in town from graduation, and if I am going to run off to the party, I have to put in some family time. Sorry.”

  “No problem.” I sighed.

  “So, see ya around 9:00 p.m.?” she asked excitedly.

  “Yeah, sure.”

  I hung up the phone, knowing I was on my own with shopping. After eating breakfast, I peeked outside the kitchen window above the sink and saw that the sun was shining. Maybe the day wouldn’t be too bad after all. Before I headed out, I left Aunt Rose a note, telling her I was going into town for a while, assuming she would get home from her double shift while I was gone. Even though I was eighteen and a graduate from high school, I guess it was still a nice gesture to tell her where I was going, especially after how she tried to overreact yesterday morning.

  I looked around for my purse, finally seeing it in the exact spot I had dropped it yesterday, sitting at the bottom of the stairs next to my backpack. I slung it over my chest as I took one last glance in the hallway mirror. My hair was back in a ponytail like yesterday, and I had not even attempted to put on any makeup. Tonight I will try and make myself look decent, I promised the reflection staring back at me. Then I walked out and locked the door behind me.

  The last thing I ever wanted to do was shop. It was actually one of my most hated things to do; it qualified as a chore in my book. You could tell this pretty easily with one look in my closet.

  The weather was nice and warm, almost too warm for jeans. It was such a drastic change from the miserable weather yesterday. It was a quick, ten-minute walk to the town square, where there were a few clothing shops. I picked out the store I had been in once with Aunt Rose. She dragged me there to buy a dress for one of her friend’s weddings. The whole shopping experience was a disaster, and she had never made me wear a dress again or offered to take me shopping.

  As I entered the store, the bell dinged above my head, letting the clerk know I had entered. A young girl sat behind the counter flipping through a magazine. “Let me know if you need help finding anything,” she said, not even raising her head from the page as I walked past her toward the sale rack.

  “Thanks,” I responded, glancing toward her. I knew who she was; her name was Riley Shaw. She was Matthew Shaw’s little sister. I knew this because Matthew was one of Roger’s friends from the basketball team, and she used to have a major crush on Roger, like stalker-type crush. She had left him love notes on his car outside school, stolen his gym shorts, and even had got caught spying on him in the locker room. Roger, of course, thought she was way too young and a little crazy. Plus, Matthew swore he would kill Roger if he came close to her.

  I shuffled through the sales rack and picked out three dresses I thought would work for the theme. My choices were nothing over the top, nothing too bright or ostentatious, but they would be perfect for the blending-in style I was going for. I tried on the first dress and awkwardly walked to the big mirrors outside the dressing room. If I was going to actually wear a dress, I wanted to be able to see myself from every angle, just to make sure there were no hidden surprises. I turned, facing left and then right, and then strained my neck to check out the back.

  The first two dresses were total disasters. The third dress I picked out was actually my favorite even thoug
h I had yet to try it on. I hoped it would be the one and my shopping experience would be over. Just as I was zipping up the side, I heard Riley greet a new customer from behind the counter. Great, I really thought I was going to get out of here without anyone seeing me, I thought. Before stepping out into the open space with the big mirror, I slowly opened the door to see if I could spot the unknown shopper. The coast was clear, so I quickly marched out and gave myself a once-over. It was perfect: not too tight or too short, and it would totally work for the theme.

  Feeling relieved that I had found something, I exited the dressing room and began my walk to the register. As I fumbled through my purse for my wallet, I regrettably bumped into the mystery shopper. I let out a silent gasp when our eyes met. Those were the same startling green eyes that I had seen in the cemetery yesterday. I apologized, keeping my head down and focusing on getting to the register and out of there as fast as possible. She seems to be doing okay, I thought to myself. She’s not dead at least.

  “Hi, did you find everything okay?” Riley asked as I approached. “You’re Meredith, right?”

  “Yes, and you’re Riley, Mathew’s sister.” I did not phrase it as a question.

  “That’s me, although I would rather not claim him.” She rolled her eyes as she began to ring up my dress. “Is this for the party tonight?” Her eyes lit up in excitement.

  “Yeah,” I responded, not sharing her enthusiasm, trying to fight the nausea at the sound of the word party.

  “It’s a great color for you, goes really well with your hair and complexion.”

  “Thanks,” I smiled timidly. I never felt comfortable when anyone paid me compliments. Not that it happened often.

  “Roger is going to be there, right?” Her voice sounded desperate, like it would ruin her day if I answered no.

  “Uh, yeah. He is the one who talked me into going,” I said, shaking my head at the thought of him lying to both Rebecca and me just to get me to go.

  “Awesome.” A large grin stretched across her face. “I overheard my brother talking about it. He doesn’t know I am going and will probably have a conniption when he sees me there, graduates–only rule and all. I mean, it’s a party, so the more the merrier, right?” she asked.

  “Totally.” It’s not like I cared if she went or not. I couldn’t care less if the whole entire school showed up. I handed her my debit card and watched the grin on her face grow. I wondered what was going on in her head, even though I knew it probably had something to do with Roger. Ha, I thought to myself, realizing that my payback for Roger would be seeing the look on his face when Riley found him. This party may be worth my while after all.

  “Here you go. Receipt’s in the bag.”

  “Maybe I will see you later tonight,” I said, smiling as I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. The conversation with Riley had distracted me, and for a minute I forgot about the girl I was trying to avoid. The second I approached the door, I saw someone moving in the corner of my eye, and it all came back to me. Keeping my head down, I hurried out the door, hoping to avoid any more uncomfortable run-ins. I had only made it a few steps from the store before I heard the bell from the shop’s door ding again.

  Chapter Four

  “Excuse me,” a soft but firm voice from behind me spoke.

  I stopped and swallowed hard as I turned and found myself staring straight at the blonde girl’s face. The look she held was a mixture of fear and nervousness.

  “Hello. I wanted to try and explain myself from yesterday. It was very impolite of me to run off like I did. I am sorry for being so rude,” she spoke eloquently and articulated each word.

  My mind was trying to register what she had said, and it took me a few seconds to find the right words to say in return. “Really, you have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn’t have intruded. It was just, I was worried about you,” I confessed, immediately feeling vulnerable that I had just admitted that to her.

  “That is very sweet of you. I was a little distressed yesterday and not myself. I am Abigail Harper, by the way—but most people call me Abby,” she finished, holding out her right hand.

  She must have thought I was crazy because I just stood there, shocked and confused. But my mind had gone blank when she said her last name was Harper. It could have been just a strange coincidence, but that was the same name on the four graves I had seen her standing over at the cemetery. The same four graves that I stopped at every time I visited my family, and the same graves that looked to be a couple hundred years old. My heart began to beat hard against my chest, and I quickly snapped myself back to reality. Must have been her great-great-grandfather, I tried to tell myself.

  “I’m Meredith. It’s—nice to meet you,” I stuttered as I extended my hand to meet hers. I had always felt something when I was near the Harper graves, some energy or force that I could never describe, not to anyone, not even myself. The energy was even more overwhelming when I stood that close to Abby and made contact with her hand. It took me a few seconds to come back into the present moment, and I jerked my hand back to my side. As I looked into her eyes, I could tell that she had felt something as well.

  “You must be new to town,” I said urgently, trying to distract myself from the strange energy running through me.

  “You could say that. We are just here for the summer. My family and I are staying in one of the older estates, trying to restore it,” she said.

  “Oh” was the only word that escaped my mouth. Well, that solved part of the mystery. Now I knew why she had been heading toward Estate Lane, but it did not explain how she disappeared so quickly and why she had been visiting the graves.

  “Welcome to Marblehead,” I said, shrugging, unsure of what else to say.

  “Thank you.” She smiled. “I’m sure we will see each other around, it being a small town and all.”

  “Right. Um, well, I really have to be going,” I mumbled, looking in the direction of my house. There was no way to explain why I was acting so nervous or why I was in such a rush to get away from her. It wasn’t like I was short on time. The party was still hours away, but the energy between us was becoming unbearable. It was as if I was in my own personal tug of war. Some force was pulling us to one another, but there was also something trying to keep us apart.

  “Of course. It was a great pleasure to meet you, Meredith Martin.” She smiled as she slowly backed away from me, similar to her movements from yesterday, minus the crazed stare.

  When I got home, I dropped my purse and the bag with my new dress near the stairs and wandered into the kitchen. The note I had left for Aunt Rose was still lying in the same spot, but it had been modified with a new one.

  Thanks for the note but you didn’t have to leave one. Sorry we missed each other. Taking a nap before working the night shift again. See you when I wake up.

  AR

  After eating some lunch, I went ahead and jumped in the shower. Not that I needed two hours to get ready, I just wanted something to distract me from the thoughts running through my head. It was difficult to ignore the weird feeling I had had when I was near Abby and how her last name matched the one on the mysterious graves, the same four graves that looked to be hundreds of years old. Not to mention the weirdness that was still on my mind from yesterday: the way I almost got run over by Mr. Griffin before his car miraculously went into slow motion mode before hitting me. I chalked them both up to just strange coincidences. What else could they be?

  Then as I stepped out of the shower and was drying off, something about earlier struck me. Before Abby and I had parted ways, she’d said, “It was nice to meet you, Meredith Martin.” I didn’t remember introducing myself with my full name. I never introduced myself using my full name. Or at least, I didn’t think I did. I shook it off, thinking that I must have; otherwise, how would she have known?

  It took me no time at all to get ready. I was an hour ahead of schedule and aggravated at myself for being ready so early. It just gave me that much more time to sit and
think about what I was about to endure. When I finally heard the purr of Roger’s Mustang on my street, I took a deep breath and tried my hardest to put a smile on my face, pretending to be excited for his sake.

  I opened the door before he even knocked, hoping not to wake Aunt Rose, who was still sleeping before her night shift.

  He whistled as he approached the door. “Wow, Meredith, you look great.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Ugh, stop. I’m just trying to blend in. I figured my T-shirt and jeans would stand out too much.” I turned to scan the living room for my purse and saw it resting near the bottom of the stairs.

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but you are definitely going to stand out. You’re a knockout,” he said, looking me up and down.

  I looked down, examining myself, not understanding what was so great about a lilac-colored dress with a few flowers on it. “Okay, seriously, no more. You’re creeping me out.”

  “You’re just lucky that everyone thinks of you as my little sister, so no one will touch you.”

  “That’s a relief. Let’s just go and get this over with,” I gritted the words through my teeth as I slung my purse over my shoulder, totally giving up on pretending to be excited.

  “Oh, hang on, forgot something.” I stopped just before locking the door. I ran back to the kitchen and grabbed the pen, adding a new note below Aunt Rose’s last one:

  Going to the seniors-only party … won’t be out too late. Have a good shift.

  Fortunately, it was a short trip to Rebecca’s house. I was eager to see what she was wearing and prayed that I was on the right track with my outfit. We stopped out front, and before I could even get out of the car to get her, I saw her racing toward us, exhilaration spread all over her face. Her brown hair was curled and it bounced up and down with each step she took. I breathed a sigh of relief when I noticed her dress was somewhat similar to mine.