“Ow! Damn it…that hurts! Let me brush my own short hair and you go sit in the living room until I get ready.” Jennifer snatched the brush away from her mother and stormed into the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, she slathered some gel in her palms and gently smoothed the sides, then took the brush down one side of her head and began to cry. “Keith’s really gonna hate my hair! He’ll probably run in the opposite direction when he gets a look at how ugly I look.”
Jennifer didn’t expect her mother to come waltzing back into the room and catch her breaking down.
“Who is Keith and how could you talk about yourself that way?” she asked running her fingers through the back of Jennifer’s head. “I think you look lovely, Baby.”
How could she eavesdrop? Jennifer gritted her teeth, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Well, the hurtful ones at least. “Keith is a friend of mine. We’ve been dating on and off here lately and I’m just concerned about the way I look. And he loved my long hair, by the way.” Maybe she came off a little harsh but she felt she had every right. Cindy looked annoyed as if she didn’t hear a word her daughter said.
“Well, don’t you have any questions or comments?” Jennifer finally said after a pregnant silence.
Cindy pursed her lips. “If you’re trying to start another argument, no, I don’t. If you choose to have a guy friend, that’s none of my business. You’re an adult woman. However, you shouldn’t try to satisfy a man by neglecting your appearance because he likes you to look a certain way. As women of substance, we have to evolve with the times, Honey.”
If her statement hadn’t been so ironic, she might have found humor in it. “For starters, I didn’t leave my hair long just because of him. He respects my opinion and he is a very caring person. Secondly, I wasn’t trying to start an argument with you, but it’s obvious that you want to fight,” Jennifer said shoving her way into the living room. “Let’s go. I have to be there in fifteen minutes or I don’t graduate.”
Jennifer took charge from there on out. She put her shoes on, snatched her purse and hurried out the door with her parent’s right behind her. She made up her mind to have a good day even if it killed her. Piss on everything else. She worked hard to get to this point in her life and no amount of bickering, fighting or hurt feelings would keep her from receiving her diploma.
Pulling into the campus parking lot, Jennifer checked to make sure she hadn’t forgotten her cap and gown. When she stepped out of the car, she put everything on and headed over to sit with her peers. Her stomach burned from nervousness. She had to remain calm; otherwise, she’d have a panic attack. Taking small breaths, she finally settled down. Two rows up from where she sat; Keith waved then turned back around in his seat. I hope he didn’t notice my ugly hair, she thought fingering her bangs.
As she sat listening to Professor Jenkins call out students’ names, she didn’t hear her name being called. Someone in the row behind her nudged her in the back. “Jennifer…,” the girl said. “Go get your diploma.”
Jennifer glanced up and noticed she sat alone in the row of seats. Embarrassed to tears, she hurriedly stood up to join the ranks along the stage. Professor Jenkins handed her a scroll with her name on it and a huge smile spread across her face. I did it!
After the ceremony, hats flew heavenward. She walked across the stage, down the steep steps and met her parents in the aisle amid students in maroon and white gowns. “I’m so proud of you, Sweetheart,” Cindy said, embracing her. “Now you can do anything you want.”
Jennifer didn’t think of it that way. Yes, she could do anything and go anywhere she liked, but she wanted to go back to Old Creek. Something called her there. “Mom, Dad, I’ve decided to stay with you until I can find a job and a place of my own. Well, that is if you’ll have me.” She laughed. “My room is still available, right?”
“Of course it is, Baby. I left it just the way you had it the last time you came home,” Cindy replied.
“You can stay at home for as long as you’d like.” Steve got his chance to hug the graduate. “Don’t ever think you’re not welcome in our home,” he whispered in her ear. “It’s your home, too.”
Jennifer wiped the tears away from her face. “Thanks, Daddy. I feel much better.” She planned to meet Keith to say her good-byes before heading off to Old Creek. Even though she’d see him in about two weeks, she wanted to embrace him one last time. “Will you excuse me for a minute? There’s someone I’d like to talk to before we head out.”
Cindy nodded. “Go ahead, dear. Your father and I will wait for you in the car.”
Parting from her parents, Jennifer hurried to the sitting area in front of the Engineering building where Keith waited for her on a bench. “Ooh…I see a sexy, handsome graduate! I wonder if he’s taken?” she asked, giggling as she snuck up on him.
Keith gazed up just as she rounded the tree. “Come over here, Beautiful.” Grabbing her by the hand, he swung her into his arms, cradling her tightly against his body. “I’m going to miss you like crazy you know. Even if it’s only for two weeks, I’ll go nuts, until I see you again.”
Jennifer leaned in closer, pressing her lips against his. She wanted to stay in his arms forever but she understood they had to part. “Please hurry and get to Old Creek,” she sniveled. “I can’t live without you.”
Wrapping his arms around her a little tighter, he gazed into her eyes. “I promise to hurry, but in the meantime, this break will give you a chance to find a job and place for us to live.” Holding her close to him one last time before she had to go, he kissed the top of her head.
“Hey, you had your hair cut! Let me look at you.”
“Oh, my mother made me do it. I’m sorry. I know it’s ugly.” She felt about to burst into tears, but swallowed thickly.
“No, not at all! It’s kind of adorable. You look like a movie starlet. Don’t worry, it will grow back.”
She didn’t know if that was a compliment or a command.
“Call me the minute you walk through your door. I want to make sure you made it safely,” he admonished.
How could she leave the man she loved behind? He supported her when she needed it. Why couldn’t she do the same for him? “Maybe I should hold off on going home and wait for you to finish up here. It’s not like it’s a big deal. And besides, what’s another two weeks?”
Keith shook his head. “Honey…I realize you’re concerned, but I think it would be best for you to go on ahead. If you stay here, you’ll have to shell out another month’s rent on your apartment, gas for the car and food, and I’ll be in school all day anyway finishing up my internship with Professor Tweed. We won’t have any time to be together.”
Suddenly, heat rose on her face. “I thought I could stay with you until we leave, but if you’d prefer me to just go home, I will.” Jealousy bit her tongue. She feared he had another woman on the side and if she left, he’d have God only knows who in the sack the minute she rolled out of town.
“It’s not that I like the idea of you leaving, but it makes sense don’t you think? I mean, it will save you money and all, and I need you to find us somewhere to live in Old Creek.”
“Fine. I’ll go, but you’d better behave and I mean it,” she retorted, grabbing his sharp-boned face. “I’ll find out who she is and I’ll kill her.”
Keith released her grip and smiled. “What? You’re worried about another woman? Jennifer Leann Cravens; I love you and no one else. You got that?”
Jennifer nodded, happier than she’d been in a long time.
“Now hurry up before your parents send out a SWAT team searching for you.”
She embraced him once last time and kissed him. His soft touch on her rump sent chills up her spine. “I’ll miss you,” she whispered.
Keith wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’ll miss you too, but it’s only for two weeks.”
Turning away from the love of her life, Jennifer saw her parents standing beside the car and rushed to meet them. Right away, sh
e seen the unhappiness in her mother by the way she had her arms crossed over her chest.
“I’m glad you decided to hurry. We’re baking in this hot sun,” Cindy groused getting inside the car. “I hope whomever you said goodbye to was important enough to keep us waiting for ten minutes. It’s going on one o’clock and we still have to get you packed, then we have a two hour drive ahead of us.”
“Sorry about that. I tried to make it fast, but you know how it is….”
Cindy shook her head and fastened her seatbelt.
As they drove off toward Jennifer’s apartment, she gazed out the window looking for Keith, but she didn’t see him anywhere. When she was with him, he made her feel secure. Now that she had to face Old Creek alone, she wondered how she’d react to going back to the way she lived before she left for college. By no means would going back home keep her trouble free, but whether she wanted to or not, she had to move on and start living her life.
Chapter Three
As Jennifer packed up all her college belongings, she came across her journal she kept close to her heart. Periodically, she reminisced, thumbing through her deepest thoughts, remembering the good times she spent with her friends. To keep up the memories of Claire and the girls, pictures she collected from high school lined the pages. Running her finger over their faces, the excitement faded as she started to remember what had happened. Tears welled up in her eyes the minute she thought about Maddie Ann and what the little fiend did to her life. Before she knew what happened, Cindy reached over and snatched the book right out of her clutches.
“This is what you need to avoid. There is no sense in you getting upset for something that happened a long time ago. Besides, you need to move on with your life in a positive manner. This will only keep you down and you don’t need that,” she insisted, tossing it into the refuse box sitting on the floor.
Jennifer gritted her teeth and gazed up at her mother. “I can’t believe you just did that. How can you toss my memories away like a piece of garbage?” she asked, retrieving the book. “This is all I have left of my friends and this is what keeps me sane. Otherwise, I would have gone crazy years ago. Besides, my doctor recommended I do this to help me heal.”
Cindy wiped the stands of hair out of her eyes and stood there speechless.
“Why would you want to hurt me like that?”
Her mother’s tear-filled eyes looked at her with grief and compassion. “Honey, I didn’t intend for you to take it the wrong way. You know I loved your friends and I wouldn’t throw them out to the curb. I just wanted to keep your spirits up, that’s all.” She ran her hand across Jennifer’s face. A smile peeked out from under the frown. “So, do you need me to carry these boxes out to your dad and have him take them down to the car?” she asked, glancing over at a finished stack.
Jennifer nodded. She started to rethink her move back to Old Creek. The arguing and fighting took a toll on her nerves. Could she live in harmony with her mother once she returned home? Something had to give. The way they talked to each other affected her health more and more. Every now and again, her ulcers flared up and she’d have reoccurring panic attacks. What happened to the closeness they shared when she was a little girl?
Well, Jennifer knew one thing, after the cemetery scare, they drifted apart. She felt it coming, but she tried to ignore the signs and pretend it was just a phase. But over the years, it progressively got worse. Every visit with her parents turned into turmoil. She made up excuses more and more about why she couldn’t come home. And when they’d ask to come to see her, she’d either have a final to study for or she had a function to attend and it would take up most of her time.
Truthfully, Jennifer’s life up to five years ago scared the hell out of her. Everything about it made no sense. She’d met a wonderful man to share the rest of her life with, but even Keith couldn’t erase her haunted past. And at this point, she doubted whether he’d stay with her if he knew the truth. It appeared as though Jennifer had a black cloud following her everywhere she went. No matter how many times she tried to change and move on to more positive things, nothing good came out of it.
Granted, she graduated, but who could say that diploma would land her that counselor’s job she studied so hard to get? Four years, a degree, and a dissertation on high school discipline and security. With faith and faith alone, she could convince the principal of her high school to hire her, especially with her reputation in that town.
“That it?” her mom asked, walking back in the living room. “It’s three o’clock. We need to go.”
Placing the last item in the cardboard box, Jennifer handed over the packed items, saying nothing in return, just nodding. She tried ignoring anything that flew from her mother’s mouth for fear of sounding snippy. Taking one last look around the empty apartment, she turned and walked out the door.
“Are you ready, Sweetheart?” her dad asked, helping her with her luggage.
“Yes, Daddy. I think I have everything. Now can we just go?”
As they walked through the hallway of the apartment complex down toward the parking lot, her heart grew heavy. Jennifer was leaving her safe haven and in exchange, she’d go back to Old Creek having to constantly look over her shoulder for one of Maddie Ann’s ghouls. Or worse, hide from Mitch Styles who’d patronized her when she least expected it.
Jennifer had a lot to think about. Going back meant staying closer to home than she used to and avoiding places where she normally hung out. Although she tried to forget most of the troubles of the past, that didn’t mean the Watsons forgot. And as a matter of fact, she could try to hide anywhere, but they’d know how to find her. Maddie Ann’s mission included keeping Jennifer nearby for her to torture at any given moment.
“Wait…,” she said loading her luggage into the trunk of the car. “I don’t know if I can go through this again. Give me a minute.”
“What are you talking about?” Cindy asked taking Jennifer’s purse and laying it on the backseat.
By that time, Steve had his car pulled up beside his daughter’s car. “You guys ready?”
Jennifer shook her head as she pressed her suitcase down to shut the trunk, fighting back tears.
“Hold on Steve. Jennifer’s having a time getting all of her stuff to fit in this Jetta.”
The move didn’t cause her trouble. She knew Maddie Ann and her clan wanted her back in damnation. Knowing that Mitch Styles told her she’d die a violent death caused her dread. But if Jennifer mentioned this to her mother, she’d have another conflict to deal with. “I’m fine now,” she lied, taking a deep breath. “Let’s just get this over with. I’d like to be home before sundown.”
Her dad shrugged and rolled up his car window. As Jennifer started for the driver’s seat, Cindy headed for the passenger seat. “If it’s okay, I’d like to ride with you.”
Jennifer gestured for her mother to get in, even though she wanted to travel alone. “Come on,” she said and rolled her eyes as Cindy got into the car.
Once inside, Jennifer blasted the air conditioner to MAX, turned on the radio and fastened her seatbelt.
“Please don’t tell me we have to listen to this New Age music all the way home? It will drive me insane,” Cindy complained.
Two minutes in the car, and Cindy already started her grousing. “Mom, lay back and shut your eyes. We’ll be home before you know it. And yes, we are listening to this music. It helps me to relax as I drive.”
Jennifer rolled out of the parking lot behind her dad trying her damndest to concentrate on the road. For a second, she could have sworn she saw Keith walking toward her building, but as she passed the person, she saw it was someone else.
“You’re missing your guy friend, aren’t you?” her mother asked, straightening her blouse.
What difference did it make? Truth be known, her mother wouldn’t approve of Keith anyway, so why discuss a subject she knew she’d lose. “No…,” Jennifer said abruptly.
“Then what is eating you?”
Whether or not this shocked her mother, Jennifer decided to tell her the truth. “Do you remember Mitch Styles?”
Cindy glanced over at her with uncertain eyes. “Should I?”
Unbelievable! He, besides Maddie Ann, threatened her life. “Yes, Mom! Remember, he terrorized me at the park? He’s also directly responsible for Claire, Kari, Lisa, Tina and Liz’s deaths.”
Cindy grimaced. “Is that what’s bothering you? You’re scared he’s going to do something to you?”
Well duh , she thought, taking a deep breath. “Mom, he promised that I’d suffer an untold death. This guy is dangerous.”
“Then we have to report him to the police,” Cindy said, wringing her hands. “You can’t let people intimidate you, Jennifer. That’s been your biggest problem growing up. You have to fight back.”
Maddie Ann s Playground Page 53
