Yeah right! As if Jennifer had enough strength to outwit this guy. He had nearly as much power as Maddie Ann did. Not even law enforcement possessed that much force; they couldn’t even make the charges stick to the mayor’s son, Aaron. “Now you’re talking out your ass. Mother, you can call the police all day long and you know they can’t touch him. Or did you forget what hell you went through inside the cemetery?” She glanced out the side window then shifted her focus back on the road. “Mitch Styles is Judge Style’s son. Nothing will ever happen to him and he will never see prison time.”
Cindy turned, facing the window. Jennifer knew she hated to face the facts. And she knew her mother also hated it when someone proved her wrong. “No matter how much you pout, or throw a fit, the Watsons will strike again. They want me, Mom, and I’m just going to have to deal with it. If I die, I just die.”
Cindy jerked around pointing her finger in Jennifer’s face. “No! I won’t accept that! I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and to see those devils destroyed. How can you sit there and talk like it’s nothing? Gawd…get a grip, Jennifer Leann! I know I raised you better than that.”
Jennifer gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Because it’s the way it is. I told you before that Maddie Ann wouldn’t let this rest, but as usual, you thought otherwise and you’re still doing it. Face the facts mother; I’m cursed or should I say, branded. No matter how many priests or police you bring to my rescue, the Watsons will take me.”
Jennifer realized she shouldn’t have opened her mouth about this. Why did she bother? Cindy refused to listen to her. Her dad didn’t want to hear it either. He shrugged it off as if it were nothing. And as far as her dad went, Jennifer had a suspicion he knew something more than what he lead on.
“Can we please change the subject before I say something I might regret?” Cindy asked, reclining her seat back.
“That’s fine with me. I’d rather not talk anymore anyway. All we do is fight and my stomach can’t take much more.”
“No, please, Jennifer. I love talking to you, but just not about the past. I’d much rather discuss what you plan to do once you get back home.”
She could think of a million things she’d like to do. For one, Jennifer loved the ice cream shop she and Claire used to frequent often after school. And then the park, where she hung out at the Rock to clear her head from her troubles. But since the girls passed away, she really had no interest in going. Plus, that was an open invitation to her death. Maddie Ann would surely find her there. “I’ve thought about going to work for the school as a councilor and student advisor. They always need someone at the high school. Plus, it will give me great experience, until I can open up my own counseling office.”
Cindy raised her seat tapping Jennifer on the hand. “I forgot to tell you that the school burned down. They’ve had to bus the students to Whispering Pines High until they build a new school.”
A piercing pain coursed through Jennifer’s heart. As if she needed to hear more bad news. She loved that school. She had good memories there and, of course, bad ones as well. But for the most part, she had fond memories. “Mother, why didn’t you tell me when it happened? How long ago did it burn?”
“I don’t know why. I guess because I knew you didn’t need the stress and so I just didn’t think too much about it.”
“Okay, but when did it burn?” Jennifer repeated trying her best to see the road through her dampened eyes.
“I’d say a month at least. Yeah, that’s right, because my friend Lillie has been driving her granddaughter back and forth to Meadowbrook for four weeks.”
What next—a big meteor hit would destroy the city park on account of Jennifer’s curse? “Mom, I know you don’t want to hear this, but you must. I know why this is happening. Any place I cherish will be destroyed somehow. Maddie Ann knows I’m coming home and will make damn sure of it. She wants me to feel as miserable as possible and she wants me to feel her wrath. I guarantee she thinks if I’ve lost everything I love, I’ll be willing to surrender to her, but it’s not going to happen.”
Cindy snatched her purse from the floorboard and rummaged through it, finally taking a silver cross necklace out of a jewelry bag. “Here, put this around your neck and don’t take it off. I gave this to you awhile back, and I just so happened to come across it when I was cleaning your room the other day. Why aren’t you wearing it? It might protect you.”
Jennifer took it from her and glanced at it. “Mother, I have the utmost respect for the Lord, but His protection does not come from a piece of silver. He’s with me always and by me wearing this, I’m basically telling him I’m putting my faith in this necklace, not in Him. So you take this back and either wear it or put it in your jewelry box.”
Cindy put her head down. Jennifer sensed her aggravation right away. “I wasn’t suggesting you didn’t have faith in Him, I just know Maddie Ann wouldn’t come near you with a holy symbol around your neck—plus the fact that it’s silver.”
Suddenly, Jennifer burst out laughing. “Mom, Maddie Ann’s not a vampire nor is she a werewolf. She’s a demon from hell. Granted, they scatter when you mention the Lord’s name but neither she nor her little helpers are afraid of crosses.”
Her mother took the necklace back and placed it around her own neck. “I guess I’ll wear it then. Maybe it will help ward off bad spirits who try to possess me.”
Jennifer rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through the top of her butchered hair. “Whatever makes you comfortable,” she said. “I just hope someday, you will come to your senses and trust me.”
Her mother smiled like she had no worries and Jennifer knew the day would never come when she’d face reality. “I forgot to mention where they buried the girls’ bodies. Since their favorite place was the park, the city agreed to allow them to be buried under the tall oak near the parking lot. And you know what, that place looks so terrible since they opened the new park across town.”
A sudden rush of happiness shot through Jennifer. If the girls’ parents’ laid them there to rest, she could see them whenever she liked. Jennifer remembered Mrs. Barton telling her she didn’t want her near anything of Claire’s. Well, how could she keep her away from city property? “This is such great news. I’m thrilled their parents’ thought of them and what they would have wanted. And it makes me rest easier because I can visit them as often as I’d like.”
Cindy smiled although Jennifer knew she didn’t want hear that. “Just one more question and I’ll let it rest. Did they move the Rock or is it still there?”
“It’s there, but the grass has grown up around it so much, you can barely get to it. I don’t know why they kept that old thing anyway. They should have blown it up a long time ago,” Cindy retorted.
A smile stretched across Jennifer’s face. Who cared what her mother thought? The importance was the Rock remained intact where it belonged. “Thank God the city had enough sense to leave it be. Not only is it sacred in my heart, but I’m sure other kids will enjoy it as well.”
“Maybe so, but it’s a dangerous place. You said so yourself.”
Jennifer let that comment slide.
An hour later, she saw the exit to Old Creek and suddenly, nothing mattered. She sped up behind her dad not taking her foot off the gas until they hit the first stoplight in town. “I’m finally home and in some weird way, it feels like a relief,” she admitted.
Her mother appeared so pleased with her reaction. “Baby, everything will turn out just fine. You’ll see. And before you know it, you’ll forget all about the past and you’ll be able to function as a normal person.”
Maybe, maybe not, depending on whether the past came back to bite her in the ass. “I’ll just wait until the time comes. But for now, I want to spread my wings and show this place what I’m made of,” Jennifer replied, rolling the window down and inhaling the familiar Old Creek odor. Of course, Keith would play a key role in her life and with him by her side, anything could happen.
Turning onto the road to their home, Jennifer noticed the community had made a few changes since her last visit. A brick wall with Meadowbrook on it sat beside tall gates surrounding the premises. Fancy light posts heavy with flower baskets nestled neatly by the curbs, and in the median stood proud Chinese Maples with white-washed trunks. Jennifer couldn’t believe how nice it looked compared to the other housing areas a few blocks over.
As she drove up in the driveway to her house, she noticed a huge welcome home sign stretched across the top of the garage door which made her grin. Pulling up beside her dad’s car, Jennifer parked, got out and rushed to the porch. Too excited to wait on her parents, she felt for the spare key inside the fake rock, and went on in. Placing her purse on the small table in the foyer, she rushed up to her bedroom. “I can’t believe I’m home to stay. Somebody, pinch me,” she giggled, swirling around, her arms outstretched.
Her dad came in behind her carrying the luggage. “Jennifer…,” her mother called up the stairs. “Do you want Alfy’s pizza for dinner?”
“Just a sec. I’m going to change.”
As Jennifer scanned her room, she noticed everything looked the same as it did the day she left. The bed had clean sheets and blankets, with every stuffed animal she ever owned still stacked up by the pillows. Pictures of her friends lined her mirror, while old make-up sat on the vanity. Opening her closet, the boxes that once sat on the top-shelf, now rested on the floor. What the hell are these doing down here, she questioned, picking them up.
Opening the shoebox, she dug through it looking for the cross she used to wear around her neck. With a sigh of relief, she recovered it from the bottom of the box buried underneath her friends’ notes she kept. She held it up to examine it and when the chain began to spin between her fingers, she remembered the night Liz snatched it from her hands. I wish you were here, Liz, she murmured as she placed the necklace in her sock drawer for safekeeping, in case she needed to wear it again.
As she looked though her closet, sadness washed over her. Her room held so many unpleasant memories she wanted to forget. Her friends’ had at least a couple of personal items each they had left sitting around her room. Claire’s shirts hung in her closet, Liz’s necklace in the dresser drawer, Lisa’s make-up and perfume sat on the dresser, one of Tina’s pom-poms rested on the bookshelf, and Kari’s sunglasses and rubber bands from her braces she’d placed in a drawer in the bathroom. Jennifer took a deep breath to keep from crying. Maybe I made a mistake by coming home, she told herself. She pulled a pair of shorts out of a plastic tub and scrounged around for an old tee-shirt to put on. She had no desire to unpack tonight. She had every intention on going to the park to see her friends’ graves’ even though she decided against it earlier. Can’t a girl change her mind?
Running a brush through her hair, Jennifer grabbed her tennis shoes and hurried downstairs before she changed her mind back again. As she entered the kitchen, the scent of coffee and cinnamon bread assailed her nostrils.
“Hey, Sweetheart. Are you hungry?” her mother asked, preparing a spot at the table for her to sit. “Want me to order pizza now?”
“No. I think I’ll grab something while I’m out. I thought I’d go get a newspaper and start searching for a job.”
“Can’t you do that tomorrow? You must be dead tired and I wanted to visit with you.”
Jennifer ran mostly on adrenaline. She hadn’t slept too well in days and her body became used to less rest. Besides, she had unfinished business to take care of and sleep was her last priority. She could sleep in her coffin. “I’m not that tired, but I promise to go to bed early tonight and tomorrow we can go shopping or something.”
“Okay, Babe.”
“Do you need any money?” her dad asked, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.
“Spot me twenty and I’ll pay you back.”
Steve handed her thirty dollars. “Don’t spend it all in one place.” His face lit up with a smile. “I know how you Cravens women are. Money burns a hole in your pocket.”
Jennifer giggled. “Dad….”
“Well…it’s the truth.”
“Just go have some fun dear. Don’t let the old man fool you. He loves to shop just as much as we do. He just doesn’t like to admit it.”
Steve playfully nudged Cindy. “Tools, Hun. I buy tools; not new purses every time the wind blows or shoes to add to the dozens I already have.”
“Well, okay,” Jen interrupted before a full-blown argument erupted. “I’ll be back shortly. I thought I’d go take a drive and look around.” She headed for the door.
“Be careful, Jen,” her mother yelled at her back.
***
Cutting through the neighborhoods of her old habitat, Jennifer made it to the park in no time. The surroundings remained the same, but much rougher than before. Pulling up into the parking lot, she noticed a little neglected gravesite, sitting off to the left under the big oak tree. Slowly taking off her seat belt as she opened the car door, she walked up to Claire’s resting place. “If you can hear me, I just want you to know that I’m sorry for turning you away last night. It’s hard for me here, Claire. My life is so different now with graduating from college and shortly I’m getting married to this wonderful man. You would love him. I wish you were here with me when I take that walk down the aisle. I miss all of you so much.”
Jennifer gazed around the park for wild flowers and spotted a bunch of daisies surrounding the lake. If she could wade through the tall grass, she’d have plenty of flowers to put on all the girls’ graves. That sounded weird; the girls’ graves. Jennifer thought about it the closer she got to the lake.
The Lake…
The bestial man in the water…
It all came back to her. What am I doing? she thought as she reached down to pick the daisies. That man could come after me again and Claire wouldn’t be here to protect me. Jennifer stood up and scanned her surroundings. She could hear a pin drop from the silence that deafened her. I’ve got to get out of here! Something’s not right. Bunching the flowers in her hands, she sprinted around the lake, through the tall weeds and made it back to Claire’s grave where she felt safe. At least if she needed to get away in a hurry, she parked the car right in front of her. As she bent down to place the flowers on each of her friends’ graves, from the corner of her eye, she saw a man standing next to her staring at her. A big demonic grin stretched across his face. Suddenly, Jennifer became weak in the knees and she fell to the ground. She put her arm up over her head in case he tried to hit her. “Leave me alone,” she sniveled. “I’m through with Maddie Ann and her demons. Besides, you can’t hurt me.”
She craned her neck around to see if he had gone.
No trace of him anywhere…except black soot lying in a small pile where he stood.
Confused and shaky, Jennifer rose and brushed the powdery dirt off her backside. The man from the lake came back, she thought. He came back to finish me off. Jennifer couldn’t handle another attack. Maybe her body could withstand the beatings, but mentally, no. She had to find a way to overcome this beast for good. The one thing she remembered; if she showed the demons her fear, they’d play off of it and cause her further pain. She had to stand strong and ignore this. She came here to see the graves and the Rock.
Placing the whole armor of Salvation over her, she charged back through the weeds and around the lake to the Rock. Birds chirped above her and the cool wind dried her sweat. Brushing away the choking weeds and climbing up to the top of the boulder, she found a cozy spot to sit and looked out into the field that ended at the fringe of woods.
The visit seemed like old times, except she had no one to share her thoughts and dreams with. She liked to think she’d grown into a fine woman with lots of ambition. Too bad she’d have to go it all alone without her best friends by her side—the marriage, the career, having children and growing old. But Claire always told her she’d be there for her no matter what. If she truly meant it, she had to find her.
&nb
sp; This whole mess started because Claire refused to believe Jennifer. If she hadn’t stepped inside the cemetery, she and the other girls would still have their lives. Jennifer remembered the talks she had with her Grandma Cyrus. She had a close relationship with the Lord and she shared her love with Jennifer every time she visited. Since she was little, Grandma always told her that bad things happened for a reason; God puts people through the utmost trials to test their faith. Throughout her life, Jennifer held on to her Grandma’s words and she knew, someday, the troubles she faced would come to an end. Claire would figure out how to fix this mess and restore the evil ground back to its original form as God intended. She had to.
As the sun started to set and with the strange man from the lake on the prowl, Jennifer didn’t want to get caught out in the dark trying to find her way to the car through the tall weeds. Making her way to the ground, she noticed her friends’ initials finger-carved in the stone. Tears welled in her eyes and as hard as she tried to hold them back, they kept flowing.
Maddie Ann s Playground Page 54
