by Jae Hood
When I woke up, it was late Sunday morning. I’d missed church, and my sister was still not home.
It wasn’t the first time Lucy hadn’t returned from a hot date, but I was worried about the company she kept. She’d told me the guy was some random person she’d met online, which wasn’t a new thing either, but just as scary in my opinion.
I scowled as her cell went directly to voicemail, the call either rejected or the phone dead. After shooting her a rude text, I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning house and attempting to contact the Social Security office about our missing money, only to remember it was Sunday and they were, of course, closed. Remembering Lucy’s words, my fingers scrolled down the face of my cell phone, my thumb hovering over my mother’s name. Snickering, I tossed the phone on the couch without another thought of calling my practically non-existent parent. If only Daddy were here, this messy life of mine wouldn’t exist.
As evening approached, my worry over Lucy increased. The last time she’d disappeared, she didn’t come home for two days. It was the longest she’d ever been away. When she did arrive back home, she wasn’t in the best frame of mind. She’d been strung out on God knew what, high as a kite, rambling about leprechauns and Cheetos. The guy who dropped her off had burned rubber in our driveway once he saw me step out onto the deck with my daddy’s old sawed-off shotgun. The boy never showed his face around me or my sister again.
Lucy had stayed messed up for three days, wide awake and muttering below her breath about the weirdest things. With her eyes fixed and unseeing, she’d lain on her back, laughing at nothing at all. She’d stared at the blades on the fan hanging above her bed, her eyes swooping around in time as it spun. She had refused medical treatment, attacking the paramedic who’d tried to strap her to a stretcher.
Josie’s voice sounded far away and hollow through my cell. “She’ll come home. Lucy always comes home eventually. If she’s not back by tonight, call me and I’ll help you find her.”
I agreed, ended the call, and rested back in my chair on the front deck. Worrying about Lucy did help with one thing. I hadn’t thought of Tanner once the entire day.
As it turned out, I didn’t have to call Josie again. She showed up on her own. She jumped out of her huge truck wearing fitted, ripped jeans and a too-small black shirt. Josie had a figure to die for, and no one knew it like she did.
She ran up the drive and across the path leading to the deck, bending over with her hands on her knees, ignoring me as she tried to breathe. “I found Lucy.”
“Jesus, Josie. Where is she?”
“Sorry,” she said. Straightening, she pulled her phone from her back pocket. “I really need to lay off the weed for a while. It’s gonna kick my ass when I start running track again. Anyway, someone posted an IG pic of Lucy online. Turns out she’s at some random party in Oak Bluff.”
“How does she leave on a date and end up at a party the next night?” I twirled a lock of hair around my finger in thought. Oak Bluff was a town a few miles south of Mayhaw where Josie and I sometimes partied together.
Josie shrugged, scrolling through her phone as I tried to call Lucy one last time. Again, it went straight to her voicemail.
Irate, I shoved my cell in the back pocket of my shorts. “Okay, that’s it. Let’s ride to Oak Bluff and grab Lucy. If she’s in one of her crazy spells, everyone in Mayhaw’s gonna know it by tomorrow. Nana’s sick, and all she needs is to worry about Lucy more than she already does.”
Josie fired up the truck and headed out of town. Ten minutes later, we passed a reflective green sign announcing our entrance into Oak Bluff before finding our way to the party.
The driveway and both sides of the small country road were packed with vehicles. The music from the modest, split-level home blared, rattling the windows. Hordes of people, some teenagers, some in their early twenties, stood outside smoking, drinking, and laughing. Josie and I pushed our way through a crowd at the door, me mumbling apologies and Josie scowling.
We searched high and low for Lucy, even using Josie’s driver’s license to break into the one room that was locked—a room which was occupied by two very disgruntled, very naked people.
“My bad,” Josie said, pulling the door shut and drowning out their screams. “I’m guessing we need to check the basement.”
She linked her arm with mine, and we marched to the basement door. The stairway was narrow, but we made our way into the basement, which was set up like an actual strip club. A stripper pole and small stage sat near the far end of the room, a silver disco ball slowly twisting above, any nearby light reflecting off the tiny mirrors and scattering across the patrons in the room. There was no one straddling the pole, thank God.
Small, round wooden tables and cushy chairs surrounded the stage. The air was thick with the smell of weed and sex. The basement was large, running the length of the house. Josie and I pushed past the crowds of people as we searched for Lucy. I averted my gaze from a group of guys surrounding a girl bent over a nearby couch, an older man grasping her hips from behind.
“And you call me a whore,” Josie yelled over the hip hop music thumping from the speakers nearby. “I have enough self-respect to do my business in private.”
“I think she’s baked.”
Josie hummed in agreement. We continued our search for Lucy, passing a huge bar where a familiar face helped himself to a bottle of liquor sitting on a shelf.
“Peyton, what in the hell are you doing here?” Josie slapped our cousin on the back of his head. “I’ve been calling you all day looking for Lucy. Why didn’t you answer?”
“I’ve been busy,” he said, shrugging. “I’m working for Uncle Amos now, so I had to make some runs today. And if the two of you were smart, you’d be working for him too, making some real bank. Especially you, Rue. Unless working at the cake shop for the rest of your life is what you really wanna do.”
I glared at my very blunt cousin, who gave me a lazy smirk and took another swig from the bottle. It was no secret to anyone I was going nowhere in life, not while Lucy needed my care and Nana required my help at the cake shop. But I’d be damned if I ever stooped so low to sell drugs for my uncle.
“Where’s Lucy?” I asked.
He grinned and nodded to the far corner of the room. “She’s been talking to a plant for an hour. I think I saw her making out with it once.”
Josie screamed at our cousin, but I abandoned the two of them and headed in the direction Peyton had nodded.
There sat my baby sister, curled up with her arms wrapped around her knees, her face resting against the tall potted plant beside her. Her hair hung in limp, lifeless curls, flowing around her shoulders with several strands hanging across her face. Lucy’s funky, glittery eyeshadow was smeared across her face, as was her thick, black eyeliner.
“Lucy.” I grabbed her shoulders and gave her a firm shake. Moaning, her head lolled to one side. “Lucy, wake up. Party’s over. It’s time to go.”
Josie’s skinny legs appeared by my side. She heaved a sigh and stooped over, bending down to place her mouth right against my sister’s ear. “Get up, Lucy! The building’s on fire.”
Lucy’s eyes sprang open and darted around in confusion.
“There’s no fire,” I said, shooting a smirking Josie a dirty look. “But it is time to go home. Where’s your purse?”
“Jay’s car.” She pointed into the dense crowd.
I followed the direction she pointed and found the same guy who’d picked her up for their date the previous night. He stood among the group of guys cheering on the live porn.
Furious he’d left my sister alone, drunk in the corner of what seemed like the basement from hell, I stomped across the room and grabbed him by his arm. He swung around, beer in hand, looking surprised and peeved at the sudden interruption.
“I need Lucy’s purse. I’m her sister.”
There were a million other things I wanted to say, but Jay had something belonging to my sister. Insulting him
probably wouldn’t help.
The peeved look left his face and was replaced by a flirtatious grin. I frowned at his audacity.
Placing my hands on my hips, I gave him an adamant, “No.”
A look of confusion spread across his face. “No, what?”
“To whatever it is running through your head. Now where’s my sister’s purse? I’d like to get out of this stink-hole as soon as possible.”
Jay gave me a long, hard look, his face reddening at my words.
Placing a beer up to his lips, he shrugged and said, “I’d like to help you, really I would. But as you see, I’m a little busy.” With that he turned away. Snickering to himself, he focused on the girl who had since changed positions.
Ready to give up and get the hell out of Dodge, I couldn’t care less if Lucy ever saw her purse, cell phone, or whatever else she carried on her ever again. It was time to roll out because I couldn’t stand one more second in the Den of Sex. After walking back over to Josie, I told her it was time to bounce.
She nodded, and the two of us hoisted Lucy up on her feet, pulling her arms over each of our shoulders. Lucy teetered a bit on her boots and stumbled against us as we dragged her across the room.
“I want my plant. Can’t I take the plant, Rue?”
“It’s not your plant, Lucy. That plant belongs in the sex den. It probably has ten different diseases on it. You’re taking a bleach bath when we get home.” I scowled, dragging her protesting body to the stairs.
It was hard as hell getting her up the stairs, but somehow we did it. We were just about halfway down the driveway when she started babbling.
“That’s Jay’s car. My purse is in Jay’s car. Get my purse, Sissy.”
Whenever Lucy called me “Sissy” it did strange things to me. It reminded me of our childhood and the desire to always defend and protect her from anything life threw her way. When I spotted Jay’s car parked precariously in the driveway, something snapped inside me. I pushed Lucy into Josie’s arms and yanked the handle of the car with no luck. The other doors didn’t budge either.
Near the drive sat a flowerbed. Huge white rocks lined the borders. I walked over and picked one up. The weight of the rock practically brought me to my knees. A handsome, slightly familiar-looking blond-haired guy stood a few feet away beside a truck, keys in hand.
“Is there a problem?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. He shook his head. “Good.”
I swung my arms and released the rock. It sailed a short distance, cutting through the air and smashing into the passenger window. Shattered glass sprinkled the driveway, catching glints of the moon as it fell to the ground.
The guy cringed, but I ignored him. I reached inside the broken window and pulled up the manual lock. Lucy’s purse lay abandoned in the backseat and I grabbed it, shutting the car door behind me. Josie groaned, struggling to hold Lucy up, so I slung the purse over one shoulder and helped her.
“Do y’all need some help gettin’ her in the car?” the blond guy asked.
I’d already forgotten he was there. Josie and I exchanged looks and shrugged. He walked with us to the truck, a worried expression on his face as he watched my sister. He did look familiar, so he must have known her.
I kept watching him in my peripheral, trying to figure out where I’d seen him before. He was good-looking, with a friendly smile and sparkling eyes. He had that typical shaggy, unkempt hair, curled up at the base of his neck like most country boys. A plain, black tee and somewhat worn, faded jeans graced his lean, slightly athletic body. The brown leather boots on his feet were scuffed and cracked. I searched my brain for where I recognized him from but came up with nothing.
We reached the truck and the guy took Josie’s place holding Lucy. Josie unlocked the truck and pulled the cab door open. All three of us struggled to put her in the backseat.
Eventually, the guy gently placed her over his shoulder, grabbed the truck handle, and hoisted himself and Lucy inside the cab. He carefully laid her in the backseat. Lucy’s eyes fluttered open as he caught her head with his fingers and laid it down against the soft leather. She stared up at him, a beautiful smile adorning her face.
“There you are,” she whispered, reaching up and cupping her small hands on his cheeks. “I knew you’d find me.”
He stiffened, his mouth falling open a bit. “I’m … I’m sorry,” he stuttered, placing his hands on her wrists and removing hers from his face. “I don’t think I know you. You must have me mixed up with someone else.”
Lucy frowned, shook her head, and said, “No, it’s you. You don’t know me? You haven’t seen me before?”
“No. Like I said, I’m sorry.” His face paled as he backed off and eased out of the cab.
“Well, I’ve seen you. In my dreams. I’ve seen you a million times.”
She began to sob, and the guy stiffened again before taking a step toward my sister. Lucy dropped her face in her hands, her body shuddering as she cried.
Embarrassed by her actions, it was the perfect time to interrupt.
“My sister is drunk.” Wedging myself between them, I shut the back cab door.
The action snapped Lucy from her sobs and she threw herself against the window. She slammed her fists on the tinted glass. When Lucy spouted about her erratic dreams, she freaked me out, mostly because they sometimes came true. Josie and I exchanged a knowing glance. Josie ran around the truck, jumped behind the wheel, and fired it up as I pulled myself inside.
“Wait,” the guy said. He ran his fingers through his hair as he stared at the dark window my sister was trapped behind. The guy had this torn look about him, as though he wanted to say something but was unsure of himself.
I remedied the situation by slamming the door of the truck as Josie backed up the driveway.
“What’s your name?” he yelled at Lucy’s window, snapping out of his trance.
Lucy popped open the window of the cab, pressing her mouth near the tiny opening, screaming, “Lucy Monroe! What’s yours?”
The guy paled further and said, “Chance. Chance Hayes.”
He stood in the driveway for a moment before backing up, turning, and darting to the gray pickup truck he’d stood at when he spotted me with the rock.
“Damn, I think he’s gonna follow us,” Josie said.
She pulled onto the road and stomped the gas, terrorizing a few of the party stragglers into a nearby ditch. She grinned and flipped them off as we peeled down the road, slinging rocks behind us.
“Don’t talk your crazy talk to strangers, Lucy,” Josie scolded. “It freaks people out.”
“He’s not a stranger.” Lucy glared at Josie. “I’ve seen him a million times, just like I said. That’s the guy of my dreams. And he’s coming for me … and a storm is coming with him.”
Lucy’s strange words hung thick in the air. The truck was quiet for a while. Josie stared ahead, concentrating on flying down the road without getting us killed. My mind was busy trying to place that boy. It was somewhere recent, his face still fresh in my mind. When I remembered where I’d seen him, it hit me like a tornado, the memory swirling around inside my head, bringing hell with it.
“What is it?” Josie asked, side-eyeing me.
In the backseat, Lucy was caught up in her own little world. With her face plastered against the back glass, she searched behind us for any sign of the guy we’d left behind.
Tanner had walked into the party in Birchwood with two other guys. The three of them had looked like rock stars as girls drooled over them and guys stared, impressed by them.
“That guy,” I whispered. “He was with Tanner and Bryce at the party.”
Josie’s eyes widened.
An ear-splitting squeal caused me to jump in my seat a little. The truck swerved slightly and a low curse escaped Josie’s mouth.
“Lucy, what the …” I turned in my seat to scold my little sister, but my sentence trailed away. A set of headlights behind us were quickly gaining speed.
“I told you he’d come for me.” Lucy sighed, leaning against the seat, a whimsical look on her face. “It’s the storm I’m worried about. It started with y’all. What did y’all do? You did something really stupid, didn’t you? Rue, you’re not supposed to do stupid stuff. When the storm comes, everything is gonna go to hell, and it’s all your fault.” She had an eerie edge to her voice, giving me chills.
I gulped and avoided Josie’s wide-eyed gaze. Josie pursed her lips, hit the gas, and left the headlights far behind.
Lucy was right. A storm was brewing. And it wouldn’t be long before it hit us like a tornado.
Chapter 7
“Put it in your mouth, Rue.”
“No, Brodie. It smells funny …”
“You’ll love it. Just give it a try.”
“It looks strange,” I said.
“Come on.” Brodie grinned. “Don’t be such a girl. Put it in your mouth and just let the juices flow, baby. Swallow it down. Be a trooper.”
“I’ve never seen meat that dark.”
Brodie chuckled. “Don’t be scared of the dark meat. It’s the best kind. You know what they say … the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.”
“As a black woman, I’m offended by that remark,” my friend Mia joked, mock-glaring at Brodie.
“Fine … I’ll do it,” I relented with a heavy sigh, taking a delicate bite of the sandwich Brodie handed me.
It looked like a regular barbeque sandwich, aside from the strange color of the meat. Brodie stared at me with a mixture of wide-eyed wonder and seriousness. But who could take a person who wore camouflage pants and a shirt that read “When the zombies come I’m so tripping you” seriously?
“It’s gamey.” I groaned, wrinkling my face in disgust. “And not a good gamey. It’s a disgusting gamey. What is this?”
