Catalyst (A Tethered Novel)

by Jennifer Snyder

  I couldn’t blame Vera for not liking the first room; it wasn’t my favorite either. White wallpaper with tiny pink flowers covered the walls. A canopy bed with plastic tossed over the mattress stood in the center, flanked by two incredibly dusty nightstands, and across from one tall, cream-colored block that I could only assume was a dresser beneath the heavy sheet.

  “Next please,” Vera said as she started across the hall to the room diagonal from that one.

  “This room is mine, actually.”

  “Figures.” She scoffed. “Of course you’d take the one that’s halfway decent.”

  I smiled as I leaned against the wall and peered inside. It had pale yellow walls, dark furniture, a four poster bed, and best of all—a balcony. I’d fallen in love with it the moment I saw it.

  “All right, next.” She shuffled across the hall to peer into the next room.

  “This one isn’t all that bad,” I insisted, following behind her.

  “Eh, I need to see the others first,” she said as she continued on to the next room.

  “This is the room my parents stayed in.”

  She nodded approvingly at the lavender walls and darkly rich furniture. “Nice, but didn’t you say there were five? I only counted four.”

  “The fifth one is in the basement.”

  “Oh, hell no.” She put her hand up in mock defense and bugged her eyes out like she was talking to a crazy person. “I am not staying in the basement by myself. End of story.”

  I chuckled and shook my head as I crammed my hands into the back pockets of my jean shorts. “So what room do you want, then?”

  “I’ll take this one,” she said, pointing to the room where my parents had stayed. “I’m not even worried about putting my stuff in there right now. I think first we seriously need to de-creepify this house, open up the doors and windows, and let some fresh air and sunlight in.”

  “First, I need to grab some necessities from the Jeep—water, a fruit bar, and some Claritin,” I said just before starting back down the stairs.

  Vera fingered the dusty drop cloth that covered a table, or something, in the hall. “Claritin is a must.”

  As soon as we’d taken some Claritin, eaten a small snack, and quenched our thirst, we headed all the way down to the basement. It was best if we started at the bottom and worked our way up. This was my philosophy anyway.

  The basement held virtually nothing. It was a large room with blue walls and a light-colored hardwood floor. Random things were placed sporadically around—an empty fish tank, a broken coatrack, a purple futon chair, an incredibly bowed TV stand, and a large mirror leaning against the far wall with a crack right down its center.

  “Someone got seven years of bad luck,” Vera said matter-of-factly.

  I walked straight to the closer of the only two doors in the entire basement. “Guess so.”

  “God, why would you even put a bedroom down here? It’s so dark.”

  “I don’t know, privacy maybe?”

  “Ugh, it’s like you’re cut off from the world down here,” she whispered, obviously not enjoying her surroundings. Vera had never been a basement kind of girl; they’d always given her the creeps.

  “Oh, come on. It’s not that bad. Don’t be such a baby,” I teased, gripping the doorknob to the bedroom. I turned the knob and opened the door just as something big, black, and furry darted from inside and through my legs.

  I didn’t know who screamed loudest, me or Vera. Glancing back, I spotted the culprit—a black and white cat—as it dashed up the steps to the first floor.

  “How the hell did that thing get down here?” Vera asked, her hand still pressed against her chest. “Eww, please don’t tell me it’s been locked inside that room since you guys left, because if that’s the case, then I’m so not cleaning this room.”

  I flicked the light on and searched the room for any signs that the cat had in fact been trapped inside since then, but saw nothing. “Doesn’t look like it.”

  Vera stepped into the room behind me and cautiously crept to the bed. “I can see where it’s been sleeping though.” She pointed to the white sheet that covered the bed. Black and white fur clung to it heavily.

  I grimaced when I took a closer look and noticed tiny bones from a mouse beside it all. “Yuck...and eating.”

  “Eww, gross!” Vera shouted. “I can’t be in this room. Close it back up. You don’t need it for anything.” She bolted out of the room, leaving me all alone inside.

  I slowly followed her out, glancing around at it as I went, wondering how the cat had managed to get inside in the first place. There was only one tiny window up at the top of the far wall. Beneath it stood a tall dresser with numerous cat paws imprinted in the dust. The cat had come in through the window. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a gaping hole in the screen of the clearly opened window.

  “Huh, guess I have a pet,” I muttered to myself as I exited the room.

  “Can we please head back upstairs? There’s nothing down here,” Vera called to me from the steps. “And besides, I really want to open up the front door, maybe your freeloading cat will go back outside.”

  Great, I’d forgotten it was now loose inside the house and I had no idea whether it was friendly or not. Awesome.

  After cleaning the entire first floor, unloading the Jeep, and answering back-to-back phone calls from our parents—because we’d neglected to call and let them know we’d made the trip safely—Vera and I decided to dress up a little, save the second floor for tomorrow, and head into town for something to eat.

  “I’m excited! I’m ready to have a hot fisherman fling before I leave,” Vera squealed as we climbed into my Jeep.

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “A hot fisherman fling?”

  “Damn right! You could use one too, you know. It’s been like two months since you and Thou Who Shall Not Be Named split.”

  “We didn’t just split. If you remember correctly, I dumped him first.”

  “Right…” She dragged the word out. I didn’t have to be looking at her to know that she’d also rolled her eyes.

  I decided to ignore her little remark. There was no point in rehashing who’d dumped whom first with her. She’d been there. I’d said the words first, but it was just after Ryan had begun to “let me down easy,” so in some people’s eyes it didn’t count. In mine, it did.

  Presumably, our break-up was the motivating factor to my leaving Linfrank for the summer…and maybe indefinitely. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure on that last part yet. But I was positive that my leaving was the talk of the town. Poor Addison was just so crushed by Ryan and her break-up that she left town and went straight to that beachside house she inherited to clear her head. This was what I imagined was being said about me. In a town the size of Linfrank, you could count on it. Soul Harbor wasn’t any bigger, but it was new. I was new. And at the moment, that was all that mattered.

  Soul Harbor held the appealing possibility of a fresh start. A clean break. And that was just what I was looking for.

  “That place looks cute,” Vera said, pointing to a little seafood diner.

  I slowed down and turned into the tiny parking lot. “Fisherman’s Brew,” I said, reading the bold blue sign hung above the door out loud.

  The building was a grayish color that looked like it had been beaten by harsh seaside weather for years. Chipped baby blue paint outlined all the windows and covered the front door as well. As we stepped out, the sound of metal wind chimes blowing in the wind reached my ears.

  “Hmm, maybe this place isn’t so cute… It looks like something from a Shrek movie,” Vera whispered as she came around the front of my Jeep to where I stood.

  “But it’s called Fisherman’s Brew—maybe this is where you’ll meet your hot fisherman fling.” I wiggled my eyebrows and locked my arm with hers. “Come on, I’m starved. Let’s just see what this place is all about.”

  “I’m starved too. I don’t think I’ve ever done so much manual labor in my life
. And you’re right…maybe this is where we’ll meet our hot fisherman flings, because I’m not letting you off the hook just yet. You’re going to find yourself a sexy rebound guy in this little town to get you back on track before I leave.” She winked.

  I stifled a grin. “I don’t know about that.”

  “Oh, you’ll see. It’s in the air. I can taste it!” She grinned wickedly.

  For a Thursday night, Fisherman’s Brew was slammed. There were only two seats left at the bar in the entire cramped diner.

  “I don’t feel right settin’ you young ladies there, seeing as how you’re not of age and all,” the elderly woman with skin the color of night said. She placed a hand on her hip as her eyes grazed us over.

  I hadn’t been given a once-over like that in a long time, never by someone so old, and never had I been made to feel so uncomfortable by it before. This woman held some serious power in her stare.

  “Oh, don’t worry. We know we aren’t of age to drink,” Vera chimed in, using her sugary-sweet tone she always reserved for getting her way.

  “Sweetheart, that’s not what I’m worried ’bout. It’s the way you two are dressed that’s got me all concerned.” The woman looked at us with distaste as she sucked something from between her front teeth. “I don’t need these drunken goobers slurpin’ up their chowder while they’re eyeballin’ you two. Or worse, them tryin’ to get all frisky on ya. That’s just the type of drama I don’t need today.”

  “We won’t be any drama, promise. We’re just hungry,” Vera said, still not dropping the sweet tone, even though it clearly wasn’t getting her anywhere.

  I tugged on Vera’s elbow. “We can just eat someplace else. It’s not that big of a deal. Let’s go,” I whispered.

  “Uh, no.” Vera glared at me and then flicked her eyes from me to someplace behind the old woman repeatedly. “We can’t. I’m starved.”

  I followed her gaze to the bar. Sitting between the only two empty seats was a guy who appeared to be close to our age with skin the same color as the woman before us. His back was to me, but even then I could make out his broad shoulders and lean muscles. This was most definitely Vera’s motivation to stay.

  “All right, fine. Follow me.” The woman picked up two crumpled paper menus and started walking in the direction of Vera’s newly spotted hot fisherman fling conquest. “But I’m tellin’ you two right now, if I feel like this place is gettin’ out of hand, you’re out. Ya hear?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I answered when Vera didn’t. She glanced back at me and mouthed the word “ma’am” with wide, questioning eyes. I shrugged my shoulders. The lady just seemed like the type you’d say ma’am to. She oozed authority for some reason.

  “Theo, you scooch on down and let these two ladies have seats beside one another,” the old woman ordered the eye candy with the broad shoulders.

  Theo turned and flashed the old woman a dazzling white smile. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “See,” I whispered and elbowed Vera in the ribs. “I’m not the only one who thinks she should be called ma’am.”

  “Uh-huh” was all I got. Vera was lost in Theo’s good looks.

  Once I aimed my gaze his way, so was I. At least six foot tall and powerfully built, Theo nearly buckled the toothpick-legged stool beneath him. He was attractive, yes, but not in the pretty boy way I was used to with Ryan. No, Theo had something else going for him. He had the type of face that could freeze someone solid or turn a girl’s bones to liquid depending on his expression. Long, dark lashes framed his caramel-colored eyes. His facial features were broad, but chiseled all at the same time. And those lips…those sensual, plump lips that were twisted at such a delicate curve while he eyed the old woman and stood to scoot over…they were blissful.

  “Here, today’s special is shrimp cabob with scalloped potatoes,” the old lady said as she passed out a menu to both Vera and me.

  “Sounds good,” I said distractedly. My fingers fumbled against hers as I reached for my menu, and I attempted to gather my thoughts quickly before I made a fool of myself.

  The old woman inhaled sharply. “No,” she whispered as she clutched her chest suddenly.

  I gripped onto her arm. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, jerking her arm free from my grasp roughly. Her honey-colored eyes locked with mine and darkened. “I’m fine, but I’m tellin’ you right now, you won’t be if you don’t figure out what ya want from this place and then get the hell out.”

  I drew back, shocked by her words and the hiss of her tone. “I’m sorry?”

  “I’ll send someone to take your order in just a bit,” she said, ignoring my question and walking away, acting as though she hadn’t just threatened me.

  I swallowed hard and remained where I stood for a moment, gripping the paper menu to my chest. Had she just threatened me? What the hell had that been about?

  “Sit, Addison,” Vera beckoned. “People are staring,” she whispered under her breath.

  I sat in the seat beside Vera, noticing she’d taken the one beside Theo, completely aware that I was the only one who’d witnessed our host’s odd behavior. I looked at the menu in my hands with interest, positive I didn’t want to find out what the old lady was capable of. I planned on ordering, eating, and then getting the hell out of here as fast as I could.

  “This is Theo Van Rooyen, Twila’s grandson,” Vera informed me by way of introduction to Theo. “And this is my best friend, Addison. She just inherited this amazing house on, what was it called street?”

  “Aduro,” I answered, still studying the menu.

  “Right, Aduro Street,” Vera said, sounding bubbly. This was her I’m-cute-don’t-you-want-me tone. We’d been friends for forever and I knew it well. She was completely into Theo. “I’m here for two weeks, but Addison is here for the summer.”

  “Who’s Twila?” I asked without looking up from the menu.

  “The hostess who showed us to our seats, duh.” Vera scoffed.

  “Aduro Street, huh?” Theo’s voice was seductively smooth, even though there was a slight unsettling edge to it.

  I raised my eyes to glance at him. He was staring directly at me as Vera continued rambling away about things of little interest to him. Theo’s eyes darkened just like his grandmother’s had once they locked with mine. A foreboding feeling slithered along my spine, and I suddenly felt the crushing sensation I wasn’t wanted in this place overcome me. Was that what Twila had meant, that I had better figure out what I wanted from this town and not this restaurant? Surely not.

  “So, is there any place fun to hang out here?” Vera asked, oblivious to the death stare I was getting from Theo.

  He blinked and his features softened as he turned his attention back to Vera. “The beach, of course.”

  “The beach, right.” Vera smiled. It was embarrassing how stupid she made herself appear sometimes and all for the sake of a guy. “You think you could maybe show us around after we eat?”

  “You ready to order?” a round woman with dark skin and tired wrinkles around her eyes asked me from behind the bar.

  Wow, Southern hospitality had not graced this place with its presence. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to move here after all. “Umm, yeah. I’ll take the special, please, with a sweet tea.”

  The woman wrote down my order and then turned her wary eyes away from me and to Vera. “What about you, blondie?”

  “Well.” Vera leaned forward, glaring at the lady’s name tag. “Stina, I’ll take the crab cake platter with a sweet tea as well.”

  Stina added Vera’s order to our shared ticket. When she was finished writing, she looked up and glared at Theo. “You watch yourself, boy. Don’t you be messin’ with these two. Especially that one.” She pointed to me with the tip of her pen and then walked away, her dark eyes nearly black as they met mine.

  I raised my eyebrows. “Wow, this place just oozes Southern charm.”

  “Seriously, that lady was a real piece of work.” Vera sco
ffed.

  “That piece of work was my mother,” Theo said, and I thought Vera was going to have heart failure as she tried to take back what she’d said.

  I smiled and glanced her way, waiting to see what she would say next to smooth over that statement, but it was Theo’s glare directed toward me that captured my attention. His obvious dislike of me flared in his caramel-colored eyes. I shifted in my seat and glanced around the bar, taking in the array of glass bottles and fishing nets with seashells hanging from the ceiling. The place was nice, but the people weren’t. I hoped the entire town wouldn’t be the same.

  “Well that was weird,” I said as we exited Fisherman’s Brew and climbed back into my Jeep.

  Vera nodded. “Yeah, tell me about it. I was putting the vibe out there and everything. Not many can turn me down when I let it release full-throttle like that.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Sure…”

  “What? I’m serious!” she insisted. “Let’s head back to your place and then walk down to the beach. Since that was the place non-interested Theo said was the hangout spot, maybe we’ll both get lucky and find our hot fisherman flings there.”

  “Like I said, I’m not looking for anyone, but I will go down there with you,” I said as I turned out of the parking lot.

  Vera cranked up the radio, blaring a Katy Perry song and singing along off-key. I couldn’t even enjoy the moment and her ridiculous version of the song. Instead, my mind was caught up on Theo, Stina, and Twila. I replayed the warnings given to both me and Theo repeatedly in my mind on the drive home, not understanding a single word of their meaning.

  “Oh my God, look who’s back!” Vera shouted as I turned into the driveway of my house.

  Sitting on the porch in front of the dingy front door was the same black and white cat from the basement. It stared directly at us as I crept up the driveway, its greenish-yellow eyes reflecting my headlights.

  “Wow, guess he decided not to use the window now that someone is living here again,” I said with a tiny smile as I cut the engine.

  I’d always wanted a cat, but my dad was allergic. We stepped out and I half expected the cat to run off from the noise of our doors closing, but he didn’t. Instead, he perked up.