Cursed

by Monica Wolfson

  “When is it?” Cady asked.

  “Two days,” Sasha said. “I was thinking-.”

  “No can do,” Cady cut in. “I’ve got a thing.”

  “A thing?” Sasha said wondering what could be more important.

  “I set it up weeks ago,” Cady said defensively. “Don’t jump over me because-.”

  “Forget it,” Sasha cut her off.

  There was silence on the line. Sasha tried to get beyond her hurt feelings. It was a struggle. She would do anything for Cady. Didn’t Cady feel the same way?

  “Ok,” Cady said sounding defeated. “I’ll try and come and push back my thing.”

  Sasha’s heart leaped in her chest. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” she said.

  “You’re going to owe me.”

  “I know.”

  Sasha heard rustling on the other end of the phone and voices in the background.

  “I gotta go,” Cady said in a rushed voice. “Later.”

  Sasha leaned back onto her pillows relieved. At least she had one friend coming. Should she invite Evan?

  “Sasha have you decided where you want to have your birthday dinner? I have to make reservations,” her mother said walking into her room. She pulled a gold tube out of her purse and applied a dark burgundy lipstick to thin lips while gazing at her reflection in the closet mirror. She took out a tissue and blotted.

  Willow Bean and her daughter shared the same dark hair and brown eyes and little else. Sasha assumed she got most of her personality traits from her father, an organized and introverted engineer. He was the complete opposite of her mother.

  Willow Bean was an awesome and frightening figure at times. She was strong-willed, and steely in her focus which made her a successful real estate agent. She had a dozen realtors working for her and was one of the top agents in the state. Sasha had no plans to follow in her footsteps. It was a career that required lots of smiling and cajoling, two things that Sasha wasn’t very good at.

  “Have you invited your friends? You know you can’t wait too late. People have lives and make plans,” her mother said. She’d finished with her lips and moved to fluffing her hair.

  Her mother thought she needed a friend for every occasion. She had several close friends who worked in her business. She’d never said how she met them. Sasha imagined they were from college, bonded over drinks and saved each other from letches. That didn’t explain how her mother knew Dominic, who had to be at least 80.

  “Don’t worry about it mother,” she said. “I need your help with something else.”

  Her mother turned from inspecting her reflection. “What’s that?”

  Sasha picked up the black cord around her neck, the blue stained glass pendant dangled between her fingers.

  “How important is it that I wear this all the time?” She asked.

  Willow Bean frowned. She sat down on the edge of her bed.

  “Very,” she said.

  “Can you explain it to me?” Sasha asked.

  Willow Bean stroked the pendant with her thumb rubbing the glass. She slowly laid the pendant against Sasha’s neck and caressed a locket of her daughter’s hair.

  “Do you trust me?” Willow Bean asked Sasha.

  “Of course,” she said automatically. “What’s going on?”

  “I need you to trust me Sasha,” she said with her head bowed and eyes closed. “I will tell you everything. I’m just not ready yet.”

  “But-,” Willow Bean placed a finger across her daughter’s lips.

  “No buts,” she said. “I need you to wait.”

  Sasha nodded, confused by her mother’s request. Why couldn’t she tell her what was going on? Her mother’s behavior only confirmed for Sasha that she was indeed the target of last night’s attack and it had something to do with the pendant.

  “Am I in danger?” Sasha asked. She was scared to hear the answer but she had to know.

  Willow Bean softly stroked Sasha’s cheek brushing away stray hairs. She tipped Sasha’s chip up so they were staring into each other’s eyes.

  “I will never let anything happen to you,” Willow Bean whispered. She pulled Sasha into a tight embrace and kissed her on the forehead.

  Willow Bean got to her feet pressing the wrinkles out of her skirt with her palms. The tenderness she showed toward Sasha melted away and was replaced with her realtor persona.

  “Pick a restaurant and be done with it. Otherwise I’m cooking.”

  Sasha wrinkled her nose already smelling the burnt food. Willow Bean was a busy realtor with little time for domestic chores. A cleaning lady came in once a week to vacuum and take care of the bathrooms and kitchen. Meals consisted of frozen dinners, pasta and boring crock pot meals. Sasha usually made her own dinners and tended to eat a lot of oatmeal and grilled cheese sandwiches.

  “Fine, I’ll text you a name,” she sighed, disappointed that she got no answers from her mother.

  After her mother left, Sasha tried to study. She cracked open her biology textbook. She had a mid-term on Monday and needed to study. She had a hard time focusing because her mind kept wandering to Evan.

  She opened her laptop and tried to find Evan’s digital footprint. Everyone had one. She searched all the popular social media sites and found nothing. He didn’t have Twitter or Facebook accounts. She did find a resume on LinkedIn but it was blocked to anyone who wasn’t a contact. Frustrated Sasha gave up. He didn’t want to be found on the Internet.

  Maybe she’d see Evan at the police station later today. She was going to bike there after lunch. She was daydreaming about Evan’s blue eyes when there was a clanging in her doorway.

  Her little sister Hannah stood there clad in a bathing suit, carrying a cow bell. Twelve-year-olds were a pain in the butt and yet old enough to rat Sasha out to her parents.

  “Mom said you’d take me to the community center,” Hannah said swinging the cow bell.

  “Can’t you go on your own?” Sasha said rolling onto her back pulling the textbook up to her face.

  “Mama insists you come with her,” she said in a whinny voice.

  “I can’t right now, I’m studying.” Sasha said turning a page of her textbook without reading the previous page.

  Her sister didn’t protest and wandered off, dragging the cow bell behind her on the carpet.

  Before Sasha could refocus on biology her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number.

  “This is Sgt. Al Corey,” a deep voice said. Sasha recognized the name as the detective who took her statement. “Can you come down today and look at photos?”

  Sasha asked for the address and told the officer it would take her an hour to get there because she didn’t have a car.

  “I can send a patrol car to get you,” he said. Sasha declined the offer. How would she explain it to her mother who would surely hear about the patrol car in the driveway from the neighbors not to mention from Hannah? It was best she went there and got back before her mother came home.

  “No, I’m good,” she said and hung up. She told her sister she had to go out for a bit and promised to take her to the pool when she returned.

  It took Sasha 20 minutes to cycle to the police station. It was tucked away in a strip mall on South Lamar Boulevard. She locked her bicycle out front and gave her name to the officer at the front desk.

  She picked up a magazine and sat by the windows while waiting for Sgt. Corey. The magazine was three months out of date, so she put it down and stared out the window not really seeing. She was daydreaming about Evan again when she spied a man in a dark overcoat in the parking lot.

  It was the strangest site. The man was wearing a black fedora hat, tilted to one side. He leaned against a black Lincoln limousine. The man must be a business tourist dressed like that or in the music industry. The city was overrun with strange music people dressed in all sorts of bizarre garb. He certainly fit in with the city’s slogan, “keep Austin weird.”

  Sasha craned her neck to get a better view. Maybe h
e was a famous musician. The limousine seemed a giveaway. She couldn’t see his face well and after awhile gave up.

  Sasha turned away from the window when Sgt. Corey called her name. She followed him into a small room with no windows that smelled like sweat. There was a mirror on one wall.

  “Gosh,” she exclaimed. “This is like something out of Law and Order.”

  Sgt. Corey smiled and put a laptop on the table. “We don’t usually solve crimes in 60 minutes,” he said. He powered up the computer and explained that photographs are now digital. He asked her to scroll through some pictures of known thieves in the area to see if anyone seemed familiar.

  “They were wearing masks,” Sasha reminded him.

  “I know but you saw their eyes didn’t you?” he said.

  Sasha closed her own eyes and pictured the face of the robber who grabbed her. The black knit mask covered most of the skin. The openings around the eyes were large and the men hadn’t painted the skin to match the mask. She knew both men were white. She didn’t know the eye color of the second man, but the main robber, his were a green-brown. She had stared into those eyes as he demanded her pendant.

  She couldn’t really remember much else. Her fear had clouded her concentration. She didn’t even remember what was said except for the man demanding her necklace.

  “I’ll try,” she said squinting at the computer screen. She scrolled through dozens of photographs until she came to one that seemed familiar. The eye color seemed right but the shape was off. The robber had a rounder eye not so slanted as the one she was staring at.

  She kept scanning pictures diligently trying to help. Sgt. Corey offered her a drink. After about an hour, she turned to the officer disappointed she couldn’t identify the robbers.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t see him here.”

  Sgt. Corey spun the laptop around and closed it. “That’s ok,” he said. “Evan didn’t have much luck either.”

  “Evan’s here?” Sasha said her heart skipping a beat.

  “He was this morning,” Sgt. Corey opened the interview room door. He escorted her to the reception area, shook her hand and said he’d be in touch.

  Sasha unlocked her bike and was about to swing her leg over the cross bar when she noticed the man in the trench coat. He was still standing by his car staring at her. The hair on the back of her neck rose as she felt a subtle threat. She debated whether to go back inside and get Sgt. Corey. The man didn’t resemble the robbers but he was creepy all the same.

  Sasha stared back at the man. She returned her bike to the rack and walked back to the front door, her eyes still locked with the man’s. She opened the door and it seemed the man sensed what she was about to do and broke off the stare and got into his car. Sasha stood in the doorway of the police station while the limousine circled cars and exited the lot.

  Somewhat relieved and wondering if she was paranoid, Sasha cycled home peering over her shoulder. She didn’t see the car again.

  Sasha hated the indoor swimming pool at the community centre. It was against nature to swim inside when it’s swimmable outdoor weather in Austin at least eight months a year. She hated the humid, stale air that smelled strongly of chlorine and made her crave crisp outdoor air.

  She’d promised her mother she’d take Hannah swimming and she wasn’t going to break her commitment but she dreaded the chore so she invited her neighbor Jenna to come along.

  Hannah pushed through the glass doors to the community centre eager to get to the pool. She was already wearing her bathing suit so they went straight to the pool. Sasha stretched out on a lounge chair and Jenna sat down beside her. Sasha rummaged in her bag and pulled out two diet sodas. She gave one to Jenna and shooed Hannah into the water.

  “You’re the one that wanted to come here,” she said.

  Hannah sat on the edge of the pool and dipped her toes in the water. She shivered dramatically. “It’s cold,” she whined and trembled.

  “Don’t be a wuss,” Sasha called. “Unless your lips turn blue it’s a tropical heat. You wanted to come here.”

  Jenna turned on her side and faced Sasha. “I’m glad I don’t have a little sister,” she said. “I’m very tempted to push her in. My guess is she’ll cry. It’s taking a lot of my willpower not to follow through on my urge. Hit me.”

  Sasha threw a small snack packet of M&Ms at her and the package smacked her in the forehead. Sasha laughed proudly at her aim while Jenna smirked.

  Hannah was still swinging her legs in the water reluctant to take the plunge. Sasha dug out her wallet and walked to the edge of the pool.

  “You want to dive for some coins?”

  Hannah frowned, her eyes downturned and sad. “Will you swim with me?”

  Sasha crouched down beside her sister. “Didn’t bring my suit.”

  Hannah appeared crestfallen. Sasha glanced around the pool to see if there was anyone there Hannah knew. There were a few adults doing lengths and young kids playing with their parents. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a guy her age come onto the pool deck from the men’s change rooms. He was lean with well defined stomach muscles. His chest was muscular although not in a body builder kind of way. More like a guy who carried heavy things or lifted weights once a week instead of every day.

  His knee-length bathing suit hung on his hip bones enticingly. Sasha could see herself putting her hands on those hips, feeling the bones and pulling him to her. He appeared strong and agile, the perfect runner or swimmer. The boy turned his head and she could see his eyes, the ocean blue of his eyes. Sasha sucked in a breath of surprise and flushed when she recognized Evan.

  It was easy to see last night that Evan was an attractive guy, she just didn’t know how hot until she saw him nearly naked. For a minute Sasha regretted not bringing her bathing suit. If she’d been swimming too, she would have been able to approach him innocently. Now she was either going to have to come up with a clever, yet coincidental reason or hope that he comes to her.

  It was then she realized she didn’t have to catch his attention, Hannah did. Sasha’s sister was still sitting on the edge of the pool swirling her feet in the water. Sasha put a hand on her shoulder and resisted a strong urge to push her in the water.

  “Put on your goggles and I’ll toss a coin for diving, it’ll be like a treasure hunt,” she said. Her ploy would only work if Hannah did as she asked. Hannah swished her goggles in the water and then fitted them around her eyes, taking care to make sure the strap wasn’t tangled in her hair. Fitting the goggles took a few minutes giving Sasha time to figure out what Evan was doing. He was swimming lengths on the far side of the pool. She’d have to maneuver Hannah over there so that she could “bump into” Evan.

  She tossed coins in the deep end to give Hannah the experience of diving. Hannah took to diving to the bottom of the pool and then swimming along until she found the coin. Each time she broke the surface she swam back to Sasha and handed her the coin so she could throw it somewhere else.

  After Hannah mastered the short drops, Sasha threw them farther and farther away. Jenna came to stand beside her curious about what she was doing.

  “What are you looking at?” Jenna scanned the pool for my target. “The guy in blue?”

  Sasha had no idea who she was talking about. “Where?”

  “At the drinking fountain is that who we’re watching?”

  Sasha shook her head and laughed. “That guy has to be 50.”

  “Older can be sexy,” she said. “Look at Brad Pitt. I think he’s like 50.”

  “Hmmm. You have a point. That guy isn’t Brad Pitt though.”

  “Touche.”

  “So who is the object of our affection?”

  “Our?”

  “I thought I would live vicariously through you for a change,” she smirked.

  “That’s going to be boring.” Sasha watched Evan slice cleanly through the water with compact, efficient strokes. He moved at a moderate tempo as if he were pacing himself for a long
swim. She wished she could slip into the water and glide beside him. She’d always loved swimming and had contemplated trying out for the team. Running was easier to do because all she needed was a pair of shoes while swimming required a pool and her parents didn’t have a big enough backyard for one.

  Hannah swam to the edge. “I think I’m done.” She hauled herself out of the pool and a panicked Sasha pushed her back in.

  “Just one more.” She wasted so much time warming Hannah up she never got to her target. Hannah fell back into the water and hung on to the edge. Sasha saw Evan and targeted where he’d be by the time Hannah swam over. She threw the coin with perfect precision.

  “That’s so far,” Hannah pouted. She dunked under the water and slowly swam away. Sasha watched her sister glide out to the planned collision point. Evan cut through the water doing front crawl like a machine. He breathed on one side, the opposite side from where Hannah was swimming which meant he wouldn’t see the crash. Yet it didn’t work as she planned.

  Evan was too fast and Hannah was too slow and they didn’t meet. Evan passed over the coin before Hannah arrived. Her sister got into Evan’s lane after he’d departed; she searched for the coin, dove a few times and then returned to where Sasha was standing.

  “I couldn’t find it,” she panted. “You threw it too far. I was too tired to search.”

  Her sister lifted herself out of the pool and sat on the edge leaning against Sasha’s pants. “You couldn’t find it? It’s not that deep over there.”

  Hannah got to her feet and took a towel off the chair. “Those lane guys make waves. I had a hard time keeping my head above water.”

  Upset that she’d tortured her sister just so she could see Evan again, Sasha wrapped her arms around Hannah and squeezed. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Hannah rested her head on Sasha’s shoulder. If Sasha didn’t know any better, she’d think Hannah was trying to get her wet.

  “Is this yours?” a deep male voice said from behind her. Sasha turned around, her little sister still in her arms, to see who was talking.