Five Shades of Fantasy

by W.J. May

  Chapter Eight

  Mom was still sleeping when I woke the next morning, which was pretty odd, considering it was after ten and she never usually slept past eight.

  “Hey,” I said to Nathan, who was eating a monstrous bowl of cereal and watching television at the kitchen counter.

  He smirked. “It lives.”

  “Very funny, butthead,” I answered.

  “Just kidding, twerp,” he replied with his mouth full. “Hey, guess who called for you this morning?”

  Duncan? “Who?”

  “The manager at that diner you put in an application for.”

  I stared at him in surprise. “Wow, really?”

  “Yeah, you’re supposed to call her back if you’re still interested in setting up an interview. Here,” he said, handing me a slip of paper, “call Rosie at that number.”

  “Awesome,” I said, grinning from ear to ear.

  Ten minutes later I had an interview set up for later that afternoon.

  “Wow, that was fast,” said Nathan. “I guess I’ll have to give you a ride.”

  “Or, you could just loan me your car.”

  He snorted. “Right. Nobody drives that car but me. Not even Deanna got the privilege of driving my baby.”

  “Hi, kids,” yawned mom as she shuffled into the kitchen.

  “You were up late,” said Nathan.

  She turned on the Keurig and smiled. “Well, Caleb’s an interesting man. He’s traveled all over the world and we talked for hours about his crazy adventures.”

  “Small town sheriff-slash-traveler extraordinaire, huh?” smirked Nathan.

  Her eyes lit up. “He’s been to so many places, it’s amazing.”

  “Oh, shoot,” I said. “Speaking of Caleb, I forgot to tell him about the note I received from the waitress yesterday.”

  Mom waved her hand. “Oh, I mentioned it to him and he didn’t seem too concerned. He said this town has had its share of crimes, but there certainly wasn’t anything to be afraid of, even in the dark. He also mentioned that Amy was having a hard time getting over the loss of her friend, the one we found. It’s made her a little… unstable.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean, unstable?”

  She sighed. “I’m not supposed to talk about this, but, she tried to commit suicide a couple weeks ago.”

  “Wow,” replied Nathan. “That’s rough.”

  Mom nodded. “I guess her parents have been trying frantically to get her help, even going as far as putting her on antidepressants, but obviously, she still has some emotional issues.”

  “And Caleb knows all about this?” I asked.

  She poured some cream into her coffee. “Yeah, his daughter, Celeste went to school with Amy. They both graduated in June.”

  “Oh,” I said.

  “How did you sleep last night?” she asked me.

  “Fine, although, I had some disturbing dreams. Other than that, I slept pretty good.”

  “Holy crap,” interrupted Nathan. He turned up the volume on the television and I stared at it in horror. A picture of the waitress who’d served us yesterday flashed across the screen.

  “Seventeen-year-old Amy Kreger was found in the woods near Lake Shore, early this morning,” said the female reporter, standing next to an old Chevy Camaro. “Her car had been found abandoned by the side of the road with drug paraphernalia sitting openly on the front seat. When police officers were called to investigate, they found the deceased in the woods with self-inflicted wounds on both wrists. Tragically, this young girl was close friends with Tina Johnson, who went missing a few weeks ago. Tina’s body was found just two days ago, washed up onshore in an undisclosed location. Police officials do not suspect foul play in either case.”

  Nathan turned off the television and we all stared at each other in shock.

  I cleared my throat. “No foul play in either case? Seems unlikely now, doesn’t it?

  “Maybe it’s just two very disturbed girls,” replied Nathan.

  Mom shook her head sadly. “That poor girl. Her parents must be devastated.”

  “She was so pretty, too,” said Nathan. “It just goes to show that you can’t judge people by what’s on the outside. Amy must have been pretty messed up.”

  I stood up. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe she wasn’t messed up?”

  “Nikki…” said my mom.

  “They found drugs in her car. Obviously, she had issues,” said Nathan.

  “Whatever, I’m going to lie down in my room for a while,” I said. “This is nuts.”

  I went upstairs and took out the note Amy had given me. It gave me the chills to know that she was now dead.

  “Hey,” said Nathan from my doorway. “I’m taking the boat out in an hour if you want to get some fresh air and clear your head.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Is mom coming?”

  He shook his head. “No, she’s going into town to talk with her new boss. I guess she’s starting work on Monday.”

  “Okay. I’ll be down in an hour.”

  He left and I took a quick shower, still thinking about Amy and the face in the window last night. I wasn’t sure at this point which was more disturbing. I knew one thing, however; I was going to try and talk mom out of staying here. Something was going on in this town. I wasn’t sure if it was just one crazy freak or a group of them. What I did know was that there were two dead girls and now someone was spying on us. At this point, dad seemed less frightening.

  After I toweled off, I slipped on a pair of shorts and a tank top, then piled my hair on top of my head.

  “Ready?” asked Nathan when I met him downstairs.

  “Yeah, let me grab something to eat first”

  When I entered the kitchen, mom was standing over the sink with the water running, her face pasty white.

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I think I had a little too much wine last night. It’s finally catching up to me.”

  “Really? A delayed hangover? That’s weird. Hey, what’s that on your neck?” I asked, staring at her skin. “Did you get bit by a couple of mosquitos?”

  She touched her neck. “I must have.”

  The skin on her neck was definitely swollen and there were two small red bumps just below her ear.

  I squinted. “Does it itch? It looks pretty inflamed.”

  My mom had always been very sensitive to bug bites, so it wasn’t a surprise that her skin was tender and sore-looking.

  She shrugged. “No, not really. It’s a little tender, though.”

  “You should put something on that,” I said, turning away from her. I reached into the cupboard and grabbed a box of chewy granola bars. “Some of that Neosporin stuff.”

  “I will.” She touched her head and groaned. “God, remind me not to have more than one glass of wine the next time anyone offers.”

  I snorted. “No doubt.”

  She grabbed a paper towel, poured cool water over it, and then dabbed her forehead. “You know, I think I’m going to lie back down for a while.”

  “Hey,” I said as she began walking away, “I have an interview this afternoon. That diner I was telling you about.”

  “Good job, sweetheart. I’m sure you’ll get it.”

  I’m sure, too. They’re really in need of help now that Amy’s gone, I thought bitterly.

  Thirty minutes later, Nathan and I were racing across the lake in the boat again.

  “Let’s head over to Sonny and Duncan’s marina!” he yelled over the engine.

  I gave him the thumbs-up. I had to admit, the thought of seeing Duncan again was stirring up the butterflies in my stomach.

  The sun was already hot, and by the time we reached the marina, I could feel the back of my neck and shoulders begin to burn. I grabbed some sunscreen and started lathering it on.

  “Hey!” called Duncan, who was putting gasoline into a fishing boat.

  “What’s up, Dunc?” asked Nathan.
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br />   He smiled. “Not much.”

  Nathan docked the boat and tied it. “So, did your dad mention anything about the job yet?”

  Duncan laughed. “Haven’t had time to talk about it. But I think you have the best shot so far. My dad seems to like you.”

  “Cool. Nikki already has an interview later this afternoon for a waitressing job.”

  Duncan looked at me. “Ruth’s?”

  “Yeah. By the way, did you watch the news this morning?”

  He shook his head. “No, been working.”

  I told him about Amy and then mentioned the face in the window.

  His eyebrow shot up. “Seriously? Wow, it’s weird that you mentioned that, because I’m pretty sure that someone was watching me last night, too.”