Dark Dreams

by Kristie K. Shafer

“Chelsey, wake up.”

  I opened my eyes and groaned when I looked at the alarm clock. “Mom, I have two more hours to sleep, and I was up late studying. What the heck?”

  She switched on the light and stepped closer to my bed. “Sorry, honey,” she replied, looking grim. “I wasn’t sure if this could wait.”

  I rubbed my left eye. “If what could wait?”

  She pulled her light blue robe in tighter. “Your Aunt Jody called,” she said. “Melody didn’t come home last night.”

  Now that woke me up. “What?” I asked, sitting up.

  She sat down on the edge of my bed. “I guess she went out with Taylor and Veronica around eight o’clock last night. That was the last time Jody saw her. She’s just going nuts now and doesn’t know what to do. Have you talked to Melody recently?”

  I shook my head. “No. Not since her grad party.”

  The truth was that my cousin and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye. In fact, ever since we graduated last June from high school, we’d barely been on speaking terms. I figured it was because she was still pissed at me after I’d given her crap about sneaking shots of tequila at her graduation party. Afterwards, she’d puked her brains out, but it hadn’t changed how annoyed she’d been at me. I guess that ratting her out hadn’t really helped either. The only reason I’d blown the whistle was because my aunt had backed me into a corner when she’d noticed that her bottle of Patron was missing. I wasn’t very good at lying, and she’d known that. “I’m sure she’s fine,” I said, thinking about all of the other times Melody had pulled stuff. “I mean, she’s eighteen now anyway. She probably crashed at Taylor’s or Veronica’s.” After getting wasted, I wanted to say, but held back.

  “Nope. Jody called them. They haven’t seen her since last night.”

  I yawned. “Well, where did they go?”

  My mom pushed her dark bangs to the side. “They went to over to Shore Lake to go watch some rock band play.”

  That was surprising. Although Shore Lake was a tourist spot, it wasn’t exactly known for concerts or live bands. “Where?”

  “I think the place was called Nightshade or something. Anyway, they said she’d told them that someone else was giving her a ride home.”

  I’d heard of Club Nightshade, which was in the next town over, but had never actually been there. A lot of the kids in school had raved about the place. Some of them had even snuck in with fake I.D.’s when it wasn’t Teen-Night. Supposedly, you could get anything in that place if you knew who to talk to – drugs, alcohol, even… sex. “I didn’t know they had bands playing there. I thought it was all hip-hop from the radio.”

  “I guess not.” She raised her eyebrows. “Have you been to that place?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No. It’s definitely not my scene. Besides, who has time for clubs when I barely have enough time for homework and studying?” I was a freshman at U.M.T. and my life was filled with studying, homework, and more studying. I barely had time to sleep or eat.

  She stood back up. “Well, maybe she met a boy…”

  I smirked. “That’s what I’m thinking.” Plus, she had a reputation. She went through more guys than I did paper.

  “Well, I just wish she’d answer her mom’s phone calls and texts.”

  I decided to lay it on the table for her. “Mom, look, I’m going to be honest – Melody is a major partier. Heck, I know for a fact that last night wasn’t Teen-Night at that place. So, she would have had to have gotten in with a fake I.D. She probably drank and then went home with some horny jerk.”

  She scowled. “Well, that certainly doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  “Sorry, but even you know that I’m probably right. Did her friends say who was taking her home?”

  “No. She wouldn’t say; said it was a secret, but that she’d tell them later.”

  I frowned. “Hmm… that’s kind of weird.”

  “I know. Taylor seems to think that it might have been one of the guys in the band. I guess she has a crush on the singer, and had been trying to get his attention the entire night.”

  “It probably worked,” I said. Melody had to be the prettiest girl in Beaver Creek. With her blond hair, curves, and dazzling smile, she’d always been popular with the guys in school. If she set her sights on someone at the club, chances were that they’d be putty in her hands.

  “Boys in bands are trouble,” she replied. “Obviously, this just proves it.”

  “She’s not exactly an angel either, mom. She’s probably in bed with him right now.”

  “Chelsey!”

  I shrugged. “What? You know it’s true.”

  She sighed. “I know. I just don’t want to think about your cousin having sex.”

  I crawled back under my covers. “I know, but I wouldn’t worry too much about Melody, mom. If she was crushing on the singer, chances are she’s with him and not thinking about Aunt Jody right now.”

  “You’re probably right. She is eighteen.”

  I yawned again. “Just go back to bed, mom. I’m sure she’ll be home in a couple of hours, puking and getting bawled out by Aunt Jody.”

  Chuckling, she touched my shoulder. “I’m just glad that you’re responsible and don’t give me or your father problems like that.”

  I closed my eyes and smiled. “You’re welcome. Now let me sleep so I can get on with my humdrum life.”

  “It’s not humdrum,” she protested. “You’re preparing for the future.”

  I opened up one eye. “Mom, it’s boring. All I do is take tests and study, so that I can take more tests. It’s kind of lame.”

  “You really think so? I don’t know, I’d love to go back to my college years,” she replied wistfully. “It’s where I met your father, you know.”

  I’d heard the story many times. My mom had played hard-to-get and my dad had pursued her relentlessly, until she’d finally agreed to go out with him. Five years later, they eloped in Hawaii, after she became pregnant with me. “I know.”

  “Just hang in there, Chelsey. We’re proud of you and it’s going to pay off someday. Plus, if you’re going to be a Forensic Investigator, your life will eventually be anything but plain and boring.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  “Well, I’ll let you get back to bed,” she said, squeezing my foot through the blanket.

  “Make sure I’m up before seven,” I called out as she walked out of my bedroom.

  She turned around. “I will. I won’t be able to sleep until I hear from Jody.”

  After she closed my bedroom door, I thought about Melody. Growing up, we’d been close, even though she had always been a little bossy. Even at a young age, she’d always known exactly what she’d wanted and used everything she could to get her way. Chances were, my cousin had gotten her way again, tonight, and was getting her freak on with that singer she’d been lusting after. I had to admit, part of me was a little envious.