Dark Realms (69 page)

I put my glass into the sink and picked up
my backpack. “That’s why you don’t have to worry about me. I always
make the right decisions.”

“Right,” she said, her
hazel eyes sparkling. “Joking aside, I
am
very proud of you, honey. Just
keep doing what you’re doing.”

“I will,” I replied as I walked out of the
kitchen. “See you when I get home.”

“Bye, honey.”

***

The day seemed to drag and by the time I was
finished with my biology class, I couldn’t wait to get home. It was
Friday and I had a weekend to do four days of homework, but I was
used to it and didn’t really care. I was going to take a night off
and go to a movie with a friend of mine, Susan. I hadn’t seen her
in over two weeks, my brain was mush, and I desperately needed some
time away from all things “school”.

“Hey,” I said, walking into the house. I
dropped my backpack next to the front door.

Both of my parents looked up and I could
tell from their expressions, that something was wrong.

“What is it?” I asked, surprised that my dad
was home so early. Being a bankruptcy lawyer, I never saw him walk
in the door earlier than seven.

“Your cousin is still missing,” he said,
putting an arm around my mom’s shoulder. “She hasn’t returned
anyone’s calls and Jody is frantic.”

I frowned. “Where
is
Aunt Jody?”

My mom, who was also clearly upset, looked
up. “She’s at home. Grandma is with her.”

“Oh.”

Sighing, she stood up and stretched her arms
above her head. “Your dad and I are heading over there, too, pretty
soon. Would you like to come with?”

“Uh, sure,” I replied. “I have to call
Susan, though. We were going to see a movie tonight, but I’ll
definitely cancel.”

“No, don’t cancel,” she said. “You should
still go with her. You haven’t gotten out in a while and a movie
would be good. Besides, we don’t even know for sure if she’s really
missing.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, still thinking that
Melody was just being Melody – selfish and irresponsible.

“Your mother is right,” said my dad, running
a hand through his short hair, which was the same color as mine.
“This might be nothing to worry about. Chances are that she’ll walk
through her front door any minute.”

I glanced at my mother again. “Are you sure?
I don’t have to go.”

“Yes. We’ll call you if there really is a
problem,” replied my mom.

“Okay,” I replied, a little relieved. I
really didn’t want to be there when Melody got home and was
hollered at. She’d probably blame me for her getting into
trouble.

Dad looked at his watch. “We should get
going. There’s a hockey game I’d like to watch at four. If we’re
lucky, we’ll make it there before the game starts.”

My mom’s eyes widened. “Richard!”

He grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, Mary. Hey, it
gives me something to do while you guys wait for her to come
home.”

“And if she doesn’t?” asked my mom, folding
her arms across her chest.

“
I know, I’ll TiVo it,” he
said, walking towards the stairs leading to the family
room.

My mom smirked and shook her head. “I don’t
know what he’d do without cable,” she replied, turning back to
me.

“No doubt.”

“There’s some leftover lasagna from last
night in the refrigerator,” she said, grabbing her purse from the
coffee table. “Unless you’re going to grab a bite to eat before the
movie?”

“No. We’ll just eat popcorn.”

“Okay.” She opened up the closet and took
out her camel-colored Uggs. “I’ll text you when she comes home,
or,” she frowned, “if she is really missing.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. It’s Melody,
mom.”

“I know.” She zipped up her boots and then
walked over to me. “Have fun at the movies,” she said, kissing the
top of my head.

“I will. Look at you in those heeled boots,”
I grinned. “You must be five-two now.”

My height came from my mother.

“You think so?” she replied, staring down at
them.

My dad walked back up stairs. “Oh, I like
those, Mary,” he said wiggling his eyebrows. “Are they new?”

“No, I just never wear them.”

“They’re cute,” I said.

“Cute? They’re sexy. You can wear them in
the bed any time you want,” he teased.

“Oh my God,” I groaned. “You’re gross.”

He laughed and grabbed his car keys from the
credenza. “Lock the door when you leave, Pumpkin.”

“I will.”

He turned to me and his face became serious.
“Watch yourselves. I’m pretty sure this thing with Melody is
nothing to be concerned about, but you and Susan are both
good-looking young girls and… well, there are monsters out
there.”

“Yes,” I replied, trying
not to roll my eyes. As far as I was concerned, both of them
were
way
too
over-protective.

He put his hands on my shoulders and
squeezed. “Honey, I know you’re tired of the same old spiel, but
you know, being a prosecutor I’ve come face-to-face with some real
dirt-bags. The absolute scum of the earth. The worst part is that
there are so many out there who have yet to be caught.” His
forehead wrinkled. “I just worry about you.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine,” I replied, smiling up at
him. “You know me.”

He released my shoulders. “I know I’d beat
the living tar out of anyone that ever hurt you. Anyway, just
always be aware of your surroundings and make sure you never run
out of gas again.”

I shuddered, remembering
that freaky night. “I guarantee-
that
will never happen
again.”

He chuckled. “I bet.”

A year ago, I’d run out of gas around ten
o’clock at night, on a deserted freeway. I’d forgotten my cell
phone at home, and had ended up walking to the nearest gas station.
The road had been dark and spooky, and I’d almost felt like someone
had been watching me from the woods. By the time I’d gotten to the
station, I’d just called my dad to come and pick me up, too
terrified to walk back alone with a canister of gasoline.

“Richard,” said my mother, staring at her
watch. “We should get going. I told Jody we’d be there in an hour
and… that was over an hour ago.”

“Fine. Can we pick up some tacos along the
way?” he asked.

“There’s no time. I can always order a
pizza, or something, when we get there.” She turned to me.
“Chelsey, have fun tonight, and don’t worry about your cousin.”

“Okay.”

“Maybe I should go with Chelsey and Susan,”
said my dad. “Check out the movie theater. Make sure Melody isn’t
hiding out there?”

She pushed him towards the door. “Would you
just stop, already?” she said, shaking her head. “You’re coming
with me.”

He looked at me over his shoulder and
smirked. “I had to try.”

“I know.”

“Maybe you should
try
harder at being more
sympathetic,” said mom.

He closed the door before I could hear his
response, which I knew would probably make her laugh. I was one of
the very few and fortunate who had parents that bickered, but
lovingly and forgivingly. I couldn’t say that about many of my
friend’s parents or even Aunt Jody. She’d been divorced for ten
years after being cheated on, and hadn’t had much luck dating. From
what my mom said, her ex-husband had been reckless and
out-of-control. He liked to drink, party, and live on the edge,
which, obviously, his daughter was hell bent on following in his
footsteps.

Chapter Three

Chelsey

After they left, I went upstairs and slipped
into a pair of blue jeans, with a thin, cream-colored V-neck
sweater. It was near the end of October and the nights were getting
frosty. I didn’t mind, though, I loved winter and couldn’t wait for
the first big snowfall to hit. My parents owned snowmobiles, and
there was nothing better than whipping across freshly powdered
fields at night, with the stars twinkling above your helmet. It was
such a blast that I’d already decided school wasn’t going to deter
me from going out this year. Even if I had to stay up both Friday
and Saturday nights, cramming and studying, I’d make time for our
Sunday snowmobile excursions. I wouldn’t miss them for
anything.

I took out my ponytail, and straightened it
with a flat iron. When I was finished, my hair hung just past my
shoulders and looked almost as silky as the models did in those
hair commercials. Nodding in approval, I grabbed a tube of mascara
just as my cell phone rang.

“Hi,” said Susan. “You almost ready?”

“Yeah. What movie should we see?” I asked,
leaving the bathroom.

“I was thinking about that
new superhero one. That guy is
so
hot.”

“The blonde guy with the hammer?” I asked,
thinking that he could definitely get my mind off of Melody.

“Hell, yeah.”

I laughed. “What time is the movie
showing?”

“Seven-twenty. You don’t mind driving over
here, do you? My brakes are acting up. I’m going to bring it in
tomorrow morning before work and see what’s wrong.”

Susan was my age and used to live across the
street. She’d moved to Shore Lake, in the eleventh grade, which was
about twenty miles from Beaver Creek, but we’d remained good
friends. “That’s fine,” I answered, making a mental note to check
my gas situation.

“Cool.” She sighed. “I’m just so glad that
someone switched with me tonight. I really didn’t feel like working
three late shifts in a row.”

Susan was a waitress at Ruth’s Diner. I’d
only been there a handful of times, but the food was great and the
portions were monstrous. Needless to say, they were always busy.
“Hmm… I wonder if I should try and get a job there,” I said. “I
could really use the money. Maybe even a couple of hours a
week?”

“I could talk to Rosie,” she replied. “I’m
sure she’d hire you.”

“Wait, didn’t she just hire that girl,
Nikki, recently?” I asked, biting off a hang nail. “I suppose she’s
not looking for anyone else, if that’s the case.”

“She was hired during the summer, but I’m
telling you, we could still use the help. She’s always
short-staffed.”

“That would be really cool. I’d only need a
few hours a week and… we’d get to see each other more.”

“Exactly.”

So, what’s Nikki like?” I asked. “She
nice?”

“Very and her brother, Nathan, he’s kind of
a spaz but damn is he’s cute.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I didn’t know you had
a thing for her brother.”

“Actually, I forgot to mention it but we
went out a couple of times during the summer. It didn’t really go
anywhere. He works so many hours at that marina, across the street.
Anyway, I heard that he’s been hanging out with that girl,
Celeste.”

An image of a red-head with perfect skin, a
perfect smile, and a perfect body flashed through my head. From
what Susan had told me last year, she was also a perfect bitch.
“Isn’t her dad the town’s sheriff?”

“Yes. You know, he and Celeste are both kind
of weird. She’s actually friends with those guys who used to come
in at night and just stare at the other customers; creeping them
out. Remember, I told you about them? The guys who Amy had said
were vampires.”

I chuckled. “Vampires?”

“Don’t laugh,” she said,
sounding serious. “Amy’s ex, Ethan, was part of that group. God, he
freaked the
hell
out of me. I’m just happy that he hasn’t been coming around,
lately.”

“
I still can’t believe that
Amy killed herself.”

“Well, you know how I feel about all of
that,” she replied.

I did. Amy Kreger, had supposedly committed
suicide, but Susan, on the other hand, thought that Ethan had
something to do with it. “I know. Let’s hope that you’re wrong, and
that she really did just kill herself. Didn’t you go out with one
of Ethan’s friends?”

“Yeah, Drake. The guy from Australia.” She
sighed. “I still don’t know what happened to him. He just kind of
vanished, too.”

“Hmm… he didn’t call you or anything?”

“Nope.”

I’d never met Drake, but had heard about
what a hottie he’d been.

“Oh, and get this… before Ethan disappeared,
he started hitting on Nikki.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“What did she do?”

“Well, Nikki was seeing this other guy,
Duncan, and I think she blew off Ethan. They’re not together
anymore though, either.”

“Nikki and Duncan?”

“Right. She told me that they weren’t even
on speaking terms. You know, now that I think about it, their
breakup may have had something to do with Ethan.” She paused.
“Damn, I want to ask her, but I don’t want to look too nosy.”

I snorted. “Susan, admit
it, you
are
nosy
and it’s going to kill you if you don’t find out.”

She laughed.

“Just ask her. If she doesn’t want to tell
you, she won’t.”

“True. God, it’s like one big soap
opera.”

“Speaking of soap operas,” I said. “My
cousin Melody is missing.”

“What?!”

I reached into my dresser drawer and pulled
out a new pair of white socks. “Yeah, I guess she went to Club
Nightshade last night, to see some band play.”

“Ah… Venom. I’d heard that they were playing
last night.”

“Venom?” I’d never even heard of the
band.

“They’re from Europe, and are really getting
popular. That gal who owns Club Nightshade must have spent a
fortune to get those guys to play in Shore Lake. I’ll bet the
tickets were outrageous.”

“Huh,” I replied, pulling my socks on.
“Well, that’s who Melody went to go see last night. Nobody has
heard from her since.”