The House of Wood (11 page)

“They’re harmless, especially
Tim. He’s too dumb to be anything else.”

“And Justin?”

It was a good question, but
there was something in the tone of his voice that caught me off
guard. Of course Justin was okay. I'd spent the last two weeks with
him. I knew him better than anyone. I was about to give him the
full details on how Justin was in fact a nice guy.

“Hey Rach,” Chelsea called
over. “Justin and Tim have had a brilliant idea. Why don't the four
of us spend a night at the house they've been working on?”

“When?”

“Next weekend.”

“I’m not so sure, Chelsea. We
leave for Fort Kent on the Monday and I want to make sure I'm all
ready for that.”

“I know, but it'll be our last
weekend together as a group,” she said, giving me her sad puppy dog
eyes. “You've got to come, Rachel. It can be our last hurrah.”

“I don't know.”

“Pleaseeeee.”

“I’m with Rachel on this one. I
don't think you should be goin’ to the house and stayin’
overnight,” Nathan added, switching off the T.V. “Do you know how
many strange things go on up there? Pa says people go astray all
the time. He's got a bucket load of missin’ case files, all
connected to that house.”

“Butt out, Nathan. Who said you
were invited?” Chelsea glared at him. If looks could kill, he'd
have dropped down dead like a duck on a hunting trip.

“I’m only saying -“

“Well don't!” She turned her
attention back to me. “Are you comin’, or not?”

I looked from one to the other,
not really knowing which way to answer. Nathan's eyes implored me
not to say yes. Chelsea's said the opposite. All I could think
about was Justin. A whole night together before I left for
college.

“I guess it'll be okay.”

“Woohoo. I guarantee you won't
regret it.”

Chelsea turned her attention
back to the cell phone to tell the boys that we would be joining
them the following weekend. Her face had lit up when I said yes.
She was so excited. I knew I was in for a restless night, but
something at the back of my mind was telling me that it wouldn't
just be Chelsea keeping me awake.

“I can't believe you're going
to go up there with those cretins,” Nathan said, walking back
towards the window. “Didn’t you listen to a word I said? It's
seriously dangerous out there. Something is wrong with that place.
I mean,
really
wrong with that place.
Please tell me you'll change your mind?”

I'd forgotten he was there.
“I’m sorry, Nate, I've already said I’d go. And of course I listen
to you. Apart from Chelsea, you're my best friend.”

“Then don't go.”

There was something in his eyes
that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I didn't know whether it
was concern from a friend, or abject terror. It unnerved me a
little. But I wasn't one for breaking plans with friends.

“I’m sorry Nathan, I want to
go.” A thought struck me. “Why don't you come with us? I'd love it
if you did and I'm sure the others won't mind. What d’ya think?
It’ll be the last chance I get to spend any time with you before I
leave for college.”

He looked angry. “Screw it. If
you won't listen to me, then to hell with the lot of you.” He took
one last look at me before descending down the ladder. He gave me a
look I did recognise. Pain. “Have a nice life.” And with that he
was gone.

I wanted to go after him, to
tell him everything was going to be okay. That he was being
ridiculous. But I didn't. I just sat there, watching him slowly
fade away out of the window.

Chelsea came bounding up behind
me. “Won’t it be so awesome, just the four of us up at the
house?”

“I guess so,” I replied,
hearing the words, but not listening to what she was saying.

“You’ve got to be excited? I
know the house isn’t much, but you can have fun anywhere if you’re
with the right crowd. Don't you think so, Rach?”

“Hmm, sure.”

“And of course I'll fix you up
with Justin. That goes without saying.”

“Great. Thanks.”

“Oh my God, what’s wrong with
you?”

Her face looked as though I’d
slapped her.

“It’s nothing, just something
Nathan said. I'm not so sure it's a good idea to be up at that
house without anybody knowing where we are. What if something
happened to one of the boys? I can't drive and neither can
you.”

She looked at me, as if I was
mad. “That’s what cell phones were invented for, dummy.” Her face
softened, as she took me by the shoulders. “Forget about Nathan.
He's just cranky because he knows his Pa will kill him if he found
out. He doesn't want to be stuck down here, so he's trying to scare
you into not going. You trust me, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then stop worrying. Nothing is
going to happen out there all the time the guys are with us. It's
going to be a whole weekend of pure, unadulterated fun. It’ll all
work out perfectly.”

Chapter
Eleven

“It sounds like your friends
meant a lot to you,” David said, before taking the last bite of his
starter.”

“They did.”

Rachel’s mind was whirling with
all the memories that had come flowing back to her, as if out of
nowhere. Sights, smells, sounds, all things she thought she had
long buried, deep within the darkest corners of her mind. The
entire time, she hadn’t stopped playing with her napkin. David had
listened intently, not interrupting, or commenting.

He looked at her, his face
gentle and encouraging. “Tell me about your time at the house.”

Rachel’s fingers worked
furiously on the napkin beneath the table. “I don’t know if I can.”
She looked down. “Anyway, there’s nothing to tell.”

“Okay.”

They sat there for several
moments, a black void opening up between them. The tall waitress
came over with a colleague to remove the empty plates. The
restaurant still wasn’t too busy, but the atmosphere seemed charged
with anticipation.

The waitress informed them the
main course would be out shortly and asked if they would like more
drinks. David declined. Rachel ordered an Archers and Lemonade. She
hoped Becky’s night was less stressful.

Outside, the storm had begun to
pick up again.

***

Nathan stood in the howling
wind, his back leaning against the side of Logan’s bar. The vibrant
orange glow of a cigarette flickered in and out of life like an
awakening demon, as it sat shaking in his right hand. He raised it
to his lips and took a drag, the buzz from the nicotine filling his
senses. He exhaled the acrid smoke in to the damp night air. It had
stopped raining. Thank God for small mercies, he thought. There
wasn’t much else to thank Him for these days.

The argument with David earlier
in the evening had left a sour taste in his mouth. Who did that
jumped up prick think he was? Nathan thought. If he hurts a hair on
her head, I swear to God I’ll kill him.

A steady stream of patrons
flocked in and out of the bar, as Nathan flicked away the last
dregs of his cigarette. The rain hadn't seemed to put off the
hardcore drinkers of Willows Peak. Several of them nodded their
heads towards him in recognition. Their faces said it all. He may
be a deputy sheriff. But he was one of them.

The tip tapping of hurried
heels drew his attention down the street. The woman was dashing
towards him with an apologetic look on her face.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Becky
said, trying to catch her breath. “We had a bit of an emergency
back at the bed-and-breakfast.”

“Really? What kind of an
emergency?”

“Rachel had one of her panic
attacks in the hallway. She -“

“Oh my God, is she okay?”
Nathan asked. He looked frightened.

“Okay, calm down, she’s fine.
She’s gone on her date with Doctor Cochrane.”

“What were you thinking?”
Nathan was practically screaming now. “How could you let her go out
after a panic attack?”

“Now you just wait one damn
second. I tried to explain to her that I didn't think it was a good
idea, but Rachel’s a grown woman and I have no right telling her
what she can and can't do. And neither do you.” Becky turned to
walk away. “Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.”

Nathan gritted his teeth, took
a deep breath and calmed his mind.

“Becky, wait, I'm sorry.” He
jogged to catch up with her.

She spun on her heels. “Why
should I? You don't even know me.”

“Please, I've had a really
rough day.”

“Oh, and you think you can take
it out on me. Well that's okay then. Screw you, I'm out of
here.”

“No, wait, please.” He grabbed
hold of her arm. “That's not what I meant.”

She shot him a glance of anger.
He let go of her arm.

“Please can we just start over?
Let's go inside. I'd really like that.”

Becky nodded and allowed Nathan
to lead her back to the bar. He felt like such an idiot. It was
another example of how easily things got destroyed when it was left
up to him.

Inside was like any other
typical, honky-tonk bar. At the back end there were a couple of
pool tables and a small dance floor, with a few customers dancing
to some country music. At the front end, there were a dozen or so
tables, most of these taken up by the regulars drinking pints of
brown liquid. A bright neon jukebox sat in another corner,
mesmerising with its flashing lights. The main feature was the bar
itself, stretching across an entire length of wall. Above it sat a
yellow sign,
don't touch the women, but they can
touch whatever they want to
. Another one read,
leave your troubles at the door unless you want some in
here
. Dotted all around the walls were pictures of singers
and bands that had, at some time or other, played on a tiny stage
just off the dance floor.

Nathan could hardly see in the
subdued orange lights of the place, but his instincts allowed him
to navigate around the busy tables, avoiding any patrons that might
take offence to him bumping into them.

He and Becky sat down on the
stalls at the bar.

“Evening, Nate,” the brunette
barmaid said, giving him a flirtatious smile. She was old enough to
be his mother. Grey hairs were starting to surface through her dyed
curls. “What can I do for you and the little lady there?”

“Just a bud for me,
Gloria.”

“Takin’ it easy tonight huh,
deputy?”

“Something like that.”

Gloria laughed and turned to
Becky. “What’ll it be for you, hun?”

“A white wine for me
please.”

“Comin’ right up.”

Nathan's eyes followed Gloria's
backside, as she dashed off to get the drinks. He quickly covered
up the staring, as he remembered he was on a date. The two of them
sat there, waiting for her to come back with the drinks. It was
only a few seconds before she returned and then dashed off again to
serve some other customers.

Becky took a sip. “This place
is amazing. I didn't expect to find a bar like this in the middle
of Maine. I feel like I’m in Deep South.”

“Yeah, Gloria there’s from
Texas. Moved up here years ago, opened this place and been here
ever since. She's always telling people that she'll go back home
one day. She never does though.”

“Cool.”

They sat sipping at their
drinks for a few minutes. Nathan felt awkward. He could count on
one hand how many times he had been on a date in his lifetime. And
the last one of those had been years ago. Yet another thing he had
failed at.

“Do y -“

“I -“

They laughed as they realised
they had both been about to say something. Becky motioned for
Nathan to go first.

“Look, I'm really sorry about
earlier. Rachel’s a really good friend of mine and I hate to think
of her with problems. And I've had a really rough day. Not that
it's an excuse to take it out on you.”

“It’s okay, I understand.
Nothing about this last week has been easy, especially not for
Rachel. She’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

“I don't know about that,” he
replied, taking another swig of his beer. “I could say the same
about you.”

“I’m her roommate. It's part of
the code.”

They both laughed again. Nathan
could feel the tension in him start to ease away. This might turn
out to be a good evening after all, he thought, looking at the
pretty girl sitting in front of him.

The two of them sat chatting
for a short time, exchanging stories of their childhoods and the
past.

“And so when my Ma died, Rachel
was there for me. That's how we became close I guess.”

“That’s a sweet story,” Becky
said, drinking the last of her wine.

Nathan noticed she had run out
and nodded to the empty glass. “Fancy another?” he asked.

Becky nodded.

He ordered them more drinks.
“So,” he said, as they waited for Gloria to return. “How much do
you know about what went on here?”

“Not much, only that Rachel
went through something horrific. She never talks about it.”

“Nobody does,” Nathan replied,
handing over some money.

“I know what you mean. There's
something about this town that lurks beneath the surface. You can
see it in people's eyes. I guess a big tragedy like that would
leave a scar on a small community like this.”

“Damn straight.”

“What actually happened here,
Nate?”

He took a large gulp of the
frothy brown beer. His eyes darkened over for a second before he
looked back up at her. “Do you want to let me kick your ass at
pool?”

“Sure. But I'll be doing the
ass kicking.”

The unanswered question hung in
the air like a dead carcass. Neither one of them mentioned it as
they strolled off towards the pool tables.

***

Rachel hadn't realised she'd
been fiddling with the locket again. The silver chain felt heavy
around her neck. It had left stinging red marks along the white
skin where she had been pulling at it. She was beginning to wish
she had never thought of going on a date with a psychiatrist.
Somehow, he had managed to dredge up all these old emotions from
deep within her. Now they hung off her like dead leaves, wilting
and rotten. She didn’t want to remember. It was too painful.