Melissa L. Webb's Blog

Chapter Two

I had awoken to that sound -faint but persistent. At first, I didn’t know what it was. Maybe the wind. But, as I sat up in bed, the sound sharpened: scratch… scratch… drag.

It came from beneath the floorboards.

I blinked, disoriented, heart skipping a beat as my eyes adjusted to the dark. The glowing red digits of the alarm clock read 3:12 AM. The trailer was otherwise silent, save for what actual was the whisper of wind slipping through the cracks in the kitchen window’s rubber seal.

Scratch… pause… scrape.

That sound was deliberate. Not the skitter of mice. Not the settling groan of old wood. It reminded me of claws- long and dry- dragging across thin plywood. Or fingers. Bony, desperate fingers trying to burrow up from beneath the earth.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed as I shoved the sweat-soaked sheets aside. I took a deep breath, and the scratching stopped.

I froze, waiting. Only silence followed. I stood on shaky legs and headed to Jamie’s tiny room, silently swinging open the door with the fear only a mother could know.

His small form lay still under a bundle of superhero blankets, his chest rising and falling slowly. A soft amber nightlight glowed beside him, but it looked dimmer than it had the night before. Like something had leeched the warmth from it.

I sat down on the edge of Jamie’s bed and listened.

Nothing.

The scratching was still quiet.

I waited a minute longer. Then two.

Still nothing.

“Just an old trailer,” I whispered to myself, brushing a damp strand of hair from his forehead. “Just rats. Or… squirrels. Or something.”

But my pulse didn’t settle. The air inside the trailer felt heavier than it had the day before. Thicker. Like the oxygen carried a subtle weight, and every breath I took had to push through it.

I took a calming breath and forced myself to close his door. Everything was fine. It was an old place with creepy neighbors. What else could I expect? Except, I knew the dangers that could lurk around corners, causing mothers to flee with their children. And I also knew there would be no more sleep for me that morning.

I clicked the coffee maker to life and sat down at the musty brown booth, once again assuming my guard post, watching for the morning light to spill across my trailer’s dingy interior.

The trailer creaked with the settling cold, and the wind outside shook the trailer walls. “Just an old place settling,” I told myself. “Or maybe mice.”

But something deep in my chest remained unconvinced.

—

The next day passed in uneasy silence.

Jamie didn’t mention anything about the night before, but I noticed a distracted quality to him that unsettled me. He picked at his cereal, didn’t touch his coloring books, and kept glancing at the floor like he thought it might move.   

I tried to distract him with cartoons, then with a walk around the small, grassy park in the center of the trailer park, but nothing helped. Even when we passed Mrs. Dunn’s trailer and the older woman waved from the porch, Jamie stayed close to me, gripping my fingers until his knuckles paled.

That evening, as the sun sank behind the trees and the shadows stretched long across the gravel drive, I stood at the sink washing dishes. The water was lukewarm, the pipes groaning with every twist of the faucet.  

I looked up- and froze.

Outside, past the row of trailers, a shadow moved.

At first, I thought it was a person. Someone walking behind the lot, near the woods. But the way it moved- fast, jagged, with sudden halts and lurches- made my breath catch.

It was too tall to be an animal. But it was far too fast to be a human.

I shut off the faucet and leaned closer, my breath fogging the window. The glass reflected my own face, pale and ghostlike, floating above the sink. Beyond that, nothing but darkness and skeletal trees.

Still, I felt it- eyes on me. A presence at the edge of the woods. Waiting.

I flipped off the kitchen light and pressed my forehead to the glass, hoping to pierce the darkness.

A shape lingered near the tree line. Not quite visible, but there.

Watching.

Behind me, a sudden creak slit the silence.

I spun around.

A small figure stood in the hallway- Jamie. His head tilted upward, his eyes wide open but blank, mouth parted slightly. His hand hovered near the latch of the front door.

“Jamie?” I spoke.

He didn’t answer.

I stepped forward. “Jamie, baby, what are you doing?”

Still nothing.

I crouched beside him, placing both hands on his shoulders. His skin was clammy, cold.  

“You’re sleepwalking,” I whispered, trying to steady my voice. “Let’s go back to bed, okay?”

Slowly, he let me guide him down the hallway. His feet shuffled across the floor like he truly wasn’t awake- like something else was moving him.

When I tucked him back under the blankets, he didn’t protest. He closed his eyes and sank into the mattress.

As I turned to leave, he whispered:

“They want me to come play.”

—

The next day, I tried to forget it. Tried to pass it off as stress, exhaustion, anxiety. Jamie had sleepwalked before- a few years ago, when his father had started drinking. Maybe all the change had stirred that up again.

It didn’t have to mean there was something else going on here.

But something else was happening. I could feel it deep in my bones.

That afternoon, I was sweeping off the front porch when a trailer door opened across the lot. A man emerged slowly, hunched like a closing pocketknife, his joints stiff and reluctant.

I paused.

He wore a stained white undershirt, and jeans held up by twine. His skin was leathery and sun-damaged, the color of driftwood, and a cigarette dangled from his lips though it wasn’t lit. His eyes were cloudy with cataracts- yellowed, distant, and yet locked directly on me.

“You the new one?” he rasped.

I nodded warily. “Yeah. I’m Leah.” I motioned to my son who was pushing a metal car around on the wooded slats of the porch. “And this is Jamie.”

The man didn’t even glance at him. His eyes stayed fixed on me like he was watching something beneath my skin.

“You need to leave,” he said flatly.

I blinked. “What?”

‘’I seen it before. Too many times.” He took a slow drag of air through the unlit cigarette. “The ground here… it don’t forget. It remembers. When the season turns, it starts remembering hard.”

I furrowed my brow. “What season?”

The old man turned towards the trees at the edge of the lot. “You think it’s quiet here, but that’s just the land beathing in.” He paused. His lips twitched. “It will exhale soon.”

I wanted to ask more, but he’d already started hobbling back towards his trailer, door slamming shut behind him with a hollow bang.

Jamie looked up from his car. “He’s scared.”

“Of what?” I asked.

Jamie shrugged. “The man in his walls.”

—

The next morning, the old man was dead.

I was pouring cereal for Jamie when the sirens arrived- too quiet at first, then rising in volume until they filled the whole trailer park. I stepped outside to see an ambulance and coroner’s van idling in front of the old man’s trailer. A small knot of neighbors had gathered, whispers running through the crowd.

I joined them, clutching Jamie’s hand.

“Was it a fire?” someone murmured.

“No smoke,” said another. “Nothing at all.”

Two paramedics emerged from the trailer, a black body bag on a stretcher between them. I caught sight of Mrs. Dunn standing on her porch, face pinched, arms crossed tight over her chest as she watched the uniformed men with weary eyes.

One of the paramedics spoke softly to another man in uniform, who nodded grimly.

“Burned from the inside out,” the man had said under his breath. “No burns on the skin. Just… cooked.”

I felt my knees weaken.

They wheeled the stretcher to the van. As they passed, something in the air changed. A sudden gust of wind swept across the lot, strong enough to rattle the trailer doors.

And from the woods came a sound- it wasn’t the wind and not quite an animal.

A low, humming moan.

Jamie turned to look at the trees. His eyes were wide, not frightened, but curious. Like someone had just whispered his name.

I crouched down, grabbing his face between my hands. “Jamie, listen to me,” I said. “If you ever hear someone calling you from the woods… you don’t go. Not ever. Do you understand?”

He nodded slowly.

But when I looked back towards the trees, I swore I saw something.

A shape.

Fading into the trunks.

Watching.

Waiting.

—

That night, I barely slept at all. Every creak of the trailer, every gust of wind outside the window set my nerves on edge. I paced from room to room after Jamie fell asleep, checking locks, shining my flashlight under beds, inside closets, even down the thin crawlspace gap where the underbelly of the trailer lay exposed.    

 Nothing. No sign of rats. No sign of damage.

But around 3 am, the scratching started again.

This time it came from the walls.

Faint. Sporadic. Like something trapped in the thin insulation, working its way-out inch by inch. Not chewing. Not clawing.

Dragging.

I pressed my ear to the drywall. The sound was right behind it.

I stepped back, heart thudding so hard I thought it might actually wake Jamie.

Then a whisper.

Soft. So soft I wasn’t even really sure it had happened.

“Let him come out and play.”

I ran to Jamies room.

He was gone.

The bed was still warm. The nightlight was still glowing. But the blankets were pulled back and the door stood ajar.

Panic swallowed me whole.

I tore through the trailer- hallway, bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen- before throwing open the front door and sprinting barefoot across the gravel.

“Jamie!” I screamed.

I found him standing at the edge of the woods, barefoot in the dirt, eyes wide and fixed on the trees.

I grabbed him. “What are you doing out here?! Jamie, look at me!”

He blinked slowly, as if waking from a dream. “They were singing,” he whispered. “Under the dirt.”

I carried him back inside, shaking, locking every door I could.

And far off, behind the walls and under the floor, the scratching began again.

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Chapter One

The tires crunched across loose gravel as my rusty Corolla crept through the gates of Hollow Acres Trailer Park. It was barely evening, but the sky had already turned a burnt orange, the heat pressing down like a held breath. The car’s engine groaned, tired and overheated, as I rolled to a stop beneath a sagging wooden sign.

WELCOME TO HOLLOW ACRES- Affordable Living for All, it read, its paint sun-bleached and curling at the edges. One rusted chain held it aloft, the other dangled limp. Someone had once spray-painted a crude smiley face onto the sign’s corner. The paint had since bled, leaving behind a warped Rorschach stain that looked more like a scream.

I killed the engine and sat for a moment. The silence was total. No passing cars. No humming lights. Just the soft, dry rattle of cicadas starting their nightly song. My hand hovered at the ignition a moment longer, like I could still change my mind.  

In the backseat, my son, Jamie, unbuckled himself and scooted forward, his head resting against my shoulder as he peered out the windshield at our new surroundings. “This it?” he asked.    

 I swallowed. “Yeah,” I said, forcing cheer into my voice. “This is it.”

He didn’t reply. He hadn’t protested once since we’d left Atlanta two weeks ago in the dead of night, two duffle bags in hand and forty-three dollars in cash. He watched the city disappear through the rearview mirror with the same quiet solemnity he now stared at Hollow Acres.

Outside, trailers curved in a horseshoe formation, their frames rusted and crooked, like a mouth of old teeth. Some had saggy porches or broken latticework; other showed signs of life- weather-worn garden gnomes, plastic flamingos, or potted plants surviving out of spite. One had a swing set with a single dangling chain, flaky chunks of rust peeling madly.

A tall woman stood on the porch of the nearest trailer. Her grey hair was wound in a loose knot, and she wore a faded green nightgown and slippers. She waved as I stepped out of the car, the heat hitting me like an open oven. “That’s probably Mrs. Dunn,” I muttered.

Jamie climbed out slowly, dragging his battered backpack along the dirt. He looked past me towards the far end of the park, where a dense line of trees created a natural barrier. Their branched twisted skyward, skeletal in the fading light.

The woman made her way down from her porch, her slippers puffing up little clouds of dust. “You must be the Garners,” she said with a brittle smile. “Leah and little Jamie. You’re right on time.”

I forced a smile of my own. “That’s us. I hope we’re not to late- “

“Oh honey, you’re fine,” Mrs. Dunn said, grabbing my hand with fingers like dry twigs. “We don’t run on clocks around here. Hollow Acres is a good place. Quiet. Peaceful. Folks mind their business. That’s worth more than money these days.”

She bent slightly to peer at Jamie. “And how old are you, sugar?”

Jamie didn’t answer. His eyes remained lock on the tree line.

The old woman followed his gaze. “What are you looking at, sweetheart?”

Jamie tilted his head. “There’s someone under our trailer.”

I stiffened at the comment, my spine running cold.

Mrs. Dunn chuckled, a papery sound. “Kids and their stories. Trailer seven’s ready. Let’s go get the keys.”

—

Trailer seven wasn’t as bad as it looked on the outside. It was clean, if cramped- two rooms, a kitchenette, a peeling linoleum floor that creaked when you stepped on certain spots. The air conditioner was busted but a box fan buzzed weakly in the corner. A half-smoked cigarette sat in the kitchen sink like someone had left in a hurry and never came back.

“It’s…cozy,” I said, trying to stay positive.

“You’ll get used to it,” Mrs. Dunn replied, setting the keys on the counter. “No one really moves out of Hollow Acres. Not unless they must.”

I looked up, startled by her choice of words. “What do you mean?”

The old woman stayed quiet, already retreating for the door. “Dinner’s at six if you care to join us at the rec hall. Sometimes we play cards.” She gave Jamie one last look- something unreadable flickering across her eyes- then let herself out.

I sighed and opened our duffle bags, unpacking the few things we brought. Jamie had already kicked off his sneakers and sat cross-legged on the floor, humming softly to himself. I moved around him, hanging shirts on rusty hooks and toothbrushes in the battered bathroom cabinet.

When I passed Jamie again, he was whispering softly, a ghostly lilt I couldn’t understand at all.

I stopped, frowning down at him. “Hey, bud. What are you doing?”

He didn’t look up. “Talking.”

“Yeah? To who?”

He pointed to the narrow gap beneath the trailer’s warped floorboards.

I crouched beside him, trying not to let the unease crawl into my voice. “Who’s under there?”

He turned to me, his eyes wide. “He says it’s nicer here than it was before. He remembers you.”

I blinked, utterly bewildered. “Who remembers me?”

Jamie looked confused for a moment, like the answer had slipped just out of reach. Then he shrugged. “The man in the dirt.”

—

That night, after Jamie had fallen asleep in his little alcove bed, I laid in the larger bedroom, staring at the ceiling. The box fan coughed weakly, casting slow-moving shadows that warped as they shifted. Heat clung to my skin. Outside, the cicadas had given away to frogs, and farther off, a low croaking call rose from the woods.

I dozed for a while, slipping into a shallow, uneasy sleep. But sometime after midnight, I woke with a start.

Something had changed.

It wasn’t a sound exactly- more of a sensation. The subtle vibration of something brushing beneath the floor. Not a rodent. Not pipes.

A dragging.

I held my breathe and listened.

Scratch. Pause. Scratch-scratch.

It moved slowly, like fingers raking through the undercarriage. My heart pounded and my mind at once went to my son. I sat up, heart racing even faster, and tiptoed to Jamie’s room.

He was asleep as he should be, arm tucked under his pillow, breathing steadily. Then his lips moved.

I leaned closer.

He whispered, “He’s almost here.”

—

I didn’t sleep after that.

I sat at the kitchenette booth with a cold cup of coffee in my hand and watched the sun come up. Outside, the park looked deceptively normal. A dog barked from a few trailers down. Someone hosed off their porch. Mrs. Dunn waved to all from her usual perch like everything was fine.

Nothing was fine. My head hurt.

Jamie woke up groggy, but cheerful. He didn’t remember talking in his sleep. He didn’t remember the man in the dirt. When I asked him gently about it, he just shook his head.

“I was dreaming of dinosaurs.”

—

Later that afternoon, a knock rattled the screen door. I opened it to find a

woman in her late thirties with tired eyes and a toddler balanced on her hip.

“You must be the new folks,” the woman said. “I’m Tessa. Trailer four.”

“Leah. Nice to meet you.”

The toddler squirmed. Tessa adjusted her grip. “You planning on sticking around?”

I gave a noncommittal shrug. “That depends. Is this place as peaceful as advertised?”

Tessa barked a short laugh. “If peaceful means the power flickers during the full moon and something keeps digging holes behind the trailers, sure. Peaceful.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Digging holes?”

“Raccoons, supposedly.” Tessa shifted the child to her other hip. “But I’ve lived here six years. And I’ve never seen a raccoon dig symbols.

My stomach dropped, the cold coffee inside souring immediately. “Symbols?”

Tessa gave me a long look. “You’ll see. Or you won’t. Just keep your boy close.”

—

Night fell swiftly. Tessa’s words lingered in my mind, stirring restless thoughts. Symbols? This must be a prank, hazing the new resident. I probably looked like an easy target.

I grabbed a flashlight, telling Jamie to stay put, and went outside. The air was cool, carrying a hint of damp earth and pine. Shadows danced around me as I stepped carefully across the gravel path. The flashlight’s beam sliced through the darkness, revealing nothing but the ordinary. I leaned down shining the light in the space under the trailer.

Nothing greeted me- just loose dirt and insulation hanging from rusty floor joists. I sighed and leaned back up, feeling a little foolish. I was too jumpy for my own good, falling for any ghost story that came my way.

I supposed that came from going on the run from your ex. Looking over your shoulder, knowing trouble was always three steps behind you. I wasn’t excited for this life, wanted no part of it, but I did what I had to for my son.

I would always make that choice.

Yet, something still didn’t seem quite right. The night felt off and I couldn’t explain it. A pressure in the air, maybe. Like standing too close to a live wire.

Jamie was already asleep when I came back in, curled around a tattered stuffed lion. His face was peaceful once again.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, brushing his hair back from his face and wondered just how much trauma he’d swallow without ever speaking it aloud.

He stirred, murmuring softly, “He likes it here.”

My fingers froze in the locks of his hair. “Who, Jamie?”

He smiled faintly, even though his eyes stayed firmly shut. “The man with the wrong mouth.”

—

I finally fell asleep, after eons of tossing and turning, the fan’s whirring a gentle companion, and dreamed of roots.

They twisted through the bedroom walls, pulsing like veins, wrapping around my ankles and wrists until I couldn’t move. In the distance, someone was whispering -a voice I almost recognized. A lullaby in a language I didn’t know.

The roots tightened their grip, and the whispering grew louder, more insistent. I tried to call out, but my voice was lost in the suffocating tangle of roots. The lullaby morphed into a chant, its rhythm echoing through my mind like the beat of a drum.

Without warning, the roots released me, and I fell to the floor with a thud. As I looked up, I saw a figure standing in the doorway. It was the man with the wrong mouth, just as Jamie had described. His features were distorted, his mouth twisted into an unnerving, permanent grin.

He stepped closer, and I could feel the chill emanating from him. “You don’t belong here,” he said, his voice a discordant melody. “This is our home.”

I awoke with a start, tangled in a mess of sheets and sweat. The darkness was suffocating but I was aware of two things.

The fan was turned off.

And the scratching was back.

What do you guys think?

The next three days were the worst of my life. Grams was gone. The hospital staff worked on her as long as they could. Her heart wasn’t strong enough in the end. It couldn’t make itself beat anymore.

I stood there silently in the hallway, Katie gripping my hand as we watched through the glass wall. My world crumbled with every attempt of the paddles, my sorrow building in my chest as I watched her pale face and her closed eyes, knowing she was never coming back to me.

Katie cried softly as we stood there, but I couldn’t. I was too numb to do anything. The hospital staff tried to console us. They wanted to call someone to get us. Who could they call? My whole family was right here, one lifeless and cold, and the other suffering right along with me.

I couldn’t even tell you how we got home. I assumed Katie drove us home, but the night became a blur as I shut down the world around me, trying to soften the blow I’d taken.

I remember Katie looking at me with such sad eyes. I knew she was grieving as much as I was, yet felt guilty because Grams was my flesh and blood. Not hers.

“Do you want to talk?” she asked me. She was shaking as she leaned against the doorframe in the kitchen.

I shook my head as I silently grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. I knew she probably needed to talk. This wasn’t the first time she’d lost someone either. Unlike me, she had at least known her mother. She died when we were 14 from a blood clot in her brain. No one knew she was sick. Not even her.

I knew all of this was bringing back those old, buried emotions. The pain of losing someone suddenly and expectantly was something you could never make sense of. It would always be an injustice etched into your soul.

I hugged my best friend tightly before taking my bottle of water back to my room because that’s all I could manage at the moment. I needed time to let the numbness dissolve. I needed to feel again before I could talk.

“I’m so sorry, Emma,” she whispered through tears as she hugged me back.

“I am too,” I told her, retreating to my room. That was the safest place I could be at the moment. I needed to hide and wait for the tears to come.

They had come. Rivers poured from me as I thought about all I had lost. I was alone now, just like Grams feared. I couldn’t let myself think about the others things she’d said.

Those were only the dying fears of an old, sick woman. I had other things to focus on. Things that mattered a lot more.

I cocooned myself in my bed, sleeping and crying, crying and sleeping, with no thoughts of ever coming out again.

It was three days after Grams’ death when Katie finally knocked on my door. “Emma?” she called hesitantly. “I made breakfast.”

I peered out of my blanket, squinting in the sunlight streaming through my bedroom window. I opened my mouth to tell her I didn’t want anything when my stomach growled in protest. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea after all. It had been three days since I’d eating anything.

I hadn’t even gotten a chance to eat during the date with Tyler. The world imploded as soon as the waiter brought our food and it hadn’t gotten better yet.

The door opened with a soft click and Katie stuck her head in. “I’m sorry, Emma. I know you wanted to be left alone, but you need to eat. I won’t have you wasting away in here all alone.” She sat down on the edge of my bed, her eyes red with sadness. “Grams’ funeral is today. You need to eat and get ready.”

I looked at her, surprised by her words. “What do mean it’s today? It’s only been three days. How in the world did you put it together?” I felt like the biggest failure ever. I’d locked myself away, indulging in a pity party, while my best friend planned and paid for a funeral for my own flesh and blood.

Panic pulled me out of bed. “I’m sorry, Katie. I messed up. I’ll pay back every dime,” I told her, frantically searching through my closet for something decent to wear.

“I didn’t do it,” she told me, standing up from the bed. “Grams’ lawyer called last night. Everything’s already been planned.”

I stopped, clothes falling off hangers around me. “Grams had a lawyer?”

“It would seem so. She planned everything in advance, Em. Grams has taken care of everything for us.”

I stood there in shock, feeling like I’d missed some punchline. Gram’s wasn’t the type to have a lawyer. We didn’t have that kind of money. “You’re kidding.”

“No. Everything’s done. We’re just supposed to show up.”

I stood there, feeling like my world was crumbling for the second time. I didn’t understand what this meant. I knew everything about my grandmother. We didn’t keep secrets from each other. At least, I hadn’t thought we did. Now, I didn’t know what to think. She’d been keeping something huge from me.

Did I even really know my Grams at all.

“She knew she was sick,” I said softly, not wanting to really believe it.

“I think she did,” Katie said, confirming the worst. “I’m so sorry.” She crossed the room and pulled me in her arm, the tears coming instantly from both of us.

Okay, so my grandmother had been sick for a while. She knew and refused to tell us. She’d gotten a lawyer and paid for a funeral in advance. How was any of this possible? Had I been so self-absorb lately that I couldn’t see what was going on right under my nose?

Katie let go of me and stepped back, wiping her eyes. “I’m going to set the table. Go take a quick shower. You smell terrible.”

A laugh escaped my lips. She always knew what to say. “Thanks, Katie. That was awfully sweet.”

She smiled. “I know it was. And…you’re welcome.”

I headed into the bathroom for the quickest shower ever. The warm water made me feel a little more human as it flowed over my body. I’d done enough wallowing. It was time to put on my game face and get back to living life. Grams was dead. I wasn’t.

When I was done, I headed into the kitchen with my tail tucked between my legs. I owed Katie an apology. I’d disappeared into my cocoon of avoidance and left her all alone.

Katie flitted around the kitchen, staying busy as she sat plates of food on the table. She had never been one to wallow. When the going got tough, she bounced around like there was no tomorrow. I could tell she’d cleaned everything within an inch of its life. She got busy and I got pathetic.

That was the story of our lives.

She offered me a mug of steaming coffee and it was all I could do to keep myself from pouring it straight down my throat. Instead, I sat it down on the counter and looked my best friend in the eyes. “I’m sorry for hiding for so long.”

She shook her head. “Are you kidding me? The world owes you more than three days, Em. I wouldn’t have bothered you if Grams’ funeral wasn’t today. I’m sorry.” She looked at me with sad eyes. “I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. She was your flesh and blood.”

“No, Katie. She was your grandmother, too,” I said, wrapping her in a hug. “Blood doesn’t make family. Actions do.”

Katie wept into my shoulder as I tried to keep my tears in check. Hadn’t I cried enough?

She let go of me. “You’re not alone, Emma. No matter what Grams was afraid of, you will never be alone. I will always be your family. And if I’m not enough, we can always get a dog,” she said, a half-hearted grin gracing her lips.

I sighed as I picked up my coffee, bringing the sweet nectar to my lips. Was that what my life had come to? Did the only snuggling I had to look forward to come in canine form?

I couldn’t really be destined to be alone, could I?

We got ready quickly, heading out in a silence thick enough to smother. It was all I could do to hold back the tears as the thoughts bounced around in my overloaded mind. Was I really on my way to say goodbye to my grandmother for the last time? How did a person face something like that?

I felt like the sun had been ripped out of the sky and the air had turned to liquid. This wasn’t the same world it had been three days ago. This wasn’t a world I wanted to face anymore.

My constant was gone. No amount of tears would ever bring her back.

The funeral was held in an old, stone church on the outskirts of our town. It wasn’t the biggest or most attended church in Misty Stone, but it was the one my grandmother loved the most. I wasn’t surprised in the least to find myself seated in the front pew of Misty Stone Community Church.

Grams had never been a religious person, but she was deeply spiritual. She needed some place that nurtured personal beliefs, yet offered the chance to explore those beliefs with others. That’s what she loved most about the place, it put community before preachiness. She attended services every week without fail. It was her second favorite place to socialize, right behind the book club.

Katie and I wept silently through the service. Grams’ mysterious lawyer had indeed taken care of everything. Nothing was expected of us at all except to mourn.

I watched the familiar faces around me as sadness shone in their eyes as they watched the closed casket at the front of the room. I wasn’t the only one who lost her. These people had as well. She meant so much to so many. How could the world take someone like that?

After the service, we made our way outside and into the large graveyard that stretched out behind the church. We had a few minutes before the burial and I wiped at my eyes as I slowed, letting the others pass me.

This was it. I was really saying goodbye to Grams. She’d be in the ground and I would be an orphan once again.

Katie stayed back with me, silently watching me through her own tears. “It was a very beautiful service,” she said finally. “Grams would have loved it.”

I chuckled despite myself. “Of course, she would. I think she planned every detail of it.”

She nodded, laughing with me. “I think your right.”

That was Grams for you. She had to be in control of everything. Even after she was gone.

“Emma,” a man spoke softly behind me.

I turned around, smiling sadly at the man who had tried desperately to woo my grandmother. “Hi, Fred,” I said, wrapping my arms around him. “How are you?”

He shook his head as he let go of me. “I still can’t believe it. She’s gone.” He dabbed at his eyes as he hugged Katie. “How are you girls doing?”

“About the same as you, Fred,” Katie told him. “It feels so surreal. Like I could wake up any moment and find this to be nothing but a terrible nightmare.”

I felt the same. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. This had to be a nightmare I was stuck in. I watched the men in the distance as they carried my grandmother’s casket to her final resting place. We couldn’t put this off any longer. “They’re almost ready,” I said softly as I started walking again. “We better join them.”

The others fell into step next to me.

“I want you to know, Emma,” Fred said as we walked, “I loved your grandmother very much.”

I looked over at the man who’d been around since I’d been in high school. He’d been a big part of Grams’ life. I knew how deep his affection for her had run, but she seemed oblivious to them. Either that or she’d never really been interested in being anything other than great friends.

“I know, Fred,” I told him, sympathy coating my face. “I know you’ve always loved Grams. I’m grateful for that.”

“I asked her to marry me several times,” he said, his head hanging slightly. “She’d only tell me not to be silly. She thought she was too old to settle down. I think she really didn’t want to leave you two.”

I looked at him in shock. Had Fred really asked her to marry him? But she turned him down. Because of me. I’d been holding her back. I’d ruined Grams’ love life as well.

We joined the other in silence as they started to lower the casket into the ground. Dirt was thrown on top and I dropped the single yellow rose I had in my hand down onto it. It felt inadequate to what she meant to me, though.

How could a single rose sum up everything I had lost? She’d given me a home and a life when fate had stripped me of those things. She’d taken in my best friend when she needed it as well. Grams had been the kindest, most giving person in the whole world.

The rose wasn’t enough.

Nothing would ever be enough.

I stepped back as the tears streamed down my face as I watched the sorrow that shown so plainly around me.

What would we do with our lives now?

“I’m so sorry for your loss, Miss Ross,” a voice spoke from beside me. “Your grandmother was a wonderful lady.”

I turned. An older gentleman stood there, genuine sadness clinging to his eyes as he stared at me. “Thank you,” I said, trying to remember if I’d met him before. Nothing came to mind. Did Grams have a suitor I didn’t know about? Poor Fred. “I’m sorry. My mind is a jumbled mess right now. Have we met?”

He shook his head. “No. Forgive me, Ms. Ross. I should have introduced myself sooner.” He held his hand out to me. “I’m Graham Ashford. I’m your grandmother’s lawyer.”

“Oh,” I said as those words hit home. He was the only reason we were all here right now, celebrating Grams’ life. It only made me feel guiltier to look him in the eye. “Thank you for this, Mr. Ashford,” I said, motioning to my grandmother’s grave. “The service was beautiful. Grams would have loved it.”

He nodded as his eyes drifted to the ground. “Regina planned everything, Ms. Ross. She knew what she wanted and she took care of it in advance. She didn’t want any of the responsibility to fall on you.”

So many questions swirled through my mind. When did she plan this? Where did she get the money? Why did she even need a lawyer in the first place? The one that came out was the one I dreaded the most. “How long had Grams been sick?”

He frowned as his eyes once again found mine. “She knew of her heart condition for several years. It had only recently begun to get worse, though.”

Katie approached slowly, those words, no doubt, troubling her as well. “Why didn’t she say anything?”

He turned to her. “She didn’t want to trouble the time you two had left with her, Ms. Reid.”

I shook my head. It was a noble thought, but things could have been so much different if I had only known. I wouldn’t have taken her for granted. “She should have told us.”

“I agree,” Mr. Ashford said. “I advised her several times to talk to you, but…your grandmother was very much her own woman. She did things in her own time, in her own way.”

That was the understatement of the century.

“There is some business we need to discuss,” my grandmother’s lawyer said before letting his eyes drift over the gravestones to Grams’ final resting spot. “Now’s not the time or place, though. Would it be possible to meet later to discuss things over coffee?”

“Oh, of course, Mr. Ashford,” I told him quickly. I had no idea what business we could possibly have with him. I hope it didn’t have anything to do with owed money. I know he said Grams didn’t want any reasonability left on me, but she was my grandmother. I didn’t expect some stranger to take care of everything for me.

“Great,” he said, a real smile on his face. “And, please, call me Graham. Your grandmother was a dear friend and I hope that will extend to her family as well.” He placed a comforting hand on my arm. “Regina loved you very much, Emma. You were her whole world. Hold on to that fact.” With a nod, he stepped away. “I’ll have my secretary call you with a time and place.” He turned and walked slowly away, back through the path lined with gravestones to the church parking lot.

We stood there, staring after him. My mind swirled with questions. “What other business do you think he has with us?” I asked Katie, still fearing he’d want money I didn’t have.

She looked over at me, a puzzled look in her own eyes. “I guess Grams was way more mysterious than we thought.”

Yeah, between curses and lawyers, Grams definitely had a side I didn’t know about.

© 2021 Melissa L. Webb

Cassie sat on a bench outside the school and watched the ambulance pull away. The lights flashed as it rushed out of the parking lot, taking all the school spirit with it.

All around her people stood in groups, their faces ashen with the thoughts of death that possible haunted the halls of Madison High. The teachers huddled around the principle in the parking lot, trying to make some sense of the tragedy.

Cassie wiped a tear from her eye. She’d never seen anything like that before, and she didn’t think she could ever scrub it from her mind. She kept seeing Tyler flop against the floor. Again and again, his body would do the same horrific dance through her memory. She shivered, trying to get the image to go. She’d lose her sanity if she had to keep seeing it.

“Cassie?” a voice spoke softly next to her.

She looked up and found a red-eyed Sam staring at her. “Is he okay?”

Sam shook her head as she sat down. “The guys told me that he’s slipped into some kind of coma, but no one knows what that’ll mean,” she told her as she wiped her eyes. She looked over at her, an imploring look in her eyes. “What happened, Cass?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. He fell asleep in class, then woke up screaming. After that, he went into a seizure.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Sam said as she watched the people around her. “Tyler’s in his prime. This shouldn’t have happened.” She was quiet for a moment. “They’ve cancelled the pep rally…and the game. They’re sending us all home. No one feels like being here anyway.”

“I can’t say I blame them,” Cassie said, looking over her shoulder at the school. “I don’t know if I’ll ever want to set foot in that classroom again.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Sam offered

With one final look back at the school, Cassie nodded, following Sam to the car.

***

The girls sat at Cassie’s kitchen table, neither one saying anything. The day’s tragedy weighed too heavily on their minds. It was all they could think about.

Cassie leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She felt drained as if she was a battery that been used up and discarded. She was worried that she was headed for a breaking point if she couldn’t find a way to recharge. Maybe a long hot bath would help ease her mind a little. At least it would give her a break before the night came.

She cringed at the thought of sleep. She could only imagine what people’s dreams would be like after what happened to Tyler. There was no way she would get rest now. She’d be lucky if she wasn’t yanked to every house in town.

The front door opened, pulling the girls from their thoughts. Cassie looked over at the clock. The day had passed away, disappearing silently as they had sat and worried. The night loomed in front of her, offering more grief in its wake.

“Cassandra?” her mother called as she shut the front door.

“In here, Mom,” she said as her mother hurried into the kitchen.

“I heard what happened at school,” Ms. O’Bryan said as she sat her purse down on the counter. “Are you okay, Samantha? I know since he’s on the football team, he must be a friend of yours.”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, he is, but it’s not me you should worry about. Cassie was there. She saw it happen.”

She looked over at her daughter, surprise in her eyes. “You were there?”

Cassie nodded weakly, not meeting her mother’s gaze. “Yeah, I was.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” she spoke, crossing the room to her daughter’s side. “Are you okay? Do you need to talk about it?” She pulled her daughter into her arms. “That must have been horrible to watch. Do you need to talk about it?”

Cassie squirmed against her mother, freeing herself from her arms. “Mom, I’m fine.”

Her mother eyed her, the worry plain on her face. “Cassandra, you need to work through something like this. You can’t just bottle it away.”

“I’m not bottling it away. I’m okay.”

Her mom sighed. “If you wanted to talk to someone who isn’t me, we could arrange that,” she told her.

“I’m fine,” Cassie told her again. “I’m dealing with it. I don’t need help.”

Ms. O’Bryan looked at her one last time. “Okay, fine. Have it your way,” she told her as she headed for the back stairs. “I’m going to change and then start dinner.” She turned, looking at Sam. “Would you like to stay for dinner, dear?”

“That would be great, Ms. O’Bryan. My dad won’t be home until later and I really don’t feel like being alone right now.”

“I can’t say I blame you,” she told her before heading up the stairs.

Cassie watched her mother go. When she was out of sight, she leaned over and kicked Sam lightly in the knee.

“Hey,” Sam cried, rubbing her knee. “What was that for?”

“Why did you tell my mom I was there? I was planning to keep that information from her.” She shook her head. “Now she’s really convinced I need help.”

“Well, would talking to someone really be such a bad idea, Cass?”

“I’m okay.”

Sam leaned forward and looked her in the eye. “Something’s been going on in that head of yours lately,” she spoke softly. “You’re more stressed than usual.”

“I haven’t been sleeping well, that’s all,” she told her. “It’s not a big deal. Really.”

Sam sighed, hearing the tension in her words. “You should at least see a doctor. Have them give you some sleeping pills or something?”

Cassie looked at her best friend curiously. Sleeping pills? Why hadn’t she thought of that before? That might be the answer she’d been waiting for. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” she told her. “We have way too many other things to worry about right now.”

“Agreed.”

Sam stood up and started to stretch when her cell phone rang. She answered it quickly. “Hello?” She held her phone to her ear, listening intently. “Okay, thanks for letting me know, Mike,” she spoke after a few minutes. “Keep me informed. Bye.” She sat her phone down and stared at Cassie.

She waited patiently, letting Sam work out what she wanted to tell her.

“That was Mike. He and Riley are at the hospital. Tyler’s parents just got done talking to them,” she told her, sitting back down.

“What did they say?”

“Tyler’s stable, but he’s in a coma. The doctors don’t know why. They can’t find anything wrong with him.”

Cassie looked at her friend. “It’s good there’s nothing wrong with him, right?”

Sam shrugged. “If they can’t find what cause it, then they can’t say it won’t happen again.”

Cassie shivered at that thought. The image of Tyler’s shaking body flooded through her mind once more.

Sam saw the shiver. “Let’s go watch a movie or something. Anything to take our minds off this,” she said, rising from her chair.

Cassie nodded absently, joining her. She tried to shake the image of Tyler from her mind as she did, but it stuck to it like flypaper. This was going to be a long weekend. She had no idea what caused the seizure, but one thought kept pushing itself to the front of her thoughts: Tyler had been asleep when it happened.

© 2021 Melissa L. Webb

Cassie leaned back in her chair and yawned as the History teacher rambled on about some battle or something. She couldn’t concentrate on anything that trivial right now. She was so tired. The last few nights were the hardest yet. People all over town needed her nocturnal guidance for some reason.

Usually, she only slipped into one or two dreams a night, but lately, it seemed like anytime she closed her eyes, she was whisked away. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up. She needed rest and she didn’t know how to get it.

She yawned again, shifting at her desk. The day couldn’t go by fast enough. She needed to get back to searching for an answer to what was happening to her.

The teacher stopped and looked at her. “Am I boring you, Miss O’Bryan?”

Cassie sat up straight as her cheeks reddened. “No, Mr. Rice. I’m just a little tired,” she replied quickly.

“It looks like Cassie’s not the only one, Mr. Rice,” a student called from the back of the room. “Tyler’s sound asleep.”

The class snickered around him.

The teacher sighed. “Somebody wake him up before he drools all over his desk.”

Cassie watched as one of his teammates nudge him with his foot. “Come on, Tyler. Rise and shine,” he called loudly.

Tyler moved but didn’t wake up.

Mr. Rice impatiently walked over to Tyler’s desk. “Wake up, Mr. Reynolds,” the teacher said as he slammed his textbook on the desktop.

Tyler’s body twitched in his seat. His eyes opened wide as a blood-curdling scream left his lips. It filled the room, bringing everyone to a complete stop. They watched in shock as the scream rolled on and on.

“Tyler?” Mr. Rice asked as he peered into his face.

Tyler’s eyes rolled up in his head as his body jerked violently. He danced liked a puppet on strings before pitching sideways from his chair onto the ground.

The students closest to him jumped back as his body convulsed. He legs kick out, knocking his desk over. White foam poured from his lips. It ran down his chin, puddling below his head.

“Tyler, hang on,” Mr. Rice spoke as he knelt. He fumbled with his belt as he frantically looked around the room. “Someone get the nurse,” he said, pulling his belt free.

No one moved.

Everyone was too shocked to move.

“Now!” Mr. Rice snapped.

That broke the spell that had weaved itself around the room. A couple of Tyler’s teammates went running out as someone started weeping.

Cassie backed up as she watched Mr. Rice shove the belt between Tyler’s teeth. Tears formed in her eyes as the teacher held him down, stopping his body from doing any more damage.

She couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t be happening, she thought as she watched the scene play out around her in slow motion. She’d known Tyler since kindergarten. Sure, he was a wise-cracking jerk most of the time, but he was a part of life here at Madison High.

Fear rose in her chest as she watched the foam turn red. It flowed from his mouth, while his body continued to convulse against the floor.

This couldn’t be real. Was she really going to have to stand here and watch Tyler play out his last death throes?

© 2021 Melissa L. Webb

I paced the waiting room, the tile floor cold under my bare feet, and my tasteless cup of coffee lukewarm in my hands. My mind didn’t care about those things. Only one thing mattered. Was I about to lose the woman who raised me?

I couldn’t handle that. She was the only true family I had left. She was the only family I could remember at all. She’d taken me in as a baby after my parents were killed in a car crash and raised me as her own. She was my rock, my shelter, and I couldn’t imagine living without her.

“Calm down, Em,” Katie told me, fidgeting in one of those horrible hardback chairs. “Everything will be fine.”

I spun, my coffee sloshing angrily around me. “How do you know that? You don’t. You can’t guarantee that.”

“I know,” she replied helplessly. “It’s just what people say at a time like this.”

“Yeah,” I said, sitting down next to her, my anger gone as quickly as it came. I felt helpless, too, and I didn’t know what to do about it. “I’m going to lose her, Katie.”

My grandmother was only in her sixties. That was way too young to worry about a heart attack, right? She was active, healthy, did everything the doctor told her, yet, here we were, waiting in the emergency room, desperately hoping that things would be all right.

“What happened?” I asked again for the millionth time.

My best friend sighed. “She was at her book club and collapsed. Your grandmother’s would-be boyfriend didn’t have either of our cell phone numbers so he called the house phone.”

“It was a good thing you were home,” I said, feeling even guiltier for being out on a date. This was just another nail in the coffin to my love life. Nothing good ever happened when I dated and now the luck had finally taken a turn for the worse.

“I only stopped by to change clothes. I had plans with Tad.”

I looked at her. My luck was affecting her love life as well. “I’m sorry. Can you still catch him?”

Katie shook her head, her perfect blonde curls bouncing gently. “I’d rather be here. Your grandmother raised me as much as she did you. Even gave me a place to live after Ted and I split up. She’s family and I need to be here for her.”

“Tad’s your family, too,” I said, gently reminding her of that fact. It had been almost a year since the breakup and they were finally on social terms. I didn’t want anything to get in the way of that. I knew how much Katie loved him.

“Ex-husbands aren’t family, Em,” she said with a frown. “Especially when they’re the ones who asked for the divorce.”

I latched onto the conversation, desperate for something that would take my mind off my grandmother. “Then why were you going out with him tonight?”

She shrugged. “He said he wanted to meet for drinks and I didn’t have anything better to do. I figure, why not?”

“Do you think he wants to get back together? He has been talking to you a lot more lately.”

“Who knows? I’m not really sure how I feel about it anyway. I’m finally getting over the heartbreak, you know? I don’t know if I’m ready to risk the pain all over again.”

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. Tad and Katie were high school sweethearts. What hope did I have if someone like them couldn’t find their happy ending? “But he was your true love.”

“No. He was my first love. We got married way too young, Emma. I’m only 30. I need to broaden my horizon.” She looked over at me. “So do you.”

Yeah, sure, that was the problem. “It wouldn’t matter how far I broaden my horizons. Bad luck will always find me. I’m terminally single. It’s safer for everyone that way.”

Katie laughed, shaking her head. “It’s not that bad, Em. Really.”

I chewed on my lip, knowing that wasn’t true. I hadn’t told her about my date yet. “I totaled Tyler’s car. I managed this while it was parked in the parking lot.”

Katie’s eyes were huge. “You’re kidding. Totaled?”

“Totaled.”

“That has to be a coincidence,” my best friend told me, sounding not at all convinced. We’d grown up together after all. She knew the kind of things that happened when I dated whether she wanted to admit it or not. “I’m sure it had nothing to do with your luck.”

“A drunk driver hit the car after Tyler spilled his champagne, knocked out a waiter, and set a fellow customer on fire with the man’s dinner. You tell me.”

“Oh, Emma,” Katie said, worry in her green eyes. “What are we going to do with you?”

The doors leading back to the emergency room opened and a guy in scrubs stepped out. He hurried over to us. “Ms. Ross,” he said, looking down at me. “Your grandmother is stable at the moment. She’s asking for you. As soon as we get her set up in a room you both can go back and see her. If you want to wait in the ICU’s waiting room they’ll send someone out when she’s ready.”

“Thank you,” I told him, grateful for the hospitality. “Will she be okay?”

He frowned. “Her heart stopped twice in there, Ms. Ross. She’s doing okay right now. Let’s hope she continues to.” He turned around and headed away from us, no doubt eager to be free from the panic in my eyes at those words.

I might lose her after all.

***

We sat in the tiny, private waiting room for almost an hour. Each minute that crept by raised the level of fear in my chest. What was taking so long? Couldn’t they roll her to a room and get on with it?

“Something must have happened,” I said, willing someone to come through the door.

Katie’s eyes drifted from the TV to me. I could tell she was tired of hearing that. “They’re getting her settled, that’s all. You need to give them time to do their job.”

I harrumphed, crossing my arms as I leaned back in the chair. She was right, of course, but I didn’t want to let go of my anger. It was my shield and I needed to stay focused on it before I went completely insane.

“It’s going to be okay, Emma,” Katie told me again. “Grams is a strong woman. She’s too feisty to leave this world yet.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. It was true. When Grams set her mind to something, she would move the heavens to see it done. She’d once glued wings to a cat just because a kid at school told me there was no such thing as magical creatures.

Okay, my grandma was a bit kooky, too, but she taught me anything was possible if you believed it enough. That’s what I needed to focus on. My grandmother would find a way to stay out of Death’s reach if she wanted to.

The door opened and a nurse came in. “Your grandmother would like to see you,” she said with a smile. She glanced over at Katie. “Both of you.”

We bounced out of our chairs and through the ICU doors as soon as we knew where we were going. Grams was awake and asking for us. That was the best news in the world. Hope swelled in my chest, maybe things weren’t quite as bad as they seemed.

We hurried down the hallway as machines beeped around us. Beeping was good. It meant patients were alive.

I let that thought soothe me as we stopped in front of the glass door of my grandmother’s room. She was sitting up in bed, her ear to her cell phone.

“Grams,” I said, tears of joy flooding my eyes. She was okay. They were even letting her use the phone. Things were good.

We hurried through the door, crowding around her bed in relief.

“Grams, are you okay?”

“I’ve got to go,” she spoke hurriedly into the phone. “My girls are here.” She hung up the phone, smiling at us. “Emma. Katie. I’m so sorry I put you through this.”

I plopped down on the edge of her bed and scooped up her hand. My eyes searched her face looking for reassurance that she was fine. “No. Don’t worry about us, Grams. How are you feeling?”

She squeezed my hand. “Oh, I’m a tough old bird, Emma. You know that. There’s not much I can’t handle.”

Katie settled into the chair next to the bed. “You really caused a commotion at book club tonight, Grams. What’s the matter? Fred wasn’t giving you enough attention?” she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Weariness flashed in Grams’ eyes. “Oh, that poor, dear man,” she said, her lower lip quivering slightly.

“It’s okay, Grams,” I said, squeezing her hand. “We’ll let him know you’re okay. You don’t need to worry about anyone else right now.”

“I am worried, Emma. I’m worried about you.”

I frowned, trying to figure out what I’d done to deserve her worry this time. I couldn’t think of anything. “I’m fine, Grams. I’m a little shook up, but I’ll be as good as new once you’re out of here.”

“My sweet, sweet Emma. I tried to raise you the best I could. I was heartbroken when your parents died and taking in a baby at the time was difficult. You should have had a mom and dad, not some old lady fretting over you all the time.”

My eyes grew moist. “It’s okay. I loved every minute I’ve spent with you. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.”

She shook her head. “No. Katie and I are all you’ve ever had. You’ve had such a lonely life,” she cried, tears sliding down her cheeks. “You’ll never have a man in your life. There won’t be anyone to take care of you when I’m gone.”

Wait, was this the 15th century? I didn’t need someone to take care of me. How did this become about my love life anyway? “Everything’s going to be okay, Grams.”

“No, it’s not,” she insisted, shuddering under a sob.

I held her hand tighter, at a loss for words. My grandmother was the strongest person I knew. I couldn’t even remember seeing her cry before. Those tears turned my blood to ice.

Her heart attack rattled her to the core.

“I’ve been such a selfish person, Emma. I’m so sorry. You’re going to spend the rest of your life alone because of it.”

I exchanged puzzled looks with Katie. What on Earth was she talking about?

“Emma’s going through a rough patch with men right now, Grams,” Katie told her reassuringly. “It’s nothing to worry about. When it’s time for her to find the right guy, she will.”

“No, she won’t,” Grams said, a fat tear rolling down her cheek. “Not unless I fix it.”

I chewed my lip. Maybe Grams wasn’t as okay as I thought she was. She wasn’t making any sense at all. “No, Grams. You don’t need to fix anything. You only need to get better.”

“You’re not listening to me,” she shouted, leaning forward. Her monitors beeped as her blood pressure spiked.

“Grams!” I said, staring at the machine. “You need to lie back down. We can figure this out later.” I pushed her down, hoping she hadn’t done anything serious.

A nurse came in and pushed a button on the monitor. “Now, Regina, we talked about this. If having your family here is too much for you, they’ll have to leave. You need to be resting.”

Grams settled back on her pillow, a hand resting on her chest. “No, I’m fine,” she said, giving the nurse a weak smile. “It will only be a little while longer. I promise.”

The nurse nodded. “I’ll be back in ten minutes,” she said, shaking a finger at us. “No more partying in here. Okay?”

We nodded as she walked out. If only we were in the mood to party.

I sat back down on the edge of the bed, taking in my grandmother’s pale, tear-streaked face. This was all wrong. We shouldn’t be here. We should be home, Grams humming in the kitchen as she baked her famous pumpkin spice cookies. She shouldn’t be in a hospital bed, looking like death warmed over.

“Can we get you anything, Grams?” I asked, feeling helpless. “Can we do anything for you?”

My grandmother sighed, closing her eyes. “You could listen to me for a moment. I need to tell you something. I’ve been carrying this for 18 years.”

The seriousness in her eyes scared me. Why did she feel the need to confess something? My grandmother was the best person I’d ever known. What guilt could she possibly harbor in her soul?

“What is it, Grams?” I said, leaning forward. She had my full attention and I wanted her to know it. If this was important enough for her to be worried about it right now, then I owed it to her to hear her out. “What have you been carrying for 18 years?”

“I didn’t want to be alone, Emma. The only family I had, besides you, died in that car accident. Ever since that day, I’ve had you by my side. I didn’t want that to change.”

“That’s not changing, Grams. I’m not going anywhere.”

She sighed. “You would have if you got married. That’s what I was worried about.”

I frowned, still not sure what she was getting at. “It’s okay. It’s not selfish for you to worry about me getting married and leaving you.”

“I’m sure everyone who raises a child feels that way, Grams,” Katie told her, trying to lessen my grandmother’s guilt.

“No. I didn’t just worry. I did something about it.”

I stared at my grandmother. What did she mean? “What did you do, Grams?”

What could she have done? It wasn’t like she’d chased my would-be suitors away or anything. My luck took care of that all by itself.

“I did the unspeakable,” she said, tears starting anew. “Something no grandmother should ever do.”

She was serious. Whatever she thought she’d done to my love life was tearing her apart.

I took her hand. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. I’ll understand.”

She shook her head miserably. “No, you won’t. Nobody could understand what I’ve done.”

“What did you do?”

“I…,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I had you cursed.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. The laughter just flowed out of me. That was the silliest thing I’d ever heard. My grandmother was still trying to make me laugh even in a hospital bed.

“That was a good one, Grams,” Katie said, looking relieved. “You had me going there for a moment.”

Grams sat up again, her eyes pleading with me. “I’m telling you the truth, Emma. I had someone place a curse on you. I didn’t want you to find true love. I didn’t want to end up alone.”

I looked at her, as the machines began to beep again, realizing the grief was very real. She wasn’t teasing us. She believed she really had me cursed.

The heart attack had driven my grandmother insane.

Tears pooled in my eyes as the nurse came back in.

“Excuse me,” she said, pushing past us, trying to get closer to Grams. “What did I say, Regina,” she said as she stared down at her. “You need to calm down.”

“I need her to understand,” Grams said, waving a hand in my direction. “She needs to know why she can’t find true love.”

“Shh,” the nurse cooed, pushing my grandmother gently back down. “You can discuss that later, Regina. You need to rest now.”

Grams turned her gaze to the nurse. “There won’t be later. This is my last chance to fix what I’ve done.” She looked back at me. “I need you to promise me, Emma. I need you to promise me you’ll do whatever it takes to break the curse.”

I stood there, watching as her machines started to scream. Her blood pressure numbers soared as her pulse skipped a few beats.

“Regina,” the nurse spoke urgently as my grandmother slumped back against her pillow.

More people poured into the room, pushing us out. Katie and I watched through the glass wall as they went to work on her.

“Promise me,” my grandmother said softly, closing her eyes.

One of the machines let out a steady tone as its bouncing lines flatten out.

It was too late to promise her anything. 

Grams was gone.

© 2021 Melissa L. Webb

Cassie passed through the crowded halls, keeping her head down. She needed to get out of the ocean of students. She hated being boxed in by these many people, it made her feel as if she was drowning.

She took a deep breath, steadily making her way to her locker. With a quick spin of the lock, she shoved her backpack in and sighed, letting the pent-up breath go as she tried to shake the negativity from her mind. Her eyes fell on all the students rushing through the halls, their laughter and smiles suggesting it was just another day for them.

Well, it was just another day for her as well. A day in a world where she was the only one who knew, the only one who saw.

Yet, that didn’t excuse her from being trapped by insignificant stuff like test papers and textbooks. She wished she could scream in the faces of those around her. She needed someone to understand, someone to hear what she went through at night. None of them even realized there was a whole other world out there. One that came alive when they were sleeping. One they imposed on her every single night.

Cassie leaned her forehead against the cold metal locker. She needed a break from everything. She couldn’t stay on the path she was on. It was going to kill her.

“Hey, Cass. You okay?” a voice beside her asked.

Cassie straightened up and glanced over at the tall blonde. Her hair was pulled high in a ponytail as usual, and she wore a maroon and black Madison High football jersey. “Hey, Sam,” she said as her eyes took in the jersey, eager to take her mind of her dark thoughts. “You’re all set for tonight’s game, aren’t you?”

Her best friend shrugged, knowing that was her default look on game days. “Just because the school won’t let me play on our football team, doesn’t mean I can’t support them,” she told her with a smile. “Besides, I look good in maroon and black.”

Cassie sighed as she took in her friend’s perfect body. Sam was gorgeous even if she wouldn’t admit it. Even her tomboy attitude wasn’t enough to keep every guy in school from drooling after her. “You look good in everything, Sam.”

Sam stopped, really taking in her friend. “Are you okay? You seem kind of bleak.”

Cassie shut her locker. “No, I’m fine,” she said, stepping back into the flow of students.

“You don’t look fine,” her friend said, stepping into the crowd with her.

“Thanks. That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”

“Hey, Cass,” Sam said and caught her arm, stopping her in her tracks. “I’m getting a little concerned here. You look like you haven’t slept in a week. Are you having those nightmares again?”

She looked at Sam. She loved her like a sister, but really, how was she supposed to tell her they were so much more than nightmares. “Yeah, nightmares. I’m having the nightmares again.”

Sam stared at her, sensing more there. “Cassie, what is it?” she asked, a question burning in her eyes. “There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there? What’s wrong?”

She looked away. Was it time to tell her what she could do? Would she still be her best friend, even after all these years they’d spent together if she knew what a freak she really was?

Sam seemed to sense her hesitation. “You can tell me anything. You know that.”

She chewed her lip and watched as the people pushed past them. Did she really want to alienate herself even more by admitting she was different? Could she handle it? “Sam, I…”

“Hey, Sam. Incoming!” someone yelled. A football spiraled down the hall towards them. Sam plucked it out of the air with ease.

“Nice one, Maguire,” a blonde guy wearing a Madison High jersey called as he jogged up to them.

“Tell me about it, Riley,” she said with a smile. “They so need to let me on the team.”

“Hey, if it were up to us, we’d have you on in a heartbeat,” he said, turning to two more football players as they walked up. “Wouldn’t we, Mikey?”

“I think you should be on the team, Sam,” Mike said as he pushed his shaggy brown bangs out of his eyes. “But, unfortunately, the school decides who’s on the team. Not the quarterback.”

“I totally agree,” the short dark-haired guy next to Mike said through a grin. “It would make the locker room more interesting.”

Sam turned to Cassie. “And that’s the reason the school ruled against it.”

Riley smacked the guy in the arm. “Cut it out, Tyler. Can’t you show some class occasionally?”

Mike smiled apologetically at Sam. “Sorry. Not all of us are insensitive pigs.”

“I know that,” she told him as she tossed the football back. “He just doesn’t want me to outshine him on the field.”

Riley glanced over at Tyler. “She would too, you know.” He laughed at the look on his face and then turned back to Sam. “You coming to the pep rally, Maguire?”

“You know it.”

His grin widened. “Cool. I’ll see you there,” he said, turning around and heading back down the hall with Tyler following close behind.

“I guess I’ll see you at the pep rally, Sam,” Mike said, turning towards Cassie. “You’re coming, too, right?”

Cassie shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Good. I’ll see you, ladies, there,” he said and turned around. “Go, Marauders!” he cheered as he strode down the hallway.

“Go, Marauders!” the students echoed as he passed.

Cassie watched him go, a slight smile on her lips. Maybe being friends with the best female jock in school had its perks.

“Hey, Cass, maybe you should wipe the drool from your mouth before someone notices,” Sam teased her.

“I wasn’t drooling.”

“No, but you were thinking about it.”

A faint blush crept across her cheeks. “Yeah, okay. I was,” she admitted, walking through the crowd once more.

Sam laughed softly, following at her side. “I know how much you like him. Mike’s a great guy. You should totally go for it.”

Cassie looked at her in shock. “Are you kidding me?” she asked. “Mike’s the quarterback of the football team. He’s one of the most popular guys at school. I’m nobody.” She shook her head sadly. “Girls like me don’t get guys like him.”

“That’s total crap, Cassandra,” Sam told her. “You are not a nobody. And you could have Mike if you tried.”

Cassie looked away. “I don’t believe that. I can’t. I’d rather live in my fantasy than be rejected by reality.”

Sam sighed. “You’ll never get anything in life if you think like that. You should be seizing life while you can.”

Cassie stopped and looked at her. “You’re one to talk. What about Riley?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re in love with the guy, and we all know he’s got it bad for you, but, you have yet to make him your boyfriend. Why is that, Miss Seize-Life?”

She shrugged. “It’s a timing thing. I’m not quite ready to be responsible for Riley Jones.” She laughed at the thought. “Come on, Cass. You know I have trouble even taking care of a goldfish.”

“That’s the truth,” Cassie admitted, “but, you two would be really good together.”

“Yeah, and someday we will be,” she told her. “Just not today.” She smiled as she pulled Cassie towards their first class. “Today we have more important things to worry about. Like, football.” She looked around as she entered the classroom. “Go, Marauders!” she cheered with rest of the students as they watched her enter.

Cassie shook her head. There was more important stuff to worry about than football, but she didn’t want to ruin Sam’s mood. She managed a smile as she entered the room. “Go, Marauders.”

I walked down the street, tears clinging to my eyelashes as I shivered in the cool night breeze. My luck had struck again and attacked the most wonderful guy I’d ever met.

I wanted to scream. This was all my fault. I knew better than to risk dating someone and now I’d completely ruined Tyler’s life.

Only someone with my luck could get a parked car totaled. I guess the real cause would be the drunk idiot cruising around the parking lot, but my curse was what made him pick Cappelli’s lot in the first place.

I couldn’t bring myself to face Tyler after that. I mean how could I? He’d scoffed at the idea of bad luck and it destroyed his brand new Charger.

I’d be damned if that didn’t have Emma Ross written all over it. I’d tried to make him understand, but no, he’d been way too charming for his own good. He’d broken through my walls and what had it got us?

Nothing but trouble.

I’d slipped out of the restaurant while Tyler was dealing with the police and insurance companies. He didn’t need any more trouble than what I’d already brought him. It was safer if I disappeared into the night, free from any romantic entanglements that might cause more damage.

My heels clicked loudly against the cement as I hurried down the sidewalk, putting as much distance between Cappelli’s and myself as I could. A bubble bath and a glass of wine were calling my name and it was all I could do to keep from running down the street.

I needed the soothing numbness only those things could provide me. The shame of what I’d done was too much to bear and I needed to dull the edges.

“Are you okay?” somebody asked as I hurried past.

I frowned, glancing over my shoulder at the guy standing there. Great. Why couldn’t this night leave me alone? “I’m fine,” I lied, picking up my pace.

“Are you sure?” he asked, following along behind me. “You don’t look okay.”

“Everything’s fine,” I snapped, wondering where a taxi was when I needed one.

“Oh, okay,” he called, taking the hint. “I was only trying to help.”

I sighed, stopping. My grandmother had raised me to be polite. She would be appalled to hear the way I’d snapped at the guy. A guy who was only trying to help.

I turned around to apologize, but the guy was gone, disappeared back into the crowd on the street.

Not only was I bad luck, now I was rude on top of it. Maybe I did deserve the curse after all.

I dug around in my purse and grabbed my cell phone out as soon as I felt its smooth glass surface under my fingers. I was cold, tired, and miserable. The last thing I really wanted was to trudge home through the city in heels that were killing my feet.

I needed to suck it up and call my best friend and roommate, Katie, in defeat.

I sighed as the phone rang. They say great minds think alike and at that moment it was true. Katie’s name flashed across the screen as the phone vibrated in my hand.

“It’s happening again, Katie,” I told her, my words rushing out as I answered the phone. “I ran away this time, though.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Katie said, cutting me off. “Where are you?”

“I don’t know,” I said, looking around at the people and places. “Downtown, I guess.”

“I’m on my way,” she said as I heard the rev of an engine in the background. “We have to hurry. Your grandmother’s in the hospital.”

© 2020 Melissa L. Webb