Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Josie

Two Days Before…

Seeing an email from my soon-to-be boss sent nerves through me. This elementary school had been on my list of places to apply since Freshman year. I loved the idea of being an educational psychologist and helping children, especially ones who didn't realize they needed help.

I typed out my response about attending upcoming meetings.

My cell phone vibrated on the desk beside me and my mother's name popped up on the screen. I opened the text asking me to come help her in the garden.

I smiled. It was nice of her to spend quality time with me, especially since I didn't plan to stay long.

The morning sunlight beamed through the curtains of my window, hitting my eyesight. I blinked and walked over to drag them open and push the windows outward.

A gust of humid Louisiana air slapped me in the face. Louisiana was relentless with her weather choices and didn't care if you couldn't breathe from May to September.

My mother was already bent over in the garden, pulling out weeds and planting some flowers I didn't pretend to know or care about.

I slipped into my rubber boots that were shoved way into the closet. My cut-off blue jeans were snugger than I remembered from the summer before, but I slid them on anyway.

I tied the side of my ragged LSU shirt and jogged downstairs.

Miranda had homemade blueberry muffins on the table from breakfast. My stomach growled loudly at me when I took a bite. I'd only eaten half of my supper the night before.

It was unlike me not to eat because it was my favorite pastime. However, I couldn't shake the feeling of someone following me. At first, I imagined it was stress from Jacob, but it felt closer to home.

That stupid necklace showing up on my bed had rubbed me the wrong way, along with the drafty chill in every room. I decided to ask my mother about it today.

The orange juice I'd bought from the grocery store was in the fridge, so I grabbed it and stepped out onto the back porch. The in-ground pool my father put in my eighth grade year glistened in the sunlight.

I planned to relax by the pool that afternoon and enjoy what little time I had left before adulthood took over.

"Josie!" Mom shouted from the distance. "Are you ready?"

I began to walk over while finishing my breakfast, washing it down with my OJ. Mother sat back on her knees and took off her big floppy hat. "Whew, good morning, Louisiana. It's a scorcher out here today."

I sat down beside her and offered her a drink.

"I've got my water, dear. Thank you."

She handed me a pair of pink gloves, and I slipped them onto my hands. Shoving my fingers into the dirt, I dug up a spot next to hers for another flower.

"Mom, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she said, bending back down to her spot.

"Has everything been okay around here lately?"

She stopped shoveling. "What do you mean? Are you asking about your father and me? We're fine, Darling."

"No. In the house."

Mother sat back on her knees and stared at me with her dark eyes. "What are you talking about? What kind of things would be wrong?"

I shrugged and pulled out another patch of weeds. "I've been feeling ... weird. Like someone is watching me."

She thought about it. "Everything has been fine to me," she said. "Did something specific happen?"

"No," I said softly. "Nothing specific."

"Do you think it's about Jacob?" she asked. "Maybe he's just put you into a funk."

"Yeah, probably."

Mom looked over at me and shoved her shoulder into mine. "Tell me. What do you like in a guy?"

I chuckled. "Do not try to set me up with one of your girlfriends' sons. I went to school with them, and trust me when I say they aren't anything to write home about."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just curious. Tell me. Who is your ideal guy?"

I chewed on my lip as I packed a flower's roots down into the soil. "I don't know. Strong, I guess. Determined."

"Like a police officer?" she suggested.

"More like a lumberjack."

Mom tossed her head backward, her hat falling off her head, and her blonde hair smashed against her forehead. "Dear Lord, Josie. So, a lumberjack. What else do you like?"

"Someone that takes charge. Doesn't let me walk over them, not that I plan to, but I can be headstrong when I need to be."

"Those are good qualities. What about his heart?"

Jacob had a good heart. He'd been a good guy to me. "Haven"t you always told me that I would know when I found the right guy?"

"Of course," she said. "I knew with your father."

"Even though Jacob was the logical choice, I didn't feel excited that he proposed. I'm hurt that he was hurt on social media, but I couldn't sign myself up to be miserable my entire life."

Mom sat back and pulled me up and into her arms. "No one expected you to, sweetie. You did the right thing."

She placed her palm against my cheek. "Now, what is your dream guy's heart like?"

"Soft," I whispered into the wind.

It sounded like a contrast of personalities. To have a soft heart but be tough and ruthless. But I knew there was a man waiting for me out there who was brutish and kind.

Mom smiled. "I'm glad you're here for the summer, sweet girl."

"Me, too—"

Caw.

I dropped the flower in my hand and glanced around the yard.

Caw.

In one of the low-hanging limbs of the magnolia tree sat a crow. I knew it was the same one. There was something different about it. It was cautious. Curious. It looked intelligent in its eyes.

"Those dang crows. Shoo!" my mother shouted, sitting up to her knees. "Get out of here, you wicked thing. I hate crows," she said. "They give me the creeps."

I was glad I wasn't the only one.

The crow flew off toward the woods, leaving a chill against my skin. "Did you feel that?" I asked.

Mom looked up at me. "Feel what, honey?"

I swallowed the deep lump forming in my throat and shook my head. "Never mind."

***

After dinner, while Dad fell asleep in his recliner and Mom scrolled through her phone, I slipped upstairs to my room.

Jenny was currently staying at the house for a few days while my parents had her house redecorated for her birthday.

The door to the guest room was cracked when I knocked.

Her soft footsteps drew near, and she opened the door. She'd stripped out of her makeup and changed into her pajamas. "Josie, is something wrong?"

"No," I said. "I just wanted to ask if you'd seen anything different around the house lately."

She tilted her head and opened her door wider. "Come on inside."

She shut the door behind us while I took a seat at her desk chair, and she plopped down on her bed. "What do you mean? Different like how?"

I began to swing my feet with nerves. "A draft in the house? Chills? The feeling of someone watching your every move?"

She pursed her lip. "No, I can't say I have. Is something the matter? Does someone feel off to you?"

"Yes," I said exasperatedly. "Mom thinks it's because of Jacob, but I don't think that's it. I feel like someone is following me around the house."

She moved around until she sat cross-legged on the bed. "Oh, have you talked to your Dad or Miranda about it?"

I leaned my elbow against the desk and shook my head. "No. I know I sound crazy, but I can't shake it. It seems to be getting worse."

"Have you thought about seeing a psychic?"

I cringed. "You know I don't believe in that stuff, Jenny. I don't want to worsen my situation and bring in the dead."

"Well, it sounds like you already have that problem to me."

"I don't think so," I said. "I don"t think it"s a ghost. I can"t explain it, really."

Jenny sighed. "I think you should consider it if it continues. Your mother could be right. It may be stress from the Jacob situation. That"s a lot to handle."

I smiled, though I knew that wasn't it then I stood up and walked over to give her a hug.

"Keep me updated," she said.

"I will. Thanks for listening."

I slipped out of her room and across the hallway toward my own. The shower was calling my name. The room was eerily quiet as I stripped from my clothes and into the bathroom.

The water shot out and splashed against the shower floor as I waited for the water to warm. After several seconds, I stepped into the stream and sighed.

All of my problems seemed to wash down the drain.

I took my time washing my hair and body and then shaving my legs. My self-care meter had been low recently due to the popularity of my rejection video.

I needed the silence that the shower gave me. The privacy.

Twenty minutes later, I stepped out and onto the rug in my bathroom, grabbed my oversized towel, and walked toward the mirror.

I swiped my hand across the heated glass.

The face that stared back at me wasn't mine.

I fumbled backward, hitting my head against the wall opposite to the sink, and shrieked.

I blinked once, and the mirror cleared, only showing the scared expression on my face from across the room. It was true fear on my face. My heart thumped so loudly it banged in my ears.

Straightening myself on shaky legs, I tightened my fingers around my towel and stepped closer.

The woman's face I would never be able to forget.

There was something elegantly evil about her. Two elongated horns curled on top of her head as I imagined a demon would have. Her green eyes were vibrant and intensely looking into my soul.

But it was the slight tilt of her smile that tossed my stomach into knots. I backtracked out of my bathroom and into my room, grabbing clothes from my drawers and slipping them on while my entire body shook.

Sitting down on my bed, I ran my palms against my thighs and took deep breaths. It was a figment of my imagination. People didn't materialize in mirrors.

They certainly didn't have horns.

Though, the supernatural might.

We lived in Louisiana, where voodoo was normal in certain parts.

Not in our house as far as I knew.

Sliding my palms down my face, I leaned backward on my bed, feeling something cool underneath my fingers.

The necklace from before had made it back onto my bed. I slid my fingertips over the chain, stood up, and raced toward my window.

The backyard looked quiet and peaceful, with only frogs and crickets singing in the distance. I chucked the necklace as far as I could and listened for it to drop.

Nothing but the wind greeted me.

I grabbed the handle of my double window and stopped as I noticed a silhouette standing by the woods.

It disappeared swiftly.

I couldn't shake the fact that the silhouette looked ghostly similar to the woman I just saw in my bathroom mirror.