Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Josie

The Day She Went Missing…

I sliced through the water in the pool in our backyard. Nothing beats slipping under during the hottest day of the year. I'd spent the last couple of days in the pool, avoiding my mother's attempts to drag me to lunch with her friends.

Each invite sounded more and more like a setup. I didn't want to jump into another relationship or a string of blind dates. Was it so bad to get to know myself after being in a relationship for so long? I thought it was a great idea to stand on my own two feet before even considering a romantic relationship.

"Josie!" my mother called out from the back door. "Supper will be ready soon."

"I'll be out in just a minute," I yelled as I backstroked across the pool.

The back door shut, and I relaxed into the water. It'd been a quiet few days since I saw the woman in the mirror. I decided I was overtired and overwhelmed, so I didn't mention it to my parents.

There were no boundaries on what they would assume if I told that story.

Dad had a handful of people in his pocket. He'd pull some strings, get me on some medication, and pretend I wasn't seeing things in our bathroom mirror or feeling drafts in every room.

Their not knowing was the best bet. I'd move out of the house in a couple of months and not have to deal with any of this anymore.

I climbed out of the pool, grabbed my oversized towel, and walked toward the sliding back doors. The smell of dinner wafted out as I opened them and stepped inside.

My parents' laughter echoed from the dining room as I wrapped myself in my towel and stepped inside. There were so many memories of my life that revolved around swimming and this dining table.

It was something that I wanted for myself. I wanted to be a wife one day. I wanted a career, and having it all so close frightened and exhilarated me.

Dad patted the seat next to him while Miranda finished putting the food on the table. "I have some news to tell you tonight," he said, reaching for the wine glass across from him.

I grabbed my own and took a sip of the goodness. "What's that?"

Dad smiled over the table at Mom. "I'm retiring this year, and we've decided to travel the US in our RV."

I lifted both brows. The look of amusement on my mother's face made me laugh. It was written there that this was my father's dream, but knowing she was right beside him made me feel longing for that kind of love.

"That's amazing," I said. "You two deserve time to yourselves. Dad has worked hard for this town."

Miranda opened the swinging kitchen door with her butt and put the platter of pork chops on the table. "That's right," she said. "I'm so happy for them both."

Realization hit me that Miranda wouldn"t have a job.

Before I could pipe in, my father said, "We're hiring Miranda to cook for you while we're gone. Though when we get back, I need my cook back. It's going to be an interesting year with our cooking," he said, pointing between Mom and himself.

Mom chuckled. "I'll have to pull out that old cookbook of my mother's."

Miranda laughed, excitement written on her face. "I hope you're okay with that?" she asked.

I laughed. "Of course. I'll enjoy the company the most. With these two on the road, I'll be mostly alone next year for holidays."

Mom reached across the table and patted my hand. "You can always come with us—"

Dad cleared his throat, giving her a look that screamed they'd already talked about this. "You"re right," she said, sitting back. "It's time for Josie to start her career and her life."

I smiled. "It is time. It's scary," I admitted. "But I need to grow up and make adult decisions."

Dad leaned his head against mine while taking another drink. "I think you've already started making adult decisions. What happened with Jacob was sad, but you made a decision for yourself. Remember it's about making yourself happy, not them. And ..."

"...always go with your gut."

***

Dad fell asleep in his chair as I imagined he would after dinner. Mom tugged on his arm, trying to wake him, while I slipped up the stairs to my room.

Jenny wasn't feeling well, so she'd gone to bed without supper.

I could hear her snoring across the hallway. I opened my doorway with my hair smelling like chlorine and then I slipped into the bathroom.

Part of me felt nervous to go back into the shower.

However, after that talk at dinner, I needed to be a grown-up and face my fears. I slipped into the shower, washed the chlorine from my hair, and took my time.

I was surprised not to see anything out of the norm while I dressed and stepped into my room. My cell phone brightened from my bed. A text from Jacob opened on my screen.

Please talk to me.

Closing my eyes, I grabbed my TV remote and crawled under the covers. Ignoring his text, I laid back on my pillow and watched the TV absently.

The exhaustion of the day out in the sun weighed down on me, and my eyes closed minutes later.

I woke to a sound I couldn't pinpoint. My TV had gone off, so there was little light to see. A sliver of moonlight beamed in from the crack in my curtain.

The darkness had never bothered me before.

So, when I felt a stomachful of dread, I knew something wasn't right. There was a lingering presence, but I couldn't see it.

Swallowing the fear in my throat, I searched my bed for my phone, my fingertips touching the cool surface moments later. It brightened the ceiling. With shaky hands, I searched the room with my bright light seeing one inch at a time.

Heat swarmed me from head to toe as I made a complete circle around the room with only shadows haunting the walls.

Sighing, I slid down into my bed and took a deep breath. I felt myself being drawn back to my childhood.

I am being ridiculous.

"Are you?"

A shriek caught in my throat. I jerked into a sitting position on my bed, staring into the darkness and knowing someone stared at me.

"Who's there?" I whispered, feeling the hair on my arm stand on end while I waited for an answer.

"There is no reason to be afraid," she said.

Her voice sounded like silk being dragged against my bare skin.

Everything about it was inviting.

The cool edges of her words blended.

Her laugh was soft and feminine.

"Are you there, Josephine?"

"Where are you?" I asked, searching for my cell phone but coming up with nothing. "Show yourself."

"You've seen me, haven't you?" she asked from the opposite side of the room.

I blinked, trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness, but none of it worked. "Are you the woman from the mirror?"

She chuckled, and a cool breeze drifted through the room. "I am indeed, Josephine."

"What do you want?" I asked, sliding back against my plush headboard. My mind raced with ideas of making it out of the room. The door was several feet away from me.

Though, I didn't know what kind of swiftness this person—thing—had, and I wasn't about to run in the darkness.

"You won't make it," she said softly, my bed moving as she sat by my feet.

The moonlight illuminated what looked like two horns curled over the top of her head. The fear of knowing she wasn't human rocked me inside and out.

"I just need you to tell me where I can find something of mine."

My heart began to hammer loudly in my ears. The panic in my stomach pushed vomit up to my throat. "Find what?"

"A golden spindle."

My mind raced. A spindle? "Like the necklace on my bed? Did you leave that there? I don't even live here—"

"You have one more chance to tell me where the spindle is before I lose my patience. I"m growing tired of being here."

"You've been watching me, right?" I asked, feeling her shift on the bed and drawing my fear up my spine. "I just got here. I haven't had time to steal a golden spindle."

"You're right," she said. "But someone in this house stole my spindle."

"Why would they want your spindle?"

The moonlight moved when she did, leaving a gust of wind against my body. The windows blew open, and a shadow danced along the windowsill in the moonlight.

I searched for a grasp on the bed frame, but something invisible pulled me from the sheets. I screamed, but nothing came out. Then I hit the floor as I was dragged by my feet across the floor.

My body flung to a standing position in the air, and I came face-to-face with her. She was oddly beautiful. Full lips, a makeup-free face with porcelain skin.

She looked young, but wisdom and evil lingered in her movements. She wore a long robe that reminded me of a real-life witch.

The moon illuminated her while she eyed me head to toe.

"Last chance, Josephine. Tell me where the spindle is, and I'll let you go live your pathetic life of attempting to feel accepted and important."

My voice left my body as I tried to scream for help again.

She sneered my way, floated out of the window, and lured me toward her without a word. My legs swung wildly in the air above the hedges underneath my second-story window.

Would she drop me? I prayed for it.

I wished she would just let me go.

The howl of a wolf deep in the woods slithered along my skin.

Cicadas sang their goodnight song behind it.

But no matter how hard I tried, my voice disappeared.

The witch turned and flew through my backyard, dragging me with invisible strings toward the woods.

The darkness covered what I knew to be the forest Daddy and I hunted in growing up. The brush burned my legs, small branches tearing at my forearms and face.

The harder I tried to scream, the more my throat burned in pain.

Our trip through the woods ended swiftly, but she didn't let me down. I floated as she opened what looked like a portal. It was black and endless. It twirled like something out of a child"s storybook.

How would anyone find me?

Was she taking me to Hell?

She looked over her shoulder, green eyes illuminated and glistening in the moonlight. "Someone knows where to find you, Josephine. Let's hope they care enough to tell the truth."

She disappeared into the vortex.

For a brief moment, I thought she was letting me go.

Until my body lurched forward, and I went head-first into a portal of darkness.