Chapter Twenty-Four

Mallory

My body is coiled so tight that I jump when my phone beeps. I was worried about this, dreading it even. I have to drive around the block three times before I gather enough nerve to check my phone. Pulling up in front of the Post Office and parking, I need to take some deep calming breaths to collect myself. I grab my phone from the cup holder and just stare at it. My anxiety spikes with every passing second it takes to open the message I know will be from him. He said he’s the jealous type and he doesn’t share. What have I done? Why did I kiss Lennox? I got so wrapped up in his deep voice and knight in shining armour persona that I threw myself at him. Fuck, I’m such an idiot.

I decide to ignore Ghost’s message for now, I can only handle one man at a time. I’m supposed to be seeing him later, right? Maybe we can talk about it like adults? The thought is laughable.

The booming sound of thunder startles me as I make my way into the building. The clouds have gathered again and the sky is darkening to an ominous grey. Lightning flashes across the sky and I high-tail my ass inside, wanting to be as quick as possible as to not get stuck driving in the downpour.

There’s a man at the counter who seems to be waiting for assistance as I check my PO Box. There’s a few bills and the little ticket I need to get my package from the front desk. I don’t know who this man is, his face is vaguely familiar but I can’t place it. He gives me the creeps as his cracked lips pull up into a too-cheerful smile for this encounter. My phone beeps again, pulling it out I see another message from Ghost. I silence my phone and put it back in my pocket. I’ll deal with him later. I just want to get my security cameras and get out of here. Where is the worker?

“Did you want to cut in front of me, darlin’?” The unknown man’s voice grates against my skin. I’ve heard it before, I swear. That sense of unease I had earlier resurfaces and I shift uncomfortably from foot to foot.

“Oh, no, that’s okay. You were here first,” I awkwardly reply. I’d rather tell him to fuck off but since he’s done literally nothing to me except set of alarm bells in my brain, I remain polite.

“It’s really no trouble at all,” he insists, gesturing with his hand to the spot in front of the counter he was just occupying. Ugh, take a hint man, I don’t want to get any closer to you than I already am.

“Oh, no, thank-” I’m mid reply when someone emerges from the back with a box and hands it to the man. Fucking finally. What looks like anger briefly crosses the creep’s face. Then he nods to the worker, turns and smiles at me as he blatantly checks me out, then leaves. I feel disgusting, it’s like he just touched me everywhere by simply looking at me. I’m fucking repulsed and in desperate need of a shower.

I shake it off and approach the counter, hand the employee my ticket, and wait. Five minutes pass… then ten. What the fuck is taking so long?

He comes around the corner carrying two big white boxes. Placing them on the counter as he checks my ID against the name and address on the package and the ticket I gave him. Satisfied that I am who I claim to be, he pushes the boxes across the counter to me and I leave the building.

The rain is coming down harder now as I open the door to the back seat and slide the boxes in. I just get my seat belt on and the car started when there’s a knock on my driver's side window. It’s the creep from the post office, how long has it been now? Fifteen minutes? Twenty? I start to sweat with anxiety as I debate what to do. I press the button that locks all the doors and open the window just a crack. “Yes?” I shakily ask.

“You’ve got a taillight out, darlin’.” Ew! Don’t call me that.

“Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

“I can fix that for you real quick, if you want?” His voice makes me want to run and hide. It’s raspy, making him sound more like an elderly man when I would probably place his age around mid to late forties. His eyes are menacing, bottomless pools of cerulean that want to pull me under and drown me. His thin, dirty blonde hair is wet and plastered to his skin. Every part of my brain is telling me to flee, this man is dangerous.

“Oh, no thank you. I can do it, but I appreciate you letting me know.” I shift the car into reverse hoping he will take the hint and back away from my vehicle. Thankfully, he does.

“Drive safe, those dirt roads get slippery in the rain!” he yells to me as I pull out of the parking stall. I can make out his sinister smile through the trailing raindrops on my windshield. I offer a small, kind wave and then roll up my window.

I speed all the way home only realizing halfway that the man knows where I live.

Graves

What the hell is taking her so long? I've been sitting in her driveway for twenty-three minutes already. Graves doesn’t have her number so he can’t text her and she is ignoring Ghosty. Clearly afraid to tell him that we locked lips. It’s getting into late afternoon now and the sky is dark. The splattering sound of the rain all around me lulls me into unconsciousness. I’m obviously sleep deprived from all the time I’m devoting to Mallory. I’ll just rest my eyes for a minute, I’m so tired...

∞∞∞

The crunching sound of rocks beneath tires rouses me from slumber. Checking my phone I can see that an hour has passed. What the hell? Is she okay? What took so long?

I jump out of my truck and run to her side of the car. She looks frantic. I knock on her window and she screams. Something has spooked my girl, and it wasn’t me. Opening her door, I can see that her hands are shaking and her cheeks are wet from crying. She looks up at me, eyes pleading for comfort. I snag her keys from the ignition and scoop her into my arms. I carry her through the rain to the front door.

“What key is it?” I whisper to her.

“The purple one.” All her keys are colour coded with little rubber pieces around the head of the key. I unlock the door and head inside. I’m tracking muddy water on the floor but I don’t care, I’ll clean it up later.

I set her gently down on the couch and wrap the ghost blanket she loves so much around her shoulders. I move quickly to fill the kettle and turn it on. Racing back outside I grab her packages then close up her car and lock it. I nab the bags from the cab of my truck and haul everything inside. I glance over to her on the couch, she’s gone, disappeared off in her mind again. Her vacant stare cuts me to the bone, we were doing so well. What the fuck happened? I grab the bookshelves from the bed of my truck and place them in the purple room. The kettle is screaming and it must pull her out of her dissociative state because when I come around the corner she’s standing in the kitchen.

“Hey, are you okay? I can make the tea for you,” I ask, approaching her like I would a wounded animal.

“I got it, thank you though. Do you want some?”

“No thanks, tea tastes like grass.”

“Do you eat grass often?” she quips, a small smile turning her lips as she takes me in. I’m dripping wet from the rain. She watches a drop fall from my hair, run down my face and along my neck. Stopping when it gets absorbed into the collar of my hoodie. Another one falls and her tongue darts out to wet her lips, it’s like she wants to lick it from my skin. I’d let her. She's getting all fired up after being upset two minutes ago. Being able to compartmentalize your feelings so efficiently isn’t a great sign but at least she’s not crying anymore.

“Do you have any non-grass flavoured beverages to offer me?” I ask. Her eyes meet mine as she plunks the tea bag into her mug of steaming water.

“There’s probably something in the fridge.” She gestures behind her. I go and pull the door open, grabbing a bottle of water. When I turn back to her she is leaning on the counter unabashedly checking me out.

“So are you going to tell me what happened?” I ask.

“Oh, it was nothing. I got freaked out over this weirdo at the post office. He knows where I live and it scared me because the other night…well you know, I thought I saw someone in the trees. Anyways, once you brought me inside I was able to realize that probably everyone in town knows I live here. So, my fear was really unjustified.”

I nod, rationalizing what she tells me. It is true that everyone in town knows she moved up here after her parents disappeared. “Did you know the guy?” I ask.

“No, but his face was familiar. Like everyone in this small town probably is.”