Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

ANI

Who could stay locked within four walls day in, and day out and not go crazy? Although this room is bigger than my trailer on the Eastside of Heathens Hollow, I feel as if it’s getting smaller and smaller as the days go by, which tells me one thing.

It’s time to leave. It’s time to start my life.

But how? I have no actual skills to get a good-paying job. Not that there are many of them on Heathens Hollow. I could be a fish monger again, and most likely will have to be to put food on my table, but I haven’t done that job since marrying Mark. He wouldn’t allow me to work. He wanted me to completely depend on him and his next-to-nothing income he brought home every month.

I get out of bed and start pacing the room. My body hurts from immobility. I need to stretch and work my muscles again. Deciding to do some basic yoga moves to get blood flowing into places of my body that feel frozen in place, I sit down on the hardwood floor and take a few deep breaths to center myself. I slowly stretch my body, bending my arms and legs in different directions and working up to more difficult poses. I twist my back, extending one arm over my head, with the other reaching for the floor.

Without warning, something gives beneath me, and the wood plank I am balancing on comes loose from the floorboard. Startled, I jump back on my heels while frantically trying to pull the loose piece of wood back into place. My heart pounds with the realization that I have caused serious damage to the Godwins’ home.

I frantically try to press the loose plank back into place. As I struggle to secure it, something catches my eye. It’s a small gap at the corner of the floorboard that reveals items within the hole. My pulse quickens as I realize what this could mean: someone has been hiding things inside this floorboard.

Whatever it is, is tucked away in this hole beneath the floor for a reason. But curiosity is most certainly killing this cat. I want to see what’s inside. What is in hiding?

I reach inside and withdraw four leather-bound journals. Though old, they appear rich and elegant. They are tied with a piece of leather string, not strong enough to take away my temptation to see what’s inside, however.

But as much as I want to read each one, the person who wrote what’s inside wanted these hidden for a reason, and something deep inside of me wants to honor their wishes. These are someone else’s secrets.

I should resist. I should put them back where I found them and continue with my yoga. But I can’t. Shit…

After climbing back in the bed, I pull the blankets over me like I did when I was a kid and wanted to read by flashlight.

This will be my secret. Mine and whoever wrote these journals.

I open the leather notebook and see the name Freya Godwin written in perfect script. I don’t know all that much about the Godwin family, but from what I do know, Freya was the mother of Apollo, Athena, Ares, and Phoenix, and was married to Troy Godwin. I met everyone briefly at Daphne and Apollo’s wedding, but they weren’t exactly welcoming or chit-chatty with me. Freya didn’t attend the wedding. If I remember correctly, it was because she died. In fact, I think it was suicide. Daphne knew some of the story and had told me that Apollo didn’t like to talk about his mother. No one in the family discussed her or brought up her name. I don’t remember any pictures or anything being present of Freya in the house anytime I looked around either. It’s like they wiped her from the Godwin history.

I consider returning the journal. I’m invading a dead woman’s privacy. But then again… I’m so freaking bored and… Yeah, I’m the cat that curiosity very well may kill.

Dear Diary,

I can still feel the excitement I had as Troy and I set off for our special date. Our destination was a beautiful cabin in the mountains, and as we drove, I could feel my heart racing with anticipation.

The morning sun was shining through the trees, and we stopped to take a hike through the forest. The dewy mist still lingered in the air and the greenery was vibrant and luscious. It was so peaceful, just him and me, that I felt as if we were the only two people in the world. We found a tranquil pond, where we sat in silence, my heart singing with joy.

We returned to the cabin, and what I saw took my breath away. Troy had prepared a romantic dinner for two – candles lit on the table, with wildflowers in vases. The fireplace was lit, and it provided a warm and inviting atmosphere. We enjoyed a delicious meal as we talked about our future and shared our secrets.

We stepped out onto the deck that overlooked the stars and lay down on the hammock. The blanket of stars seemed to stretch on forever, and all of my worries melted away as I felt Troy’s firm embrace. His heart beat in sync with mine, and it felt like time stood still – nothing else in this world mattered but us.

My heart swells with emotion when I think back to that special day when our love was still new and fresh, when every moment felt like an adventure, every touch like an electric shock going through my veins. This day was a reminder of how strong our love was and how much we had grown together.

Dear Diary,

Today, I found myself reflecting on my relationship with Troy. We used to be so in love, and it was as if the stars had aligned when we first met. He had a strong presence, and I knew from the moment I saw him that we were meant to be together. I felt like nothing in the world mattered when I was with him. I thought back to the way Troy and I had been when we first met, how our love just seemed to fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. When we were together, it felt like nothing else mattered in the world. We could stay out all night or just sit in comfortable silence, and either way, it felt right.

Our bond was so strong that it was almost tangible. I could feel the connection between us everywhere we went. We’d laugh at the same jokes, finish each other’s sentences, and knew exactly what the other one was thinking without having to say a word.

It’s so sad that as the years went on, our relationship slowly changed. We started going through the same motions, and I could sense a distance growing between us. We stopped talking and laughed less until eventually we stopped laughing altogether. We became strangers in the same house, and I guess I always knew inevitably, things would end between us.

Nothing lasts forever.

I know our love is gone, and it is time to move on.

But I do miss those days when it felt like we were two star-crossed lovers who were meant to be together. I miss the way he looked at me, the way he touched me, and the way we talked about our dreams for our future.

But now things feel so different. I wonder if we’ll ever find our way back to those days when our love was new and untainted. Or have we lost each other forever?

I should stop reading. I really should. But… one more entry and then I will. I will put the journal away to join the others in their hidden coffin. Just one more…

Okay, now I’m hooked. It’s better than finding and reading an old romance novel. I should stop reading before I get completely hooked, but—just a little more.

Dear Diary,

Today, I told Troy that I had to leave him. His fury was expected, but his declaration that leaving him would mean choosing death, took me by surprise. How could he think our love was so strong that death was the only way out of it? As I sat there silently, tears streaming down my face, I asked myself what had happened to us.

We had started out as two star-crossed lovers, living in a fantasy world of our own creation. We promised each other nothing but happiness and forever togetherness; but now here we were – bound by an ever-tightening grip of desperation and despair. We were no longer two people connected by a shared passion, but rather two people clinging to survival in a world we created out of fear and uncertainty.

I wonder if things would have been different if we’d taken our time to properly cultivate our relationship instead of rushing into things head on. If we’d taken the time to really understand each other and work through our differences before making any commitments or promises, then perhaps things wouldn’t be so strained between us now.

In the end, maybe it just wasn’t meant to be – some relationships never survive beyond their passionate beginnings and maybe ours is one of them. All I know is that while my heart breaks at the thought of leaving Troy behind, I cannot stay in this place where love is overshadowed by hurt and pain. It’s time for me to bid farewell and start anew on my journey of self-discovery and healing.

Dear Diary,

I don’t think Troy will kill me. He says he will. He reminds me that Godwins don’t divorce. He tells me I can’t leave.

I see obsession in his eyes mixed with pain all the time. I know he doesn’t want me to see how badly my need to be free of him and free of Olympus Manor hurts him, but I see it.

I thought of running away, but I don’t think that would be wise. It would only make him angrier, and I’m not sure what he is capable of. Still, it may be the only way I have left to protect myself from his wrath.

The days drag by like an eternity. I can feel Troy’s presence in every inch of this cursed place. He’s watching me, waiting for me to make a move so he can respond. I know his response won’t be kind.

And then it happened…

A loud commotion came from downstairs interrupting my constant dark thoughts. The staff were all shouting, and chaos was all around. I slowly crept down the stairs, my heart pounding against my chest. I could feel the fear in the air as I made my way to the front door. As I got closer, the smell of something burning filled my nostrils.

My stomach churned as I looked out the window. Everything outside was engulfed in flames, and in the center stood Troy, his face twisted with rage, as my car was surrounded in a ball of fire.

He did it. He proved that he won’t let me go, and I was too terrified to move. I could feel the heat from the fire emanating from the window and smell the scorched metal from my car. I knew that this was a sign of the things to come unless I found a way to escape.

He looked up, and our eyes met. I could see the burning hatred in his gaze before he turned away and disappeared into the night. I knew I should have listened to my instincts and ran away when I had the chance. Now it was too late.

I ran back upstairs and frantically started packing my belongings. I knew I had to leave and never look back. As I grabbed the last of my things, I heard Troy’s menacing voice coming from the foot of the stairs. He was screaming at me, telling me that if I did not come down and submit to him, he would burn this entire house down with us in it.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and prepare myself for one last battle. There was no escape from Troy, not anymore. I had to face him, and I had to win.

The children. Where were the children?

Jesus Christ. I knew there was a darkness about this family. Everyone who lives on Heathens Hollow knows the Godwins, though rich as fuck, have demons around them. Rumors and stories about this family are downright chilling. But reading this. Seeing this…

It makes it easy for me to get out of bed and put the journal back in its home. I don’t want to read about another fucked-up marriage. I had my own, my own nightmare from which I barely escaped.

I feel for Freya. I can relate to her, but Freya’s secrets died with her, and I need to let them remain that way.

The instant I’ve replaced the journal, I look around the room and rub the chill off my arms while trying to shake off the overwhelming sense that I’m not alone. Another loud thump sounds from upstairs in the attic, but I know no one is here. No one should be here…

A creak that follows sounds as if weight is being placed on the floorboards from above. Or at least I think that is what I hear.

Someone’s got to be in this house. I feel it. I hear it. I open the bedroom door and step into the hallway.

I need to see it.