Page 97 of Wicked Ends
I couldn’t go on like this.
“I’ve fallen in love with you, birthday girl.”Those words from last night wouldn’t stop circulating in my head. It was too much for someone like me. I felt like Icarus, about to be struck down for daring to fly too close to the sun.
Main Street was gorgeous in the early morning sunlight. Summer was coming to Maine slowly, and the entire town was blossoming. Soon, school would finish, and I’d have to decide whether to stay or move on. It would be hard moneywise over the summer, but I could supplement with giving piano lessons. My first paycheck was pocketed away, as well as the remaining savings I’d had when I’d arrived in Hade Harbor.
Did I want to stay? That was the real question, the one that kept popping into my head. HHU had offered to extend my contract. The person I was covering for was considering taking retirement. I wandered down Main Street, looking in the little independent shops and grabbing a French vanilla latte from my favorite place. People said hi and waved to me. In the short time I’d been here, I’d started to build a community here. I’d been accepted into one. It had become too clear to deny. I didn’t want to leave. Not at all. A sign in the window of a hockey supply store announced that they were proud supporters of the Hellions.
Marcus.
I couldn’t pretend he wasn’t a big part of why I wanted to stay. A huge part.
“I’ve fallen in love with you.”
The next shop along was a real estate office. As I was walking past, someone put a new listing in the window. It was a rentaloutside of town, near the beach. It was small and a little run-down, but as soon as I saw it, I wanted it.
I eyed the price. It wasn’t crazy. Acting impulsively, I opened the door of the office and walked in.
“I’d like to find out more about the rental place you just put in the window.”
“Oh!” The agent smiled at me, surprised. “I was just heading over there to put up the sign. Do you want to come?”
I paused, surprised by the offer. I checked my watch. I had time.
“Okay, sure. I’m Anna.” I held my hand out to the woman.
“Pippa. Nice to meet you. Let me grab my keys,” she said and bustled around, getting her things.
Excitement brewed in my belly as I followed her to her car. This felt wild and impulsive, and probably unlikely, seeing as I didn’t exactly have any references, but I was going to try anyway. Maybe it was finally time to want something again. Maybe it was time to let myself.
The house wasn’t new, but it was perfect. Clad in gray cedar shingles bleached silver by years of sun and sea spray, it sat like a tiny pearl nestled between a forest, a rocky beach, and the water. Inside was all sanded-down wide wooden floorboards and white walls. A sagging old couch was lined up before glass double doors that overlooked the shining water. The kitchen cabinets were prettily trimmed, with chipped blue and white paint, and the counter was the same polished wood color as the floors.Upstairs, there was a small double bed facing the window over the bay. The only other piece of furniture was a small dresser across from the bed.
Despite all that, it felt like home as soon as I stepped inside. I followed Pippa around, and I was sure she could tell I’d fallen in love with it. I didn’t have much of a poker face.
“The owner is pretty flexible, but they’d need at least one reference from a previous place.”
“I’ve never rented before. I’ve always lived with family,” I told her.
“Hmm, in that case, a previous employer or character reference would be the best you could do, but it’s not guaranteed. It would depend on who else applied and if their references were better.”
“Of course,” I murmured, painfully disappointed. Sure, it wasn’t a no, but it was far from a yes. “Thanks so much for bringing me by to see the place. I’ll walk back,” I told her. I didn’t want to leave the beautiful, quiet area just yet.
Pippa waved goodbye before driving off in a spray of gravel.
I walked down to the stretch of beach and sat on a rock, staring out at the water. It had been months since I’d been to the water. Growing up, I’d gone down there often. We’d lived not far from the ocean, and going down to the beach had been a refuge for me, until Dale and his friends had figured out where I liked to go. Then it was ruined. Now, while I gazed out over the clear, calm water, hope stirred that I could feel like that again one day… painful, crystal-like hope, so precious and fragile, one wrong move could shatter it.
Arianna
I leftthe beach and walked back into town to my car, still parked outside the rental office, a little while later. I had to get to school, but this morning had felt momentous somehow. Something had shifted inside me, something important.
I wanted to stay. I wanted something beyond just surviving, for the first time in longer than I could remember.
I got into my car and pulled out into the morning traffic. Heading back to the Night Owl after seeing the rental place felt especially cruel. Long-term motel living wasn’t for the faint of heart.
I parked, checking my watch. I got out of the car, trying to work out how long I had to get ready after my impromptu stop. I wasn’t paying attention. Not that paying attention could have changed the fact that I opened my door right into someone. Someone standing right beside my car.
“Oh! I’m sorry,” I rambled, feeling terrible. I got out of the car and turned to see who I’d banged my door into.
I froze, sweat immediately breaking out on my forehead. Dale Spencer wasn’t a big guy. But what he lacked in size, he made up for in spite and aggression. His face was as familiar to me as my own. It was like my thoughts earlier had conjured him, or the simple act of wanting something for myself for once had brought about a universal correction. I’d forgotten for one precious second that I didn’t get to dream. I didn’t get to hope. It was time for a reminder, it seemed, and fate had sent the worst one. Sadly, he wasn’t a ghost from my nightmares, but a living, breathing man. That night hadn’t killed him after all. I’d never been so disappointed.
