Page 62 of Fall I Want
I pull her to me and place my hands on her shoulders and squeeze, forcing her to look into my eyes.
I can’t allow this to continue on. “My family has always owned this house and this property. My mother designed every square inch and had it custom-built to her specifications over thirty years ago.”
“But—”
“Listen,” I say, keeping my voice soft. “We came here one spooky season through Christmas after my mom found out she had stage four cancer. She wanted us to create memories in Cozy Hollow before sharing the news with us. After the new year, when we returned to the city, she told us her diagnosis. No one was gruesomely murdered. No one died in this house.
“After my mother passed away, I tried to forget this place existed. When I turned eighteen, I inherited the house, but I had no reason to come back. It’s stayed vacant until I returned at the beginning of September. Nothing badeverhappened within these walls. It was actually one of the few happy places I had as a kid. I promise.”
Autumn covers her mouth and her brows crease. “Oh. I’m verysorry. I was disrespectful. I had no idea. Zane, I’m incredibly sorry about your mom. I—”
I smile and lift her chin. “No, please don’t apologize. My mother would’ve weirdly loved to know her dream house became the center of a fictional story about murders and it being haunted with ghosts. Even if it’s unrealistic.” I chuckle, glancing at the frames that are shining in the light as her feet stay planted in the kitchen. “She was a witchy hippie who adored summer nights, fall, and growing flowers.”
“She sounds like sunshine.”
“Mom was stardust. Sparkly and beautiful, but gone too soon,” I say with a sad smile, walking past Autumn. “Come on.”
She doesn’t budge.
“Do you trust me?” There is a reason this happened and I want to find out what that reason is. Even though I know I’ve avoided these photos since I arrived, it’s time to face them right now.
I glance back at Autumn, hold out my hand, and nod my head. While she takes it, she’s hesitant.
“Don’t you find this strange?” she asks.
“I do.” I look around, noticing the living room is pitch dark other than the light from the kitchen leaking onto the floor, and the one above the mantel. None of it makes sense. “It’s my mom, or maybe there’s an electrical issue and it’s a pure coincidence.”
“Nothing is ever coincidental,” Autumn says, her eyes scanning over the pictures. She spots one, and it’s me and my sister posing at the patch with my mom.
“Wait. I think I met you when I was ten,” she whispers. “How is that possible?”
“Sometimes it’s as simple as being in the right place at the right time,” I tell her, pulling the frame down and handing it to her.
“What’s your sister’s name? We hung out an entire day and got our faces painted with butterflies. I have a picture somewhere.”
A lot has happened since then and the memories are too fuzzy. “When we were kids, we used fake names to hide our identities. She went by Lucy.”
“Yes.Lucy,” she whispers with a grin. “That was it. I couldn’t remember for the longest time. And you?”
“I’ve always answered to Alexander and Zane.”
“Do you have a preference?” she asks, and I adore how respectful she is. No one has ever asked me before.
“It’s whatever you prefer. Depending on the setting, people call me different things.” I kinda like hearing my first name come from her lips though.
“Interchangeable. I like that.” She continues looking at the photographs. “This was your mother?”
Mom stands outside of the greenhouse with dirt on her overalls and a pair of cutting shears in one hand and some flowers in the other.
“Zane, she’s holding coneflowers,” Autumn whispers. “Did they come from her garden?”
“Yes. They were her favorites. I thought you’d like them too.”
“Wow. That means a lot to me,” she says, her voice cracking, setting the picture back down. “She’s beautiful. You have her eyes and smile.”
“Thank you. It’s been a long time since someone told me that,” I say, focusing on the photo as the letter comes to mind. “My mom is why I came back to Hollow Manor. She always said the mountains could heal anything. I came to find out if it was true.”
My words get choked in my throat. Autumn carefully wraps her arms around me and I don’t know how to react at first.
