Page 3 of The Curse of Redwood
I hadn’t been back since then, but it didn’t matter. The place already had its claws dug into my skin. I couldn’t forget it if I tried.
I stripped the sweat-drenched sheets off the bed and carried them into the laundry room before hopping in the shower. The hot water did nothing for the chill in my bones, though. The chill seemed to be getting worse every day… as did the pull to return to Redwood.
Once dressed, I moved through the house toward the kitchen.
A pang of sorrow touched my chest.
My grandma had died the previous year, and I hadn’t redecorated yet. Didn’t have the heart to. Everything was still as she’d left it—the doilies on the coffee table, the fancy china in the pie hutch, and her basket of yarn in the living room beside her rocking chair, the unfinished blanket she’d been crocheting still on top.
I was haunted both awake and asleep. But my grandma wasn’t in the house anymore. I didn’t feel any sort of presence other than my own demons. The loneliness was suffocating.
“You look like shit,” Rich said, as I got to work that Saturday afternoon.
“Thanks.” I clocked in and helped him open the store. The crappy night of sleep made me sluggish and distant.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked, as he organized a display of new anime merchandise. “You’re never this quiet.”
Rich and I’d met a year ago when he’d started working with me at the mall. He was twenty-two and going to college for engineering. Standing at six-three and weighing close to three hundred pounds, he would be intimidating to someone who didn’t know the real him. He was nothing but a big teddy bear with a kind heart and a silly personality.
“Just a bad dream,” I eventually answered. “No big deal.”
A bad dream that I seemed to have at least twice a week, sometimes three. I was exhausted.
“It’s a big deal if it bothers you.” Rich cursed as he accidentally bumped the display he’d just put together, knocking the collectible figures into the floor. I went over to help him pick them up. “Thanks. I’m here if you everdowanna talk about it. ‘Kay?”
“Sure.” I nodded, knowing I never would.
Rich was my friend, but we weren’t close enough for me to tell him some of the crap I’d seen. I doubt anyone other than Ben would believe me anyway. When it came to the supernatural, too many people were closed-minded. Probably for the best. The more you believed in ghosts, the more susceptible you were to seeing them.
“Hey, you’re still friends with that author, right? Ben Cross?” Rich asked. We were in the back room unloading another box of merchandise before the store opened.
“Yep. I am.”
“Taylor’s birthday is comin’ up and he loves the guy. Do you think you could get Ben to sign a book for him? I’ll pay.”
I didn’t know Taylor that well, but we’d hung out a few times. He and another guy named Miles were Rich’s best buds from high school. The three of them invited me to parties sometimes, but we didn’t see each other much outside of that.
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” I answered, glad for the subject change. “Which book is his favorite? Ben might have some hard copies on hand.”
“Probably eitherMurder in ScottsvilleorThe Ghost of Ellwood. You’re the best, C.”
“I know.” I grinned. “I’ll see what I can do.”
As the day progressed, I began feeling more like my old self. The unease from my nightmare seemed like a distant memory as I left work at six-thirty and drove through town.
Ivy Grove felt more like home than anywhere else I’d ever lived. And I’d lived a lot of places. There was something special about it. Magical, even. Main Street was filled with historic buildings, adding charm to the shops and small businesses. The atmosphere really pulled me in, though it was harder to put into words as to why.
The leaves on the trees varied in shades of green, while some burst with pink flowers. All signs of summer. I couldn’t wait until fall—that’s when Ivy Grove really came alive.
I was so lost in my head that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was driving. The next thing I knew, I was on the road to Redwood Manor. I stomped on the brakes, making them squeal as my car rocked with a sharp stop. In the distance, the mansion stretched toward the sky. Just as unsettling in the day as it was at night.
I could’ve sworn I heard someone say,“Come closer.”
Chills spread along my arms as I put my car in reverse and got the hell out of there.
Why had I gone to Redwood? I glanced at the mansion in the rearview mirror and felt a weight press down on my chest.
Trying not to think too much into it, I drove over to Ben’s house. He’d invited me to dinner, and I never turned down free food. It’d also give me the chance to talk to him about Rich’s request.
