Chapter 22

Charlotte

The following morning I woke early because of the loud music my sister was playing. I held my pillow over my ears, but even the muted sound bothered me. Irritated, I dropped the pillow to the floor and sat upright in bed.

“You are so inconsiderate,” I grumbled.

“You can sleep tonight,” Juan responded. “Wake up, it is a beautiful day.”

I looked out of the window. There was no wind outside, and the grass was covered with leaves. The flowers were still there, but the Red-eyed Lady was not standing there anymore.

I lay down again and pulled the covers over my head. I wanted to sleep more, but Andrea was banging pots and pans in the kitchen. By the time I got out of bed, I was frustrated.

Amore followed me onto the porch, and when she didn’t pee, I assumed Juan had taken her outside earlier in the morning.

“Good morning, Grumpy,” Ned sat in the sunlight with his coffee and newspaper. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did not sleep enough,” I complained, and sat down next to him. “I don’t understand why all of you want to start the day this early.”

“This is the most beautiful time of the day,” Ned told me. “Just listen to the birds singing.”

“I don’t know why they are this excited early in the morning.”

“Breakfast is ready!” Andrea called.

“Are you hungry?” Ned asked.

“It’s too early to eat,” I replied.

Andrea, Juan, and Ned ate their breakfast on the porch. Amore lay next to my chair. I could not help but eye the flowers.

“What time are your friends coming?” Ned asked Juan.

“At ten,” Juan said.

Debbie and Audrey were both girly girls. They had their nails done and wore a lot of makeup. I could not picture them enjoying this place.

At ten o’clock they arrived at the vacation home. Audrey drove her father’s truck, which was built for these dirt roads.

Juan ran to the vehicle and greeted both her friends with hugs. Then she walked them to the porch and introduced them to our parents.

Debbie and Audrey recognized me, but they did not hug me. I appreciated that—I did not like it when people I did not know well hugged me. I also did not like giving kisses to family members.

Audrey and Debbie had brought a basket filled with food and drinks which they left in the kitchen after they decided to go for a drive on the quad bikes.

“This is a nice vacation house,” Audrey said. “I hardly ever see people here.”

“I wonder why,” Juan said, as she picked up the keys for the quad bikes. She handed one of the keys to Debbie.

“I think it was for personal use, and the owner only recently started renting it out.”

Dimitri had mentioned George used to take them on plenty of vacations until his mother ruined everything, and they stopped going. Was this his personal vacation house?

“Charlotte, are you coming with us?”

“I will,” I said.

Juan drove the quad bike, and I wrapped my arms around her waist. Audrey drove the other bike with Debbie on the back.

Audrey knew most of the roads here, so she took the lead and drove to the gate, where Debbie hopped off to open it for us. I had judged these girls wrong. They were turning out to be a lot of fun.

Maybe I always expected people to judge me, and that was why I never gave them a chance. Maybe in my mind I had already decided that a friendship wouldn’t work, without even trying.

The bikes made a lot of noise, so we did not speak much. We drove around for an hour before we headed home. Ned and Andrea were happy when we returned to the house, and had wondered whether we’d gotten lost.

Audrey heated pizza for lunch, and she was kind enough to share with everyone. We took a blanket from the house and placed it under a tree, where we had a picnic.

“This pizza is so good,” Juan exclaimed.

“I know.” Audrey smiled. She then turned to Debbie. “How is Jake?”

“Who is Jake?” I asked.

“Debbie’s ex,” Juan said. “He keeps worming his way back into her life.”

“He comes and goes as he pleases,” Audrey said.

Debbie looked down as she was clearly somewhat embarrassed. “It’s not that simple,” she mumbled. “I really like this guy.”

“But he does not treat you right,” Audrey said. “If he really liked you as much as he said he did, he would not make you wonder what he wants.”

“He does not even know what he wants,” Juan added.

“Maybe he will figure it out,” Debbie said.

“Maybe by the time he has figured it out you will have found someone who never makes you doubt their feelings.”

“Do guys like that exist?” Debbie asked.

“I don’t think so,” I said.

Juan looked my way. “How’s Dimitri?”

“Dimitri?” Debbie asked.

“He is just a friend . . . ” I said.

“Guys don’t know how to be ‘just friends,’” Audrey told us. “Unless he is gay, he must have made a move by now.”

“He kissed me,” I admitted.

“Charlotte!” Juan exclaimed. “Why am I only hearing about this now?”

“We’ve not had time to talk,” I reminded her. “The thing is, he disappeared after the kiss.”

“Maybe it was a one-night thing,” Audrey said.

“Well, I saw him once after that, and he acted like it never happened,” I said. “Is that normal?”

“No,” Juan said quickly.

“No,” Debbie agreed.

“No,” Audrey said.

My heart fell.

“Maybe he is messing with you,” Debbie said.

“We are really good friends,” I said. “Maybe he just has a lot going on in his life right now.”

“Don’t make excuses for him,” Audrey told me.

“I mean it,” I said. “His little brother has cancer. He is not going to live much longer.”

“That is a valid excuse,” Debbie said. “I think it’s perfectly normal for him to spend most of his time with his brother.”

“I don’t,” Audrey said. “If his life is too busy then he should not have let you in. Now he is holding you on a string.”

“I can cut the string,” I said.

“Can you?” Juan asked.

I did not answer. I had grown so fond of Dimitri. I loved having him around. I loved being able to be myself around him. It would be hard cutting him out of my life. I couldn’t cut him out . . . even if he hurt me.

“Does this boy know that you love him?” Debbie asked.

“Who said anything about love?” I asked.

“I can see it in your eyes,” Debbie said. “They light up when you talk about him.”

I had never thought about it before. Did I love Dimitri? I had never loved a boy before. What was it supposed to feel like?

Around Dimitri, I was nervous but comfortable at the same time. I was always laughing but also serious.

“First love is a beautiful thing,” Audrey said.

“She does not love him.” Juan sounded unsure.

“What about your love life, Juan?” Audrey asked.

“What love life?” Juan responded.

The topic changed, and for that I was glad. I didn’t want to share any more personal details with them.

We finished our pizza, cleaned up after ourselves, then spent the afternoon walking by the lake.

“I have no doubt the water freezes in the mornings,” Juan said.

“It is very cold at night,” Debbie agreed.

We took turns in the rowboat, and Amore joined us. I felt too guilty to leave my dog on the shore, so I put her into the boat with me, where she sat still and quiet.

There were birds in the trees and fish in the water. I put my hand into the water and immediately regretted it. It was incredibly cold, and there was no way that we would go for a swim.

Just before sunset, Debbie decided that it was time to go. “We don’t want to drive in the dark. We might hit a deer,” she explained.

Ned was astonished at how responsible and well-behaved Juan’s friends were. His view would change if he were to see them at a party. He would not have recognized these girls once they were intoxicated.

“It was lovely having you over,” he said.

“You are welcome any time,” Andrea told them.

Juan and I waved as Debbie and Audrey drove home. It had been a fun day, and for a moment I wished that I had more friends.

Ned cooked dinner for us that night, and we ate outside together as we gazed at the stars. Juan almost fell asleep in her chair and ended up being the first to go to her room.

“I can’t believe we are going home tomorrow,” Andrea said.

“A weekend is too short,” Ned agreed.

The three of us went to bed. When I entered my room, I saw that Juan was already asleep. Juan had not closed the window. I looked outside but I did not see any ghosts.

I took a shower and left Amore to lie on my bed. I got dressed in my nightclothes, switched off the light, and got into bed.

I looked through the window again. This time the Red-eyed Lady was there. Once again, she stood between the flowers. Once again, she pointed downwards.

Grandma May had told me if I wanted the haunting to stop, I would have to face the ghost. I had enough of this ghost. I was tired of being scared, and I had to stand up for myself.

~Be brave.~

Angry, I swung my legs out of the bed and marched out of the room. I flung open the front door and the night air hit me like a wave in the ocean. It was cold!

My anger faded as I looked at the flower bed. The Red-eyed Lady had disappeared.

“What do you want?” I hated my voice for faltering.

I was reluctant to go closer. My bare feet were cold on the porch, and I was not wearing a jacket either. I ignored the chill that ran down my spine and forced myself to approach the flowers.

I stood next to the bed and looked down. What had the lady been pointing at? There was nothing but flowers . . .

I looked up at the moon and saw that a cloud was covering most of it like a blanket. The stars were bright and lit up the night sky. No crickets were singing or owls hooting, and the silence made me feel like I was alone out there.

As I turned back to the house, desperate to get back to the warmth of my bed and my family’s protection, a hand reached out from the ground and grabbed a hold of my ankle.

I screamed. Panic took over.

An owl startled and took off from the branch it was perched on. It spread its big wings and flew over me.

I screamed again as loud as I could, but the hand did not loosen its firm grip. It yanked on my leg, and I lost my balance. I fell onto the dirt, still screaming.

“Let me go! Let me go!”

The hand pulled me closer as if it was going to drag me into the earth. I thought it would take me to some deep, dark place where no one would find me again.

“Get off me!” I cried. “Get off me!”

I was thrusting and kicking and blindly panicking. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t run.

“Charlotte!” Juan cried from the porch. My screaming must have woken her... I heard her feet on the porch, followed by paws, as she and Amore ran toward me.

Juan grabbed hold of me and pulled me to my feet. “What is happening?”

Ned and Andrea had also woken. They were running toward us, fear etched on their faces.

I looked at the flower bed but there was no hand, and the ground wasn’t even turned over. I could not explain what had happened. I gulped in air as if I had nearly drowned.

I moved away from the flower bed and let the tears flow freely.

“I’m so scared,” I finally managed to say.