One Black Rose (8 page)

Before he could even open his mouth to say hi I’d blurted out the question. The girl standing next to him gave him a sharp look, but said nothing. “He’s good,” said Holt, like he hadn’t even seen her look.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I’m good,” I managed to say through my embarrassment.

“These are two friends of mine. This is Casey,” he said, pointing to one of the girls, “and this is Susan.” They both had nice firm handshakes and they each gave me a smile. “They’re staying at the house.” Casey was short with the reddish orange hair, while Susan was very tall and seemed taller because she was wearing heels.

“Oh, that’s awesome,” I said, glad that they weren’t as rude as Samuel had been.

Now that I had remembered Samuel, I glanced over at the table he was sharing with Nick. I was shocked to see a cold stare on his face. But he wasn’t glaring at me, he was glaring at Holt. I remembered what Nick and Carley had told me about them, that the two families knew each other; maybe there was bad blood. That was surely the only way to explain the look that was on his face right now. Both Samuel and Holt were about the same age, after all. Maybe they’d played each other in sports and were rivals or something. Next to him Leslie sat stone still, with an almost identical look on her face. Yes, there was definitely something between the Roths and the Cheshires, and it looked like I might be in the middle of it.

I could feel the tension and was sure Holt could feel it too, but he was simply reading the menu. If he knew there was something wrong he didn’t show it. I waited, tapping my pencil.

“I’ll just have a coffee,” he said finally, looking at me and smiling.

“I want that scone,” said Casey pointing to one of the blueberry ones in the case.

“I’ll have a scone too,” said Susan.

Once I’d gotten them their orders, Casey looked at Holt as if waiting for instructions, but Holt just sat down at the counter, right next to where I was standing, and started to drink his coffee.

Both girls looked uneasy. Instead of sitting with Holt they found a table in the far corner, as far away from Samuel and Leslie as possible.

I felt a little weird. I couldn’t figure this guy out. He wouldn’t touch me, got nervous when I tried to touch him (or at least I imagined he would), but wanted to hang out with me despite the fact that Samuel and Leslie apparently didn’t like it. Well, I didn’t care what Samuel liked or didn’t like. At all. At least Castleton wasn’t as boring as home. This definitely wasn’t boring.

Mrs. Fritters came over and said, “Oh, Holt dear, so nice to see you.” She said it but it didn’t exactly sound like she meant it. Holt responded that it was nice to see her as well. “I have to run to the flower shop and pick up more arrangements,” she continued, looking at me this time. “I’ll be back soon. Hold the fort!” Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw Holt flinch. That was weird, but my attention returned to Mrs. Fritters as she left in a whirl of noise and color.

“What are you up to for the rest of the day?” Holt asked.

“I think after work we’re just going to head home,” I said. “Maybe watch a movie.”

Talking to Holt about movies and stuff was all well and good, but I had a question for him. I had actually decided not to ask him, because I didn’t know him very well, but now that he was sitting there chatting with me, maybe I could. Crossing my fingers that he wouldn’t take offense I asked, “What’s with you and the flowers? Is it kind of like what happened at the airport?”

I obviously took him off guard, because he was taking a sip of coffee when I asked and he almost choked on it.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“You know what I mean. All the flowers around you, like, I don’t know…get happy when they see you or something,” I said. Now that I said it I could tell how ridiculous it sounded.

He was giving me the oddest look, but I couldn’t interpret it.

Finally he said, “My family likes to garden. And nothing happened at the airport.”

“Garden?”

“Yeah, you know, down in the soil. Maybe that’s what you mean. Look,” he said, cutting me off, “we should go. I’ll see you later.” And with that he got up. As soon as he stood, Susan and Casey were both at his side, ready to leave. I barely had time to wave before they were out the door. I didn’t even care that all of the flowers in the place smelled fantastic now. What had I done?

I glanced at Nick’s table. Samuel and Leslie were still sitting there, but neither would look at me. Leslie at least had a good reason not to, because she was sitting there, quietly texting.

Carley got off work a little before I did, because that night she was going to have dinner with a couple that was friends with her parents. She said she would have invited me, but there was no point in both of us being miserable all evening. Nick was busy at a summer league baseball game, which meant I was on my own. After she left I helped Mrs. Fritters clean up and get ready for the night of music.

At one point she said the oddest thing: “I hope you don’t spend too much time with that Holt boy.” But I merely shrugged and she dropped it.

She let me go around eight. Instead of walking home and having to make the decision about whether or not to cut through Holt’s yard, I headed for the little grocery store a few buildings down the street.

Once I had gotten everything on the list Carley and I had made that morning, I headed home. The streets were almost dark, and since the night was cooling off I stopped briefly to put a cardigan on over my white top. I waved to a couple of customers I’d had earlier in the day who were now seated on a street bench, enjoying ice cream from the same place I’d gone to with Holt.

There were very few cars out, so when I heard a car drive up behind me I didn’t even bother to turn around. I knew it wasn’t Holt. His car had given off a soft sort of purr, while this one sounded louder. I assumed the car would just pass me and in a breath I’d see taillights. Instead, though, it stayed behind me, while I walked in the light of its headlights. When I turned around to see what was going on, I had the unsettling realization that the car was following me. A chill ran down my spine. My mind instantly went to being dragged off and kidnapped. The headlights were so bright I couldn’t see inside, and it wasn’t a car I recognized.

I walked faster, but the car kept pace. When I turned down my own road the car came to a stop. About to break into a run, I heard my name: “Autumn.” It was a simpering female voice I’d heard just that morning: Leslie.

The difference a day makes was astounding. Just the day before at the beach she had been happy to see me. Even that morning she’d been nice. Now she was trying to run me over. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what I’d done.

I turned around and glared. “What do you think you’re doing following me?” I asked. I was tired and I’d had a long day and a car following me along a deserted road in an unfamiliar town at night was creepy.

Then I got a good look at her. In the dark of night she looked different. Frozen and hollow somehow. The bones in her cheeks protruded more than I remembered them doing and her hair was even blacker. I shrank away a little.

“Just wanted to have a little chat,” she said, stepping completely out of her car. In the dark I couldn’t see what type it was, but I could tell that it was black and very nice. I frowned and stood still, wondering what was going on. I felt like since I had come to Maine I had nothing but questions.

The passenger door opened and Lydia stepped out. She looked the same as Leslie, somehow more menacing than she had earlier. Both girls were dressed in slinky black dresses and their hair was done up.
And I feel like it’s hard to look menacing in five inch high heels.

They came towards me. Samuel’s cousins’ eyes were sparkling like hard little black diamonds in the night.

“What do you want?” I asked, trying to hide the fact that I was now very uncomfortable.

I didn’t even know these girls, but they’d been really nice to me until now.

“Just to have a little chat,” Leslie continued in that soft and threatening voice. With every step she took towards me I felt my body getting colder.

“About what?” I tried to think of what someone brave would do in this situation, but utterly failed to come up with anything.

“Do you feel threatened?” Leslie asked, frowning prettily. She tried to act surprised, but she ended up smiling. “I don’t mean to
scare
you.”
I was like ninety-eight percent sure she was lying about that.

“Scare me? Why would I be scared?” I asked. Well, if I wasn’t actually going to be brave the next best thing was to fake it.

Leslie, who was shorter and more talkative than Lydia, took another step forward. “You should be. Whether or not you know why. You should be.” She was glaring at me so I glared back.

“This is ridiculous,” I said. “Just say what you came to say and leave me alone.” I was painfully aware of the fact that I was out alone at night and that no one knew where I was. There was one of me and two of them.

Neither of them said anything, so I waited. I obviously wasn’t going anywhere.

“Stay away from Holt,” said Lydia finally, looking at Leslie. “We came to say: Stay. AWAY. From Holt Roth.” She stepped up to me, putting her face right in front of mine. I tried not to flinch away, but it was hard. She was cold and her eyes had gone as hard as crystals. I knew she was dangerous.

Before I could say anything else I heard the crunching of a foot on dirt.

Out of the darkness came Holt’s voice, “What do you think you’re doing?” He sounded angry. Very angry. I could see that his face was contorted in rage and his eyes never left Lydia and Leslie.

I would never admit how relieved I was to see him.

He walked over to the girls, looking like a summer storm cloud about to burst, all black and gray with a promise of thunder and lightening. My traitorous mind added that even his anger couldn’t dim how attractive he was.

“What do you think you’re doing meddling in this?” he demanded.

“It’s you,” Lydia hissed, “who shouldn’t be meddling in this. You should leave well enough alone. You are going to ruin everything. Again. And for what?” She tried to have a staring contest with him, but it was clear she was no match for him. When she broke eye contact Leslie said, “Come on Lydia. We did what we came to do.”

I could see that Holt was breathing hard. I could tell he was trying to keep his temper and not do something rash.

But otherwise I had no clue what was going on.

Once the two girls had driven off in a squeal of tires and dirt, Holt took a deep breath and turned to me. “Are you alright?” he asked. He looked completely panic-stricken. “You look cold.” Before I could answer he had shrugged out of his dinner jacket and was putting it around my shoulders.

“They want me to stay away from you?” I asked, realizing that I was close to yelling. “They can’t tell me what to do and neither can you. Shit, my parents can barely tell me what to do since they’re too busy fighting!” I knew that I was upset because I was afraid, but having two girls stalk you in a car is scary! Nothing remotely like it had ever happened to me before.

“Look, I’m sorry about that. My life is…complicated,” said Holt. His face looked pained.

“What does that mean? And what does it have to do with all those Cheshires? Samuel doesn’t even like me so what do his cousins care who I hang out with? And why are you all so good looking?” I asked, throwing out that last bit before I had a chance to think about it. I blushed.

Luckily, he ignored it. “Look, just relax. How about we go back to your place? I can’t tell you everything I’d like to, but I promise they won’t bother you again,” he said, his eyes locked on me, pleading.

“So, you aren’t going to explain to me what the Cheshires were doing telling me not to see you?” I asked. “Would you ever let people tell you what to do?”

He gave an exasperated sigh. “Some things I can’t choose. I’d like to, but I can’t. I promise I’d like to tell you, but there are some things I can’t control.”

I shook my head. “That’s not good enough. Weird stuff happens around you. Like the airport and the flowers and my getting stalked. Well, forget it. I’m going to bed.” And with that I stalked away from him.

“Autumn,” he called after me. “Autumn, wait.”

I turned around. It was late and I was tired. Earlier that day I had been glad my summer finally wasn’t boring, but now I was scared. “Look, we can still hang out. That’s fine, but until you’re ready to tell me what’s going on don’t expect me to just do what I’m told. It was never a skill I mastered.”

And with that I spun on my heel and headed for home.

After my run-in with the Cheshire girls, I tried to wait up until Carley got home. I wanted to fill her in on everything and see what she thought. She knew everyone around here better than I did.

I put the groceries away and sat down to watch TV, but instead of staying up for Carley, I must have fallen asleep on the couch. That’s where I woke up the next morning with a blanket over me and the television turned off. I had no idea when Carley had come home.