The Gathering Darkness (2 page)

I grabbed both sides of my head, trying to rub away the sharp, pulsing pains that lingered there.

“Brooke, are you okay?” Sammy asked through clenched teeth, while jabbing her elbow into my arm.

I lowered my hands and sucked in a sharp breath. My mind was playing tricks on me—it had to be. This sweet, ancient-looking woman posed no threat and neither did her Inn. I had to get a grip. I would soon be working here.

“Brooke?”

Finally able to blink, I lowered my eyes from Maggie’s. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I got up too early today, I guess.” I put on a genuine smile. “Hi, Maggie. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Maybe you should sit down dear,” Maggie suggested. “You’re a ghastly shade of ecru.”

With her cane, she pointed toward a red velvet settee at one end of the foyer. I sat uncomfortably on its edge, clutching my clammy hands together. Maggie and Sammy sat in chairs opposite me. The sharp pains in my head mellowed slightly.

A pale-skinned girl, who looked to be about twelve or thirteen, appeared from behind the staircase and stepped lightly across the foyer toward us. Her raven hair, a stark contrast against her pale complexion, was gathered into a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. Despite the layers of clothing she wore and lack of make-up, she was sort of pretty in a peculiar way. She came to a stop beside Maggie’s chair, her hands clasped in front of her. She stared at me oddly with dark, lifeless eyes. The chill melted, and I grew uncomfortably warm from the inside out and lowered my eyes to the timeworn patterns in the area rug.

“Beth dear, will you be so kind and bring us drinks
?
”

Beth nodded obediently at Maggie before disappearing behind the staircase.

The air in the foyer was thick, smelling faintly of fresh paint over oldness. I found it difficult to breathe as Sammy and Maggie conversed about mundane happenings of the village.

Within minutes, Beth came back carrying a tray with three glasses of sweet tea, complete with lemon slices and a plate of homemade sugar cookies, sprinkled with colored sugar. She sat the tray on an oak side table and smiled at me before leaving us.

“So, Brooke dear, you must find it a big change moving from the city to our quaint village.” Maggie smiled, pushing back the abundance of wrinkles like an accordion, the new arrangement of deep lines framing her mouth.

“It wasn’t my idea, that’s for sure.” I regretted my sarcasm immediately and changed my tone before I continued, not wanting to sound like an ungrateful brat. “But I’m sure I’ll get used to it. And thanks for giving me a job here.”

Maggie smiled, but seemed as though she masked a more sinister grin—my imagination again. She made every effort to make me feel comfortable, so why didn’t I? There was something odd about her, and I was sure Sammy didn’t detect it or she would have said something to me.

I kept up the grateful façade throughout our conversation, eating a cookie and drinking the sweet tea. And when I just about couldn’t take any more of this creepy old woman and her creepy Inn, Beth came back to collect Maggie for a phone call.

With Beth’s help, Maggie stood. “I’ll look forward to seeing you girls later this week. Goodbye until then.” She turned and hobbled away with Beth at her side.

Once they were out of sight, I stood up so fast I got a head rush. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Geez, Brooke, relax.”

“I am relaxed,” I snapped.

I bolted toward the open door as fast as I could without running, pushing past a couple of the Inn’s patrons. I didn’t stop to wait for Sammy until I was halfway down the walkway, where I allowed myself to stop and breathe in the fresh sea air and wild roses.

“Are you alright? You’re acting weird,” Sammy asked when she caught up.

After some deep breaths, I turned to face her. “No, I’m not all right. That woman’s a total creep and so is her sidekick.”

Sammy burst into a laugh. “I’m sorry, Brooke, but when did you get so paranoid? You used to be the tough one.”

If she only knew.

“Come on. I’m suddenly hungry,” I said, making any excuse to get out of there.

There was an absence of streetlights the entire way back. I tried to picture the light outside my bedroom window. It had illuminated my nights and lightened my dreams ever since I could remember. I would miss it most. In approximately nine hours, Deadwich would be in total darkness, and my new bedroom was in the back of Aunt Rachel’s house, gifting me with a million-dollar view of the Ravenwyck’s dormer peaks. How lucky for me.

H
ow do you dress for your first day at a new school? Fitting in was most important. My first choice was a sweater dress, leggings, and heels, until I saw Sammy come out of the washroom in jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers, so I copied her look. I applied some make-up, left my hair long and swept my bangs to the side.

As a finishing touch, I pulled on the leather boots I’d gotten for barely making the grade and threw on my leather jacket. My reflection wasn’t as happy as it should have been on this day. Sad hazel eyes, glistening with unshed tears, reflected back at me from the mirror, making them seem more green than brown. But I wouldn’t give in and let the tears spill over. I took some deep breaths and trudged down the stairs for a cheerless breakfast.

“Hey, that jacket’s sick,” Sammy said as I entered the sun-filled kitchen.

“Thanks,” I muttered and plopped onto a chair that had been warmed by a beam of sunlight.

Uncle Jim had already gone to work at his animal clinic. It was just the three of us: Aunt Rachel, who taught history at Deadwich High, Sammy, and me, all getting ready for our first day of the new school year.

Aunt Rachel poured me a glass of orange juice and then sat at the opposite end of the table sipping her coffee. Clearly, she and Sammy were excited about the day ahead—a far cry from how I felt. I picked up my juice and downed it.

The bright spot in the storm was that Aunt Rachel could drive us to school in the mornings. It would be after school that I would have to take the big, yellow school bus home.

Deadwich High was impressive compared to the small country school I expected. Now I was even more nervous. I had spent all my school years so far with the same group of people. This was a first for me, a stranger in a new school. Everyone would stare.

“Hey, Sammy, wait up.”

We both stopped in the parking lot and turned in the direction of the voices. Two girls ran toward us.

“Hey you guys, this is my cousin I was telling you about, Brooke Day.”

Great, I was expected.

“Brooke, this is Robyn and Megan.”

“Hey.” I forced a smile and kept it simple.

“Hi, Brooke.” Robyn seemed friendlier than Megan, who greeted me with a “hey” as I had greeted her.

A crowd began to gather. Everyone wanted to see the new girl. I had to suck down the humiliation and try to fit in right away, or it would be a long year, and I was determined not to be on the outside of the clique—if there was one. At least it was the first day of school for everyone.

As I stood with Sammy and her friends, the squealing of tires caught everyone’s attention—a welcome distraction from me. I turned with everyone else to see a red Honda Civic fish-tail into the school parking lot.

Two guys emerged. Sammy leaned in close to me. “Those are the smoking hot Knight twins. The blond one is Evan. The tall dark-haired one is Marcus.”

They certainly were cute, but didn’t look anything alike. Evan walked with a swagger. Marcus walked straight, hands in the front pockets of his jeans. Evan shouted something inaudible from across the parking lot. His happy-go-lucky smile reminded me of Luke’s—my heart constricted. But it was Marcus, the somber one, who I wasn’t able to peel my eyes from, until he looked up from the pavement and caught me looking at him. Suddenly shy, I turned back toward the girls. Their conversation was the same one I should’ve been having at my old school with my old friends at that very moment, back together after summer.

As the brothers neared, all females stared. And they stared right back—at me. Cute and animated Evan, his eyes blue and laughing, swept his gaze over me. But it was Marcus, with his dark, and penetrating glare, that I couldn’t stop staring at. It was then I noticed all the females gawking at me now. But there was a different look on their faces, that who-does-she-think-she-is look—jealousy. I’d never felt more awkward and self-conscious.

Evan stopped in front of me. “Hi, City Girl.” His eyes twinkled as he spoke. There were murmurs behind me.

“How does he know her?” someone asked, accompanied by sounds of disgust.

“Oh,” Sammy whispered out of the corner of her mouth, “I might have told them about you.”

I looked at her sideways. “
Might
have?”

Evan flicked his head, probably a habit he’d acquired since his disheveled hair fell continually into his eyes.

I masked my awkwardness with triumph and flashed him a brilliant smile. The sudden thought of making the other girls jealous gave me some sick form of satisfaction. I checked over Evan’s shoulder. Marcus hovered on the outside of the group, talking to some other guys. The student body began babbling again.

“Welcome to our school,” Evan said. “I didn’t catch what year you were in.”

I gave an airy laugh. “That’s because I didn’t say.”

“Right, so what year are you in?”

I couldn’t resist his charm. “Junior. You?”

“Senior.”

So that would mean Marcus was also in his senior year. I was relieved. I was self-conscious enough without having to share a class with either of them.

Evan seemed easy enough to be around; at least I felt comfortable around him. The clouds parted briefly, directing a ray of sun over my shoulder and into Evan’s face. His eyes came alive. The blues became separate colors, dark and light, mixed with gray, creating the effect of a still photograph taken of a tropical storm.

As quickly as the clouds parted, they closed, casting him in shadow once again. A look of amusement spread across his face. I blinked and looked away. How long had he held me spellbound? Half a second? Two seconds? However long was too long. My cheeks warmed.

“Did Sammy tell you about the party this weekend?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, looking past him to his brother.

“You’re coming, right?”

Quick, think of an excuse, so you don’t have to spend the night on the dark island
. “Yeah, I’ll be there.” I couldn’t think of one that quickly.

“Great!”

I found myself checking Marcus out periodically as Evan prattled on. Sometimes when I peeked over at him, I caught his eyes flick away from me.

As the conversation grew awkward, the bell rang.

Morning ended none too quickly, giving way to lunch hour. I walked to the cafeteria with Sammy, Robyn and their entourage of friends, picked up a sandwich and some juice, and followed Sammy to a table, all the while scanning the room for the brothers, specifically one. They weren’t there—at first.

I was engaged in a conversation about the girls’ basketball team, which Sammy and her friends wanted me to join, when Evan’s boisterous laughter stole my attention. Forgetting about the girls, I snapped my head in the direction it came from, hoping my sudden interest wasn’t too obvious.

“Well? Will you? Brooke?”

“Huh?” I looked at Robyn dumbfounded.

“Will you join our girls’ basketball team? Sammy said you played at your school last year. I’m the captain.”

“Basketball, oh, yeah sure.”

I lifted my eyes away slightly to look at the brothers who sat at the table across from us. Sammy elbowed me. I didn’t miss the smirk on her face. I also noticed the other girls at our table staring at me.

“I guess we know who Evan’s next fling will be.” Sarcasm dripped from Megan’s words. “You might as well try him on. We all did.” She spoke loud enough that I was sure most of the students in the cafeteria had heard. “Looks like you’re at the top of his food chain this year.” She gave a sharp laugh.

“What? Not me!” I felt the blood surface in my cheeks. Did they know something I didn’t? And then something else she’d said sunk in. “All of you?” I was astounded as to how they could so easily let themselves be a part of his girlfriend list.