Chapter Max Mary-Kate & Ashley
Max
Mary-Kate & Ashley
"Sadie? Are you here?"
Laughter rolls out from my brother’s living room, washing over me but not quite settling my anxiety. Rushing, I slip out of my tennis shoes and slide down the oiled wood entryway in my socks like I’m Tom Cruise in Risky Business—except with pants on.
Gliding to a stop halfway between the living room and kitchen, I see my friends. Sadie is perched near Olive on the couch, Howie’s slumped on the floor by the whitewashed stone fireplace, and Sam’s relaxing in his stuffed leather chair.
The only one who turns to acknowledge my entrance is the one I’m hoping to see most. Sadie’s holding her hands out in a slow clap, and when our eyes meet, I feel nothing but relief.
I wasn’t sure what I was walking into. While my brother’s been down this road before, I didn’t find out until it was nearly over.
All I was aware of coming here is the vague message I got from Howie saying that Sadie and Olive had been confronted by Irina and Beth—that they were in trouble, and we were going to do something about it. What? I have no idea.
"Hey Maxie," Olive coos from her seat.
I nod, entering the room to slide up next to Sadie. Swiping the back of my hand over her cheek, I take my time checking for any injuries.
"Um, Max? What are you doing?" she asks, with a single brow raised and an amused grin on her face.
"What happened?" I continue my perusal. "Are you hurt?"
She laughs, tilting her head backward to rest on the cushions. "No. She wasn’t even there, not really anyway."
"I thought you said there was a confrontation?" I shoot daggers at Howie. It’s not that I’m mad about leaving my workout at the rink. It’s more that I almost had a heart attack trying to get here.
"There was," he spits back, crossing his arms over his chest. "A verbal one."
Sam and I look at each other, a silent conversation passing between us. He’s not happy Olive’s involved in this. He never wanted her to see Irina again after Ollie cracked her head open in the cemetery, and the last time she did was the night they broke up. His concern is completely valid.
"Okay, now that you’re all here. Let us just tell you what happened. Then we can decide if action is needed." Olive stands, pacing as she continues.
My sister-in-law recounts the story, everything from some guy named Manny to a key and a message in a bathroom mirror. The whole time she’s speaking, I attempt to gauge how Sadie is feeling, but she remains stoic as ever—unbothered.
"And then, we grabbed the key, paid Manny, and called Sam on the way here," Olive finishes.
My brother huffs. "Who is this Manny guy? And did you need to be so descriptive?" He glares at his fiancée with an almost imperceptible smirk, but all she does is laugh before crawling in his lap.
"He was cute, but no different from you talking to Brooke the bartender from Golden City," Olive playfully pats his chest.
Sadie perks up at the name. "Brooke Larkin?"
"Fuck if I know." Sam shrugs.
"Was she stunning, with shoulder-length brown hair, best friends with Levi Montgomery’s fiancée?" Sadie prods.
Sam runs a hand through his hair. "Actually, yes."
Sadie sucks her teeth. "It’s a good thing you haven’t seen her, Olive. She’s as gorgeous as Manny was hot."
"Oh, I have. I internet-stalked her." Olive giggles to herself. "Considered sending her a thank-you card for sending this one home alone, even."
"Wait a minute." I hold up a hand, taking a calming breath.
"What did Manny have to do with this story? Other than the two of you wanting to get in his pants?" The words taste bitter coming out of my mouth. I know Sadie and I aren’t even really a thing, but I don’t want to think about her with someone else.
"Nothing, just wanted to see y’all’s faces," Olive explains as Sadie stands to high-five her.
"It was pretty priceless. I think even Howard got jealous for a second," Sadie adds.
"So you just dragged us all here to fuck with us?" Howie mutters. "Uncle Lon is going to be so pissed at you, Sadie. I left in the middle of the rush."
Her shoulders push back, and her legs widen just slightly, as if she’s preparing for an argument. My heart rate increases—Sadie, ready to throw down, sends a rush of excitement due south.
"No, How. I’m not saying this coulda been an email. I’m saying that one tiny part was included for our enjoyment. The rest of the story is true." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a gold key that’s affixed to a flat, diamond-shaped keychain. "See?"
"What does emailing have to do with this?" Sam asks.
Ignoring him and reaching out, I pull on her hand until she comes back to sit beside me. My palm rests on her thigh out of habit, or maybe for my comfort at this point. Sadie holds the key out to me, and the moment it hits my fingers, it shocks me.
"Jesus fuck!" I shout, dropping it. "The thing just gave me a zinger."
Sam shakes his head while the rest of the group is left both shocked and amused. Sadie bends forward, grabbing it from the floor.
"Do we have any idea what it goes to?" Sam asks. "Or is that what they emailed?"
Sadie looks at the key clutched in her hand. "It was a joke, Sam." Sadie deadpans. "And nope, just that it’s supposed to help somehow."
Olive pries herself off my brother’s lap, standing and walking toward the kitchen. "I’m going to get some stuff to help us think."
By stuff, she meant an Aperol Spritz for her and Sadie and a beer for each of the rest of us. She returns with a tray like a server flitting around her own house, and we inspect the key.
"Looks like any run-of-the-mill key you’d get from the hardware store." Howie finishes staring at it and tosses it to Sam.
My brother catches it, turning it over in his palm a few times. "Any thoughts on what JBI could mean?"
The keychain itself is fairly plain except for the inscription.
"Ooh, ooh, I know." Olive raises her hand like we’re on some sort of trippy game show. "Josephine, Beth, Irina." A shiver rolls through her on the last one.
Sadie’s eyebrows shoot to her hairline, and she gulps her drink.
"So, it would be safe to assume, given what happened..." Howard pushes his hair back with his hand. "That maybe this goes to something they’ve wanted you to find. We could try the house."
Olive groans, Sam tightens his grip on the beer bottle he’s holding, and Sadie nods.
"Yes, let’s do that. It’s been restored, so we could just walk in like a couple of tourists and see what we find."
The Hollowell House was discovered this past fall after an old map of Mage Hollow was found in the city archives.
We’d all known the house was creepy with its overgrown vines and decrepit roof, but the rumor was always that it had been abandoned by a judge’s wife when he was found guilty of some murders in the sixties.
When the map was found a few weeks after the Hollow Hearts Festival, the town went crazy.
Several times during restoration, it was broken into by teens looking for a good scare.
And there was one group of women who claimed to be descendants of Irina who protested the work by chaining themselves to the trees out front.
After months of work and drama, it opened for tours this spring.
Gravel crunches under the tires of my truck as we pull into the parking lot. The front lawn, now cleared of trees, is expansive enough to fit fifty vehicles. Today, there are only three—they all belong to us.
"This is kind of silly, right?" Sadie leans forward to glance out the front windshield. "This key could be completely random. Maybe it wasn’t even part of the message." Her voice goes up, and her knee bounces.
"Sadie, it’s probably related. But you’ve known Beth for years. It’s not like she’s going to harm you." My thumb grazes the back of her hand. "She said she’s doing this to help you."
"No, you’re right. I don’t know why I’m nervous. I guess it’s just that before the book thing seemed silly—like it was just a distraction." She takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "But hearing their voices in the bathroom, knowing they weren’t actually there—"
"It’s all real now?"
Her eyes dart to mine. "Exactly."
Howie, Olive, and Sam have exited their vehicles and are waiting by a lap rail fence built out of hemlock that lines the walkway to the door.
"Well, I made you a deal. We’re supposed to have fun in exchange for solving this mystery…" I hold up a finger to my brother in the universal sign for one second. "Why don’t we pretend we’re trying to solve a mystery that has nothing to do with your future?"
"Like Mystery Inc.?" Sadie asks, smirking.
"Who?"
"You know, Shaggy, Scoob…"
Her eyes widen, and her lips purse as if she’s trying to hold in a laugh, like she can’t believe I didn’t immediately know what she was referring to.
"Personally, I was thinking more like Mary-Kate and Ashley," I say, and Sadie bursts out laughing.
"Deal."
Hopping out of the truck, I help Sadie down, and we walk hand in hand toward the group.
"Took ya long enough." My brother checks the watch he isn’t wearing.
"Sorry. I needed a little pep talk from Mary Kate," Sadie says, dropping my hand and stepping up next to Olive.
"What? I thought I was going to be Ashley." Stomping my foot, I stick my bottom lip out in a pout.
Howie chuffs. "And you guys think I’m the weird one."
Our group approaches the entrance, taking the two steps onto the freshly lacquered porch.
Olive sighs, commenting under her breath about how different it looks from her last visit.
Sam reaches for the door handle, but a bubbly blonde flings it open.
From the overly welcoming smile and the branded t-shirt, it’s clear she’s an employee.
"Welcome to the Hollowell House. Are you here for a tour?" She scans our group, likely not expecting such a big one on a random summer day. I imagine it’ll be much busier during fall, especially close to the Hollow Hearts Festival.
Olive extends her hand. "Hi, I’m Olivia Bowman. I work at Black Kettle Bindery." The girl shakes her hand. "We were hoping to have a look around… self-guided?"
"I’m Katie." Her gaze coasts across our group. "I’m not really supposed to let people do that. We usually walk you through and explain everything."
Sadie digs her elbow into my side, nodding her head toward the girl.
"Hi Katie." I glance at Sadie for reassurance, and she tips her chin so slightly no one else could’ve noticed. "Have I seen you around?"
Her cheeks blush, and her lashes flutter. "Oh, maybe? Do you hang out at the Iceplex?"
Sadie nudges my foot with hers. "Do I? I basically run the place, babe. I’m Max O’Reilly." I drape my arm over her shoulders, turning her so we can walk into the house. "I think I’ve seen you there. Don’t you think we could work something out? A little favor for an old friend?"
"Max? As in Mad Max, star forward?" She chews her bottom lip.
"The very one. What do you say?" I trail my fingers down her arm, squeezing her hand gently. I know I’m flirting for a reason, but my stomach knots slightly. I’ve never had a problem with it before.
It’s harmless, really. But something about it feels wrong, different with Sadie standing only a few feet away.
"I, well, sure. I guess it couldn’t hurt. Just promise to be quick. Ten minutes, then I’m coming to find you."
A small scoff comes from behind me, and Olive giggles.
Spinning, I wave my arm for my group to proceed.
Howie heads for the back of the house, Sam and Olive step toward what appears to be a kitchen with a small work table directly in the center, and Sadie skips toward the steps.
Following closely behind, I have to take them two at a time to catch up to her.
She pushes into a wooden door that appears to be made from three boards nailed together by cross sections at the top and bottom. There’s a wooden handle with a string latch, and it’s stained a rich brown color.
"In a rush?" I ask, stepping in behind her.
Sadie rolls her eyes, crouching to look under the bed. "You didn’t have to follow me."
"Oh, hmm. Was I supposed to stay with Katie?" Her head whips around at lightning speed, her lips pursed in a tight line. I can’t help but smirk.
"Sure, that would be fine."
"Okay." My heart stutters, a small part of me—the needy part—hoping she’d rather I didn’t hang out with the woman downstairs. Turning on the ball of my foot, I take a step toward the door.
"Max, wait."
"You jealous, Sade?"
Another eye roll. "No." She chews her lip.
"Sure about that?"
"Okay, fine. Maybe a little. But that’s not important… I think I found something." She slides a small box out from under the bed. It’s dusty, like it’s been sitting here far longer than the restoration.
Dropping beside her, I squeeze her shoulder gently. "Try it."
Sadie fumbles with the key, pulling it from the pocket of her crossbody purse. She moves to insert it into a small hole at the center of the box, but before it touches the small iron lock, the latch flips open. My mouth drops open, and Sadie sucks in a deep breath.
"I didn’t even put it in," she whispers.
"We seem to have that problem a lot these days."
A laugh bursts out of her, and I promptly make a shushing noise while flipping the lid open. Inside sits a single piece of parchment with a message.
Like a clue reveals your one true fate. A key unlocks a future—one you cannot escape. Your destiny is binding, a path so crystal clear when you stop minding.
Sadie grabs her phone and snaps a picture before closing the lid and sliding the box back into its place.
"What does it mean?"
Sadie shakes her head. "I have no idea. It makes it sound like this is metaphorical, like it doesn’t actually unlock something physical."
"Any luck in here?" Howie pokes his head into the room just as we stand to move toward the door.
"Maybe." Sadie holds her phone out to him, and Howie reads the riddle. "It’s not here. It can’t be, right?"
Howie confirms with a nod of his head, and we head back downstairs to find Sam and Olive.
We may not have gotten exactly what we came for, but one thing is clear as we exit the house—Beth is playing a game with Sadie. She just doesn’t realize that Sadie teamed up with a guy who plays every game to win.