Chapter 13
“Okay, so you’re still finishing your degree online, you’re working at the restaurant, and you still have your realtor license…” Daniela states. “What’s your plan?”
“Yeah, well…” I sigh, fiddling with my champagne flute.
I got the girls to go to the Saturday farmer’s market with me this morning, then Layla invited us out for brunch after—something they do a lot, I’m learning.
The dinner from last weekend hasn’t been brought up yet, but I’m itching to ask about it.
“I always put being a mom first, and my career and personal life second. I did whatever jobs I could find to keep us going. Now…I don’t know. I think I’m feeling a little lost.”
“It’s okay,” Layla chirps. “We’re all still figuring it out. It’s funny how when we were younger, we thought we’d have it all together now. Perfect family, perfect job, amazing, glamorous life…”
“You do have that,” Daniela tells her.
“Eh. Maybe not the job part. My business is still moving at a slow pace. But that’s okay.
I’m enjoying it.” A genuine smile spreads across her face.
“I suppose we’re not that glamorous though.
We all ended up in this small mountain town where everyone knows everyone and the winters are dreadful. ” She chuckles.
“You love it, though,” Daniela adds. “And speak for yourself—I’m still in Sacramento most of the time.”
“You’ll end up here eventually,” I laugh. “That arrangement you and Dex have isn’t going to last long. He misses you too much. It’s all I hear about when I see him at work, actually.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Speaking of ending up here…” I know she’s about to mention Jameson, who messaged me last week, the morning after the missed dinner, that he was sorry but had to be back down in Southern California for some sort of work thing.
He apologized profusely. I won’t lie to myself and say that I wasn’t a little bummed, but he promised he’d be back very soon and would give me a heads-up beforehand.
“How’s all that going? Why does Jameson want to move here? He doesn’t quite seem the type…”
“You don’t even know him,” Layla laughs. “He’s probably like the rest of us. Wants a taste of this peaceful life in our quaint little town.”
“Maybe,” I say before taking a drink. “I don’t really know why. I mean, he did say something along those lines. Work is too much and all that, but…I’m sure there’s more to it.”
“I can think of a possible reason,” Layla says, looking like a child with a secret.
“What?” I ask slowly.
“He’s totally into you.”
“No he’s not.”
“Yes, he is,” she argues.
“Even if he was, he didn’t know me at all before reaching out. Like, we met at the wedding and spoke two words to each other. Please don’t tell me you think a man would move to some unfamiliar town just because of a woman he met one time.”
She rolls her eyes, her face amused. “I didn’t mean that.
I just think he was watching you at the wedding and was intrigued.
One of his good friends lives here, he’s burnt out from his work life, and he thought ‘hey, maybe I should look for a giant fancy vacation home in that awesome town and maybe get to know that beautiful, interesting woman some more while I’m there. ’” She finishes with a proud grin.
Daniela and I look at each other, then erupt into a fit of laughter. I think the mimosas are getting to us, because it really wasn’t all that funny. It’s just ridiculous.
“Nah. I still don’t believe you. Look at the guy. He could have practically any woman he wants. I’m a plain, boring waitress-slash-realtor-slash-twenty-nine-year-old-college-student from a small town.”
“Oh please,” Daniela chimes in. “You’re hot. You have that innocent girl-next-door-but-is-probably-a-secret-freak kind of look about you. A lot of guys are into that.”
“Wow, thanks,” I say with sarcasm and a smile. “But people also think I’m older than I am. Layla, for example, thought I was a lot older than I was when she first met me.” I giggle at the memory.
“To be fair,” Layla sings, holding up a finger, “I only thought you were like, maybe thirty, and it turned out you were twenty-eight. Not that far off. And it’s because you carry yourself with a certain…
maturity. And confidence. But also approachable and familiar, hence the girl-next-door thing Daniela mentioned. ”
“Well, thanks. I guess.” I take a sip of my cold, bubbly drink to hide my face.
I haven’t known Layla for that long, and Daniela for even less, but sometimes I think your friends see you more clearly than you see yourself.
While I tend to fixate on the doubts, the negativity, the turmoil swirling around in my head, maybe they just see…
something else. Like confidence, apparently.
**
“This is a terrible idea.” Layla says, standing beside me with her hands on her hips.
“If I see any bones, I’m sending you my therapy bill,” Daniela adds from my other side.
“I feel like Charlie’s Angels right now,” I muse.
The three of us stare up at the murder house, mentally preparing to go back in.
Once I started talking about it at brunch, someone joked that I needed to return and make sure there weren’t any more clues.
I can’t even remember which one of them said it now.
After two more mimosas, I somehow decided that it needed to be done today, and I convinced them to come with me.
Layla is now the designated driver for a very buzzed Daniela and me.
“Is this even allowed?” Daniela asks.
“Sure. I have the code, and I have a client who’s interested in the house and wanted me to come back and take some pictures.”
Daniela side-eyes me. “He is not interested in this house.”
“Sure he is,” I say. “I’m a great realtor. Very professional. I would never abuse those privileges.”
Daniela snorts beside me.
“Okay. We’re in and out. Just looking for anything out of the ordinary, I guess.”
“You first,” Layla says.
They follow me up the stairs and to the door with trepidation. I unlock it with the code and step inside. An empty, stale wave of air hits us, and there’s a cobweb in the upper corner of the doorway that wasn’t there when I brought Jameson.
“There’s definitely an eerie vibe here. How long did you say it’s been unoccupied?”
“Couple years. The owners live in San Francisco. They can’t seem to sell it.” A lot of the homes for sale around here are unoccupied, because most of them are vacation homes that are rarely used.
“Are the owners related to the murderer? Or…does the ex-husband still own it?” Daniela whispers.
“No,” I shake my head a little too hard, making myself dizzy. “It’s had several different owners since then.”
“Good.”
“Okay, angels, split up!” Daniela hollers.
She and I laugh, but Layla still looks unsure. “That’s exactly what you’re not supposed to do in a horror film, you know?”
I nod toward her. “She’s right.”
“Okay, then. Everyone follow Carly.” Daniela says.
I lead the way, pulling out my phone as we move through the entryway and into the kitchen.
“What is that?” Daniela asks with a laugh, glancing at my phone.
“It’s an app that’s supposed to detect paranormal activity.”
“How?” she asks, her tone dripping with doubt.
“I don’t know. Something about the magnetometer and electromagnetic fields. I’m no expert.”
“And you believe that?”
“Probably not,” I laugh. “But best to be safe.”
The entire downstairs is barren, and the activity on my phone is silent. We head to the second floor. Then finally, the attic.
“Nope,” Daniela says. “I draw the line at creepy attics. Just the creak from you pulling the stairs out was creepy enough.”
“Yeah, I’m with her,” Layla adds, standing beside her in solidarity.
“So you guys are going to send me up there alone? That’s another horror movie no-no.”
“We’re not sending you anywhere. You wanted this, sister,” Layla replies.
Daniela steps closer and grabs my shoulders, demanding eye contact. “You are a strong, confident woman. You’ve got this girlfriend.”
Laughing, I roll my eyes as she steps back again.
When I crawl up and peek around the dusty attic with its few pieces of furniture, I begin to feel like this is a dead end.
Still, I look around a little more, checking floorboards just in case she had more hiding spots in there.
Nothing. I examine the old desk again, hoping maybe there’s a carving or something.
Again, nothing. I huff out a breath, look around one last time, and decide to give up.
Then I hear the scream.