23. Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-three
Remington James
I thought the week after the holiday would settle down, but that was before word spread in Lake Hollow that I’m a disgusting whore. All it took was me being seen with the guys leaving the country club, for the prim and proper people in town to start gossiping about me. Remington James isn’t just strange; she has four boyfriends. They’d lose their collective minds if they had any idea what we were up to at the country club. The blushing I do when I relive parts of the night. Call me a whore, slut… call me whatever you want. Definitely worth any slur.
Uncle Skip isn’t talking to me over it. We communicate in the form of notes. Natalie makes excuses for him, frets over what I’m doing to my life, and it’s heartwarming that for the first time since I’ve lived with her our roles are reversed. But I keep telling her, I know what I’m doing.
I don’t.
However, I’m not dwelling on that.
In a crazy, ‘what life is this’ kind of way my connection to these four men can’t be ignored.
When I arrived at work today, Skip went into his office after a cold look my way, shutting his door. Where he has sat in judgment of me all day. Imagining all the ways I’m just like Relia, even down to my loose morals. I’d be hurt if his approval or opinion mattered to me anymore. They don’t.
With the sun beating down on me, I plug in the bumper boat that won’t hold a charge. The line of people waiting for their ride has doubled. My partner today, Taj, is busy pulling in one of the boats whose steering is on the blink. Behind me I hear a woman say in a scathing tone, “... I'm pretty sure that’s her.” I’d walk away to avoid hearing more, but this is my job, so I keep my back turned. “... no way. I refuse to believe it. She probably made the whole thing up.”
The woman with her replies, “Yeah, like maybe Cal, but Charlie? In her dreams. Don’t even get me started on the other two.”
“I take it back, not even Cal. All she’d have to do is say she’s in a relationship with him and boom, he’d pull his disappearing act.”
All the talk.
I don’t bother to smile at them as they step forward for their turns. Face to face and steps closer, they both plaster big fake smiles on. Compliments are made about my bird pendant necklace, and the ‘darling’ sketch of a googly eyed frog on my hand. Holding the bumper boat they’re going to use steady, I say flatly, “Watch your step.” The double meaning implied. I’d love to move it at the last minute to watch them fall into the pond.
Here’s to not letting the intrusive thoughts have their way with me.
Give us this day our daily restraint. Amen.
A scuffle ensues an hour later near the mini putt when Cal overhears someone shit talking about me. Three other employees intervene to avoid the ugliness of an assault charge. Haters are just motivators, the more this keeps happening, the more determined I am to loudly love my boyfriends. Each one, as much as possible.
Anyone trying to shame me or us can suck it.
I’m angrily shoving cleaned life jackets on the rack in the equipment shed, when the door slams shut. I don’t need this. Between the side eyes, overheard commentary on my life, and the child that vomited on my feet earlier I’m spent. The single bulb that turns on with a string pull is gone. Bulb removed. Only locking with a key on the outside, I bang on the door when it won’t open. I kick and pound my fist against it for an eternity before Taj pulls it open. “It wasn’t locked, Remi.” The hell it wasn’t.
More haunting bullshit. Or someone thinks their pranks are funny. Today I’m not laughing.
After the last customers trickle out of the Funpark, Cal finds me laying on the dock with my knees up. He eases down next to me. “Hey, sweetheart. Skip talk to you yet?”
It’s best he doesn’t today, I wouldn’t be able to control my words. I shake my head at him, as he lays next to me, taking my hand to kiss it. “Staying with me tonight?” Since Skip gave me the cold shoulder three days ago, I’ve bounced around. A night with Grady, one with Wilder (where he paced the floor in agitation instead of sleeping because he was angry on my behalf), and last night with Charlie and Cal at the townhome.
Clearing my throat, I pick up the conversation we dropped when he drove me to work in his frightful truck, “You were going to tell me about the necklace everyone hates.”
No, he wasn’t.
Sighing, Cal lets go of my hand, placing them stacked on his stomach. “Nice try. It’s safer not to tell you anything about it at this point. Are you hungry? I could dive into some of Beau’s wings with that fiery hot sauce. Whadya say? Wings, a steaming hot shower, and playtime?” His seductive tone is tempting. Captivating. But I’m in the mood to push him after the day I just endured.
“Safer for who? Just tell me what the big deal is with the necklace. While you’re at it, I want to know more about the girl you were discussing with Charlie. Who is Mia Kelley?” I sit up, hugging my knees just wanting to get through to him, make him talk about the past.
Cal stands up, shoving his hands in his pockets. He answers me in a crabby voice, “You and Charlie are both driving me crazy. I don’t know what’s worse, your inability to listen to reason or the hang up with the necklace. It’s gone, fucking good riddance, now we move on. The thing was cursed.”
Are we fighting?
I’ve never cared enough in a relationship to wage a war over anything. But love changes things.
That doesn’t mean I’m backing down. “Cursed? Here we go with more of the mumbo jumbo your hometown is fascinated with. Hauntings, curses, messed up secrets. Maybe someone should’ve clued Uncle Skip in about hazing the newcomers. Ha. Ha. Got us.” I throw my hands up in surrender. “The best part i-”
Cal cuts me off with a kiss, his hand cradling the back of my head. Against my lips he says, “I think I’m just hangry. No more arguing… food.”
“Tell me about the necklace.”
“Food.”
“Necklace, Cal.” I pull at his shirt. “Just tell me.”
He chews the inside of his cheek, before closing his eyes. When he looks down at me, I’m expecting him to reassert that the matter is closed, but instead his shoulders drop and he says, “That stupid fucking thing. It’s a family heirloom, or so I’ve been told.” He runs a hand through his hair. “That name you heard… Mia. We were talking about Mia Kelley. When we were thirteen, she drowned in Lake Hollow.”
I nod to keep him talking, grabbing one of his hands. I’m surprised to feel him trembling.
“She was the second drowning that summer. I don’t remember her well, she was eighteen, but it rocked the town. Her dad is the mayor, and was at that time, too. Her younger brother, Carter, is a friend of ours. When her body was found, her mom was insistent that she’d been wearing a family heirloom, an old locket.”
My heart is lodged in my throat as he continues staring past me at the lake, “Her body was… in bad shape by the time she was found. Authorities said the necklace was probably at the bottom of the lake. The next summer Tera Hersch, another drowning victim, had been seen wearing what looked like the same necklace by one of Mia’s friends. No one paid much attention to the talk about that, it could've been something that looked like it. No one ever found Tera’s necklace. Then the following summer Susanna Ross, the first drowning that summer, says she found the necklace in her cabin. This time Mrs. Kelley spotted it on her at church. She wanted it back, but the Ross’ told her that she had no proof it was hers. They should’ve given the fucking thing to her.”
Cal pauses, his Adam's apple bobbing as he closes his eyes again. “Susanna passed away, then Sara found the necklace. I have no idea where, never asked. She was wearing it the night she died. It wasn’t with her body when it was found.”
“What about Katie?” My voice is shaky and quiet.
He looks startled, blinking a couple times. “No. Katie never had it… I don’t think she ever had the necklace.”
Instead of convincing me that it’s cursed, I’m suddenly aware that the necklace could be evidence. A serial killer could be marking his victims. We can thank all my late-night true crime shows for that thought process.
“Cal?”
“Huh?” He’s deep in thought still staring past the pond to the lake. The one he’s still very leery of.
“It’s just a necklace. How could my possession of it affect me unless you think that’s why four people drowned? Wait…” My mind scrambles around for the pattern. “Wait a minute… there were two boys that drowned, but they had nothing to do with the necklace, right?”
Natalie opens the office door and calls out, “Are you coming? I want to lock up and go.”
“No.” Cal’s brow furrows. “No, they didn’t.”
I weave my fingers through his. “See? The necklace isn’t as scary as you thought it was. Just because it’s gotten around doesn’t mean anything.”
We’re walking to his truck, when it hits me that there is no normal explanation for it being lost in the lake then showing up in my room. A chill chases its way down my spine. I choose to keep that to myself. There’s no need to make the paranoia the guys have any stronger.