AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The estate is buzzing with activity, a crew of cleaners and repair people coming in and out of the big double doors.
“Oh, is that what the work van is about?”
“Mmhmm, they got here maybe an hour after you called. They’re so efficient I daresay they’ll be done by early evening. All I’ve had to do was put in a grocery delivery order and point out where all the linens are kept. I feel damn near unhelpful.” She laughs and leads me through the side entrance to the kitchen.
“Where is Mr. C? I didn’t see his truck.”
“He ran out to the Farmer’s Market to pick up some produce and fresh flowers. He should be back real soon. He’ll be glad to see you.”
“I just saw you both a couple of days ago in town! We had coffee at that fancy new place, remember?”
“You know very well what I meant. We’ve seen you a few times since you’ve been back, yes, but you haven’t been home yet. I know this place holds a lot of memories, but think of all the happiness and love that these walls held.”
Guilt hits me like a truck. Not only for abandoning this place, but also because I’ve been giving serious consideration to selling it. I just don’t have it in me to keep it running, and it seems a waste to let it fall to ruin. Distracting myself by looking around the kitchen, I don’t respond to her or even look her in the eye. It has a rustic charm despite the appliances that were considered top of the line a decade ago.
Some of my fondest memories happened in this kitchen. Baking fresh biscuits or rolling pie dough, dancing around while we worked. I look over at the old-style radio in the corner and grin, and I do what I do every time the memories and the feelings get too heavy, I turn it into a party.
I walk over to the radio and switch it on, turning the knob until any kind of music comes through clear. It ends up playing a song I’ve heard recently but don’t really know, something about catching a vibe. But it’s catchy and fun, so I grab Mrs. Coolson and lead her around the kitchen, acting silly and spinning her around. We’re laughing so hard we don’t even notice when Mr. Coolson arrives with his arms full of bags. He has a huge grin on his face but he doesn’t allow me to lead him around our makeshift dance floor. I grab the bags from him instead, turning the radio down once the song is over.
“It’s been a minute since I walked in on any of this kind of silly nonsense,” he says, pretending to find us exasperating.
We catch up while I help unload the Farmer’s Market haul, falling into easy patterns.
“So, tell us more about this mystery girl.”
“Well, ‘mystery girl’ pretty well sums it up.” I tell them the whole story from the beginning when I saw her stumble into the park, all the way up to today when I left the hospital. Bennet had them sign an NDA, knowing they would need to be filled in.
I wasn’t planning on telling them about what I felt when I first looked into her eyes, or how I feel spending time with her, but it slips out and doesn’t stop until I’ve rambled every detail out of my system.
“Oh, that poor girl.” Mrs. Coolson puts a hand to her chest.
“Is it all too crazy, too weird? I’m not entirely sure the other guys feel the same way, but I get the feeling they do… although maybe not quite at the same level.”
Mrs. Coolson pats me gently on the back. “It is pretty crazy, but you’ve got to trust your gut. How weird it is that five young men attach themselves to a traumatized girl with amnesia remains to be seen.”
I tell her more about the guys and their personalities, hoping to prep her. “They’ll be here tomorrow morning, probably by about 7:30. So you’ll be able to meet them for yourself.”
“Well, we’ll be ready for you all. Not much left to do, really. You’re going to stay in the cabin? I’ve got it all cleaned up and ready for you just in case, but you know as well as I do there’s plenty of room here in the big house. You could stay upstairs.”
“I hadn’t given it much thought, but I think I’ll at least start out in the cabin. It’ll be nice to have somewhere to escape to if things get too intense.” It’s not a lie, but the truth of it is that I don’t know if I can sleep under this roof. There are just too many shadows here for me.
“Alright well, you go get settled in and relax a bit. If you come back here in a couple hours, there should be something cooking.”
Grabbing my duffel and guitar case, I start to make for the side door, but I don’t want them to see how hard I’m trying to avoid going through the house. So, I head through the kitchen door and face the ghosts that wait for me. I walk through the dining room, into the sitting room, out into the foyer. This is the room that hurts me the most.
This is the room they found my mother in, her body as broken as her spirit. I stare at the spot for a moment, then walk up to the small round table set in the very center of the room. Over the table lies a delicate lace shawl, a framed photograph, and a small candle. This, too, has been dusted and restored, the light from the lit candle glittering off the silver frame. In the frame is a picture of my mother, her dark blonde hair falling in loose curls, the lace shawl around her shoulders.
“Hi mom,” I whisper, tears clogging my throat.
Lukas
The town car pulls away, Luis and Jackson both headed in opposite directions, leaving me and Micah alone for the first time since this all began. My anxiety has gotten the best of me. The lack of sleep, the tension with Micah, all of this excitement with the girl… everything is weighing on me. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I’m suddenly faced with the opportunity to spend some time with Micah.
There’s an awkward silence that allows me to find an opening.
“Do you want a ride?” I ask him.
Micah is still dressed in his athletic shorts and cut-off hoodie, having run all the way here the day before. I’m sure he doesn’t want to walk or run all the way back home, but I can tell he’s considering it. I start walking, hoping that by not looking too eager he’ll follow. He jogs a few steps to catch up with me as I head into the parking lot behind the community college where I work.
