CH 4: Granny's Haunted Teeth
Dinner with the fam... SUCKS! I could care less about my parents jobs, or my grandma's new dentures. It's just gross.
"They'll be here in less than a month!" Granny excites, and my parents smile uncomfortably. This was no time to be discussing this.
"That's, uh, wonderful. Ma." My father huffs uncomfortable, picking apart his food contemplating if he has the stomach for it anymore.
"That post man better not screw up this time." She drags on. "If he sends it to the wrong address again..."
"You mean someone else got your dentures?" I laugh.
"Oh, no dear." Grandma corrects. "There was a mix up at the post office, and they sent it to my old address."
"You mean the ghos-er- I mean, the cottage?" I correct.
If you didn't already know this, my grandmother used to live in a now abandoned house behind her current one. After Grandpa died there, she collected the insurance and had this house made. Grandpa designed it himself; it's his dream house. It's a shame he couldn't live here too.
"Last summer, as a matter of fact!" The elder reminisces. "The poor man walked in during the middle of the night, heard two little girls screaming, and called the police!"
"He must have been terrified!" My mother comments. "I can hardly rationalize the idea of ghosts, but I imagine anyone going in that old place would be more than afraid."
"Uhh, so... how do you know about this anyway?" I question the old lady.
She laughs. "Oh, Jade! The police just wanted to explain what they were doing in my yard. Does it matter? I get my dentures soon! That's all I care about, dear."
I don't know what she was trying to say; weather she knew it was me in the house last summer or not. She tends to talk in riddles, it's best I just keep my mouth shut and be thankful Tori and I got out of there when we did... WITHOUT causing permanent damage.
It could have been my necklace that gave it away. Though, I would imagine it be difficult for granny, with her poor eye sight, to identify the pattern identical to her old key. Like I said... I'll just keep my mouth shut and finish my meal.
'Ready?' my phone reads, buzzing soon after I finished dinner. She had perfect timing.
'Give me five minutes' I reply, and send.
I snuck out the second garage and started down the road to the Marina. Tori caught me midway and pulled up on the sandbar.
"Over here!" She called.
Since the ferry was done for the night, it makes it an opportune time to search the area. Tori says that if we measure the time it takes to get from one side to the other at a constant speed, she can do some math stuff to give us an estimate of which sections we need to search each day.
We were only progressing forward at a slow speed, and the lake was surprisingly quiet tonight. Typically there's a party or bonfire going on somewhere (it is summer, after all.) I enjoyed the peaceful moment, after all the crazy things we've been through today.
"I should tell you something." I say, half falling asleep on Tori's shoulder.
She twists her head back.
"The ghost house isn't really haunted." I explain. "The person who trapped us in was a postman."
She giggles. "What?"
"Grandma was talking at dinner about how a post man got the wrong address and accidentally went in the ghost house. He got so scared when you were screaming, he locked us in and called the cops."
"You mean the entire time we were in there we were running away from the mail?" Tori clarifies.
I nod sleepily.
"...I don't know if this is funny or embarrassing."
"It's ironic." I respond. "But that was last summer, right? It's over with."
"I guess." She shrugs, which causes my head to perk up for a moment. "Why are you so tired? Is it because I woke you up this morning?"
We were maybe halfway to the island at this point.
"No, I took a nap before dinner. It's just..."
"Still waking up?" She guesses.
"No."
There was a pause. "Then, what?" Tori asks calmly.
"It's just so peaceful out here. The water under the Jet, the stars causing little sparkles to reflect in the lake, you know... everything's just so..."
"Serene?" She offers, when I'm at a loss of words.
"Yeah." I say. "It makes me feel a little melancholy."
We reach the island finally and Tori stops the Jet, as well as her phone timer. She hops off, and offers her hand to help me to the ground.
"You don't have to feel melancholy, we're back. This summer's going to be just as fun as last, trust me."
"I wish I could live on this lake, you know?" I continue. "Anyway, we should probably be getting back."
"Don't you want to stay? Just for a little?" the girl whines. "For old time's sake?"
My parents don't know I'm gone, and the odds of them finding out are greater the longer I stay. This place had a lot of meaning to Tori though, so I figure I'll stay for her sake.
I follow her through the village, into the wooded center. It's been a long time, but I still remember the forest's labyrinth in full detail. Not much has changed at all.
"Sit here with me, just for a little." Tori asks, tugging at my sleeve and urging me down.
We rest at the bottom of a small hovel in a tree, and watch the night sky as the moon slowly makes its climb.
"Do you have a pen or a pencil?"
I was too engaged in watching the stars to take note of her question. The way the stars shone through the branches was mesmerizing...
"Jade!" She snaps, and I cringe.
"What!"
"...nothing. Never mind." She sighs.
"No, sorry. You said you wanted a pen?"
She doesn't respond.
"I don't have one... What would you need a pen for in the middle of an island anyway?"
"I was just thinking maybe I'd carve out names into our tree." She blushes.
Our tree? I'm pretty sure we don't own a tree. I suppose this was a crucial point for us last year, but I don't see any reason we should-
"Hold me?" Tori begs, her head tilted innocently as she looked at me with puppy-dog eyes.
Before I can respond she wraps her arms around me and rests her head on my chest. She was smiling comfortably against me, and I put my arms over her in reaction.
It's true I have feelings for her, and at times like this when it's just the two of us, something just feels right about it all. I honestly enjoy her company, and right now I'm enjoying this. I guess that's what scares me the most.
"What are you doing?" I mutter, my fears taking over my better judgment.
I was talking to myself; but Tori took it the wrong way.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" She happily sighs, then scoots closer into my side. "I'm cuddling with you."
I typically try not to over think things, but Tori's obvious body language wasn't helping the situation. I almost feel as if I need to feel her soft, wet lips against mine once more.
"We should leave." I blurt, and instantly stand up without her consent.
"Are you okay?" She concerns. "Is something the matter Jade?"
"Just take me home." I tell her, already starting down the path back to the island's perimeter. "Just take me back."
"O-okay. Wait up! Hey, there's no rush! Jade!"
Each of her calls I ignored. I didn't want to believe she cared about me as much as she did, or as much as I did for her. Whatever was going on my mind was trying it's best to reject the idea completely.
She dropped me off at the Marina and, before I left, tried to say goodnight. I wouldn't let her.
I arrive home and don't even bother sneaking in through the window. Instead, I walk right in the front door and up to my room. No one woke up, thankfully.
What the hell is that girl doing to me? Could it be that I'm just vulnerable? Certainly that's not it. Tori's a friend. She's my friend, I mean. I'd even say she's my best friend while I'm at the lake. That's all, though. I just have to remember that.
My phone starts buzzing, and I'm afraid to check it. I didn't want to talk to her right now... I was trying to forget about her in a sense.
Cat.
"What." I answer.
"Jade, guess what tomorrow is!" The giggly girl excites from the other end.
"I don't know, Cat. I don't-"
"It's the full moon! Hehehe!" She laughs annoyingly.
Oh Cat... what am I going to do with you?
"Jade, you and Tori should keep an eye on it! And call me! And then all three of us can be on a ghost hunt together! It'll be so much fun!"
"Wait." I pause. "How do you know Tori's here?"
"I called her yesterday." The perky red head explains. "I told her to tell you 'Hiiiiiii!'."
She called Cat and didn't even tell me? She told me she was up researching a priceless gem last night! That Vega has some explaining to do!
...what am I saying?
"Cat, go to bed."
"Call me tomorrow!" She says before I hang up on her.
This is just getting ridicules! Why do I care what Tori was doing last night? I mean, I DON'T care what she was doing, or what she said she was doing. Really.