Merlyn sat quietly on a small bench on the busy pier and stared out into the river, relieved that people did not notice her. At times she still felt like the ghost she once was, invisible to most people and appearing unassuming. She supposed it was a blessing, being able to do what she wanted without people taking notice; however, sometimes it made her feel alone and took her back to the days when all she could do was watch from the outside, never truly being accepted by the ones she held dear.
Billy's comment had hurt her more than she had realised and she found herself wanting to spend some time on her own to gather her thoughts. She had tried to be more confident to force herself to the forefront of people's minds; however, she always appeared to be in someone's shadow.
'Oh please, one sarcastic comment to tease my Husband and you go off into a full hissy fit? I thought you didn't want to be regarded as a child anymore' Gail laughed in disbelief, as she sat down beside Merlyn and subconsciously opened up her minds eye in an attempt to locate Rosemary.
'I don't and I'm not!' Merlyn snapped defensively, sensing that her Cousin was not fully with her and that fact feeding into her feelings of loneliness.
'Then stop acting like one and grow up' Gail ordered impatiently, a feeling of frustration coming over her when Rosemary continued to hide from her senses. 'Billy had something he wanted to discuss with you-'
'-Like which one of your pretty little dresses he prefers?' Merlyn interrupted curtly.
Gail could not contain her laughter at Merlyn's unwarranted jealousy and turned her full attention towards her Cousin. 'The beige lace one is his favourite I imagine, the one I had on when I kissed him a few years back, but I doubt that's a subject he wants to bring up to you and I'm sure Lucas Buck would have something to say if that was still on his best friends mind' she responded sarcastically.
Merlyn stared at her wide eyed for a moment, not believing that Gail would bring up that time, then let out a small laugh and shook her head. 'I guess you're right, I shouldn't be so quick to judge-'
'-not when you clam up at the meer sight of Matt Crower...You think Billy's oblivious to your past?' Gail continued to scold her.
'Alright Gail, I get it!' Merlyn exclaimed, understanding that she had overreacted.
'No you don't get it Merlyn. You didn't just overreact, you did it in public in front of someone who wouldn't hesitate in using your fears against you' Gail advised frankly, knowing that Lucas would have a field day torturing Merlyn if he was bored or backed into a corner.
'Then tighten his leash and make sure that he behaves' Merlyn retorted, not appreciating being lectured.
'Oh it's not him who needs his leash tightened, but we haven't got there yet' Gail laughed devilishly, playing her cards close to her chest and not wanting Lucas to get wind that anything was out of the ordinary. 'I just need you to not give anyone any ammunition...it's important'
Merlyn nodded, sensing something was different with her Cousin and leaned in close. 'What are you doin'?' she whispered quietly, glancing around to ensure that no one was close.
'I'm not doing a thing, just having a pleasant conversation with my Cousin and ensuring everything runs smoothly for Mary's big fundraiser' Gail advised sweetly, not wanting Merlyn to get caught up in any of her drama.
'You mean your fundraiser' Merlyn corrected, knowing full well who was in the drivers seat of this.
Gail continued to smile sweetly, not needing to respond and placed her hand around Merlyn's shoulders affectionately. 'Word of warning, Billy's Father is in Town. It's a surprise visit and he's only just found out...You might want to shake off your mood and go shopping for something a little more appropriate than your usual wardrobe, from what I remember of Billy's stories that man is hard to impress' she advised, not wanting Merlyn to be blindsided no matter how much Lucas had warned her to keep out of the matter earlier this morning.
Merlyn stared at Gail confused for a moment, then a strange fear came over her and she stood up abruptly. 'I ain't met anyone's parents before, what am I supposed to do?!' she asked frantically, trying to control her panic.
'Deep breaths' Gail said coolly, as she stood up and took hold of Merlyn's shoulders to centre the girl. 'I haven't got time to handle you with kid gloves, you're an adult now and you're more than capable of holding your own. Now just remember who you are, go do what I said and let Billy find you, don't you go crawling to him'
Merlyn felt herself become calm under Gail's soothing touch and took in a deep breath. 'Shake off the mood and get new clothes...Should I get coffee?' she asked, truly unsure of what she should be doing and willing to accept any direction.
'And a muffin...Take the day off and have a good wander, you'll be fine on your own I promise and if you really start to lose it, you know I'd never abandon you and let you drown' Gail reassured her, then pushed her gently to get her moving and let out a long agitated sigh at being unable to guide her fully today.
Caleb sat on the warm grass eating his ham and cheese sandwich, whilst reading a book and enjoying some rare peace away from his group of friends.
High School was supposed to be a daunting place; however, for Caleb it was just an arena to test out his social skills and a way to broaden his knowledge. He had succeeded in creating a group that was not targeted by other students, mainly due to the School bully Bobby somehow finding his way into Caleb's corner. His group was varied, it included his childhood friends Boone and Josh, in addition to Millie who was a smarter girl a year older than him and Ben Jr who was Millie's age, but much less intelligent. Then there was Kyle, who had been stranded in Trinity after his Mother Karen and Father Stuart had disappeared. Kyle was two years older, the same age as Bobby, and Caleb felt an obligation to include Kyle in his group due to him being responsible for Kyle's parents deaths, not that anyone but Caleb's family knew that they were dead.
It was good to have friends; however, Caleb had grown up being a loner and it took a lot out of him to perform continuously for his people. He wondered if his Father sometimes craved anonymity like he did, Caleb knew he should be happy that people wanted to be with him and it seemed like an insult to wish them away.
'What are you readin'?' Bobby asked, curious as to why the most observant boy he knew had not noticed his approach.
'The Stand by Stephen King, it's epic' Caleb responded without much thought, not taking his eyes off of the page that he was reading.
'It looks epic from the size of it!' Bobby exclaimed sarcastically, then regarded the younger boy cautiously when he just continued to look at his book, having enough dealings with Caleb to know that you could not trust his calmness.
'You lost? I'm sure football practice is more fun than watchin' me' Caleb said coolly, unsure why the boy still insisted on bothering him when he was not giving off an inviting vibe.
'We didn't have enough players so coach called it off early. We could do with an extra, you wanna join?' Bobby asked hopefully, sitting beside Caleb uninvited.
'Me play football? That ain't my style' Caleb laughed amused at the suggestion, his attention finally being taken away from his book.
Bobby was intrigued by this younger boy, he clearly strived to be respected and wanted to be taken seriously, much like Bobby himself; however, he refused a rare invitation to be part of the most respected, exclusive team in the School when any other boy would be thrilled by the offer.
'I don't need to be a part of that team when you're already on mine. I have enough respect as I need right now and I have no desire to have orders shouted at me by some angry coach' Caleb advised, sensing Bobby's thoughts and got up to dust off his jeans.
'What do you need then?' Bobby asked curiously, not blaming Caleb for being dissuaded by the coach. If Bobby did not need a scholarship to be able to get away from his Father then he would not put up with the mans superiority complex either.
'Peace...room to breath-' Caleb started, then sensed an intrusion close by and let out a long sigh.
'Hey guys, what're we doin'?' Millie asked expectantly, as she rushed towards Caleb and Bobby with Kyle and Ben Jr following close behind her.
Bobby spotted something dark pass over Caleb's eyes for a moment, then it was gone as quickly as it appeared and the boys demeanour appeared welcoming.
'We're gonna see whether Ben Jr or Kyle is the fastest, on your marks boys' Caleb responded forcing a pleasant tone, pushing down his irritation at his reading being completely interrupted.
'We are?' Bobby asked confused, ignoring Millie jumping up and down happily at the opportunity to pitch the boys against each other.
'You said you needed an extra for the team, so take your pick' Caleb whispered to Bobby, then turned his attention back to the other boys and watched them curiously to see whether they would follow his order unquestioned. 'Get set...Go!' he yelled, then laughed in disbelief when the boys started running instinctively.
'Where are they even goin'?' Bobby asked in disbelief, as both boys just went for it blindly without argument.
'Who cares, they're fun to watch' Millie smiled, smitten over Kyle's well groomed appearance and how quickly he ran.
Caleb looked to Bobby and rolled his eyes at how easily taken Millie was, smiling when Bobby reacted in a similar fashion.
'You know what, let them run and we can slip out over there...unless you wanna stay out here with these plebs?' Bobby asked Caleb quietly, then smiled when Caleb nodded for Bobby to lead the way and left the other children discreetly to their own devices.
Billy stood on the small runway, tapping his foot anxiously. This situation was not ideal, his Father had not been impressed by his decision to stay in Trinity and based on the last conversation they had two years ago, this visit was not going to be pleasant.
'Calm down, so the man accused you of pissin' away your career to be buried in a small town for some skirt ...he wasn't wrong' Lucas smirked, revelling in his friends discomfort.
'Ain't you got some poor fool to go torture?' Billy asked abruptly, not appreciating Lucas' presence at this current time.
'I reckon I do, but I wouldn't miss the chance to welcome the renowned William Peele to our humble Town' Lucas responded coolly, knowing his calmness was winding Billy up even more.
'Remind me again of why I brought you here?' Billy sighed, hating Lucas's calm demeanour when he felt like he was going out of his mind.
'I brought you here friend. Strange that your engine died just as you were on your way out, it's lucky I had a few spare hours to kill' Lucas said casually, unable to resist getting involved in this even though he had made Gail promise to keep out of it.
Billy inhaled deeply in an attempt to push down his agitation and watched the small plane land smoothly, a part of him wishing that his Father was not on board.
'You ain't that lucky friend...big smile now' Lucas smirked and nudged Billy forward when the occupants of the plane stepped out.
William Peele exited the uncomfortable craft carefully, half expecting the steps to fall apart as soon as he placed a foot on them. He could not believe that his Son had taken up shop in such an out the way place. Why could he have not located to Atlanta or Nashville? At least that way he could have gotten something out of this visit.
Billy spotted his Father and forced a small smile, seeing the disappointment in his eyes already. 'How was your flight Sir?' he asked, taking his Father's suitcase from the pilot who was emptying the baggage hold.
'Cramped' William responded curtly, then spotted an unfamiliar face close by and turned his attention to the well groomed man.
'Sheriff Lucas Buck, a friend of your Son's. It's a pleasure to meet you Sir' Lucas nodded charmingly before he could be questioned, and held out his hand courteously.
William smiled at the Sheriff, impressed by the man's strong handshake and wondered how a man such as this could have endured his Son. 'William, please Sheriff' he advised, waving off the formalities.
'Lucas, I insist' Lucas offered, liking the stern way that this man held himself and signalled towards his car.
Billy watched as his Father obediently headed towards Lucas' car and shook his head in irritation. 'I have to call him Sir all my life, but two seconds with you and he's William' he said bitterly, when his Father was out of earshot.
'What can I say? The man knows quality when he see's it' Lucas replied smugly, amused by Billy's jealousy and they both headed after William.
-To be continued-