craftfield 01 - secrets untold (3 page)

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you ever go with them? Your aunts.”

Lily shrugged, trying to keep the envy out of her voice. “Never had the time or money, plus there’s college.”

“They still buy you souvenirs like the plastic palm tree ones?” Amanda unwrapped her sandwich and took a huge bite.

Lily tore open the bag of potato chips and popped one into her mouth. “Yup. Soon I’ll have enough for a whole plastic forest, and I can charge admission for anyone to come see it.”

“I think you should sneak yourself into their luggage.” Amanda wiped her mouth with a paper napkin. “What can they do? Send you back if they find you?”

“Ah riding in baggage is not my ideal passage.”

“True. Hey, Michael’s having an early Halloween spook house tonight at his house. Wanna go?”

“Can’t. Inventory time.” Not that she didn’t want to go, despite it being awkward with Michael and her having broken up this summer. What she really wanted was a vacation. It was college courses online and working the ice cream shop all weekend and during the week when she could. During the summer, she couldn’t even think much less have fun or date. And her tan was nonexistent. Possibly due to her reddish brown hair like Aunt Martha’s but where her aunts curled, Lily’s was straight.

Amanda threw a chip at her. “Boo, you’re no fun. Seriously, you should scram for a week as soon as your aunts get back. And why doesn’t your mom hire more help? Then you both could take a vacation.”

“I wish she could.” Lily took another bite of her sandwich, the tangy sweet mustard coating her tongue. But the shop only added a little padding to their income after the bills. The desire to splurge during the busy months was tempting, but they’d nearly lost the place when they spent too much money. The ice cream business was a seasonal one. They learned that the hard way.

“Well, I don’t see why your mom doesn’t sell this place and cash in.”

“Because it’s our business and can be passed down to Lily and her children,” her mom called out from the cash register. “I’ll be right back, I’ve got to grab a pen from upstairs, this one just ran out of ink.”

“Okay.” Lily took another bite of her sandwich as her mom left.

Amanda tapped a manicured fingernail on the table. “You know, I need help deciding what dress to buy for my uncle’s wedding in December. Why don’t you come out shopping with me on Monday. That’s your slow day, right.”

“Yeah. We’d need to leave early so I can help Mom if we get a sudden rush.”

“Surely your ice cream business can get along without you for a couple of hours.” Her blond eyebrows waggled.

Technically, it was her mom and aunts’ business. Lily was just around to help and collect the small paycheck that paid her car insurance and gas. Thankfully, she’d been given a scholarship for her nursing courses.

The door chimed, and their business neighbor, Mr. Griffin entered. Lily sighed. Why did customers always come in during her lunch?

“Be with you in a moment,” she said with a mouthful of food.

“Is that what your mom’s paying you for? Sitting around eating?” Sam Griffin, the grouchy neighbor, said. “You out of chocolate again? I wanted some on Sunday and your mom said to come back after your delivery.”

“Yup. Just came in earlier this morning.” She stood and dusted off the crumbs from her jeans. “Want two scoops this time?” Maybe she could sweeten him up and he’d be nicer.

“One scoop and pack it tight, I want my full money’s worth.”

Of course he did. Probably took the cone back to his hardware shop and weighed it each time too. “Coming right up.”

Her mom came around the corner, carrying the bank deposit slip. “Sam, did you see our delivery truck come in earlier? We got your favorite chocolate with chocolate chips and cherries ice cream in.”

“About time.” He snorted. “But they never put enough cherries.”

Amanda threw her trash away. “I’ve got to go; stepmom has me watching the toddler twins so she and Dad can go to the movies. Let me know when you want to go all
Thelma and Louise
and we’ll ditch this popsicle stand, even if we can’t drive to the Bahamas.”

Laughing, Lily wiped down their table, then dug the broom out of the closet. She swept while Mr. Griffin ate his ice cream. It was the only time the man didn’t wear a scowl.

As soon as he was done, he stood. “Thank you for the ice cream. I don’t know why you don’t sell this place, make a profit, and live your life.”

Her mom leaned her elbows on the counter. “Why? You plan to retire soon? I could ask the same of you.”

“No.” His face reddened. “I want to expand my shop, and since I’m on the end… it only makes sense to take your spot. Business isn’t—”

“My revenue is not your concern.” Her mom pushed off the counter and vigorously wiped at a non-existent spot on the register.

“Just saying.” He shrugged, but his eyes were hard. With a nod, he left with his shoulders slumped slightly.

“What was his deal?” Lily asked and put the broom away.

Her mom sighed. “He’s wanted this place before we moved in.” She tossed her rag in the cleaning bin. “Well, his place is crammed to the rim with auto parts.”

“So? He can move and find a bigger space.”

“Why? He’s been here longer than us and has an established customer base. Besides, his customers, especially the kids and spouses of them, come here while they wait. If anything, his company helps our business. We’d lose money if he moved.”

“Not if someone nicer took over the spot next door, but was just as popular.”

“Oh?” Her mother placed her hand on her hip. “And you know someone that fits that description?”

Honestly, she didn’t. But anyone had to be better than Mr. Griffin. Oh, or they could be worse like Camie Barnes. Someone else could make even Lucifer look tame. “Not really. I’ve got mid-finals coming up, so I was going to study and crash, you good?”

The shop would close in an hour anyway and, with the wind howling outside with sleet, she doubted many would be breaking down the door for frozen ice cream.

“Okay. Don’t forget it’s your turn to go to the bank tomorrow. And I’ve got a manicure with Sally and Beverly, so you’ll have to close up shop.”

“Right.” Her mom’s once a week splurge. Nails and drinks with her friends.

Lily took the trash out to the dumpster, then slid back inside to retrieve her books from behind the counter. When she straightened, the green and gold picture frame holding the first money they made at the store, caught the buzzing fluorescent light. Lily stifled a shiver that raced through her. Why did the frame freak her out so much? It had since the day Michael had showed it to her.

The thought of Michael, her ex-boyfriend, made her debate going to his haunted house party tonight. She didn’t know if she could face him again and stir up old feelings that neither could pursue right now. They both had college and plans for the future. They’d clicked when they were younger, but even before he’d left for college, she’d felt their relationship drifting apart. It was better to stay away and not rip her heart again.

Chapter Four

Lily downed another energy drink, hoping it would help keep her awake to study. She stared down at her medical book and her vision blurred. The thought of changing her major from nursing to professional TV watching sounded doable. For some reason, none of the terms in this chapter stuck with her: acanthocytosis, alpha-thalassemia, hereditary pyropoikilocytosis, reticulosis and a dozen others that she didn’t think she’d be able to pronounce much less remember for her major test coming up.

Rising, she stretched and dragged her feet to her bedroom window. The street lights illuminated the dark boulevard. One disadvantage to living above a shop was the late night restaurants and people milling about until late. A homeless man chased after a piece of newspaper that cartwheeled down an alley. Under the awning of the Chinese restaurant across the street, a person vaped as he appeared to be watching the strip mall, towards the ice cream shop and her home. Odd.

The person was probably waiting for someone or their ride. At two a.m. Right. Her mind wandered from mugger to vampire. She needed to memorize all these blood-born pathogens. Closing her blinds, she trudged back to her desk and propped her head up with her arm. Soon, her elbow slid further and further across the desk and sleep claimed her.

***

Blood coated her palm and she rubbed it on her jeans, but the stain remained. All around her voices whispered, fingers pointing. She couldn’t breathe. Running, she tripped and fell into a hole through the ice cream shop’s floor, drowning in the metallic scent of blood. Her arms were heavy as she flailed in sticky liquid, trying to find the floor and pull herself up and out. Why did her body weigh a ton?

Gasping, she found the edge of the vinyl tile and hauled herself up. Her feet slipped in the blood. She coughed and her body trembled. There, among the crimson coating the walls, was the green and gold picture frame. The glass was shattered and the gleaming border splintered into pieces.

Mom! She spun around, sliding in the gore. Her heart slammed into the back of her throat. She screamed.

Lily jerked up in bed, clutching the sheets and panting. Sweat drenched her pajamas and bedding and a weight sat on her chest. A faint light of sunrise winked through her room as she took deep breaths to calm her racing heart. That was the last time she would binge drink seven energy beverages. She ran a hand over her face and kicked the covers off. Her body ached and her eyelids didn’t want to open all the way. She felt like she’d run a marathon, no, a triathlon, then competed in a weightlifting competition. Stripping her bed, she stuffed the sheets into the washer. After she showered and changed, she brushed her hair. Her mind filled with the images of her dream.

Stop it! It was just a bad dream… the blood was from the chapters of the textbook, that’s all.
But still, a nagging sensation wiggled under her skin.

A few moments later, her mom knocked and then opened the door, poking her head in. “You up?”

Lily shuddered and crossed the room. It didn’t help the feeling subside any. “Yup. Want to join me for breakfast?”

“Sorry, I already ate. I’ve got to run to the grocery store to pick up some things.”

The image of her mom laying in blood slammed into her, and she placed a hand to her heart as an ache stung. “Ah, I’ll go with you.”

Her mom raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You hate the store. Last time I sent you shopping, you ordered everything online and it shipped late and half the cans were dented.”

“I could use the exercise. Besides, you can buy me a donut and a Frappuccino on the way.”

“All right,” she laughed. “But don’t you have an exam today? Might want to trade that donut for something healthier and the Frapp for a tea.”

“Sure.”

The idea of being away from her mom frightened her, more than she realized as she pulled on her socks and got ready to leave.

An hour later, Lily strolled through the grocery store with her mom. She leaned heavily on the shopping cart, wishing her mom had picked something more exciting to do with her morning, like watching grass grow or leaves turning colors for the coming winter.

“Is that everything on your list?” she asked her mom who put boxes of cereal in the overflowing cart.

“Nope. Remember, you asked to come. I tried to warn you.”

Yes, she had. Lily knew her mom took forever in the store. She compared coupons and sales and whatever else before she put something in the cart. And did they have to go down every aisle twice? Once looking on the right side, then again to search the left.

“If you’d rather go do something else, there’s a few retail shops across the street. I can call you when I’m done and pick you up.”

The idea of bailing on her mom sent a freezing finger down her spine. No, she didn’t want to leave her mom alone. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Due to lack of sleep, the edges of her mind were fuzzy like she wasn’t fully awake, but slept walked.

“No, I’m good.” She rolled her shoulders back. “So, what’s left on your list?”

***

Lily and her mom finished with the groceries, unpacked everything, split a three piece chicken basket, finished the bank run and opened the shop at five minutes til ten.

“When is your exam?”

Damn, Lily had forgotten all about that. “It’s not until three.” She hated the idea of leaving her mom alone; the dream just wouldn’t shake off no matter what she’d tried today to push it away.

“Think you’ll be back by six thirty?”

“Sure.” Tests were two and half hours maximum add in traffic, she would be back by then. “Why?”

“Remember? I’m meeting the girls today for dinner and manicures.”

Right. Her gut clenched. “What if we close shop early today? It’s cold out, doubtful we’ll get many customers, a-and I can come with you. I’ve not seen Beverly or Sally in a while.”

Her mom narrowed her eyes. “Nice try, but I’ve had closing duty the last two weeks. It’s your turn.”

Dread coiled in her gut. She didn’t want her mom to be alone. Well, if she hung out with Bev and Sally, she wouldn’t technically be by herself. Still, Lily couldn’t help feeling like she was the one who needed to protect her mom. The sense, like she could keep at bay the nightmare thumping in the back of her skull from becoming true.

But that was ridiculous. It was a dream. Her mom would be fine and, in a few days, Lily would be able to laugh about this and categorize it as being under the influence of stress and lack of sleep.

Her mom rushed into the storeroom and returned with a drum of ice cream, condensation lining the plastic container. “The freezers too cold. The ice cream’s rock hard. Can you call Joe at the part store and see if he has a spare temperature gauge? That’s what went out last time the freezer was on the fritz.”

“Sure.” She swallowed hard.

“Hey, you okay?” Her mom touched her shoulder. “I can cancel if you’re not feeling well.”

“No, I’m fine.” She lied.
It was just a dream, stop making it such a big deal.
“Wish me luck for my test today.”