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Authors: Trenia Coleman

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BOOK: In The Shadows
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 Chapter Four

Tonya had just dropped the girls at Natalie’s house. Danielle said good-bye to the girls and began walking up the street.

“Hey, Natalie, where’s Danielle going?” Tonya asked.

“Oh, she has to go home and take care of her little brother,” Natalie replied before she and Janelle entered the house and waved good-bye.

As Tonya began to drive by Danielle, she rolled down her window. “Danielle, I can give you a lift home if you want.”

Thankful for the offer, Danielle said, “Okay, but you don’t have to.”

Within minutes, they were pulling up to Danielle’s house. Danielle thanked Tonya again before closing the door. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tonya got back on the highway headed to campus. It had been an eventful day, Tonya thought, for sure.

She was almost certain Danielle would be joining her at the university next year. Danielle loved everything about the university and decided to do more research to find out what she needed to do to apply. She and Tonya talked nonstop on their way to her house.

Halfway home, Tonya began to feel a little woozy and felt herself getting a little tired. She knew she’d had a long day, but she didn’t think she was that exhausted. As she pulled into the parking lot of the gas station, she entered the establishment to order a quick salad. Tonya loved their Subway’s sandwiches but suddenly discovered she’d lost her appetite. She decided to order a salad, believing she would eat it later.

There was a young man standing in line behind her that caught her eye. He was tall and slender and had the cutest dimple in his chin, she noticed as they made eye contact. Although he was very handsome, he was certainly not her type, she kept telling herself as she stared into his deep blue eyes. Surprisingly, she felt drawn to him and smiled when he spoke to her in the sexiest voice. Catching herself studying his voice even after he’d spoken, Tonya found it hard to turn her attention back to the lady behind the counter.

Feeling a little anxious, Tonya made her way to the car. As much as she was tempted to look back, she promised herself she wouldn’t. She’d dated several guys from the Atlanta area but never anyone of another race. The thought caused her to laugh as she started her car and pulled onto the highway.

* * *

It was three days later when Tonya awoke in the hospital. She had nearly fainted behind the wheel and had to swerve to avoid hitting another vehicle head-on. Luckily she only damaged the right front-end of her car, and the other vehicle’s driver managed to maintain control of his car. She escaped with minor injuries, but it was discovered she’d sustained a concussion during her fall at her basketball game.

The doctors felt it would be best to keep her sedated, which was why she woke up two days after the accident. Her parents insisted on coming to Alabama, but her Aunt Mona convinced them that she was going to be fine. After speaking with Tonya’s doctor, they decided they would not come that day but warned them to prepare for a visit on Friday.

Fortunately, Brandon had been headed in the same direction as Tonya. Unsure of whether or not he should be at the hospital, he questioned himself as he pulled into the parking lot for the second time since the accident. He’d noticed her from the moment she walked into Subway and wanted her to notice him. She was a pretty girl with shoulder-length curls, who seemed to have everything figured out. Once he found himself staring, he felt compelled to speak as she stared back, probably wondering what his problem was. Brandon immediately knew why she seemed to capture his attention. She was beautiful and definitely his type, he thought as he examined her finger for a ring. He watched her place her order and found himself smiling when he heard her angelic voice.

After he got his food, he walked to the door to see her drive away in a red Toyota Corolla. He even looked for her on the road as he was driving home and before he came upon the accident scene. Brandon knew immediately it was her car he saw pushed into the tree line and knew she was injured. Once the ambulance had taken her away and the tow truck removed her vehicle, Brandon started dialing the number he’d found in her address book, listed as Aunt Mona.

He informed her of what had happened and knew he would then feel responsible for her until she was released from the hospital. It was Wednesday after work when he found himself at the gift shop, selecting flowers and a cuddly teddy bear for when she awoke. Friday, when he arrived for yet another visit, he was shocked to discover she had already been discharged.

 

 Chapter Five

It was Thursday evening, and Tonya was just getting settled into her room again. Her teammates had the room decorated with flowers, balloons, and teddy bears when she arrived. Tonya smiled upon entering the room as her roommate carried her flowers and gifts she’d received while at the hospital, and she thought about the Good Samaritan.

Tonya was excited about her newest addition of flowers and teddy bear. As she sat in front of the television set, Tonya soon thought about the kind gentleman who came to her rescue and wondered where he was. The orange teddy bear was the perfect indicator that Halloween was near. Tonya thought about Natalie, Janelle, and Danielle and knew they would be excited about the upcoming Halloween dance.

* * *

As Janelle walked through the trail, she thought she heard footsteps in the leaves behind her. She stopped abruptly to see if maybe there was a stray cat or animal in the bushes. She looked around and listened but saw or heard nothing. She began to hum to take her mind off the noise and began to think about Charles.

Janelle figured he went to hang out with the boys since he was only home for the weekend. She’d never met anyone like him before, a complete gentleman who never pushed her further than she was willing to go, and she adored him for that. She was still a virgin, but that didn’t need to be public knowledge. Only her best friend knew she’d never been with a man before, and that was one of the many things they had in common.

As Janelle reflected on her friendship with Natalie, she thought of the last time they were on the trail together. They would always find strays near the “big house,” at least that’s what they called it. They used to fear being near the big house because of Joey and the strange activities that seemed to take place there since they had moved in.

It all started when the Bensons moved in. Dr. Benson and his wife, Mary, and their son, Joey, moved in about a year ago. Dr. Benson had recently opened up a medical practice in the neighboring town of Northport, and Mrs. Benson worked part time as a receptionist there and for the local hospital.

Their son, Joey, didn’t come out much, but he always stared at the children from the front door as they played in the area or walked through the neighborhood. The more Janelle thought about it, she never saw Joey outside and wondered if they thought he would get lost or into trouble.

It was only on their third or fourth trip by the house before they discovered what Joey did as he stood in the door while they passed. They thought it was funny until he exposed himself to them. If only his parents knew what he was up to while they were away.

Joey acted like a child, yet he looked like a full-grown man. He did appear slow, but as the girls got used to his odd behavior, it was obvious he was well aware of the birds and the bees. He would sometimes yell out as they passed in front of the house. Once, he made sure the girls saw him standing there and laughed louder when he saw their reaction. From that day on, the girls decided to never go that route alone.

Just then, Janelle heard another noise from the bushes, and this one really spooked her because it sounded closer.

* * *

Danielle had just transferred from Texas and had recently moved into the neighboring community. Her mom was a single parent since her dad was deployed to Iraq. Danielle and her little brother, Preston, attended Northport High School and had been in Alabama about six weeks. She and the girls hit it off her first week there. They all had the same homeroom and physical education class. Right away she began to hang with Myron, who graduated from high school last year and was waiting to leave for Basic Training.

Danielle and the girls attended the Oktoberfest in Birmingham, Alabama, together as their first outing. It was there when Danielle was approached by Myron, and the two had been inseparable since. Danielle immediately thought their meeting was led by fate since he was from the Tuscaloosa area too, yet they met in a city almost sixty miles from home. He had driven up with some friends to attend the festival too. Her dad would have liked Myron since he was also planning to make the military a career. Danielle knew if her dad wasn’t deployed to Iraq, he would approve.

Finding friends quickly made the move to Alabama so much easier, especially during her senior year. Luckily Natalie and Janelle were popular and smart girls who didn’t have their unbreakable circle of friends. They invited Danielle in shortly after she arrived, and they were now like the Three Musketeers. The girls all planned to attend the annual Halloween dance at the high school and had gone to the local mall to find just the right outfits.

Danielle’s family had moved at least five times since she’d been in school, and finally right before her senior year, her father was deployed. Her mother wanted to move to Alabama to be closer to family as Danielle finished up her senior year at Northport High School. Her brother had grown accustomed to the constant moving too, and hopefully, for his sake, they would be there for a while.

* * *

It was almost midnight, and she had to hurry home. Many times before, Natalie and her friends from school would take the shortcut home, which meant going by Joey’s house. He was much older than the girls, he was a loner, and he was slow. That didn’t bother Natalie and couldn’t be too bad since she had a cousin who was slow too, and he was fun to be around. So she decided that if she wanted to make it home before midnight, she had no choice but to take the shortcut.

Natalie looked at the clock in the living room as soon as she entered the house. She tiptoed over to the fireplace to get a good look at the clock to check the time. It was five minutes ’til midnight, and she let out a loud sigh of relief.

“Natalie, is that you?” her mom asked from the back.

“Yeah, Mom, it’s me.”

“How was the dance, and did you and the girls walk home together?”

“Oh Mom, it was so much fun, and the deejay played all of my favorite songs,” Natalie said, ignoring the second part of the question. She hoped her mom wouldn’t ask again. She knew it was always expected of her to make sure her friends got home safely and vice versa.

She and Janelle had been friends since the fourth grade and had always looked out for each other. As Natalie made her way upstairs, she waited for the phone to ring. She and Janelle would always take turns being the first to call the other when they had been out together. Natalie reached for the phone to turn down the ringer, so the phone wouldn’t wake the entire house when it rang.

Natalie began to reminisce about the wonderful evening she’d had and meeting up with Kenny at the dance. Kenny was always so nice to her, and they had a lot in common. The two of them danced to a few slow songs, but it seemed like they spent most of their time dancing to all the fast ones. Natalie was okay with Kenny being a gentleman and treating her with respect. She was in no hurry to rush into anything as she finished up her senior year in high school.

* * *

Janelle wasn’t interested in high school boys. She was into older men and thought they were more mature and treated girls better. Before the dance was over, Janelle sneaked out the side exit past the chaperone to meet up with Charles.

Charles was home for the weekend and was a sophomore at Grambling State University in Louisiana. His major was music, and he hoped someday to be famous, just like everyone else coming from the South. They all had big dreams that included leaving Alabama one day for good.

Janelle had talked about relocating to Louisiana to attend GSU, to be near Charles, no doubt. Janelle wasn’t sure what her major would be but figured that would come later. Natalie, on the other hand, wanted to stay closer to home but not too close, and maybe attend Ole Miss to play on the women’s basketball team.

* * *

As Natalie removed her makeup and took off her wig, she figured she’d had enough partying and decided to take a long hot shower. About two minutes into the shower, she thought she heard the secret ring but wasn’t sure. The person who initiated the phone call was supposed to call and let the phone ring twice. That gave the other person a chance to get prepared to talk for at least an hour. After the first call, she knew Janelle would call back in exactly five minutes, which gave her just enough time to finish up in the bathroom.

When Natalie stepped out of the shower, she noticed how she was beginning to fill out, how beautiful her skin glowed, and how tight her butt and thighs were. Being seventeen was wonderful, and she hoped she looked as good ten years from now.

She slipped on her pajamas and got settled in the bed and lay still as she listened for the phone to ring again. She thought of Kenny as she closed her eyes, listening to the quiet and tranquil night. Natalie must’ve drifted off to sleep because when she awoke, she heard sirens.

Wow,
I
must’ve
slept
right
through
Janelle’s
call,
she thought as she focused on the clock and discovered it was 3:48 a.m. She was too tired to call Janelle at this hour, and besides she was probably in deep sleep by then.

* * *

Mrs. Benson looked at her watch and wondered how much longer the costume party would last. This was her first big fund-raiser for the hospital since moving to Alabama. She was really excited and wanted it to be a huge success for her and her husband’s sake. Dr. Benson had been offered a position on the board of directors at the hospital as well, but it would have to wait until his clientele built up at his private practice. He was still discussing medicine with a few of the other doctors while the other guests danced and mingled. Mrs. Benson wanted this party to end on a positive note, so she entered the stage and stood near the podium.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for the many contributions received tonight. You have made this a huge success for Northport Medical Center. The bar will be closing in thirty minutes. Please enjoy the refreshments and the band. Have a safe trip home, and thank you all for coming.”

After she made the announcement, she coordinated with the other volunteers to ensure the cleaning team received instructions to take any and all leftovers before leaving the building. She said her good-byes and shared a final dance with her husband. As they danced, Dr. Benson commented on how nice the evening had turned out and congratulated her on a job well done. They shared the last dance of the evening together, and Mrs. Benson glowed from the praise she received from the doctors and everyone at the party.

* * *

Janelle quickened her step and hid behind a bush beside a wooden shack. The shed sat in the back of the Bensons’ property, and she kneeled down to see if she could tell where the sounds were coming from. The footsteps stopped, and Janelle’s eyes widened as she saw a shadow coming down the same path. She sank back a little further when the footsteps got closer.

As she was about to turn and run, she heard the shed door open and saw a lamp turn on inside while she wondered who could be out working that time of night, late on a Saturday night. She had a troubled feeling about being out on the trail as she glanced down at her watch to see that it was 11:45 p.m. She only had fifteen minutes and knew she would be grounded if she didn’t make it home on time.

Just then the door opened and out came Joey. Janelle had forced her way between two hedges and knew she had ruined her costume as she got caught on the limbs. As she cowered on the ground between the hedges, she poked her knee with something sharp and winced in pain. When she reached down to remove it, she discovered it was a rusted gold hoop earring. Janelle could tell it had been out there a while because it was covered in rust.

She tossed it to the side and realized it had ripped a hole in her costume. Janelle wasn’t too upset when she realized she would not be wearing a costume next year anyway. Joey was walking back up the path with what appeared to be a blanket. He left the light on in the shed, which meant he’d be back soon.

As Janelle eased out from between the bushes, she backed her way up the trail, keeping an eye on Joey. Once she made her way back to the road, there was still no sign of Joey, so Janelle took off in a sprint and didn’t stop until she reached her driveway.

Her mother’s car was missing, but her father was home, and she knew he’d be waiting for her to come inside. Her mother was a nurse and probably had to work late, which she normally did. Janelle’s father was a truck driver and was home for the weekend. She knew he would be sitting in the kitchen when she walked in at fifteen minutes past midnight.

“Hi, Daddy!”

“Hey, baby girl. What happened to you?” he said, turning away from the fight he was watching on television.

Sinking back into the living room as she headed upstairs, Janelle said “I know Daddy, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“That will be no phone for a week unless it’s to get help with your homework!” he said and turned back to watch the fight.

Janelle made her way up to her room and knew she couldn’t risk calling Natalie tonight, not with her dad still up watching the fight. She was certain her younger sister was still up, waiting to hear all the details about the dance.

Claire couldn’t wait until she turned fifteen next year. She would then be able to attend the school dances and games like her big sister. For now, she lived through Janelle’s experiences and also learned from Janelle’s mistakes. She waited until she heard the shower go off before she made her way over to her big sister’s room to hear all the exciting details of Northport High School’s Halloween dance.

BOOK: In The Shadows
3Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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