She Watches Read online

  “Where you staying?” the boy asked.

  Daniel could feel his eyes observing. He answered, “Rental home. We moved in yesterday, and we’ll be out before the week’s over.”

  “Interesting.”

  Daniel turned around. “What is?”

  “Most people don’t come here for a vacation. And if they do, they hardly ever leave. The old lady I work with did that. She came here about two years ago for a friend’s funeral and then didn’t leave. Now she works here.”

  “You like working here?” Daniel asked. He was glad when the boy didn’t notice the subject change.

  “Yeah, it’s alright. Tedious at times, but that’s how most jobs are I guess. At least I have books, and I have A/C. I get paid to read.”

  “Yeah, sure is nice.”

  “I figured that was why you came in here,” Alexander said. “Lots of folks don’t come in for the books. I’d say about half of the customers we get come in for the A/C or the toilet.”

  “Do they ever buy anything?”

  Alexander chuckled. “Maybe a bookmark.”

  There was a lull in the conversation, as they each stared in different directions. Daniel was focused outside, while the boy’s eyes roamed around the shop and over the counter, where his book was laying open.

  “You can read it, if you want,” Daniel told him.

  “It’s against the rules. No reading if there’s customers here.”

  “I won’t tell anyone.”

  Alexander sighed, jerking his head backwards. “Camera.”

  Sure enough, there was a single camera a few feet above him on the wall. It was bland and gray, facing forever in one direction.

  “What use is that for anything?” Daniel asked. “All they can see is you.”

  “Yeah, I know. That’s all it’s for. Watching us.”

  After a couple more minutes of awkward silence, Daniel ambled to Lucy, who was surrounded with four or five picture books. Next to her, there was an entire tub full of them, spilling over and making some sort of ugly rainbow with all the colors.

  “Pick out a few and I’ll get them,” Daniel said.

  “Am I too old for picture books?” she asked him.

  “You’re only six, Lucy. Besides, you can never be too old for picture books.” He took the couple books that were in her hands and then watched as she leaned over the bucket, choosing a few more.

  “Are you too old for picture books, Daddy?”

  He grinned and shook his head. “They’re my favorites.”

  Daniel took the rest of the books from Lucy and they headed back to the counter, where Alexander had a hand on the book. Beside him, now, stood the older lady he had been talking about.

  “Hello, there,” she said in a sweet voice. “Did you find some books you’d like?”

  “Yes, we did,” Daniel said. He put all of them on the counter, and she began to ring them up.

  “Thanks for your business.” Alexander grinned. “Come back anytime you want.”

  “Oh, I’m sure we will.”

  “It’s really a nice shop,” the old lady commented. “Fell in love with it the minute I stepped in. The books you bought will be-”

  Daniel handed her two twenty-dollar bills. “Keep the change as a tip for Alexander.”

  He knew Alexander was smiling widely as the old lady took the cash. A minute later, she put all the books in a plastic grocery bag and handed them across to Daniel. After saying their goodbyes, he and Lucy left the Marcy Downtown Book Place.

  They got in the car and drove back to their rental house, which was only a couple blocks away. Lucy said she wanted to walk there sometime, and Daniel said maybe next time they could go as a family.

  He parked in the driveway and grabbed the bag of books, carrying it inside. Lucy was at his heels. As Daniel opened the door to their home and stepped in, Lucy took one look back at the car.

  There was a lady sitting in the front seat, her mouth open in a wretched smile. She was drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, with one hand raised in greeting. Lucy smiled at her, waved back, and headed into the unlocked house.

  <><><><><><>

  Daniel and his wife were on the living room couch. He was laying down, and she had her head on his lap. The television was switching between Dr. Phil and Family Feud, prompted by the remote on Daniel’s hand.

  The sky outside was dark, and the time was ticking slowly towards midnight. All the kids were in bed already, after a long day. It was one of those evenings where 6 o’clock felt like 9, and the darkness outside seemed to be a few hours behind schedule.

  “What’s that band that Cassie was telling me about earlier?” Mary asked him with her eyes closed.

  “Twenty One Pilots?”

  “Yeah, them.”

  Daniel cocked his head. “Why’d you need to know?”

  “Just curious.”

  He nodded. “They’re kind of dark, I think. But I guess if you don’t care that she listens to that…”

  “They aren’t bad. Better than almost everything on the radio nowadays.”

  “I prefer old school music,” he said.

  “Honey, you’re stuck in the ‘80s. Everybody knows it.”

  There was silence for a few minutes, as the television, turned down low, made the only noise. The wind outside whipped against the house, taking hold of the tree branch like a pen and scraping it against the window. It was eerily dark, the kind of pitch blackness that will cover anybody like a blanket and hide everything from view.

  He chuckled at one of the answers to a question on the game show, and looked down at his wife. “Did you hear what that person said?”

  Mary yawned and glanced up at him. “No, I didn’t. What was it?”

  “You’re beautiful,” Daniel said with a grin.

  “Why would Steve Harvey say that?” she responded teasingly.

  “Shush it.” Leaning back and stretching his arms out, Daniel stared mindlessly at the television for a few moments before addressing his wife. “I’m sorry I’ve been stressed out lately about everything. This place just brings back bad memories.”

  “I understand. It’s okay. Let’s just try to enjoy this place while we can.”

  He nodded quietly.

  “Hey babe?”

  “Yes.”

  “I love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  She turned her head up to make eye contact with him. “You seem unhappy? Or distracted or something?”

  He shrugged. “Like I said, just bad memories.”

  “Well, let’s make some good memories then.” She got up from the couch and offered her hand. “Let’s head to our bed.”

  “Mary, I’m really tired.”

  She started tugging on his hand and got him up from the couch. She had a sly grin on her face, and looked longingly at him. “Please, Daniel.”

  He sighed and moved forward to kiss her. “Okay, hun. Like you said, good memories.” With his forehead against hers, he muttered, “Good memories.”

  <><><><><><>

  Alexander sat in the living room of his home, beside his mom. She was armed with a spoon and a bowl of ice cream. He held onto his phone, texting Jill, while the television boomed Steve Harvey’s voice.

  “Are you even watching this, Mom?” he asked.

  She was staring at the ground, holding onto her ice cream tightly, with almost a frightful look on her face. When she didn’t answer, he nudged her with his elbow.

  “Mom?”

  She shook the cobwebs out and turned towards him. “What’d you say?”

  “Are you watching this show or not?”

  “You can change it. I’m just waiting for your father to get back.” She shrugged.

  He nodded and grabbed the remote from the cushion in between them. After flicking through a couple of channels, he found a movie and left it alone.

  “You don’t wanna watch baseball?” his mom asked lazily.

  “Mom, I hate baseball. I’ve t
old you that so many times.”

  “Oh… right.”

  His dad got home just fifteen minutes later, and after they both greeted him everything fell silent in the house. When his parents both retired to their room, Alexander stared at the television a while longer, but grew bored. Jill texted that she was going to bed, so he figured that was a decent idea, and went as well.

  As he passed by his parents room, he heard them talking in low voices. The discussion sounded heated, and he stopped by their door, listening intently.

  “You were supposed to talk to the lawyer today,” his mom said angrily.

  His father answered in a deep voice. “I didn’t have time! I was trying to get home before Alexander went to bed. I don’t want him to be worried about all of it.”

  “He’s gonna find out eventually!” said his mom. “Do we want that to be from us, or from somebody at school that heard the rumor?”

  “We still haven’t decided what we’re gonna do with him.”

  There was a furious silence, until his mom broke it. “Well, I think I should get him. You’re always working, anyways. A boy his age shouldn’t be alone all the time.”

  “And if you get him,” his dad countered, “I’ll hardly ever see him. I know exactly how you are. I have rights. I’m his father.”

  “Then maybe you should start acting like it,” his mom said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I don’t wanna do this right now,” she said. With an exasperated sigh, he heard her throw something heavy on the ground. “Take your suitcase. Go put it in the closet or something. It doesn’t need to be on my bed.”

  “Our bed, you mean.”

  “You’re sleeping on the couch,” she commanded. “I don’t… Yeah, no. You’re out there tonight.”

  Something heavy thudded in the closet, probably the suitcase. “When are we gonna tell Alexander?”

  “Maybe when we can be in the same house without slicing at each other’s throats.” His mom’s voice began to well up with tears. “I still remember what you said to me. I can’t get it out of my head.”

  “We’ll tell him before the month ends,” his dad said forcefully. “Don’t try to make me feel like the bad guy here, because we both know I’m not.”

  “I wanted to try counseling!” his mother shouted, before falling into sobs.

  “You better hope he’s asleep, or I will not be happy.” His dad kicked something across the room, where it hit the wall and shattered. “I’m going to the couch. Night.”

  Alexander ran from the room, heading to his bed. He heard the door to his parent’s room slam shut, and tried to close his eyes just as fast but it was too late. The tears were falling, and he knew exactly what was happening to his parent’s marriage.

  Chapter 6

  Shaded

  “She’s a very nice lady,” Lucy said to her mother. “She brings me cookies sometimes.”

  Mary smiled to herself, rummaging through the cabinets to find what she needed for dinner. As soon as they packed up the hotel room and headed for this tiny house, she had gone to the grocery store and got enough food to last a week or more. Daniel was out walking Emma in the stroller, and Cassie was down the hall in her room, so making dinner was left to Lucy and herself. Tyler was somewhere else in the town. Since they got a rental house, he was staying in the hotel room they’d booked for a few more nights. He was technically on vacation with them, but not exactly.

  “Well, if Cassie says it’s okay that’s fine, but still be careful.” Mary set out a pan on the stove. “I think we’ll have pancakes and eggs tonight. How’s that sound?”

  “Mommy, the lady wants to meet you sometime.”

  Lucy colored on the sheet of paper noisily, scribbling away with the crayons. She was sitting at the small table across the kitchen from Mary. All the appliances and big objects were crammed into one half of the room, mostly still in their packing boxes. The table and chairs were on the other, relatively empty side. Behind it was a walk-in closet pantry.

  “Maybe, Lucy, maybe.” Mary cracked an egg and let the contents plop into the pan. “We aren’t staying here very long though.”

  “I know that. But maybe we could all meet the lady one time near the end. I think it’d be very nice.”

  Mary nodded without really listening. Her hands moved deftly, preparing the meal.

  “She likes babies, too. She said she really likes babies, Mommy, so I told her all about Emma.”

  “Strangers can be dangerous, Lucy. Please be careful.” Mary glanced over at her daughter, who was focused on the paper. “You will be careful for Mommy, won’t you?”

  “Of course, Mommy. I’m only talking about a friend. Friends are okay, right?”

  Mary was spared from answering when the front door opened. They heard Daniel come into the living room, kicking the door shut behind him. Emma was babbling.

  “I’m making pancakes, honey,” Mary called out. “Is that alright?”

  “Sure thing,” Daniel said, strolling into the kitchen. “You know, I don’t recognize a single thing in this city. It’s like Marcy is a completely different town. Maybe Hardy will be, too. I wouldn’t mind that so much.”

  “I met someone who knows you, Daddy,” Lucy said with a giggle.

  Daniel whipped around to face her. “Who did you meet?”

  “Daniel,” his wife began, “she was just telling me-”

  “I met an old lady, Daddy!” Lucy exclaimed. “She was a very nice old lady. And she said she knows you!”

  Daniel turned to face his wife, furrowing his eyebrows. “What did she just say?”

  “Daniel, she was telling me that-”

  Lucy interrupted, “She wants to meet you! And I told her all about Emma and Cassie and Mommy and our family, and she said she wants to come over and-”

  “Go to your room!” Daniel bellowed. “Go, now, and don’t come out until we call for you.”

  “But, Daddy-”

  “Go!”

  Lucy threw her chair back and stormed out of the kitchen. “Maybe I’ll go live with the old lady instead!” and then she sprinted to her room.

  There was silence for a moment, as Mary watched her husband from the corner of her eye. He stood there, silent, clenching and unclenching his fists. Daniel leaned his forehead against the wall, kicking it roughly.

  “She… she just said she was a lady… I didn’t remember…”

  “It’s fine,” Daniel snapped. “It’s fine. We’re just fine.”

  “Just… a few more days. Then we’ll leave.”

  “I know that.” He smacked the wall. “But if it starts again, we can’t leave. We can’t, we won’t.”

  “If what starts? There’s no way she’s the same lady!” Mary exclaimed. “That’s stupid!”

  “I’m not stupid,” Daniel growled. “And there’s something I never told you about her. And I never plan to. Just know that if another kidnapping happens, if there’s more of this, we can’t and won’t leave until it’s all over.”

  “And what if there’s nobody left to take with us?” Mary said. Her hands were shaking as she faced her husband.

  “Then… I don’t know.”

  She shook her head, wiping her eyes. “You’d give up on our family just to close a case you should forget about.”

  “I can’t forget about it!” he screamed. “It won’t forget me!”

  “Who won’t forget you?” Mary yelled, storming forwards so that they were nose-to-nose. “Who? It’s a police case, not a person! Just leave it alone and come back to our family and be a real father! Don’t do this to us! Who won’t forget you? This is stupid, completely stupid, and you’re stupid, so just forget it!”

  He took a step back. “But She won’t forget me.”

  <><><><><><>

  “Can we please go to the park today?” Lucy begged.

  Cassie took out one earphone, cocking her head. “What?”

  “I wanna go to the park!”

 
Cassie sat on her bed, crossing her arms. “You heard what Dad said, and I’m not getting into trouble over something stupid like this.”

  “But please. I really wanna go.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have told him about whatever lady you were talking about!” Cassie exclaimed.

  Lucy frowned at her. She was standing in the doorway, already dressed with her shoes on and hair braided. “If you just get ready real quick, maybe we can-”

  “No, Lucy. I’m not getting in trouble for you.” Cassie put her earbud back in and fell onto the bed.

  Lucy crawled onto the bed and put her mouth near Cassie’s ear, pulling out one earphone. “What if we meet Tyler again, though? You had lots of fun last time, and I won’t tell Daddy you leave me alone. We could just say… that we’re going out for ice cream.”

  Cassie turned to look at her sister. “Are you suggesting we lie to our oh-so-holy father?”

  Lucy sprang off the bed and clapped her hands. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

  Fifteen minutes later, they were heading out of the house and in the direction of the park. It was within walking distance, but just barely, as it sat on the far side of town next to the hills and forests. Cassie pulled out her phone, sent a message to Tyler, and he met them at the swing set. While Lucy enjoyed her time on the playground, the teenagers wandered off by themselves in the woods. But as they went into the woods, something else came out.

  “Hey again!” Lucy exclaimed with a grin as she saw the figure approaching.

  The old lady and her sat together on the swings for a long while, whispering and soaring. But when Cassie and Tyler returned from their stroll, the woman was gone, and Lucy was on the swingset by herself, humming a new song. Everything was the same. It always was.

  <><><><><><>

  Lucy sat in front of their house, playing with her Barbie dolls. She was smiling to herself, murmuring the words that her toys were saying to each other. One of the dolls was buried, head first, in the ground, with only her waist and legs visible. The other was standing over top of her, holding a large rock between its arms.