𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒆 | ✔

1 | The Knock

LOTTIE GATHERED HERSELF before nearing the place that was her home. It was secluded, dead bushes mocking its pebbled path. All was silent, as it often was, but the porch steps creaked with age. Shivering, she reached for the doorknob, the brisk air teasing her. 

Only, that was when she heard footsteps. "Charlotte?" 

When she heard her nickname, Lottie whirled around to face her neighbor. "Don't sneak up on me like that! I could've had a heart attack!"

"At twenty-something?" She chuckled softly, fidgeting with her leathered bracelet. "I don't think so."

"Twenty-three." Having a stare-down, a smile slipped over her face. "Well, what is it you want, Penny?"

Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes, looking her over. "That was you, wasn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Lottie asked stiffly. "What was me?"

"I found footprints in my backyard this morning when I went to water my garden. I followed them... and they led from your yard and back. If we didn't have knee-tall grass, I wouldn't have noticed." Then Penny paused, shifting on her feet. "If it was, I won't be upset, but was that you?"

Lottie only shook her head. 

For a moment, Penny studied her only to sigh and look away. "Well, if it wasn't you, who was it? And why did they come from your place?" She turned back to her, barely collected. "Charlotte, but that's not all."

Lottie tilted her head, considering, then stumbled down her porch. "What else happened?"

"There were muddy fingerprint markings on my backyard window. If not for those, I would have thought nothing of the footprints." With that, she scoffed. "By the time I saw this, you had already gone to work."

"Penny," Lottie said, putting a hand over her shoulder, "it wasn't me, but know this: they're long gone. If this happened last night, why didn't they do anything?"

"I suppose you're right." Standing short and hunched, Penny's dark grey eyes searched hers. "Well, then I guess I better get back to... whatever it was I was doing." With a soft exhale, the woman nearly began away when she paused. "On another note, Charlotte..."

"Yes?"

She gave a genuine smile. "I think it has really healed over the years." Then, in the next moment, she disappeared around the tall-standing bushes that parted their homes.

There was a stutter to her step as Lottie reached the front door. After coming to a pause, she felt the side of her face, remembering that day. "It was long ago, Lottie." The long slash over her right cheek was faint, tickling just under her eye. "Long ago."

Upon entering, the smell of fresh strawberry greeted her, as well as the cool air from within. In the background, the air conditioner murmured, but all else was silent. 

"You know," Lottie began, finding a spot on the living room couch, "at first I didn't like it, but maybe this scent was worth the money." 

Then, leaning back, she looked down at her phone. 7:10 pm. If she hadn't been away since 6:30 am, she wouldn't have leaned back and closed her eyes. As she lost to sleep, her neighbor's words echoed in her mind:

Well, if it wasn't you, who was it?

-

Her phone suddenly chirped to life. 

Snapping awake, she peered around the room in a daze. When she registered that it was well into the evening, the darkness seeping through the windows, she finally looked down at her phone. 8:25 pm. But only when she saw the caller ID did she groan.