I hate summer

I Relive My Mother's Death

"...y/n..."

"It's time to wake up, sweetheart..."

I open my eyes, the white light flashing and blinding me. I bring up my hand to shade my eyes as the light dims, revealing a woman a small distance away.

"...Mom?"

My mother smiles warmly. "Y/n."

I sprint up to her, hugging her tightly as I cry into her shoulder. She rubbed soothingly up and down my back.

I pull away slowly, her hands wiping my tears.

"Oh, y/n... what happened?" My mother asks sweetly.

"Th- Barron was disrespecting you, mom... I just lost my temper." I mumble, though I didn't regret it.

Mom's face softened. "I can't stay for long, y/n... but I need to tell you something."

"Yes?" I look up at her face, seeing how dad fell in love with her.

"First: do you have feelings for Tyler?"

My face heats up. "What?? Tyler? No, of course not!" I fumble, giggling nervously.

Mom laughs, "He's a good boy, y/n. He really does care about you."

I smile, laughing a bit. "What else?"

Her face darkens slightly, but remains welcoming. "Don't lose track of your friends, y/n. Keep them close, or there will be consequences. And your father, he—"

But her voice is drowned out by loud sirens. I turn to find myself outside my childhood home, where a huge fire was burning.

"Mom?" I call, sprinting into the house. The firemen completely ignored me, and I gasp slightly when I ran right through one of them as if they were a mist.

"No, no, no, no..." I mutter, shoving the rubble away.

Mom lay on the floor, her head bloody and clothes tested and burnt.

"MOM!"

I flinch, only to be in Tyler's arms with my head on his shoulder.

"Y/n," he whispered, pushing some loose hair behind my ear. His hard face softened, making me feel warm.

Everyone turned and looked at me, pausing their conversation.

"...Was that a dream?" I ask, referring to the fight.

"No, y/n. That was all real." Ashlyn says, resting her hand on her palm.

I look down, keeping my head on Tyler's shoulder. "I guess I should tell you guys, then."

Taylor looks at me worriedly. "Oh, y/n. You don't have to if you don't want to. That must've been a really terrible thing for you to get that mad." Taylor pats her hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

"No... we're supposed to be a team. If I don't tell you sooner or later, you'll probably learn from Barron." I say, remembering when Ben had Aiden tell us his story.

"Are you sure?" Ashlyn asks, looking very serious.

"Yes, I might as well just get it over with."

"It was summertime in California. There were a lot of fires in my area at the time, which is how my mom died. I guess that's why they haven't uncovered it yet.

Although she was my favorite person, something was odd about her. She told be she'd been seeing shadows. And she drew them, too.

One day, I decided to go in her art room... It was horrifying.

The same monsters we've been seeing every night we're in my mom's drawing room. Sketches, paintings, etc. There were even some who looked part human... as if they were in the process of turning into one."

"Wait, so your mom was drawing the phantoms? And part human ones?" Ashlyn's eyes widen.

"Maybe she went to the Sorrel house!" Aiden suggests.

I nod at Ashlyn. "Yes. And no, Aiden. I know for certain she'd never been to Georgia.

Anyway, I had a few nightmares about the phantoms, but then they went away and I totally forgot about them until I saw them in the Sorrel Weed house a couple months ago.

I never told dad. He was never concerned about mom. Then the day of the fire came...

It definitely wasn't a wildfire. It was inside the house, and police guess it was a cooking accident or something. But mom never had kitchen accidents, so dad and I have guessed it was planned. There just wasn't enough proof. And her body..."

I shivered, remembering how her body looked. I feel Tyler squeeze my knee. "And that's it. Her art was burned as well, but now that I remember, dad managed to save some of it. I can bring it sometime, if you want?" I offer.

Ashlyn nodded. "That'd be great. If she had some connection to this... And thank you, y/n. That must not have been easy at all."

"Yeah, I'm so sorry about your mom, y/n." Logan looks up at me apologetically from his tire.

"Your mom must've been awesome." Aiden smiles kindly, squeezing my hand I didn't realize he was holding.

I blush at the praises. "Oh, thank you guys... She's somewhere better now, so it's all good." I smile, wiping away a tear.

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Knock knock

I can't help but giggle at Aiden and Lily, who are sticking their tongues out at each other.

My dad bumps my shoulder, Alexander by his side. He whispers to me, "That Hernández family is going to be here, right?"

"Yes, father."

"I really hope they tried dressing nicely, last time-"

The door opens, and Mr. Banner smiles.

"Hey, Mike! We brought some Mac and Cheese." Mrs. Clark smiles.

"Awesome! Come inside and you can just place it on the table." Mike welcomes, opening the door wider as we walk in.

"Ashlyn!" I laugh as I hug her. She hugs me back, her hands resting on my back. I pull away, smiling widely. "I can't wait, tonight's gonna be so fun!"

Ashlyn grins. "Jeez, did Aiden give you an energy drink or something?"

Aiden and Ben come over with Lily, Ben's little sister. Aiden reaches for some candy in a bowl Ashlyn's carrying, but she swats his hand away.

"You don't need any candy." Ashlyn side eyes him, making him laugh.

Lily's braiding my hair when Ashlyn's mom calls her. "Ashlyn, do you think you can wait here for the twins and bring them to the graveyard when they arrive?"

"Sure." Ashlyn shrugs.

"Oh, can I stay back with you, Ashlyn?" I notice my dad give me a look so I quickly add, "To give her company!"

"Is there traffic at this time of day?" I ask Ashlyn, sighing at the time.

Ashlyn's silent for a minute. "Now that I think about it, they've been pretty dodgy about their home life. We haven't met their parents." She points out.

I remember their father and frown slightly.

She looks at me seriously. "Do you think something is going on?"

Knock knock

We both look at the door and get up. I open the door and Ashlyn look at the woman.

"Who are you?"