The Girl In The Night

Chapter One

Chapter One

"Alexis, go tell your brother and Nate supper is ready."

"Yes ma'am."

That's my mom, Elizabeth Voight. She insists that we eat together every evening. That is the one meal no one is allowed to miss. We live on a working ranch, so my dad is out at the crack of dawn every morning. Most mornings I'm out there too; helping him before school. My brother and Nate help out too, but my parents insist they spend more time studying than anything else right now.

We have sheep, pigs, cows, horses and chickens, so the workload is great. Obviously, we have ranch hands too, but I like helping out as much as I can. I love the animals and I love to be outdoors. I'm not a typical girl; I'm a country girl and I wouldn't know about fashion or make up if they smacked me in the face.

We live outside a small town in Williamson County, Tennessee. There's like a population of 100 people in the town, so it really is tiny. I'm quite happy with that though. I like that we've known everyone forever, that we're all safe and we know if any strangers are in town just by seeing their faces or cars.

My brother, Caleb, and his best friend, Nate, are currently in Caleb's room catching up on some homework. They're in their senior year and will be graduating in a few months. I'm in the year below them, so I've still got another year after this one is finished. As I near Caleb's room, I hear them talking. Now, I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but something stops me in my tracks this time and I stand, listening silently.

My brother's is the first voice I hear, "So, what's the deal with you and my sister? I've seen the looks you've been shootin' at her. I can literally feel the anger rollin' off you every time she's nearby..."

My eyes widen and I quickly think, 'What?! How did I miss that?!'

Nate's voice snaps me back to reality, "I hate her."

Caleb's tone is warning when he speaks again, "Watch it, that's still my sister man."

"Sorry, I can't help it. She's so annoyin'. She thinks she's one of the guys; hangin' around us all the time. Us guys can't do anythin' without her taggin' along. I hate it. We can't just be guys because she's always there. She isn't one of us so we can't be normal. We always have to include her in everythin'. All the guys feel like they have to include her, even if they don't want to, because she's your sister. It's frustratin' and I hate it."

"You want me to have a word with her? I'm sure she doesn't mean it that way..."

"That's even worse! She so selfish and blinded by her own agenda that she can't see how annoyin' she is. I'm sorry, man, I know she's your sister."

Caleb is silent for a few seconds and then he says, "Just don't say anythin' to her. You know she doesn't have any other friends. I'll try to work somethin' out."

I turn on my heel and walk away as fast as I can. I pass my mom in a daze and head out to the barn to call my dad in for supper. I feel a lump forming in my throat and the tears threatening to fall. Before I get to the barn door, I pause and take a deep, steadying breath. I refuse to cry right now. I don't want anyone to question me about this. I wasn't supposed to hear Caleb and Nate talking, so I can't tell anyone I know.

Maybe Nate is right. I do hang around with the boys all of the time. Caleb is right too, I don't have any other friends. I talk to people at school, sure, but I don't really have anyone else I can hang around with. I don't have any of the same interests as girls in my classes. Because our town is so small, we have to travel to the nearest school, which is an hour drive both ways. Even if I did have friends in school, we wouldn't live close.