Locked

Chapter 4

Finally, it's the end of the day and I can go outside and be alone with my tree. I'm super lucky to have my final period free, because after a stressful day of schoolwork, it's nice to go outside and relax. It's not really 'my' tree, though. I just like to call it mine because I sit beside it every day, and I'm the only one that does. Everyone says that the tree is jinxed, and they all steer clear of it. Rumor has it that two students died a few years back because of this tree. Apparently, a guy named Adam asked his girlfriend to prom under the tree, and then when he was driving her home from the dance, his car went into a ditch. They were killed instantly, and it was all over the news the next morning. That's not the only legend about the tree, but since it's the most recent, people have started calling it "Adam's Tree."

Honestly, it's just a plain old oak tree. It's pretty big, so I guess it could seem kind of intimidating, or creepy, but I find comfort in the shade it provides. And despite the rumors, it's never given me any bad luck. Well, I did just (maybe) lose my powers, but I have a feeling that had nothing to do with my tree, given the fact that, even now, I feel more at home just being in its vicinity.

I sit down in the grass and lean back against my tree, closing my eyes and just listening to the silence. The sound of the wind rushing and the leaves colliding is extremely comforting, and I just sit for a while, eyes closed, listening. My relaxation is short-lived, however, because soon I hear footsteps coming toward me, soft on the cushion of the grass. I open my eyes and look up, shading myself from the sun, to see who it is. By now, I shouldn't be surprised to see Toby standing in front of me, but I am.

"Hey. Mind if I join you?" he asks, and I'm surprised to find that I don't mind. So surprised, in fact, that when I open my mouth to answer, nothing comes out. "I'll take that as a yes," he says, as he takes off his backpack and sits down, leaning his back against the tree. He's close. I can feel the heat from his body, he's so close. Suddenly, breathing becomes more difficult than it should be. I should start a conversation, but my mind draws a blank.
Toby sighs deeply and says, "So, do you come here often?" He says this with a huge mischievous smile on his face, like he's just done the cleverest thing in the world.

I laugh, but decide to take his question seriously. "Every day, actually," I say, getting quieter. It's not like I advertise the fact that I spend my free period under the bad luck tree.

Toby looks around, as if evaluating the area around us. "It's nice," he finally says.

I snort. "So I take it you haven't heard anything about this tree yet?"

"This is Adam's Tree?" He asks, looking around. I guess he's heard the rumors. "Yeah, I guess it's kind of big and knotty," he concludes. "But I don't see why that makes it bad luck." He shrugs.

"Beats me," I say, shrugging in return. "All I know is I've never had any bad luck at all. And given the fact that I come here every day, this tree can't have any effect on the bad stuff other people have been blaming it for."

"Good conclusion," he says, laughing. I laugh with him.

I glance over at him. He notices out of the corner of his eye and turns to look at me. I want to continue this conversation, but I have no idea how. Toby seems to be struggling, too. Just then, the bell rings, ending the school day. I hop up and grab my backpack. "I should go," I say, slinging it over my shoulder. "I've got a bus to catch," I say, hoping he caught the meaning.

"Okay," he says. "You know, I think I'll walk home today."

I laugh. "Good idea. See you tomorrow."

"See you."

I walk the short distance to my bus, and I'm one of the first on, since I was already outside. I take back my usual seat and soon I'm joined by Lilli.

"Okay," she says, sitting down. "So what happened with you and Toby at lunch today?"

"Nothing," I say, but I can't stop the smile from creeping onto my face.

"Mhmm, okay," she says. She's making fun of me. I peek over at her, both of us trying to hide our smiles, but it doesn't work. We start laughing hysterically, not caring who might be looking. Soon we're leaned against each other, hands clutched around our stomachs, tears in our eyes, talking about something that happened in Lilli's science class today. I let out a little sigh of relief that she's dropped the subject of Toby.

Soon enough we're at my stop, and I have to say goodbye to Lilli and walk the block or so to my house. I put in the garage code in, and as soon as I open the door to my house, I smell dinner cooking. I kick my shoes off and head to the kitchen where my mom is stirring something on the stove.

"Hey, Jackie." My mom likes to be called by her first name. I'm not sure why, maybe she thinks "Mom" makes her sound too old. "What's cooking?"

"Broccoli cheddar soup," she replies, staring into the pot.

"From scratch?" I ask.

She snorts and finally turns around to look at me. "What kind of mother do you think I am?" she says, and uses the spoon to point to a couple of soup cans overturned on the counter.

I start to laugh, and she turns around to stir the soup again. "Will you go tell your sister that dinner is in five minutes?" she asks.

I take a deep breath and yell, "KENZIE!" but Jackie cuts me off by flicking the soup spoon at me. I duck as she says, "Not like that. Go knock on her door and tell her."

I drop my backpack in the corner of the room and mutter, "fine," as Jackie shakes her head, chuckling at me. I run up the stairs and knock on her door. "It's Hayley," I say.

"Come in," I hear from inside. I open the door and step in just a bit. My younger sister Mackenzie is laying on her bed, scrolling through something on her phone. She doesn't look up when I come in. "Jackie said to tell you to come down for dinner in five minutes," I tell her.

"Whatever," she says, flicking a piece of her long brown hair, the same color as our mom's, out of her face. Don't get me wrong, I love my hair, but sometimes I wish I had theirs, if only for the reason that I would actually be related to them. I'm adopted, and Kenzie's two years younger than me. The only reason Jackie and her ex-husband, Seth, took me in is because I showed up crying on their doorstep when I was only four. Mackenzie was just two. Apparently, the only thing I knew was my name and age. They called child services, but there were no records of a missing girl with my description anywhere. It took DCFS a few days to get to our house to pick me up, and by that time, Seth and Jackie had fallen in love with me. After DCFS concluded that I truly belonged to no one, they adopted me. A year later, Seth left us in the middle of the night. They say Jackie's another victim of Adam's Tree, because Seth proposed to her beneath it on their graduation day.

"Okay," I say, stepping out of my sister's room and shutting the door behind me. I walk next door, enter my room, and head straight for my computer. I log in to Facebook, and type "Toby Carter" into the search bar. His profile comes up, and I notice that he hasn't updated anything in a while, when I hear Kenzie's door open, and realize I should head downstairs, too. I shut my laptop and go down for dinner.

Dinner is quiet, as usual. Jackie tries to make conversation, but it doesn't go well. Kenzie never really wants to talk, and it's awkward keeping her out of our conversation. Soon enough I'm finished. I get up to put my bowl in the sink, grab a tub of cookie dough ice cream out of the freezer and a spoon from the drawer, pick up my backpack from the corner, and head upstairs to start my homework.