Moonlighter

1 Glendale

                                              

It was the fall of my freshman year of college when my father passed away. My younger brother Joey took it the hardest. At six years old you can't really comprehend the concept of death. We lived in such a small town. Everywhere we went we would hear of my father's passing. My mom could not take the constant reminder. She desperately needed a fresh start. That's when we decided to move out of state. We packed up our lives, or at least what remained of them, and moved to Glendale.

The trees swayed around the sign that said 'Welcome to Glendale'. It had been a rough couple of months, but maybe things would start to look up. As we drove up to the new house I looked at my mom surprised.

"It looks like a house from a horror movie," I told my mom with wide eyes. It was a large older home. The white color was fading and the front porch needed some work. The porch swing was swaying on it's own from the wind.

"It's called character Grace. The house has a unique charm." My mom smiled. It was unique all right. I sighed, at least my mom was happy. Joey seemed excited enough. The first thing I did was check out my room. The bare white walls were like a blank canvas. Perfect, I could really do something with this. Joey zoomed past my room, "Hey where are you going?" He had a cape on with his bear in his hands.

"Me and Grover want to explore!" He giggled and I smiled. This is what we needed. We spent most of the day unpacking and organizing. The sun was about to go down when my mom mentioned going to the beach. Joey was more than happy to go.

The beach parking lot was packed with people. My mom and Joey took off to build their sand castle while I rummaged through the trunk of the car for my book. A voice, low in tone, revs up in my ears as I look to my right. An attractive blonde guy asks me, "Hey you're the family that just moved into the old estate, right?"

"Yeah." I can't help but give out my hand. "I'm Grace." The start I wanted. My family wanted. I place my arm on the metal and quickly jolt my arm off of it and shake it off. Hot! Hot! Hot!

He chuckles and stands tall as he blocks out the sun. "Cool. I'm Jason." He pointed out the rest of the group. "And this is Max, Jules, and Sherry."

"Hey," I blush in embarrassment as I grab their hands. Max decides to raise his fist. I bump it with mine in return. "Nice to meet you guys."

"You should come chill with us," Sherry told me.

"Sure," I closed the trunk. Back home I was not very outgoing. The fact that these people were remotely interested in me made me nervous. It was evident that they had all been friends for a very long time. They had to have been popular in high school. Jason and Max were jocks while Jules and Sherry were cheerleaders. Apparently Jason was dating the captain of the cheer squad, up until a few days ago. I told them a little about myself, how I was from California, I took the semester off because of the move, and about my brother. I purposefully left out the part about my dad. The sun had gone down by now and most people had left the beach. My mom let me know that they were leaving. Jason kindly offered to drive me home. My mom looked around and acknowledged the fact that I was actually making friends. She thanked Jason for being so generous and said her goodbyes. I was enjoying myself. They were funny and interesting. They attended college in the city next to Glendale. Then they told me about the gossip in town.

"So, have you heard the legend yet?" Max asks, "It's pretty interesting. Heh."

Sherry tries to pull Max back, she lets go to no avail, "Max leave her alone!" She places her fingers on her forehead, rubbing them, "Don't scare the girl on her first day here you idiot." She lets out a sigh. Max sure is pretty hyper at times. Reminds me of my father before we moved here. My lips lift up one side letting out a tiny, quick chuckle. Jules looks at Sherry, lightly pounding her shoulder, "Lighten up," she placed her hand on her hip, "Everyone knows the story, she should too."

"It's a stupid curse." Jason smirked as he took a swig of his flask, "They say that's why all the old people die."

"Oh come on!" Max slaps his back pretty loudly, a little too hard, "It's more than that." He comes closer putting on his phone's flashlight under his chin, "There was this witch who cursed the land. Her lover died and she couldn't bare to be without him. Now they live on by killing humans. Muahaha!"

Everyone can't help but laugh, doubling over like little kids. The early night sky loomed over us as the stars lit it up with their bright glow. Hope Dad is watching this with me. Wish he was here.

"It's getting late I should get you home," Jason said. I followed him as he opened the door of his car for me. If my friends back home could see me now, they would die.

On the ride home Jason told me about Mary, his ex girlfriend. She dumped him for someone else at the college she was attending. How shallow of her. He seemed to have cared deeply for her. The car became silent.

"So why was Max telling me that story?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"Oh don't mind them. Old folks pass away its natural. Just because there are more deaths than usual in this neighborhood doesn't mean anything."

"That's not creepy at all." I eyed the quiet neighborhood suspiciously as we pulled up to the house.

"Thanks for the ride and for introducing me to everyone."

"Yeah, no problem. Hey you should come to the next bonfire." He smiled at me.

"Yeah. That sounds fun." I closed the door and waved goodbye. I can't believe he wants me to come back.

As Jason drove away, I felt the chill of the night for the first time. I looked around with the slightest sensation that I was being watched. I hurried to the front door and closed it shut behind me. I laughed at myself, stupid ghost stories. I headed to my room and laid on my bed. I began to look through my journal reminiscing about how my dad and I would read late into the night. If the weather was right we would sit outside and read in the peace the night brought us. A tear began to slide down my cheek. Maybe it was time to try again. I grabbed my book and my blanket. I was headed outside, there is nothing to be afraid of. I opened the front door as quietly as I could. That's when I saw him.