Never Trust A Silent Night (On Hold Momentarily)

Chapter 3: Night Time Surprise

My day, thankfully enough, went without any more complications or confrontations with Gwen. Which was probably a good thing because next time I saw her I was most likely going to rip all the hair out of her pretty little bleach blonde head.

It was an extreme relief to get on the bus after school, I even found myself looking forward to unpacking more boxes just for the mental distraction after the arduous day. Hopefully Dad hadn't broken anything else though.

Abby tried to make small talk with me, but I wasn't really in the mood, especially when she wouldn't let the topic go, "The first day is always the worst, I'm sure things will brighten up soon. I doubt people will even remember by the time the week is up!" She eagerly tried to convince me, but all I could offer was a slight smile, "I really appreciate it, Abby. But you don't need to worry yourself so much about me. I'm a tough girl, I'm perfectly fine" I somehow ended up trying to reassure her. But she still seemed concerned, "Alright...if you say so" she quietly remarked, and in the short time I knew her I already understood that a quiet Abby was an Abby with something on her mind.

Just then the bus rolled up in front of the long gravel driveway that lead to my house. I said quick goodbyes before I jumped off and slowly walked, trying to take a moment to collect my thoughts as the gray stones crunched beneath my feet.

Okay, well today could have gone worse...kind of. But! You met two pretty cool people, and that's good. And besides, now you're home and can just forget about today in the monotony of unpacking! Although there is the fact that there was a freaky murder only a little bit away from here...

My little, somewhat pep-talk was cut short as I walked through the door; Something was wrong here, this wasn't normal.

Every box was emptied, and the contents put away somewhere at least half way decent. Everything was spotless, I could almost see my reflection in the freshly waxed wooden floors. What kind of twilight zone had I walked into? Was that smoothie drugged? Because there was no way in hell what I was seeing was real.

I could hear voices coming from the kitchen as a I walked in, dropping my bag by the door as I turned the corner.

I was shocked when I saw there was an old woman sitting at the kitchen table across from my Father, and before she even said anything I already knew I instantly liked her. Her long white hair laid in a braid that hung down her back with a tie-dye bandana tied around her head, and she wore a long layered skirt that was adorned with colors and small coins and beads. I would have thought she was some creepy gyspy woman if it wasn't for the warm look on her face that struck me like sunshine on a rainy day.

"Oh good, you're home! Willow, this is Mrs. Tetley, she's our next door neighbor and a close friend of your Grandfather's" Dad said, looking at her with a smile that said there was a lot of history between them. She waved a hand dismissively, chuckling softly, "Oh that sounds so old! Please, call me Ophelia, Dear"

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Ophelia." I couldn't help but smile. I never had met either of my grandmother's, so I always enjoyed spending time with older women.

"Ophelia helped me unpack everything. I tried to tell her we were fine but she just wouldn't take no for an answer! Don't be deceived by her sweet face, she's really quite scary. " he whispered the last part and she smacked him on the arm, "I'm old but I can still hear you know!" She grinned in a spritely way.

"Thank you for helping Ophelia, I can't believe you got so much done so quickly." I said as I looked around the sparkling clean room. Apparently despite easily being in her seventies, she was still kicking.

She stood and straightened out her skirt, making a gentle jingle as she did so, "It's not a problem, Dear. Now I should be off before it gets too late." She turned to my Father and smiled, "Don't get into too much trouble, I'll have my eye on you, Simon" she wagged her finger scoldingly. Her skirts swaying and jingling as she walked out the kitchen side door.