Winter Delight

Chapter Three

Chapter Three.

The clock on my dashboard flickered to 9:00p.m as I turned into the cemetery hidden amongst a cluster of pine trees. It was a rather large cemetery considering its location, holding old gravesites formed long before the government bought the land in 1880. There was a house at the top of the hill, overlooking the graveyard. An old couple had bought it when the Otorohanga District threatened to tear it down. Ever since, they’ve been in charge of maintaining the graveyard and taking care of organising funeral occasions for this part of the district. Most of the community tend to avoid them. I mean, they did live further out than any sane person would dare, this making them creepy. In my defence, I had always found old people creepy.

Parker and her brother remained silent in their seats behind me as cold reality settled around us, thickening the air. The only sound for miles was the distant shudder of trees and the light patter of rain. Shadows moved across the field of graves, and then everything came to a standstill as I cut the engine. At once, everything fell into blackness.

“Why are we here?”

I was surprised she didn’t ask earlier. I turned to face them, wondering why neither of them had wanted to sit in the passenger’s seat beside me. I was on my restricted and definitely more trustworthy than they gave me credit for.

I swallowed, and cringed at the noise it made, hopeful that no one else heard it but Blake’s snicker told me otherwise. “You wanted to see Amanda,” I said, shrugging as if it was no big deal. I could faintly make out the outline of their silhouettes and wondered why the council didn’t have lights set up around the place.

“You’re joking,” Blake’s voice wavered.

I shook my head then mentally kicked myself when I realised they couldn’t see me. “Jack didn’t tell you?”

“Didn’t tell us what, Flynn?” Parker demanded. The venom in her voice made the hairs on the back of my neck rise and I suddenly felt a pang of emptiness. I hadn’t been to Amanda’s grave in two years; I couldn’t bring myself to face it anymore… to face her, my sister.

I couldn’t move passed the lump that formed in my throat, so I remained silent, not trusting my voice.

“How did she die?” asked Blake, not realising the pain it still caused me. His bluntness was far from sympathy, but part of me forgave him for that. He didn’t remember Amanda like Parker and I did.

I sat back in my seat. “It’s none of your business,” I choked. I realise now that this wasn’t a good idea, even though it seemed like it at the time.

“Take us home, jerk,” Parker’s voice was firmer than what I felt comfortable with. I let her words hang in the air a moment before I turned the key. I beamed the lights and pushed forward on the gravel. Soon the only sound that filled my ears was the sound of my own frantically beating heart, and the grit hitting the underside of my car.

In the distance, I could see a car approaching us so I lowered the light strength and slowed down, swerving to the side so they could comfortably pass on the gravelled one-lane. The road connected onto the main road a few minutes away, and it was a total dead end on this side. According to Mum, hardly anyone came out here. The driver didn’t lower his beam, so I was blinded until we came about level, and I instantly recognised the red Ford Mustang. I stole a quick glance to my right to see the dark eyes of Nick already staring at me, his hand toward the window, his middle finger standing tall as the rest crouched at its sides, as if worshipping it. I shuddered and pressed my foot harder on the accelerator, determined to leave his presence behind in the approaching fog.