CASSANDRA
Two whole days passed since I’d given up on delivering the package to upstate Maine. Two days and five phone calls from my friend before I realized I had to hurry and get this done. Waffling made me a shit friend, even if facing the hungry trees scared the shit out of me and I really wanted to wait for Riley. With him not available I turned to plan B, and then C.
Riley was so busy with Ridge and Cyrus Kensington that he came home late every night and passed out. They were on a manhunt, and I didn’t want to bother him with my self-made problems.
But times were getting desperate, and as much as I needed to deliver the package, I preferred not to do it alone. You know what they say about desperate times.
“Are you absolutely sure it’s okay if you come with me?” I asked Vonnie as she walked out of her house.
Vonnie’s home was a cute little two-story white place with tall wide columns on the front porch. Very East Coast feel and something I loved most on this side of the country.
She waved her hand away like she was a batting off my question. “Totally. I only live at home to save money for college. I’m moving into a new place this fall,” she said as we walked to my car. “I’m trying to get Katy to move in with Pierce so I can rent her place.”
We got in the car together and I waited until she buckled her seatbelt before I started the engine. In my defense, I didn’t want to take the young Vonnie with me, but I was out of options. I asked Katy first, but she had to cover a shift at the bed-and-breakfast. She said she would’ve gone with me, but if she didn’t show up for work, Pierce would definitely know something was up and send people looking for her.
It was weird to have Katy be responsible and concerned with the consequences of her actions. Definitely not the Katy I remember. She and Riley had both grown up over the years. And I guess I did as well.
“Well, I appreciate you coming,” I said, backing my car down the short driveway.
Vonnie was young, and I felt bad that I was using her to make me feel safer, but she exuded confidence. If you had to walk down a dark alley at night, she was definitely someone you wanted by your side.
“Don’t worry about it. I never turn away a road trip. I’m great on long car rides. Let’s party,” she said, lifting both her hands high into the air until they hit the top of the car ceiling.
I stopped at the sign on the corner of Main Street and Bayside Drive. “Let’s hope it’s an uneventful trip.”
Since it was now the middle of the day and I had Vonnie with me, I hoped I could follow the directions to the house, knock on the door, and deliver the package before coming home. It’d be no big deal and after all finished, we’d laugh on how nervous I’d been. I just had a weird feeling in my gut. A pure sense of unease, but I was a big girl, and I’d handle it.
As long as I had Vonnie beside me.
And it was the middle of the day.
Nothing bad happened in the middle of the afternoon.
Everyone knew trees were domicile during the day.
It took an hour and ten minutes of our drive before we ran out of radio stations and Vonnie started asking the most annoying question on a road trip.
“Are we there yet?” she asked, releasing the breath in her lungs as she did it and staring out the window.
I checked the clock. “It’s only been six minutes since the last time you asked and you can see the GPS.”
We only had a few directions left to our destination, but I had to admit the drive felt like the longest in the world.
We passed through the same little town… er… village I had the first time on this drive. “Look, this is the last town.” The last chance for help.
I confirmed the address Mandy gave me and checked it in two different app programs. Each time, the directions brought me the same way.
Vonnie scoffed as we drove past the crumbling homes. “This is not a town. It’s a death rattle.”
I hated to say I agreed with her, but I agreed with her. “Only sixteen more miles.” Then we’d be back on the dirt road surrounded by trees and an old woman who was definitely not Mandy’s cousin.
We almost made it two whole miles before Vonnie started in again. “I’m so bored. What’s in the box, anyway?”
She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned around to stare at the big box I’d left in the middle of the back seat.
“Clothing for her niece,” I answered. Apparently, she bought toys and clothing for the new child the last few months but didn’t want to spend the time or money to ship them with each purchase. It didn’t make sense to me, but Mandy was also the person who stole straws from the break room to use at home. She had a stash of ketchup packets in her purse, which truthfully came in handy a few times.
Somewhere behind me, a piece of tape ripped as Vonnie jerked it off the cardboard box. “Don’t open it,” I yelled at Vonnie, but the tape ripping continued.
