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COLLEGE SIGN-UP DAY was a big deal.
I trailed behind the rest of the class as we made our way like a herd of cattle along the covered breezeway that connected the main part of the school to the gym.
It was nearly three months until basketball season would start, and the inside of the gym felt empty. The goals were pulled up and both sets of bleachers were collapsed in on themselves. The building smelled like sweat and floor polish.
Fold-out card tables had been set up in a large square around half of the court floor. The representatives, all who looked like college students, were standing at their tables with pamphlets, clipboards, and brochures in hand.
A group of overly ambitious girls pushed past me to get to the table that they had their eyes on. It was hard to tell if it was the school or the rep—a tall, athletic guy—that they were most interested in.
I approached a table that didn’t have a soul anywhere around it. Even the rep’s chair was vacant. There was nothing on the tabletop except a thin stack of pamphlets and a clipboard where you could sign up to request additional information. I picked up the clipboard and noticed that there was only one name on the paper.
CHARLEY.
There was no last name. With my eyes, I followed the line across the paper to the email block that was on the far right side.
CHARLEY17@THEREADINGBUDDY.COM
A chill ran up and down my spine. Goosebumps covered my arms. I dropped the clipboard to the table where it clattered and fell to the floor. I turned to walk away and was stopped dead in my tracks by the harsh sounding screech of metal chair legs on the polished floor. I looked over my shoulder. Where there had been nobody just a second earlier, a man was now standing from the chair.
“Are you interested in going to school with us?”
He was older than any of the other reps. He was bald, chubby, and was wearing a generic cotton polo that had a wrinkled collar.
“I – I don’t know,” I told him. “I’m just checking things out right now.”
“Well, it is a big decision. It’s the rest of your life that we’re talking about. We can send you more info if you wish.” He came around the table, picked up the clipboard from the floor, and held it out toward me. “Charley would love to have you join him.”
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I SHOT UP IN THE BED. My heart was hammering in my chest. I reached over to the nightstand and picked up my phone. It was only six-thirty in the evening. For a second I thought I had been out all night. Realizing that I had been in the middle of another bad dream, I flung myself backward onto the bed.
Big. Ass. Mistake.
Beginning at the tender wound on my shoulder, the pain shot through the right side of my body. I needed a dose of pain meds, like, now. No, scratch that. I needed it an hour ago.
I stood from the bed and started to make my way to the bathroom when I caught my reflection in the mirror that hung on the back of my bedroom door. I was still wearing the clothes that I had fallen asleep in. Now my shirt tails were out. My bow-tie was loose and askew.
In the bathroom, I opened the medicine cabinet and took one of the pills from the orange bottle that I kept on the bottom shelf. Not a second after I popped the pill in my mouth, I heard a high-pitched, piercing howl coming from downstairs. It was a sound that made my skin crawl.
A second later, the howl turned into a deep, steady bark. It was Wolf. And right along with her was another bark, this one smaller and higher pitched. Zee.
I stepped quietly down the hall. From the top of the stairs I could see Wolf pacing at the door. Her tail was swishing back and forth. Her ears were perked. Based on the dog’s frantic, quick movements, it was obvious that somebody was outside. In a frenzy, Zee was skittering and sliding about the floor all around the older dog.
I slowly made my way down the steps. My heart was hammering behind my rib cage so fierce I could feel the throbbing of my pulse all the way in my throat. Midway down the staircase I stopped. I was close enough that I could clearly see the deadbolt. It was turned to the left. Unlocked. My stomach went queasy.
Obviously I hadn’t, but I was sure that I had locked the door when I’d come in from the walk with Lisa. And Dad wasn’t supposed to get off work till eight so I knew it wasn’t him that had left it that way.
I would feel better if the door was locked. That way, just in case, whoever Wolf was barking at couldn’t come inside. I hurried down the rest of the steps, taking them two at a time. As soon as I was at the door, I reached my hand to the lock and flipped it to the right. Then, I pushed the curtain back just an inch. It was enough for me to see outside. Nothing was there.
The sky was dark with storm clouds. Wind gusts were causing tree limbs to sway and bend at scary angles. The rain came down in heavy repetitions pounding on the tin roof of the porch.
Had it been the storm that had caused Wolf’s reaction? I had heard that it wasn’t unusual for pets to act that way during inclement weather. My heart rate began to settle, and I let the curtain spring back into place.
Then there was a dull thump from somewhere inside the house. It sounded like something solid against the wood floor. I remembered the dream where my step-dad had stood in front of me and how he had let the axe slip through his hand. That was exactly what I was hearing now sounded like.
Deciding that the noise was probably just a tree limb hitting the outside of the house, I pressed on, walking toward the living room. I needed to check just to make sure. There was another thud. This one identical to the first. I was right. It wasn’t on the outside wall. The sound was lower, on the floor. It was coming from inside the house.
After rounding the corner, standing at the threshold, my eyes scanned the living room. The corners were dark and full of shadow. But even in that darkness, I saw movement on the left side of the room. Someone turned on the lamp, and the corner of the room was lit in a soft, orange glow. I was frozen in place until I realized what I was seeing.
Dad was sitting in the chair. It was obvious to me now that the pair of thuds that I had heard had been the sound of him taking off his heavy work boots and letting each of them fall to the floor. He looked up at me and laughed. “What are you wearing?”
I felt myself turn red with embarrassment. I hadn’t told him about the dance. “The homecoming dance is Saturday,” I muttered.
“Oh,” he continued. “That’s right. This is Spirit Week. Today was Homecoming Preview Day. I’m glad you participated.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. I thought it was funny that he hadn’t even considered the idea of me actually going to the dance, but if that’s what he wanted to think, at least the explanation would be easier on my part. “Yeah,” I said, not wanting to explain anything else. “I thought you wouldn’t be home until later.”
“They let me leave early. And besides, I’m beat.” He sighed and stood from the chair. “I’m going to head upstairs for a quick shower.” He was making his way across the room. “Oh, by the way, I brought that box inside. It had your name on it.” He pointed toward the coffee table in front of the couch where there was a rectangular box sitting on top. I hadn’t even noticed it until now.
“Is that what all the barking was about?” I asked. Wolf must have been worked up over the mail carrier stepping onto the porch.
Dad nodded his head. “Open it,” he said. “Let’s see what’s inside.
I went over to the box and put my phone down on the floor. The movement caused the phone to wake up. Lisa’s picture was still there. I looked up at Dad who was looking down at the phone.
“Is that Mr. Tanner’s daughter?”
I nodded and pressed the button on the side of the phone causing Lisa’s picture to disappear. I was embarrassed.
“She doesn’t go to school with you,” Dad stated matter-of-factly. He looked confused.
Dad reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his pocket knife. He flipped the blade out and handed it to me. The packing tape popped from the pressure of the blade’s tip. I sliced the tape all the way down the length of the box. With both hands, I opened up the top flaps. Wolf and Zee were right beside me, eager to see what was inside.
There was a crumpled mess of brown packing paper that I removed and dropped to the floor. Then, from inside the box, a girl’s deep blue eyes were staring back at me.