CHAPTER FIVE

 

"You're giving me goose bumps, Peyton," Erica said to her in a video call that night.

"How do you think I felt?" Peyton was sitting in her room. She had just told Erica about the girl in the bay and how everyone else seemed to think it was her imagination, if not an outright lie.

"You really believe she was trying to kill you?"

"It sure seemed like it. I mean, she did pull me under."

"So why didn't she go after you once you bolted?"

"I don't know. Maybe I caught her off guard with my ability to swim fast."

Peyton wasn't sure she believed that. Something told her that the girl was probably just as fast a swimmer as she was when it came right down to it.

"Are you sure she was even alive?" Erica hummed some spooky music.

"That's so not funny!"

"Sorry," Erica said unconvincingly. "So maybe the girl was already dead and you just literally bumped into her in the water."

Peyton conceded that the girl certainly seemed lifeless...but dead? No way.

"It wasn't like that, Erica. I was grabbed and pulled down against my will," Peyton said. "And the girl definitely lifted her arm and pointed her finger at me. Not exactly what you'd expect from a corpse."

"Maybe it was some kind of reflex action," Erica suggested. "It doesn't mean she was alive--at that time."

"Hey, whose side are you on anyway?" Peyton's nostrils flared, starting to feel that Erica wasn't listening to her.

"Yours, of course. I was just pointing out a possibility that you could've missed."

"Well, alive or dead, the mysterious girl was nowhere to be found by the diver and it made me look crazy."

"So she's an enigma then?"

"Yeah and one I could do without."

"That might be difficult since, like it or not, you're caught up in the middle of whatever's going on."

Peyton hated to admit Erica was right. She could run, but couldn't hide from the mystery surrounding the missing girl.

"But at least I can avoid going in the bay again no matter what," Peyton said. "If she's still out there, I'm not about to give her a chance to come after me again."

Erica groaned. "Sounds to me like that bay is haunted." She hummed the spooky music again.

Peyton worried that it might only touch the surface of the strange things were going on within Shadow Bay.

"I don't know what to believe," she said. "Right now, I'm just going to pretend the whole thing never happened."

As if she could.

* * *

Caitlyn waited till Peyton left the room before appearing. She'd listened as Peyton talked to her friend. Caitlyn wished she could have friends again, but it wasn't possible except for maybe Peyton herself.

It was through Peyton that she had gotten her strength. Caitlyn had used it to go into the water, hoping that Peyton would understand and not be afraid of her. After all, she was not the one who wanted to hurt Peyton and her family.

Instead, Caitlyn had scared Peyton half to death and she'd swum away so fast like a shark was after her.

I need you to help me, Peyton. We can help each other. And we will.

It would just take time, Caitlyn thought, knowing that time was in precious short supply for them all.

* * *

Peyton awakened the next morning to some pounding that seemed to be coming from the roof. She grunted and climbed out of bed as more sleep would have been hard to come by.

After dressing, Peyton went downstairs. Vance had already gone to work and her mother was in a downstairs office, designing a website or something.

"What's all that noise out there?" she asked.

"Morning, honey," Melody said over her shoulder. "Luke found some loose tiles on the roof that he's replacing. Sorry if he woke you."

"I wasn't asleep," Peyton lied.

Melody swiveled around in her desk chair. "Are you feeling okay after yesterday?"

Peyton shrugged. "Guess I'd feel better if they found the girl."

"We all would."

"I know what I saw, Mom, even if I can't explain how she disappeared."

"I believe you saw something out there, Peyton," she sympathized. "Maybe it was a local girl just playing a prank on the new kid in town. Or maybe you got confused when you were pulled under by debris or seaweed."

Peyton rolled her eyes resentfully. The image of that impassive face staring at her under the water still gave her chills. The girl was definitely not to be confused with some seaweed or debris.

"What's to eat?" she said, changing the subject.

"There are some hash browns in the oven and sausage on the stove."

Peyton sneered. "Sorry I asked. I think I'll spare my arteries and just have cereal."

Her mother smiled tenderly. "Whatever you want is fine, as long as you eat something to start your day."

"I will," she promised.

When Peyton went outside half an hour later, Luke was still working on the roof. He stopped when he saw her, as if she were somehow intruding on his territory.

"Mornin', Peyton."

"Hi, Luke."

"I hope your Mother isn't going crazy in there with the noise?"

What about me? "Mom's so busy working on her computer, I don't think she even noticed," Peyton tried to say with a straight face.

Luke wiped sweat from his brow and smiled. It reminded Peyton of Bryant's smile, giving her the courage to ask about him.

"Is Bryant around?"

"He took the dog for a walk."

"Well, I'd better let you get back to it," she said.

"Thanks," he muttered.

Peyton sauntered away. She took a short cut across freshly mowed grass to the cottage behind their house. It looked like it had been recently renovated. There were two cars parked in the drive. She wondered which one belonged to Bryant, guessing it was the Honda Civic.

Peyton could envision him taking her on a date in it. But first they had to get past the getting to know one another stage.

She was about to take another step in that direction.

* * *

Peyton crossed the lawn till she reached the street. She hoped Bryant didn't think she was a stalker or anything. She wasn't used to going after guys, but since he was her only friend right now in Shadow Bay who just happened to be really hot, she had no choice.

Peyton spotted Bryant and Hugh not far from their house. They were moving slowly and she could easily catch up to them.

"Hey, you two," she called out a few steps behind them.

Bryant turned around and yanked the leash to make the dog stop. "Hey, Peyton. How's it going?"

"Good." Feeling a little awkward, she knelt down to pet his companion. "Hi, Hugh."

The dog licked her face. Normally she would have found it gross, but Peyton figured she was earning brownie points with his owner.

"Looks like you've got a friend for life," chuckled Bryant. "Hugh doesn't kiss up to just anyone."

"I've always been good with animals." Peyton played with the dog a moment longer, then stood, meeting Bryant's steady gaze. "So where are you headed?"

"Thought I'd take him to the park to run around."

"Mind if I tag along?" She didn't want to seem desperate, but enjoyed the company. His, in particular.

"What do you think, Hugh? Should she or shouldn't she?" The dog barked his approval. Bryant grinned. "Looks like you've got his permission--and mine."

"Cool." Peyton smiled. "Your dad's fixing the roof at our house."

"Yeah, I know. That's what caretaker's do--a little bit of everything and a lot of nothing."

Peyton detected resentment in his tone. "Has he been doing that type of work for long?"

"Only since we moved here. He used to be a contractor. But after my parents split up, he quit that job and seems content to just get by."

"Maybe your dad needs time to figure out what he wants to do," she suggested. "Or get over the divorce."

"Yeah maybe." Bryant shrugged. "Or maybe he wants to feel sorry for himself for the rest of his life."

Peyton twisted her lips. "I guess I'm kind of speaking from experience. My life has been totally out of whack ever since my dad died. I've moved on, but part of me just can't let go. Your dad's probably going through sort of the same thing. Can you understand that?"

Bryant nodded. "When you put it that way." He paused. "Do you think that might have something to do with what happened at the bay?"

Peyton looked at him wide-eyed. "Does everyone know about that?"

He smiled crookedly. "Sorry, this is a small town. Word travels fast. People love to gossip."

"I never said I saw my father in the water," she said defensively. Good thing, because that would've been way too scary.

"I know. But maybe the thing with your dad and not being able to let go made you have some kind of illusion in the form of a girl."

Peyton sneered. "Thanks for the psychoanalysis."

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Just a thought, like yours about what my dad might be dealing with."

Peyton thought it was clever how he used her own words so effectively against her. Maybe she should drop the subject. The worst thing would be for Bryant to think she had gone off the deep end.

"Whatever you heard, Bry, there was a real girl in that water--as close to me as you are now--and it wasn't some weird manifestation of my dad coming back to life."

Bryant met her eyes. "So who do you think it was?"

"My mom thinks it might've been a local girl playing a trick on me because I'm new in town."

"That's some trick, Peyton."

"Yeah, sure." She sighed. "I can describe the girl I saw. Maybe you know her..."

"Maybe I do."

Peyton concentrated on the girl, as if back in the bay face to face with her. Though unnerving, she made herself focus on the details.

Bryant listened intently as Peyton recounted what the girl looked like.

"Hmmm...Can't say she rings a bell."

"Figures." Peyton fluttered her lashes disappointedly.

"Hey, that doesn't mean I don't believe you," he said quickly. "It's just that I don't know that many girls in the neighborhood. I could ask around..."

"Would you?" Peyton looked up hopefully. "Maybe she's missing...and still down there."

Bryant frowned. "This girl really freaked you out, didn't she?"

"You would've been freaked, too, if you'd seen her!"

"You're probably right if she looked anything like you described." He tugged the leash to keep Hugh from trying to break free. "Maybe together we can get to the bottom of this."

Peyton sighed, wondering if Bryant really believed her. If so, he might be the only one, making him even more special.

On the way back home, Peyton gained the courage to ask what had been on her mind, aside from her own trials and tribulations.

"So, do you have a girlfriend, Bry?" Please say no.

"Nope." Bryant brushed against her. "I was seeing a girl for a little while, but it didn't work out." He paused. "She met a guy who had what I didn't, I guess."

Peyton couldn't imagine this other guy being more of a catch than Bryant. Not in her book anyway.

"What about you?" he asked. "Did you leave someone special behind in San Diego?"

"Only my best friend, Erica," she said. "Most of the guys in San Diego are into surfing, partying, and hanging out with each other."

"Their loss," Bryant said. "You don't need guys like that."

Peyton blushed. "You're right, I don't." Especially when she was with a guy who made her forget all others.