Paradise Falls (Paradise Falls #1-5)(27)

After checking every window twice, she went upstairs and got in the shower. Just being around Elliot made her feel like she was covered in a fine layer of grease, and the warm water swept it away as well as settled her stomach. She just hoped Mrs. Carmody wasn’t trying to do her dishes.

Jennifer unwound her hair and counted each stroke as she brushed it out. Her mother would do this for her when she was very young, but when Jennifer hurt her ankle and had to quit gymnastics, her mother stopped and Katie took over. Working the bristles through the tangles only reminded her how terribly empty the house was.

As much as she hated doing it, she took out one of Franklin’s old sport shirts and put it on, buttoning it up to her neck. She liked to imagine she could still smell him on it, but time and mothballs had stolen the scent from the cloth. Trying to remember his voice brought only white noise.

The bedsprings creaked under as she curled up on her side and tucked the pillow under her head and breathed into it to warm it up. The air conditioner rattled like mad. The room around her was dark. The baseboards were scuffed and the paint peeled. The hardwood floor was worn, its shine lost. The walls were warped and uneven and the crown molding was cracked and the corners didn’t meet up.

“And he built a crooked house,” Jennifer sighed.

Katie was right. Why was she doing this to herself? She could barely remember his voice or his touch no matter how she obsessed over it and living in this awful place didn’t help. The ceiling had a long spidery crack in it.

Jennifer was surprised Elliot hadn’t sent county inspectors just for spite.

Katie’s offer floated back into her head. The money was in her bank account. She kept more than half of her last three years’ salary. While the yearly pay for a Paradise Falls high school teacher was well below the state average, her savings were robust.

The sun had set. Jennifer left the light off and played with her tablet, looking at computers. She wanted to have something nice for once, something that wasn’t a hand-me-down. The tablet chimed. The little envelope icon was blinking. There was an email in her school inbox from Jacob.

Jennifer, I’m sorry. We never exchanged numbers. You left your helmet behind at my place. I’ll bring it to you on Monday.

The question was left unsaid. Unless you’d like me to bring it over tomorrow. She bit her lip.

If she moved in with Katie, that probably meant no Jacob. Then again, Philadelphia was not that far. She could still see him if she managed to fix the mess she made. Thinking about that morning made her so angry with herself that her hands started trembling.

What did she get for running out on him like that? Elliot, that’s what. She should still be there. Jacob was never anything but polite, kind, and even chivalrous, and her stupid brain twisted him into something he wasn’t. He probably was just in a bad accident and studied martial arts as a hobby, like other people she knew. Howard Unger and Brock Edwards gave after-school jiujitsu classes. Rachel had a scar on her leg from a motorcycle accident. They were just regular people. So was he.

Except Jacob was more than that. He was kind and he saved her.

Just like…

No. No, no, no. Stop it!

Her ring itched. She bit her lip and looked at it. Her sister was right.

She made up her mind. Call Katie tomorrow, and then call Jacob. Maybe invite him over just to talk. The fridge needed to be restocked first, so she turned on the alarm clock. The Bi-Lo opened at ten, but she could get in a relaxing ride first, stretch herself out and work out the storm in her mind, then talk to Jacob like an adult, not a flighty teenager. The guy with the mansion could probably deal with a long distance… she didn’t want to think the word relationship.

It’s been three days, Jennifer.

Leaving school was the only thing bothering her. Rachel would be happy for her and Krystal… well, Krystal would get over it. She would graduate at the end of the year, move on, move away, and Jennifer would fade into the background of the girl’s life. A happy memory.

“I’m not just going to be someone else’s happy memory,” she said, settling into the bed.

Saying goodbye to them would be like cutting off her arm, but if she stayed here, then what? How long would it be until Elliot got fed up and took what he wanted?

Katie is right. I don’t have to do this anymore.

Twisting up into a cocoon of blankets, she fell asleep.

The house groaned as the old wood shifted. The groaning grew louder and louder, followed by the crash of glass shattering and skidding across the kitchen floor.





11.





There were heavy footsteps in the kitchen. Jennifer switched on the light, then swung the bedroom door shut and gently twisted the lock, wincing at the sound. The landline phone on her nightstand offered a quiet hiss. Frantic, she turned on the light and looked for her cell phone. Panic throbbed in her temples, ice cold. There was no way out. She needed to call for help and she needed her gun.

Her cell phone and revolver were in her purse.

The purse was in the living room.

The big Amish dresser didn’t want to move, until it started to slide across the floor. Frustration coiled hot in her muscles and Jennifer gave it one great shove, and it finally started to slide. She stopped pushing the dresser when it fully blocked the door, and listened for any sound beyond her own panting. The footsteps resumed downstairs, but this time, they were heavy thumps on the living room carpet. Why didn’t she carry her purse upstairs?