Escaping Fate (4 page)

Put it out of my mind. That was exactly
what I did not want to happen, for me or the girls in the photos.
But what else could I say. “Okay, Mom. I’m sorry I brought it up.”
With a satisfied nod my mom left the kitchen and headed towards her
room where I knew my dad was waiting. I wanted to believe my mom
when she said nothing was going to happen to me, but as I looked
down at the pictures again, I couldn’t help but feel that she was
very wrong.

Chapter Five

My mom’s quiet steps whispered across
the beige carpet when she came back from talking with my dad. She
did not go back to sorting photos. Instead I heard the ripping of
packing tape off of boxes in the kitchen. I could see her emptying
each box of kitchen supplies and finding places for them as I
walked out of my bedroom and across the living room floor. I got
the hint that we were done sorting photos for the day, but I wanted
to know more about the girls, and I knew exactly who to go to for
answers.

My parents had forced me to move to the
middle of nowhere for one main reason. To be closer to my
grandfather. He was lonely in his old house, and his weekly
invitations to visit were rarely accepted when we lived in
Manhattan because of the distance and my dad’s busy job. Even
though before the move I had only seen my grandfather once or twice
a year, and even less over the past few years, I remembered the
visits well and looked forward to seeing him each time.

My grandpa’s stories had always
entertained and enthralled me. I remembered sitting in his lap for
hours as a small girl as he fed me cookies and tall tales. Even now
I could easily sit down with him to hear about crab fishing in
Alaska or trekking through South American jungles. I knew he would
gladly talk about most any topic, but would he tell me anything
more about Maera and Katie than my dad had?

He would not be too afraid to talk
about a sister who died nearly fifty years ago, would he? My mom
said that I just needed to give my dad time to come to grips with
his guilt over Katie’s death. How much time did it take, though?
Something told me I could not afford to wait too long for answers.
Thinking of ways to approach the subject of Maera’s death, I piled
a stack of stray photos back into a box and wandered into the
kitchen.

“Hey, Mom,” I began, “would it be okay
if I went to see Grandpa this afternoon?”

My mom smiled. “I would love for you to
spend some time with Grandpa, but it will have to wait until
tomorrow.”

“Why,” I asked, my voice dangerously
close to whining. Did she have some other pointless task for me to
do?

“Your grandpa had to go to the city for
a doctor’s appointment today. He’ll be back this evening,” she
said. “Why don’t you plan on visiting him tomorrow
morning?”

“Why couldn’t Dad just check him out?”
I knew my constant complaining irritated my mom on a regular basis,
especially lately, but it annoyed me that the one time I really
wanted to visit Grandpa was the one day I couldn’t. My mom was
constantly reminding me that growing up often meant things did not
always go the way you wanted them to. Every time she said it just
made me clench my teeth in frustration and wish time would speed up
for me. Things always seemed to work out just fine for the adults I
knew. I was the only one who was constantly being handed the short
stick.

“Your father is not a cardiologist,
Arra. I think it is a much wiser choice for Grandpa to continue
seeing his regular doctor.” Her eyes rolled lightly in my
direction, though a little less poignant than usual. “I’m sure his
stories will keep until tomorrow.”

“They don’t even have the doctors they
need in this town,” I muttered under my breath. I knew that in all
actuality that issue had been the exact reason the local hospital
had been so ecstatic to hire my dad. Grainer had a hospital half
the size of what a real hospital would be and not enough doctors to
staff even that. Nobody wanted to move to Grainer. Nobody but my
parents.

I started to leave the kitchen, but the
thought of spending another day sitting alone in my box filled room
sounded much less appealing than usual. Perhaps it was the photos I
had decided to put away in my nightstand after lunch. I did not
want to go near them at the moment. Every time I looked at them,
the girl’s smiles seemed a little less happy and somewhat more
desperate. It had been a very strange morning. I wanted a break
from my dad’s foul mood, my mom’s smothering concern, and the
strange pictures.

“Do you mind if I go walk around town,
then. I need to get out of the house for a while.”

The surprise on my mom’s face was
enough to make me laugh. She had nearly been reduced to threats
earlier that day just to get me to run to the grocery store. The
change that had come over me was abrupt, but my mom always knew how
to make the best of any situation.

“That sounds lovely, dear. Just don’t
wander off anywhere, and be home in time for supper,” my mom
cautioned. “I might need some help getting dinner ready
tonight.”

I could not imagine anything too
dreadful, or even vaguely interesting, happening to me in this tiny
town, but twenty-five years living in Manhattan was hard for my mom
to overcome. Pleasure that I was finally leaving the house of my
own accord was mixed with worry on her motherly face. It would be
nearly impossible for my mom to adjust in the few short weeks since
we had moved. Even I still felt the need to peek over my shoulder
when walking alone through the town. That little hint of fear in my
mom’s eyes felt oddly natural. I would have been more bothered if
my mom didn’t worry than by her cautious nature.

I doubt I could even get into trouble
here if I wanted to, I thought. “I’ll be fine, Mom. I just want to
see what’s here.”

“Have fun, dear.”

A soft breeze blew through the little
town as I walked its length. Glancing at the shop windows, I found
nothing that caught my interest. Wandering away from the main road,
I turned randomly down some of the side streets. When the hard
pavement eventually turned to gravel the change made me pause, but
only for a moment. The main bulk of the town could still be seen
easily. I strained my eyes and thought I could even see my house
from where I stood.

Kicking pebbles along the way, it felt
good being out of the house, out of my room especially. I had
barely come out since the move in protest of being here, but after
the first few days it had become incredibly boring. Of course I
could have entertained myself forever if I had just unpacked my
room. Somewhere in those boxes were my computer and video games and
DVD’s. If I had unpacked though, it would hardly have looked like I
was angry about moving.

I sighed. It made no sense, of course,
and only made me even more miserable while my parents simply went
about their business, but I felt like I had to make some kind of
attempt at protest. As I took in the sweet smells of the trees and
plants and let the wind toss my hair, I had a feeling that I would
start unpacking my room soon enough.

A quick rustling of leaves, followed by
a small rabbit darting across the road, drew a strangled cry from
me. My heart was pumping as I watched it disappear into another set
of bushes. Annoyed that the animal had surprised me so much, I
kicked a rock in the direction it had run.

“It’s just a rabbit,” someone said. A
quick laugh followed the voice.

Spinning around I looked for the
source. I hadn’t seen anyone else on the dirt road since stepping
onto it. It was the main reason I’d kept going. I had assumed it
was just an access road to the nearby forest. Three boys, about my
age, or maybe a little older, watched me from less than ten feet
away. I couldn’t stop myself from gawking at them. Where had they
come from? A crimson blush crept over my cheeks until the laughter
started again. My eyes narrowed. What were they doing just standing
there laughing at me? I wished I had another rock to kick at
them.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to scare you,”
the middle one said. “We’ve just never seen anyone get so scared by
a rabbit before.”

“I wasn’t scared of it,” I snapped, “it
just startled me. I’m just not used to Bambi’s little friends
running under my feet.”

The shortest of the three snickered
again, but a swift elbow to the ribs from the leader ended it
quickly. Embarrassed and annoyed at their immaturity, I turned
away, just wanting to continue my walk. If these three were the
only boys in town, I could definitely do without dating for the
next few years. The crunch of gravel behind me only made me walk
faster.

“Wait a minute,” the same boy who had
elbowed his friend called out. Running over to me, he came up short
right in front of me, forcing me to either stop walking or run
right into him. I stopped. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to embarrass you.
Evan can be a real jerk sometimes.”

Evan. That must have been the
chuckler’s name. Evan and the quieter one were still in their
original positions. “What are you guys doing out here?” My desire
for a quiet place to think had led me to the gravel path, but I
could not fathom the reason anyone else would want to come out
here. It was just a dirt path through the trees. What on earth do
you do in a place like this?

The boy held up his right hand. At
first I thought he was trying to keep me from walk off, but that
hardly made any sense since I was still just standing in front of
him. Then I realized he was trying to show me something. A leather
strip draped from his middle finger to his wrist and was held in
place by thin leather ties. The strap meant nothing to me. Was it
some kind of backwoodsy jewelry? If it was, I’d have to make it a
point to never get into that fad. My expression must have relayed
as much.

“Archery,” he explained. “We were
shooting at targets in the field.” He gestured to the field behind
where his friends were standing.

I was shocked to find three portable
targets sitting amid the tall grass. The brightly colored rings
were plainly visible from the road. I had not even noticed them
before. I looked back and the other two, one of them, the quiet
one, still had a bow in his hand. How did I not notice that, I
wondered, even more annoyed with myself than before. I was pretty
used to being careful about who and what was around me when I was
alone. Shaking my head, I marveled at how much this place was
already affecting me.

“Oh,” was all I could say.

“What, you’ve never seen a bow and
arrow before either?” he asked.

“No, actually, I haven’t.” My smug
voice matched my stance, but the sweet smile in the boy’s face made
me falter. “Except for on TV, if that counts.”

“Not really,” he said, his smile
growing even wider. He shrugged his shoulders and looked back at
his friends before turning back to me. Extending his hand, he said,
“I’m Tanner. You must be the new doctor’s kid, right?”

My smile slipped immediately. I hated
small towns. Was that how I’d be known for the next few years? The
new doctor’s kid? I managed to force a smile back on my face before
I tried to speak again. “Yep, that would be me. My name’s Arra
though.”

“Arra, huh?”

“Arrabella, actually, but I prefer
Arra,” I said.

“Cool, I like it,” Tanner said. He was
a completely random person, who could turn out to be a total freak
for all I knew, but the fact that he liked my name had me trying to
hide a delighted smile. He was pretty cute.

Motioning for his friends to join us,
Tanner pointed to the shorter one. “This is Evan and that’s
Jackson.” The quiet one raised a hand with a quick wave.

“Where are you from?” Tanner
asked.

“Manhattan,” I replied, wishing I was
there now. The three boys looked impressed, like being born in a
big city was some kind of accomplishment. They should have been
looking at me with pity.

“How do you like Grainer?” Evan
asked.

I made a face that made answering
unnecessary.

“That bad, huh?” Tanner said with a
laugh.

“I miss the city,” I
admitted.

“Grainer’s not so bad,” the quiet
Jackson replied.

“There’s nothing to do
here.”

“There’s archery,” Tanner said. “Come
on, we’ll show you.”

Evan and Jackson started back toward
the field where the targets were set up. Tanner lagged behind,
probably making sure I was not going to run off. I looked back at
the dirt road. There was no chance of returning to the peaceful
walk now. Reluctantly, I followed Tanner into the high
grasses.

I had never really enjoyed
participating in sports, but watching the boys practice did seem
like it might be a welcomed distraction. My thoughts had been
consumed by strange dreams and disturbing photos all day. Suddenly
playing at bows and arrows with three teenage boys sounded very
appealing, if somewhat dangerous.

Chapter Six

Evan and Jackson were already back in
their places when I walked up behind them. I watched Evan ready his
first shot, and had to stifle a laugh when I saw Tanner creeping up
behind him. The second before Evan took his shot, the end of
Tanner’s bow thumped Evan’s elbow, making the arrow spring out of
his hands and land at my feet. Evan took a swing at Tanner, but was
smiling as he did it. I tossed the arrow back to Evan and decided
to move much further to the side of them.