Soulmates (3 page)

Chapter Two

“It’s not really a ghost story per sé. It’s more like a legend that actually happened right here on this very land,” Presley said, lowering her voice and raising her eyebrows slightly.

“Everyone sit down!! This is so great. Is everyone ready? Okay, Presley, go and tell it
—
seriously, I’m ready!” Samantha rambled excitedly.

“Okay, Sam, calm down,” Presley giggled. Tyler and Ryan rolled their eyes as they reluctantly sat beside the girls.

“My grandmother told me this story when I was young, probably to keep me close to the house and not wander off too far. She swore to me that it was true and I never knew my grandma to lie,” she began.

“Okay,” Samantha said growing impatient, “get on with the story."

“Alright,” laughed Presley. “Back in 1954 there was a family who lived about a half mile down the road from this barn. They were the closest neighbors that my grandparents had. My grandmother went to their house once in a while to visit and have iced tea with the mother, until this tragic day. Sorry, I don’t remember the mom’s name but the daughter’s name was Paulette—Paulette Shepard. I believe she was fifteen years old at the time. Anyway, one day Paulette’s mother was hanging clothes out on the line and her older brother had run to town to pick up some parts for their dad’s old truck.

“Paulette had just finished her chores, you know, washing the dishes, feeding the animals, wringing out clothes for her mom to hang. Anyway, it was a beautiful May day, much like today, and she decided to take a short walk. She told her mom she would be back to help get lunch on, saying she wouldn’t be more than a half hour or so. Her mother watched Paulette as she strolled down the dirt path, humming a tune and admiring the newly bloomed spring flowers. As she leaned down to pick one she turned ever so slightly and gave her mom a big smile. Her mom watched her as she walked around the bend and out of sight. That was the last time her mother ever saw her and that vision was forever burned into her memory.

“Paulette’s brother returned home just in time for lunch and Paulette was still gone. Her mother’s anger quickly turned into anguish when it began to get later in the afternoon. She sent Paulette’s brother out to look for her to no avail. Paulette’s father returned home from work that evening and desperately organized a small search team, including my grandparents. The team had searched half the night and my grandmother tried to comfort Paulette’s mother the best that she could. Paulette’s mother was absolutely distraught and spent most of that night crying uncontrollably.

“They never did find Paulette. It was like she fell off the face of the Earth. There were no clues, no body, and no evidence. It was as if she was home one day and then she just—vanished."

“That’s it?” whispered Samantha. “So, why didn’t they keep searching? They just gave up?” she asked.

“Times were really different back then,” Ryan replied with a condescending tone.

“They didn’t have twenty-four hour news coverage and resources like the internet like we do today. Tyler was visibly irritated by this point. He was becoming increasingly bored with this immature anecdote and had envisioned the night significantly different from what it had been thus far. Presley saw lightning off in the distance and a huge crack of thunder shortly followed. Presley’s muscles began to tense up. She continued the story to get her mind off of the storm.

“Not only were the times different, but Paulette’s family was African-American. The story didn’t receive any national press and little local attention. Most speculated it was a white supremacy hate group that had been tormenting the family for years. They burned crosses in their yard and hung nooses in their trees, not to mention racial slurs and emotional anguish they caused the Shepard family. It was also a possibility that she could have encountered a transient passing through the area, maybe a serial killer. The possibilities are endless.”

“They never found her body?” Tyler asked, becoming more engaged in the story.

“No. That’s what makes the story so strange,” answered Presley. Suddenly the rain began to come down, starting with just a few drops, then quickly turning into a full-fledged thunderstorm.

“My hair is getting wet. Let’s go!” Samantha screamed as she shielded her hair with her hands. The barn didn’t have much of a roof anymore. The rain came pouring in, causing most of the candles to burn out.

“This is just great!” Tyler yelled in disgust as he picked up the wine and glasses. They all stumbled through the dark back to Ryan’s truck.

“Where’s Tyler?” Presley asked once she was inside the truck. Then she realized that Tyler was speaking to Ryan out in the rain. Tyler ran around the front of the truck and jumped in beside Presley.

“Man, I got drenched,” he said.

“What were you saying to Ryan?” Presley asked.

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s go back to your house,” he smiled as he stretched his arm around the small of her back.

“Okay,” Presley said, confused by the strong guarded feeling that had suddenly come over her.

Ryan pulled into Presley’s driveway.

“Hey guys, I think Samantha and I are gonna road trip for a while. We’ll be back later,” Ryan winked.

“Alright, bye,” Tyler said while he tried to shield Presley from the rain as they ran from the truck into her house.

“Tyler, did you ask Ryan to leave?” she asked, trying to figure out Tyler’s secretive motives.

“Yeah, I thought it would be nice to be alone tonight,” he admitted.

“Okay,” she said slowly. She was glad he wanted to be alone with her, but yet an unsettling feeling came over her.

“Sure you don’t want a glass of wine?” he pressed.

“I’m sure,” she sternly replied.

“Pres, I need to dry my shirt,” he said, as he quickly stripped it off, rolled it up, and handed it her.

“Yeah. Sure. No problem. It shouldn’t take long to dry.” Presley took the shirt to the laundry room. After putting it in the dryer, she turned around to find Tyler standing in the doorway.

“Oh! You scared me!” Presley screamed.

“Presley, come back in the living room,” he said in a sultry tone.

As they entered the living room, Presley noticed three lit candles on the coffee table. They sat on the couch and Tyler pulled Presley close and kissed her. She instantly thought about what Mary Carlson said to her after school. She didn’t want to seem like a crazy, jealous girlfriend, but she was curious as to where she stood in their relationship. She pulled away from Tyler. Her longing for him succumbed to the feelings of distrust for him.

“Tyler, I talked to Mary Carlson today after school,” she finally blurted.

Tyler looked shocked. He tilted his head to the side and looked down.

“Why were you talking to Mary? You aren’t friends. I didn’t think you two even liked each other."

“Oh, no, we don’t like each other. Or should I say she doesn’t really like me, for some unknown reason. Anyway, she did most of the talking. She just told me that you were with her last night. But that can’t be true because you told me you were home studying all night. Right?” she asked, unsure if she really wanted to know the truth.

Tyler instantly became defensive and then angry. That was his method of operation. He was genius at deflecting his faults and a master at turning the situation completely around and making Presley think she was going crazy.

“Here we go again. I’m getting so sick of all these accusations!” he yelled.

“I know I ask you a lot of questions, but why would Mary say -”

“A lot of questions, Presley? You’re obsessive! You are constantly smothering me. You think that if I’m not with you every day, or calling, or texting every hour, then I’m with someone else or doing something I’m not supposed to be doing. It’s exhausting, Presley. You exhaust me!”

“I’m sorry Tyler. I want to trust you." She apologized automatically without even thinking about it.

“You should trust me. I’ve never done anything for you not to trust me. Presley, I think that you have abandonment issues that you need to get over, and quit fixating on me so much. Go to counseling or something. You need help from a professional,” he sneered at her hatefully.

She was visibly taken back by his disrespectful comment. Not only had she felt abandoned by her father, but also by her mother.

If
I don’t shut up right now Tyler will probably end up leaving me too
, she thought to herself, feeling physically sick to her stomach.
What would I do if he broke up with
me?
She began regretting even mentioning Mary. Even though Presley and Tyler had only been dating for six months, she truly felt as if she couldn’t live without him.

“Ah, forget it—really,” Presley said softly, trying desperately to recant her earlier statement. “I don’t know what my problem is— I’m sorry,” she said in a whisper. Presley looked at Tyler hoping that he would accept her apology and that they could change the conversation.

“That’s okay, babe. You know that I love you, right? I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.” Tyler said relieved. “There’s nobody else I want. Only you,” Tyler kissed Presley as his hands began to wander, making Presley increasingly more uncomfortable by the second. She tried to pull away from him but he kept pulling her back. Soon he was on top of her and things were moving way too fast for Presley.

She finally whispered, “No, I really don’t feel comfortable with this." Tyler didn’t stop. “No!” she repeated louder this time. Still, he didn’t stop. She put both of her hands on his naked chest, and shoved him off of her yelling, “NO!!”

Startled, Tyler shouted, “Presley, what
is
your problem?”

“I’ve told you before I’m not ready for all of this,” she said again.

“Oh, Presley, come on. This has to be a joke,” he sarcastically laughed.

“No,” she said confidently, “this not a joke. I’m not ready, and if you don’t understand that then….”She hesitated as she tried to find the words to finish her sentence.

“Then what?” he said arrogantly.

“Never mind. Can’t we just talk?” she asked quietly.

“Talk?” Tyler began acting almost crazy. “Presley, I’m tired of talking. You’re sixteen and we’ve been dating for five months, and you want to talk?” he shook his head.

“Six. We’ve been together for six months,” she corrected him.

“Okay, whatever. Six months, and you still aren’t ready? When will you be ready? What does that even mean-ready?’” He threw his hands in the air, discouraged which made her even more self-conscious.

“It means that I want it to be special and not rushed, and I don’t know if I can handle it emotionally. It’s a huge step and once I take it, I can’t go back,” Presley said, trying to convince him that she was right and at the same time hoping that he would agree.

“Well, you know there are plenty of girls that would love to be with me. I can think of a few girls right now that would be plenty ready,” he replied in a haughty tone.

“What are you saying?” Presley said in a concerned voice.

“I’m saying that there are girls that are ‘
ready’
now, like Mary Carlson." Tyler said with a conceited grin. Presley gasped, feeling as if he had punched her in the stomach. Presley looked up at Tyler. She couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“So, there have been other girls?” Presley asked.

“You're so naive, Presley." Gradually his tone changed from anger to being extremely calm and composed. “I love you. I do. You have a lot of great qualities. I love that you aren’t like all the other girls in school. You
are
different. I like the fact that you are your own person and you are talented. You are so passionate about your music and your writing and I really admire all of that." Presley was confused by his drastic change of character. She couldn’t understand how he could admit to dating other girls, and then have the audacity to profess his love for her.

“You don’t love me, Tyler,” Presley said quietly.

“I don’t?” he smirked.

“No,” she continued sadly, “I’m pretty sure that love isn’t supposed to hurt, and all you have done for the past six months is hurt me. Whether it be breaking our dates or just plain standing me up, do you know how many nights I’ve waited right here at this window? Do you know how many nights I’ve waited and hoped to see your car lights come down the road?” She pointed to the small bay window which faced the front of the house. “I would fall asleep on the couch, waiting for you, only to wake there in the early morning hours alone, and still no Tyler, not even a call! And then I would accept your dumb excuses of where you were -your lame excuses. You know what, Tyler? I think that you’re a lame excuse of a boyfriend. You’re just a self-centered boy. I’ve graciously overlooked your flaws-hoping you would change. I’m seeing now that you won’t."