Chapter Two

I released a cry of frustration when the cabinet above my bed smacked me against my forehead for what could have been the tenth time. I threw the notepad and pen down onto the bed, stood up onto my knees, and turned to slam the cupboard so hard that everything around me quivered.

It felt like I was suffocating.

I dangled my legs over the side of the bed and grabbed a small bag of potato chips Mom had given me to tame the growling beast inside my stomach.

They hadn’t thought about bringing the most important, most basic thing over—food. So they took a boat back to Bowmore for last-minute grocery shopping. Or takeaway shopping, whichever place was open at this hour.

Meantime I had to find the will to survive and deal with the fact that I was alone in the middle of freaking nowhere. I tore open the pack and stuffed a chip into my mouth, heading outside toward the cottage for something to drink other than the lukewarm tap water Dad managed to connect to the caravan.

It was a little past seven, but the world around me was murky this early in the evening. The charcoal sky sparkled with stars and was moonless.

To my dismay, it was the only source of light. Mom and Dad neglected to leave on the lights inside the cottage. I released a long groan, clutching my chips, and rushed the small distance between the caravan and the cottage.

I sought to find the backdoor and stumbled over a pot plant that sprouted out of nowhere before I managed to grab onto the wobbly doorknob. The door screeched as I pushed it open, the noise almost deafening in the cricket-singing silence.

“Now to find the light switch,” I mumbled to myself. I didn’t think of bringing a flashlight—not that I had a clue where mine was. I dropped my chips on top of what I was certain had to be the kitchen counter and patted my way against the wall.

A lengthy creak sounded from the other side of the kitchen, followed by a gentle stir of movement.

I froze, blinking wide-eyed toward where I heard the noise come from.  Some kind of animal?

Dad had found animal droppings in the corner of the bathroom. He suspected rats or bats. I prayed it wasn’t the latter. Rats, I was able to escape. Bats attacked hair, which I had plenty of.

I stood still for a long moment, straining my ears as I listened for any more odd noises, but there wasn’t anything again.

I decided it had to be the wood settling, and I must have mistaken for something else. Dad had said that this was a common issue when he and his team were out investigating some haunted place.

When you’re alone in the dark and on high alert, you are prone to mistaken simple noises for something else.

Good thing I didn’t believe in ghosts.

I stretched out my arms in front of me, dragging my feet as I moved so I wouldn’t trip over anything.

A few, notable heartbeats later, my fingers grazed against a flat, metal object against the wall. I flicked it on and bright light splashed across the room.

I recoiled, covering my eyes and mumbling a few expletives. I glanced up toward the light, cringing, before looking down again, my vision swimming with stars and other distorted shapes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I snorted. They had a spotlight for a kitchen light.

Mom had more spotlights than she had clothes. It wouldn’t surprise me she deemed it fit for a kitchen light.

Hoping I wouldn’t suffer from extensive blindness, I kept my eyes on the floor and snatched up my chips. I headed toward the rusty brown fridge in the corner warbling like it’s about to give up on life.

Regret became real when I got swamped by the waft of garlic and decomposing food. No water—but there was a bottle of half-drunk cheap wine.

“Awesome.” I slammed shut the door to reveal a large figure standing right beside me inside the dark, shadowy hallway.

I staggered away as the silhouette moved toward me. My foot got caught on the side of a box and I sailed backward.

In a matter of seconds, I realized several things. One, my small meal of chips was now lost to the dirty floor. Two, I was alone on an isolated island with someone inside our home. Three; this was so going to hurt.

I closed my eyes and braced for the impact, but instead, something folded around my back and tugged me into a standing position.

I felt warmth, the scent of something floral, and ocean. The warmth dissolved as quickly as it came, and I shrieked, swatting at the person in front of me.

He grabbed onto my forearms and held them in place in the air, pinning me with a look that made me froze.

“What the hell are you doing inside our house?” I wanted to sound threatening, but my voice came out in a pathetic whimper.

“I brought food.” He dropped my arms, turning away.

I glared at his back—a nice looking back if I had to admit to myself, as he reached to pick up something from the floor.

“You brought food?” I gave him a disbelieving look. “Didn’t you tell me earlier you didn’t want us here? Oh yeah, and treated me like trash.”

He turned to offer me an unbothered look. “It wasn’t my idea. And I still stand by what I said. You should leave this place, you’re not welcome here.”

I glanced at the pie he placed on the kitchen table. “So you brought pie?”

“My mom sent the pie. I just happen to be the unfortunate one to have to bring it to you.”

“Don’t sound any more bitter about it. You might shrivel up into a prune and die,” I snorted, folding my arms. “Well, you can take the pie back. Tell your mom thanks, but I’d rather not touch it since you probably laced it with poison.”

“Just tke the damn pie. Trust me, I’m not in the mood for another speech from my—” He pushed out an exasperated sound. “Take it, please.”

I swear, he nearly turned blue forcing out that last word.

“Fine,” I narrowed my eyes, wondering what his mom had over him that made him so compliant to her. He didn’t seem like the type that took being ordered around well. “So, why were you snooping around inside our house?”

“I wasn’t snooping. I was looking for you.”

“Me? You could have left it on the porch or I don’t know, do something more civilized, like knocking on the front door.”

His jaw clenched. “I was told to give the pie to you.”

“Why me?”

“Because your mom spoke to mine and mentioned you didn’t have—look, I’m not here to explain myself, or anything to you. I don’t owe you anything. The fact that I’ve wasted my time, effort, and energy just simply by being here is more than too much.”

I watched him stalk toward the door. “Tell your mom I say thank you.”

He grunted something in response.

“Do us both a favor and trip over something on your way back,” I called after him as he disappeared into the dark.

What an idiot.

When heard the crunch of his boots against the ground fading in the distance, I took a step toward the kitchen table where the pie was waiting, my stomach threatening my existence.

I hated to admit it, but it looked good. I peeled off the cling wrap, grabbed a fork from the drawer beside the sink, and tore off some of the crust with it to see what was beneath.

A thick, crimson sauce bled out, running down the sides and staining the cream-colored plate.

As I peeled away more crust, I discovered plump strawberries marinating inside the red syrup.

It was strawberry pie, my favorite.

After a few more pokes here and there, I decided it was safe enough to eat and took a large bite.

So much that I couldn't chew, turning toward the sink to grab a glass of water. I screwed open the tap, waiting a few seconds for all the warm water to run out from the sun-baked pipes, and turn cold.

Or luke warm—which seemed like it was the best I was going to get.

Something moved in my perhiphary, right outside the window, staining the dark night with a ghostly shape.

I glanced up, gasping crumbs of pie when I spotted a pale, female face staring through the window at me.

I choked on my meal and my eyes began to tear up. I slammed a fist against my chest and when I regained my vision, the face was gone.

I ran toward the trash can in the corner and spat out the remnants of the pie, then reached for the cutlery drawer for a knife.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!”

A screech escaped me as I flung around, finding a girl my age standing by the doorway.

“I’m Ember, Kayn’s sister.”

“Who—”

“The idiot that brought the pie.” She threw a thumb back over her shoulder. “Look, whatever he said to you, you should ignore him. He’s a total jackass.”

“Kayn.” So he had a name.

“Yup. My parents aren't very conventional when it comes to names.”

I could relate to unconventional parents.

I nodded, not sure what to say to her. She was pretty and doubtlessly had her brother’s amazing genes. She had the same rich, raven hair and stunning aquamarine eyes.

“I’m sorry about my brother.”

I shook my head. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault how your brother behaves.”

“If I knew my mom asked him to bring the pie over, I’d have stepped in and brought it over myself, but I was out with my grandad looking for his missing fishing pole.” She rolled her eyes. “He misplaces his things all the time and then blames everyone else for it.”

I smiled. “Did you find it?”

“Unfortunately, no. That’s why I took off and decided to come to say hello. But then I saw asshat walking out and I knew it wasn’t a good thing.”

“Is he always like this?”

“Unfortunately,” she groaned. “He got it from our grandad. Word of advice if you see either of them, walk the other direction. They're both jerks to anything that breathes.”

I inclined my head, remembering the old man on the porch and shuddered.

“So, do you have a name?”

“Carly.”

“Welcome to Scotland, Carly,” she grinned. “So, do you have any plans for tomorrow?”

“I’ll probably spend most of the day unpacking and...Honestly, I have yet to explore my options to keep myself entertained while we live here.”

“If you want, I can come over and help you tomorrow?” she offered. “Then maybe we can go for a hike or something and I can show you all the good spots around here.”

“That sounds great.” I didn’t have anything else planned and Ember seemed like she could become a potential friend.

“That sounds g—”

“Ember, what the hell are you doing over here?” Kayn barked from outside the door, causing us both to jump.

“I’m making a friend. What does it look like I’m doing?” Ember raised a brow.

“You know you’re not supposed to…” Kayn fell silent when he noticed me studying him. He turned his back to me, blocking the view of his sister, and said something to her in a low voice.

“I’m not a baby, Kayn. I know what I’m doing,” she hissed audibly.

He said something else to her that sounded a lot like a warning, before turning back to face me. “We’re going,” he bit out before he steered his sister toward the door.

“Tomorrow?” she mouthed and I nodded with a smile in return.

I didn’t know what Kayn’s problem was, but I’m not going to let him get in the way of me and Ember being friends.

I turned to reach for my fork and once again helped myself to the delicious pie, careful to take smaller bites this time around.