Sinister

Chapter Three

Leighton pressed her nose to the cool glass and watched as her breath clouded her vision and then cleared it. Rain pelted the window as individual drops rolled down the glass in long lines that intertwined and swerved until they reached the bottom.

It had been raining since Jack Norton was buried. It wasn't uncommon to receive large amounts of rain where Leighton lived. Summer storms were normal for her town. However, there was something about this storm that made Leighton's skin prickle. Something about its relentlessness that made her wonder if this was nature's way of balancing out an untimely death.

Leighton watched as the lights at the Norton's went out, plunging the house into darkness before the sun had fully settled. She had noticed that the Norton's no longer had friends over, no longer gardened, no longer smiled.

"Why don't you come away from that window, kid? You don't want to get hurt if a bolt of lightning hits too close to the house," Tom warned. He sat with Karen on the couch, their legs tangled beneath a heavy blanket as they watched the evening news.

Leighton blinked, her mind straying as she watched Mr. Norton take the garbage to the end of the road. He stood at the end of the driveway for a long moment, not caring that his housecoat was now soaked through. I helped him. Her mind had been toying with those words, turning them over and over, trying to make sense of their meaning.

"Leighton? Are you hungry?" Karen asked, voice laced with concern. No response came. Leighton continued to watch the rain fall, her mind a million miles from her body. She felt a shiver run the length of her spine and heard his voice again. I helped him.

Tate hadn't helped Jack Norton. He killed him. There was nothing helpful about killing a teenager with his entire life ahead of him. Leighton remembered the chill in her blood, the weight of the damp cocktail dress on her skin, the feeling of glass under her feet. In her mind, Leighton saw the white light crawling across the forest floor, leaving nothing behind but a layer of frost. Frost in June.

"Leighton." This time Leighton was shaken from her reverie, eyes darting to meet her mother's as her heart thumped hard in her chest. Karen was standing over her daughter, hands crossed against her chest, lips tight.

"Sorry?"

Karen's forehead crumpled. "Are you alright?"

Leighton nodded as if on reflex. "Yes." She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and smiled, trying to look believable and wondering why she couldn't manage it. Surely her inability to smile genuinely came from the Prozac prescribed to her.

Karen frowned and shot a quick glance to Tom who only raised his eyebrows. "We were calling to you for over a minute, Leigh, are you sure everything is okay?"

Leighton glanced out the window. She watched as Mr. Norton leaned over on his front porch and placed his hands on his knees, shoulders shaking with grief, bathrobe soaked from the rain. It was hard to look at that sort of pain for too long.

"I was thinking about Jack," Leighton told her mother. She heard his laugh and felt her stomach twist. Had Leighton known that would be the last time she would hear him laugh she might have laughed with him.

Karen tucked her hair behind both ears and sat beside her daughter on the window seat, tucking one leg beneath the other and taking Leighton's hand. "I noticed that you're behind on your medication. Tom and I are worried. I just need to ask one more time, are you sure you're alright?"

Leighton felt the blood leave her cheeks and creep down her neck. "I'm okay, mom," she croaked, panic starting to flood her airways. "Really." Leighton knew she had to find out why she was on the medication before she considered taking it again. Having her mother force her to take the pills would be counterproductive.

Karen's blue eyes were skeptical. "Have you decided what you want to do with your summer? Your father said that you could go and spend some time with him in Wyoming. He'd love to see you, Leigh."

Leighton's stomach tightened. Spending time with her father seemed like a terrible idea to her. She hadn't seen him in well over five years. Though she couldn't recall why he left, Leighton was bitter because he did. Brian Connors had abandoned her mother for a younger model, left behind Leighton for kids who weren't on medication, left Oregon for a place that didn't make him feel suffocated.

"I thought I'd get a job," Leighton told her mother, not sure when she decided that. "I thought I could start saving for college."

Tom perked up, "That sounds like a good idea, kid. Take a year, make some money, and then come out of college without too much debt." Leighton bit her tongue, wishing she could watch the rain forever. Whenever she thought too hard about the future she began to feel tired.

Karen's hand on Leighton's shoulder refocused her thoughts. "Do you want me to book you an appointment with Dr. Rook?" Leighton blinked, a blank expression on her face. There was that name again. Dr. Rook. Officer McGuinty.

"No," Leighton insisted, "I'm really okay. I'm still a little shocked over Jack Norton."

Karen frowned sympathetically. "How are the rest of your classmates taking the news?"

Leighton shrugged, "fine I guess." She had no idea. Leighton avoided social networking, often left her cell uncharged, and no one ever called for her at her house. She thought it better to lie than to try and explain that she had no friends especially when she couldn't remember why she didn't in the first place.

Leighton stood, feeling hot underneath her mother's prying gaze. "Do you mind if I borrow the car? I was hoping to go to the bookstore to pick up some summer reads." This, she hoped, would make her feel normal.

Karen looked back at Tom who only shrugged and switched his gaze to the news. Karen eyed the rain and then her daughter. "Are you sure you'll make it by the time Rudd closes it down?"

"Yeah," Leighton said, "I'll drive fast." She paused for a moment before an idea came to her. "Maybe I'll ask for an application." It was easy for Leighton to imagine herself working alongside Rudd, she'd known him since she was a child. The town was too small to have more than one bookstore.

Karen walked over to the key rack and picked her keys off the hook before tossing them to Leighton. "Be safe and take your phone." Leighton smiled tightly and pulled on her coat and boots, feeling anxious to get out of the house. "Of course, don't use your phone until you've stopped driving."

"I know," Leighton said, slipping the key ring over her finger. "I'll be okay."

She hurried to her mother's car and slid into the driver's seat, listening to the rain pound the roof of the car for a moment before cranking the engine over. The car rumbled to life beneath her, pinching her stomach tighter for whatever reason.

The drive to the bookstore was quick. The roads were mostly empty due to the late hour and storm. Leighton drove with confidence. She knew this route well. There had been a time in her life when the only way she could escape was through books.

Leighton pulled up just as Rudd came to the front window and flipped the sign from open to closed. He paused when he saw her car pull up and propped the door open wide enough for her to slip through. Leighton made the trip here enough times to be considered a regular.

"I'll close up in ten," Rudd told her with a kind smile. "I have another lingering customer anyways."

Leighton smiled back at the store owner and flipped her hood down, wiping her boots on the mat before entering the store and attacking the Fantasy aisle. Her finger dragged along the various spines of novels, her lips molding into the names of titles and authors. She walked sideways, one foot over the other as she picked her way through the entire shelf.

"Lots of new arrivals in the Fantasy section," Rudd told her, smiling. Leighton made the effort to smile back at him, noticing a small black pebble resting on the checkout counter. When she inquired about it he just shrugged, "found it here after lunch."

Leighton tried to be pleasant. "Maybe it's good luck."

After covering a whole aisle, Leighton stood and looked around, wondering where to look next. Mystery was a good option, she liked to think of herself as a sleuth. The only genre she had no interest in was Romance.

Leighton's eyes caught something that made her frown. She moved forward, fingers reaching for a black pebble that was resting on the edge of the shelf. Leighton brought the stone close to her face, wondering what it was doing there.

A dark figure two rows over caught her eye and stilled her heart. She stared at the back of the stranger as he slowly turned around, revealing himself as the man who killed Jack Norton.

I helped him.

Lightning lit up the bookstore, temporarily blinding Leighton as the store became whitewashed in her vision. When her eyes readjusted the man was standing directly in front of her, nothing but a shelf at waist height separating them.

Leighton jumped, her breath stopping in her throat as thunder boomed and the lights flickered overhead. She suddenly felt nauseas as Jack Norton's laugh echoed in her ears. Behind the front counter she heard Rudd cough and her entire body filled with dread. Leighton clutched the pebble to her chest as she gathered enough courage to meet eyes with a murderer.

She stared at Tate, taking in his aggressive presence and shrinking into herself. He stared at her intensely, his head tilting to the side as he studied her face. Leighton stared back tentatively, wondering what he was thinking about.

"You should leave," Tate told her as the lights flickered again.

Her mouth popped open. "I―"

His gaze became deadly. "Now."

"No," she argued, making a grab for his am. "You can't―"

She all but buckled under the intensity of his glare. "Leave."

Without arguing, Leighton turned on her heel and headed towards the door, ignoring Rudd as he called out to her, wondering why she was leaving without purchasing a novel. Leighton pushed the door open, gasping for air as she exited the store. It felt as though she was on autopilot.

Leighton paused in front of her car and turned around as she felt the wind pick up and the rain become icy cold. Her mouth formed a silent no as she moved forward, her shoes filled with lead as she placed both hands on the store window and banged on the glass.

As Leighton watched the lights in the tiny store flickered and die. Tate ghosted towards Rudd who had his hands up in surrender. Leighton's skin pebbled as she watched Tate advance slowly, lethally.

She reached for the door of the store only to find it locked. Leighton realised then that she could only watch as it happened again. As Tate murdered somebody else.

The wind swirled dangerously as lightning struck again. The temperature plummeted and Leighton found herself with chattering teeth and a frozen jaw. When her eyes adjusted to the dark she saw Rudd on the ground with Tate leaning over him. The black pebble fell from her clutch.

Leighton slammed her palm to the glass over and over as images of Jack passed through her mind. The wind died and the rain stopped just as Tate placed his hands on Rudd's chest. Once again, Leighton watched as the white light leaked from Rudd's body and crawled along the ground, continuing for a few feet before disappearing.

Frost began to climb up the window, circling around her palm and obscuring her vision. "No!" Leighton screamed, her mind spinning. She pictured the friendly shopkeeper in her thoughts and felt a burning hate for the dark stranger. "No!"

Leighton heard a cry of pain and then the lights flickered back on. She stumbled backwards, calves hitting the front of her mother's car as Tate stumbled through the door to the shop, looking exhausted.

He looked up at Leighton, face wary. "It's not what you think."

Leighton shook her head. "I don't know what to think."

He held out a hand. "I can take it away."

Leighton recoiled, "what are you?" They stared at each other for a long moment, neither moving in the sudden quiet. The storm had ended and as she watched the summer heat was slowly melting the icy frost that covered the front of the store. She looked away sharply as Rudd's body became visible inside the bookstore.

"Not a murderer," Tate answered calmly, voice steady. His eyes, framed by long dark lashes, were clear, honest, and pleading.

Her breath spiked, mind once again starting to slip from her control. "What did you do to them?" she asked, breathless. "What did you do to Jack Norton and R―" Leighton choked on her words and bent over, arms encircling her stomach.

Tate took a step forward and Leighton's body snapped to attention, her hand reaching forward to stop him. He paused a few feet away, watchful and waiting. "I helped them," Tate told her.

"By killing them?"

His jaw tensed. "I didn't kill them."

"I have a different view of things," Leighton retorted, voice shaking. The frost was nearly completely gone on the window leaving nothing but a clear view of Rudd's deflated body.

Tate stepped forward and reached out a hand, making Leighton's hair stand up on her arms. "I'm not going to hurt you, Leighton. I can help you too." Leighton heart thumped in her chest as her survival instinct kicked in.

"Help me?" she all but shrieked. "All you do is kill everything you touch."

Tate's eyes were a self contained storm. "Is that what you think?"

Leighton didn't bother to answer, instead she slipped around the side of her mother's car and gripped the door handle, keys held tightly in her hand. "I don't want your help," she whispered, voice squeezed tight with fear. Leighton could picture it too well. Tate placing his hands on her chest, enticing the white light from her body and making her eyelashes freeze. He would kill her.

Tate's gaze was even. "I can help you in a different way." She blinked as another memory came back. One of him grasping her arm, taking something from her. Leighton's eyes flashed to the crook of his elbow where the funny mark sat. He was covered in similar markings, all different but the same.

"No," Leighton whispered, jerking the door open and slamming it shut as Tate lunged towards her. Her hands shook as she jammed the key into the ignition and started the car as Tate banged on the window with his hands and jiggled the handle. Tate yelled words she was too wound up to decipher.

Leighton held her breath as she reversed, leaving Tate scrambling after her car as she pulled out of the parking lot and merged into the traffic on the main road. She sped the entire way home, fifteen miles over the limit for the entire drive.

Leighton returned home and went straight to her room. Her entire body shook as she buried herself beneath her blankets but no matter how long she huddled under them she couldn't become warm. And no matter what Leighton did she couldn't stop herself from seeing frost every time she closed her eyes.

It was still raining when Rudd's body was discovered on the floor of his shop. His death was ruled a heart attack. A tragic event, unavoidable after a life of careless eating and a heart defect that ran in his family.

Leighton didn't go to his funeral. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to stop herself from screaming if she had to listen to people talk about Rudd's faulty heart. Everyone would mourn for him in a soft way. In the way that warranted it's a shame and he was loved instead of Rudd's life was taken too soon and I hope the person who did this is brought to justice.

Instead, Leighton sat on the edge of her mother's bed. She watched as Karen changed from her hospital scrubs to a long black dress, smudging her makeup and pulling her hair out of the ponytail she wore to work. Karen must've been exhausted after working her shift at the hospital, but she never complained.

"I'll be home by seven," she told Leighton as she pinned her bangs back. "I left food in the fridge, just heat it up in the microwave." Guilt ate at Leighton's stomach as her mother slipped on a pair of black shoes.

"I'm sorry I can't come with you," Leighton said somberly.

Karen spun, blue eyes brimming with concern. "Don't worry about it, Leigh. There will be so many people there that no one will even notice you're not there. And after a classmate dying, no one expects you to be there."

Leighton bit at her nails. "I know, but I feel like―"

Karen stepped forward and placed her hands on either side of her daughter's face. "Leighton, sometimes we have to be selfish. Always be selfish with your health, it's one of the most important things. Tomorrow you'll see Dr. Rook and we'll get you back on track."

Leighton smiled at her mother even though she didn't feel off track. She wasn't even sure what track she was supposed to be on. The smile pacified Karen who was soon out of the door and on her way to the funeral, leaving Leighton completely alone.

She wandered downstairs and heated up the leftover pasta from the night before, eyeing the tiny green and white pill her mother had left on the counter for her. Leighton's skin itched as she stared at it, debating.

In the end she took the pill and slipped it back into its container before throwing the pasta in the garbage, no longer hungry. Leighton moved to the back door, peering through the glass at the forest that sprawled out behind their backyard like an immense weed.

The phone rang, making Leighton jump. She moved to the living room, hovering over the phone as she waited for it to go to voicemail. Her mother's voice echoed throughout the house, reciting her name and asking for a message.

The person on the other end of the line cleared their throat. "Hi Karen―it's uh―it's Brian. I was just calling... well I guess I was just wondering if you spoke to Leighton about coming to Wyoming. I―uh―I thought it might be a good idea for her to spend some time with me and the kids for a while. Call me―"

Leighton deleted the message before it ended. The idea of spending a summer with her father and his fake family made her feel nauseated. She had met them once, his other family. His new wife glared at her while her manicured fingers dug further and further into the skin of her father's arm. Her two kids stared at Leighton, picking her appearance apart like she was a science experiment rather than a person. Leighton hadn't stayed with them for long.

The couch called her name and before she knew it, Leighton was asleep. Her arm dangled over the edge of the couch carelessly while the other arm was draped over her eyes. The rain had lightened to a gentle patter that lulled Leighton to sleep within moments.

Fog swirled around the base of her feet, crawling up her legs in tendrils that skimmed her skin like fingers. Leighton swallowed hard and looked up, noticing she was in the forest. Looking around, Leighton couldn't seem to find a path.

A bird cawed eerily and Leighton pressed her nails into her palms, tongue pressed to the roof of her mouth. She started walking, parting the fog to reveal a thin layer of frost covering the forest floor. As she watched, a crow burrowed its way out of the ground, its wings bent at odd angles as it fought to free itself from the dirt.

Without her consent, Leighton was running. She tried to scream but her voice was gone. And then everything was gone. The forest had disappeared along with the ground underneath her feet and she was falling.

Arms caught her, freezing her skin with their touch. Leighton let out a hiss from between her teeth and looked up right into the eyes of Tate. He smiled at her, teeth white and straight. He leaned towards her, pushed her hair behind her ear and brought his lips in closer.

"Let me help you."

Leighton felt a strong tug on her arm and jerked awake, recoiling into the couch and drawing her hand to her chest. Leighton's lungs heaved as she looked around the darkened room wildly, trying to distinguish a threat.

It took a few moments to find a sense of calm but once she did, Leighton was able to push herself up and put a hand to her head. She had been dreaming about Tate. Dreaming about the man who caused half the town to attend another funeral.

The sound of a key in the front door made Leighton stand, eyes trained on the door while the rest of her body remained taught. After a moment Leighton's mother stepped through, blonde hair frizzy from the humidity.

When Karen spotted her daughter she smiled warily. "Hey Leigh, sorry I'm home later than I told you I would be. Did you eat the pasta?"

"Yes," Leighton lied, "It was good."

Karen smiled and hung her keys on their hook while kicking off her shoes. "It was a lovely funeral, lots of friends and family. The church was beautiful, it was that one off of Main street. You know, with the nice windows."

Leighton's lips formed a straight line. "That's nice." Her mother's words made her feel cold.

Karen collapsed on the armchair opposite her daughter. "I met a very nice young man while I was there, new in town and very good looking." Karen wriggled her eyebrows at her daughter and laughed.

Leighton's smile became tense. "Did this handsome newcomer have a name?"

Karen frowned as she brought her foot into her lap, inspecting the hole in her stockings. "Uh, I can't really remember, something with an R or a T." She released her leg and thought for a moment. "He was the young man who found poor Jack Norton in the forest."

Ice had been poured into Leighton's veins, freezing her entire body where it was. Tate had been talking to her mother. Leighton opened her mouth to shout some sort of warning but stopped herself.

It felt as though Leighton was choking on words that her mother would never believe. Both deaths had been blamed medical issues, neither was classified as murder. No one would believe her. No one would want to.

Her lips were stiff. "What did he say?"

Karen shrugged, "he was supposed to start working for Rudd this Monday, but well, you know. He's only just moved here, apparently college hadn't worked out for him. I think he's only a couple of years older than you, Leigh."

Swallowing was almost as hard as breathing. "It seems like death follows him."

Karen's eyes were shaded. "It's terrible, he must feel like some sort of bad omen." If Leighton hadn't seen him kill two people she might have laughed.

She had to try. "What are the chances he would move here and two people die? It's almost too coincidental to be believable." Leighton watched as her mother's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed.

"Leighton, what are you trying to say?" Leighton wondered why she had bothered speaking at all. It clear that no one would listen to her. She was on anti-depressants after all, there had to be something wrong with her―even though she couldn't remember what that was.

"Nothing," Leighton replied a second too late.

Karen got up and smoothed down her dress, scowling at the hole in her stockings once more. After a second she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before looking at her daughter. "Whatever it is you're not saying, you can say it to Dr. Rook tomorrow."