The Curse of Redwood (Ivy Grove #2) - Jaclyn Osborn Page 0,25
it?” a man asked, walking out from the hall. He was dressed in a black dinner suit, and his brown hair was slicked back. He carried an axe over his shoulder. “Are you staying for dinner? I heard it’s to die for.”
Z shoved me onto the front porch and slammed the door in my face.
My heart hammered against my ribs, and my breaths were short as my head spun round and round. Losing my footing, I stumbled down the porch steps and to the grass. As I landed on the ground, I looked up to see ghosts standing on the lawn. Watching me. It was just like my nightmares. Scarier, even.
I needed to run, but I was frozen in fear.
The ghosts drifted toward me.
“Z,” I said, as tears pooled in my eyes. Help me, I tried to say, but the words died in my throat.
Something lifted me off the grass and rushed me away from the mansion. I didn’t see Z, but I knew it was him. I recognized the feeling of being in his arms. He placed me on the other side of the large gates, and before the pressure of his arms around me faded, I could’ve sworn I felt lips press to my temple.
Once released, I staggered back a step before running to my car, nearly falling down several times on my way there. I started the engine once inside and put the car in reverse, my hands shaking on the steering wheel.
The dashboard clock said it was just after midnight.
When I got home, I dashed to my room and jumped into bed without even undressing or taking off my shoes. I pulled the covers over my head and squeezed my eyes shut, scared out of my wits. How had such an amazing evening with Z turned into something so horrifying?
He’d tried to warn me, but I’d been too stubborn to listen.
I ended up sleeping with the TV on that night. Because in the silence, I could still hear that woman’s ghostly sobs.
Chapter Six
I didn’t return to Redwood the following day. Or the day after that. Each time I considered going back, I’d remember what happened and chicken out.
Looks like Z finally got his wish.
With the arrival of September, the sleepy town of Ivy Grove awoke once more. Though the actual first day of fall wasn’t for another two weeks, stores had already decorated, setting out displays with pumpkins, scarecrows, and fall-leaf garland. Orange lights danced in the window of one store, while the coffeehouse next door promoted their famous pumpkin spice flavored coffee.
However, it wasn’t the decorations or fall beverages that made the town come alive. No, it was the atmosphere; the history that ran deep through every street and building. As I walked down Main Street that Friday afternoon, breathing in the crisp air and feeling a slightly cool breeze against my skin, I had a profound sense of home.
This is where I belong.
Moving to Ivy Grove to live with my grandma three years ago was the best decision I’d ever made.
“Carter?”
I turned to see Taylor coming out of the bookstore. His short brown hair stuck up in the front, and he wore a green hoodie and Abercrombie jeans. He looked like a total fuckboy. Smelled like one too.
“Hey, Taylor. What’s up?”
He walked over to me, sticking one hand in his front hoodie pocket while holding a book in the other. “Did some shopping. They didn’t have the book I wanted, but I found this.” He held up a book titled Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories of the Supernatural. A Scholastic Classics banner was at the top. “I read this when I was in school and loved it.”
“I’m not much of a reader.”
Taylor had the same reaction as Z. “Dude, you’re missing out for sure.”
“I think I watched the movie.”
Taylor snorted. “Books are always better than the movie. Here. You can borrow it. You’ll like it, I promise. And if you don’t, well, I’ll buy you some beer or something.”
I looked at the book, prepared to turn down his offer, but then something strange happened. A vision came to me of Ezekiel and I lying on a blanket in what looked to be an attic. Sunlight streamed in through the small window above us as he read from a paper book that had Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde printed on the otherwise blank cover. He smiled as he read to me, and I smiled as I listened to him.