Finally, after about thirty minutes of driving, Hayleigh turns off onto a dirt road that leads past fields and old abandoned barns. How the hell did she find this place, and why? When she pulls up next to one of the barns, I kill my lights and stay at a slow crawl before pulling to the side of the road and tucking my car in next to some trees. I get out in time to see Hayleigh take her bag out of the back seat. She looks around and then heads into the barn, closing the door behind her.
Taking out my phone, I check for a signal, but I don’t have one, so I send a message to Arch anyway.
Me
Found Hayleigh. Creepy fields and in an abandoned barn. If I die, you have my permission to take my old Sega Mega Drive and games.
I put my phone in my pocket and walk to the barn, placing my ear against the door. I strain to hear something, anything, and then I do…music, but not the happy kind; it’s sad and melodic, but then there’s something else, singing, or more like cats trying to sing, but it’s there.
I raise my hand and decide to go for it instead of being accused of being a creep, rather than letting Hayleigh get lost in her own head. I bang on the door and hear a squeak of surprise from inside. “Hayleigh, it’s me, Nate.” I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head. “Open up…please.”
Footsteps sound behind the door, and then it creaks inwards as Hayleigh’s tear-stained face peeks from around the corner. She looks defeated, her shoulders are down, and her eyes are heavy. “What are you doing here, Nate?” She looks around behind me.
I tuck my hands in my pockets. “I’m here alone…I followed you from your house, which was a little creepy of me, but I wanted to make sure you’re okay. Which you’re not by the way, because…” I gesture to the barn and see the side of her mouth lift slightly.
She steps back and pulls the door open slightly before nodding inside. “Might as well come in then. Sorry about the mess.”
I walk into the barn and see the place is shrouded in darkness, save for a corner at the back where fairy lights are strung around the walls, illuminating it. An old dusty red couch sits against the back wall, and Hayleigh’s bag lies on top of the cushions.There’s a sleeping bag, a camping stove and a stack of tinned food. Hayleigh breezes by me and sits on the couch, spreading her arms out at her sides.
“Welcome to my home.”
I shake my head. “You already have a home, why are you staying here?”
She sighs. “I can’t stay in that house, Nate.” I’m about to tell her I understand when she carries on. “I told you that my mother and father chose everything for me, all the way down to Pete. They adored him, fawned over him when we saw them, so much so that they had constant brown noses.” She picks up two camping mugs and pours hot coffee before continuing. “Pete’s family had money, but they weren’t as wealthy as my family; they had something better than wealth in their eyes, and that was power.”
I walk over to her and take the mug, sitting down on an old loom. “Yeah, I remember, his dad was a judge?”
She nods. “Oh boy, was he. A corrupt judge, but my parents didn’t care; for them, it was another powerful ally. Anyway, I wanted my own place and my parents agreed, but it had to be with Pete. They said it wouldn’t look proper if I lived alone, and so they bought it for us. I remember feeling so lucky to have parents that could buy me a home, but it wasn’t a home they were buying, it was a prison.”
“So you find a creepy old abandoned barn to live in, instead?” I keep my tone light, and it works because she barks out a laugh and a snort.
“Oh god, this does look bad. I promise, though, I am not losing it. This place, in fact, this land is…mine. It was my granddad's, but he gave it to me in his will before he passed. It’s the one thing that my parents don’t hold over me.”
“There are plenty of us who have spare rooms, Hayleigh-”
She shakes her head. “I’ve already found four places that I like the look of, I don’t want to be under…I don’t want to burden anyone.” She doesn’t meet my eyes.
I nod my head. “Okay then. Where are these four places that you’ve seen, and when can we view them?”
Her head snaps up. “Oh, what do you mean? You want to help?”
“Sure, that’s what friends are for, right? Plus, I don’t know if you know this, but I have connections in the building trade and I, myself, am a master carpenter.” I puff up my chest and throw her a dazzling smile.
She laughs. “You’re so goofy. I’ll pay you for any work you do and for helping me.”
I scoff. “Mates rates. So come on, tell me where we’re looking.”
Her smile lights up her face as she grabs some papers from her bag. “Still in Roselake, but I want something that I can do up and put my own stamp on.” She grabs another piece of paper, and an envelope falls out with her name on it. She snatches it up before stuffing it back in the bag. “So I’m thinking of this one here.”
I listen to what she has to say about the house, and I have to admit her ideas are pretty good, so I make a mental note of them and nod and smile, but all the while my mind keeps bringing me back to her bag and to wondering what that envelope was.
I move on from the bag when she tells me her plans for the garden. I love the way her eyes light up as she names the different kinds of flowers she would want in there, and then I imagine her in there, a little older than she is now, maybe two or three years, her hair in one of those messy buns that I like so much. She would smile from ear to ear when I came home, and I’d kiss her like I hadn’t seen her in months and then drop to my knees and kiss her stomach…
“Nate? Do you think that’s possible?” She searches my eyes, a soft smile on her lips, and I have zero fucking clue what shesaid, but I find myself nodding either way. “Great. I’m going to get some sleep now, so…” She looks unsure of herself, but if she thinks I’m letting her sleep in here on her own, she has another thing coming.
“I’ll take the floor.” I drop down and roll up my coat into a makeshift pillow.
She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Nate, you’renotsleeping on this floor. Go home.”
