Page 140 of Serenity Falls

‘I pushed him off and got away. Ran out of the house, called Dad.’ She swallows, remembering how she had felt so ashamed, so stupid. Dad had taken in her dishevelled clothes and red eyes, the finger marks on her arms. Then he had driven her home, made her a hot chocolate, wrapped her in a blanket and waited for her to tell him what she needed to. When she did, he suggested she go to the police but understood if she didn’t want to.

‘It was my word against Decker’s,’ she says to Ellis. ‘That’s what the police said. And they made me feel like I was wasting their time.’

‘Was this asshole at your school?’ Ellis asks.

‘Yeah. Not in my class, but Dad taught him. He went to speak to the headmaster … but Decker’s parents got there first and demanded I apologize for making false accusations.’

‘Fuck, man. So, what did your dad do?’

Sadie smiles. ‘Punched Decker’s dad in the face, told him to stick his apology up his arse, and also that his son was using ChatGPT to write his essays and he’d be failing him on all his coursework.’

Ellis’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Wow. What happened?’

‘Decker moved to another school and my dad got suspended.’

‘Oh.’

‘I didn’t find out right away. I thought he was just taking some time off. But yeah. That’s why we had to make the move here. No money, no job, no home.’

Ellis nods slowly. ‘That’s rough. But … I think it’s good you’re here.’

‘You do?’

‘Yeah. We need more freaks here.’

Sadie laughs. ‘Right.’

‘And I mean that in a good way.’

They stare at each other. They’ve reached a shaded part of the path, quiet. Ellis moves a little closer. It feels like a moment … and then Ellis’s phone buzzes.

‘Shit.’ She fumbles it out of her pocket. ‘Sorry,’ she says apologetically, lifting it to her ear. ‘Hi, Dad! Yes, I’m on my way back. Okay. Yeah. Burritos sound good. Great. See you soon.’

She pockets the phone. ‘I’ve got to go—’

‘No worries. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘Yep.’

Ellis jigs on her toes, looks as if she’s about to say something else, then suddenly turns and skitters away. Sadie watches her go and grins.

She checks her own phone. No messages from Dad or anyone else. She adjusts her rucksack. The documents inside rustle. Part of her really wants to talk to Dad about them, but that feels like she’s betraying Ellis and her friends. Of course, not telling Dad makes her feel bad for hiding stuff from him.

If half of what the group suspects is true, then it’s crazy shit. Murder, people disappearing. Dad would have to take it seriously, and maybe they could leave. She knows that Dad thinks this place is a freakshow too. He just doesn’t want to admit it.

Because he doesn’t want to fail you again, Sadie. This is his chance to make everything right, and he can’t admit it’s a bust.

Sometimes, Sadie thinks, the worst part about growing up is understanding that your parents are just as shit scared of everything as you are. They have no plan, they’re just bumbling along, pretending they know what they’re doing.

She wanders up the path, out of the park. She looks around. The street is deserted, almost eerily so. No people, no cars. She supposes it’s midday, hot, a lot of people will be in work. But still.

Then she realizes she can hear something. Music. She looks to her left. There’s an ice-cream van parked a short distance up the street. Identical to the one she saw the other night. Pink cones poking out the front like horns, bright cartoon characters along the side. The music is tinkling out of a speaker on the roof. It takes her a moment to place the tune:

Stars shining bright above you,

Night breezes seem to whisper, ‘I love you,’

Birds singing in a sycamore tree