I ran outside, the back door to the kitchen slamming shut behind me. The raised, angry voices of my mom and her loser boyfriend followed me to the back yard. God, I couldn’t stand them. All they ever did was fight and make up in a never-ending cycle. I was so sick of it.
I took some deep, calming breaths and fished out a lighter and cigarette I’d stashed in my bra. I’d swiped them earlier from my mom’s purse when she was holed up in her bedroom with Gavin. Another make up session, I’d guessed.
Our back yard was pretty small, just a patio table, chairs, an old broken grill and a small dumpster on wheels. A tall wooden privacy fence separated us from the old man to the left, and the family with three loud, annoying kids to the right.
I wandered over to the fence shared with the old man’s yard and leaned my back against it. I puffed on the cigarette, inhaling deeply, blowing deformed smoke rings up at the sky.
Inside my house, the muffled argument tapered off and the kitchen light went out. Ugh. They’d be going up to their room to “make up” again, no doubt. I shuddered and pushed away the disturbing image.
I had just dropped my cigarette and was snuffing it out with my foot when I heard something from the old man’s back yard, on the other side of the privacy fence.
Footsteps, shuffling through leaves and crunching over twigs.
I jerked away from the fence, startled. I didn’t think it could be the old man, not this late at night. Maybe it was just a dog, or a cat. Did the old man even have a pet? All I really knew about him was he’d had a wife who recently passed. Other than that, he kept to himself.
There was another crack of twigs, louder this time, closer to the fence. Maybe it was a raccoon. That was probably it. But I was curious.
“Hello?” I called out. My voice pierced through the quiet night. Besides the crickets, the only sounds were the faint crying of the baby next door, and a dog barking down the street.
Whatever was moving on the other side of the fence, stopped at the sound of my voice. I stood still, waiting to hear something. Several long moments slid by in which I didn’t speak or move, and neither, it seemed, did the thing in the old man’s back yard.
There was a large hole in the fence, where the wood had rotted through. I crouched down to be eye level with it. I wasn’t the type that scared easily. And besides, I reasoned, whatever was over there was surely an animal of some kind. Still, I just had to know.
I peeked through the hole, straining to see in the darkness. Several tall trees loomed in the old man’s yard, which blocked most of the moonlight. Since the passing of his wife, he hadn’t been taking care of things around the house, and that included his back yard. My nosey mom, who made it her mission to know all the neighbors’ business, had been keeping track of him. The grass and vegetation was badly overgrown in both the front and back of the old man’s house. Add that to the tall thick trees, and it was probably quite dark in the back yard even during the day.
“Hello?” I tried again, still peering through the rotted hole in the fence. “Is someone back there?”
I waited a few moments more, but heard nothing. Just as I began to straighten up and blame the whole incident on an overactive imagination, a voice spoke through the hole.
“Hi,” it said.
I couldn’t help it. I screamed.
The voice chuckled, a boy’s voice. Deep, but friendly. Cute, too.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” There was amusement in his tone.
I laughed, expelling the anxiousness I’d built up.
“Well, you scared the shit out of me.” I bent back down to the rotted hole. “What are you doing back there?”
I could just make out the shadowy shape of his face and upper body where the scant moonlight filtered through the heavy trees.
“Same as you, I guess.” The dark lump of his shoulder rose and fell in a quick shrug.
“Hiding out from your crazy mom and her gross boyfriend?”
He laughed breathily. “No, no crazy moms or gross boyfriends over here.”
“You’re lucky, then. You only have one quiet old man to deal with… your grandfather, I guess?”
“Ah, yes. The old man.” He paused, then added, “My grandfather.”
“I’m sorry about your grandmother,” I said, picking at a piece of splintered wood with my fingernail. “Are you here to help him out or something? I’m sure he’s really sad.”
“Yeah, thanks. It’s been hard on him.”
“I bet.” I settled down on the grass at the base of the fence. Talking to this guy, whoever he was, was a lot better than going back into that nut house and having to hear my mom and Gavin go at it all night.
I leaned against the fence and I could feel him doing the same. The weight of his body pushed the wood against me ever so slightly.
“I’m Taryn,” I said, stretching my legs out and crossing them at the ankles. “What’s your name?”
He was quiet for a moment before answering. “Reed,” he said finally. I liked it. It was different. I’d never met a Reed before.
“How old are you?” I asked. Maybe I was just as nosey as my mom. But we had to get the basics out of the way, didn’t we?
The baby next door had quieted and so too the dog down the street. Through the chorus of crickets, I heard Reed’s breathing, deep and slow. When he didn’t answer right away, I found myself filling the silence with chatter, a bad habit of mine.
“I’m eighteen. Well, I will be in a couple weeks, anyway. God, I can’t wait. It’s going to be, like, the best day of my life.”
I had some money saved up from my summer job at the grocery store, and I was going to use it to get an apartment with my friend, Lindsey. I couldn’t wait to move out.
“What day is that?” Reed asked, sounding genuinely interested.
“The nineteenth.”
“Cool.”
“So, are you going to tell me how old you are, or what?” I teased, leaning back comfortably and twisting a strand of long blonde hair between my fingers.
“I’m…” Reed hesitated. “Older.”
I frowned. What did that mean? He didn’t sound much older than the guys I went to high school with. Maybe he was in his twenties and didn’t want to scare me off. Well, that was all right. I liked older guys.
“So, how long have you been over there?” I asked. “With your grandpa, I mean, not in the back yard.” I laughed and heard his soft chuckle in response.
“Just a few days. How long have you lived next door?”
“Oh, years.” I sighed.
It had been years since my dad left. Years since my mom met Gavin and moved us here to this boring neighborhood surrounded by boring people. But Reed didn’t seem boring. Reed seemed like just the distraction I needed until my birthday, when I could run like my life depended on it.
The kitchen light blinked on in the house; I stiffened. Guess Gavin and my mom had finished their little romp.
Reed must have noticed the light too, because he asked, “Who’s that?”
“Probably my mom or her boyfriend, Gavin. I guess I’d better go inside now. It’s pretty late.”
Reed was quiet a moment, like he was thinking. “Want to talk again tomorrow night?”
I smiled, flattered.
“Sure,” I answered, standing and brushing dirt from the butt of my jeans. I heard Reed standing up as well.
“Can’t wait,” he said, and I realized he was much taller than me, from the location of his voice. I’m kind of tall myself, about five foot eight. That meant Reed was well above six feet tall, judging from the distance of his voice above me. Nice. I liked tall guys. I wished I could see him. I wondered what he looked like.
“Good night, Taryn,” he said, his voice husky and low. Kind of sexy.
I grinned like an idiot.
“Good night, Reed.” I said, and crossed the yard, the feeling of being watched heavy on my skin. I wondered if Reed could see over the fence, as tall as he was. I looked back before opening the door to the kitchen, but all I saw was darkness and the hulking trees.
It was Gavin in the kitchen, much to my dismay. He straightened up from the refrigerator when he heard me come in, lunch meat in one hand, a jar of mayonnaise in the other. He grinned, his creepy gray eyes sweeping up and down the length of my body like they always did.
“Hey, Taryn,” he said, setting the food on the kitchen counter. He pulled a loaf of bread from the cabinet, his eyes still on me as I closed and locked the back door.
“Hey,” I mumbled, ready to make a beeline for my room. I wanted to lie in bed and think about Reed, what he looked like, what we’d talk about tomorrow. But as I walked by, Gavin’s hand shot out and gripped my wrist.
“Where you going so fast, pretty girl?” he said.
God, his breath stank. How could my mom stand to kiss him? He was forty to her fifty, that had to be it. But I never could understand what she saw in him. With his squinty gray eyes, thinning brown hair, pale wormy lips and slight beer belly, he was no prize. Even though my mom annoyed the hell out of me most days, she deserved better. Sometimes I had to remind myself I wasn’t the only one my dad left. I think my mom was just lonely.
Gavin pushed me against the kitchen counter with his gut, a big smile splitting his face. I wasn’t in the mood for this. I just wanted to go to bed.
I reached behind me and grabbed the butcher knife from the block and held it under his chin.
His gray eyes danced merrily.
“You crack me up.” He laughed, taking the knife from me and moving away. He opened the jar of mayonnaise and used the knife to smear some on his bread, still chuckling to himself.
Heart thudding, I hurried to my room and locked the door securely behind me. Ugh. Gavin was always trying to play his little “games” with me. They always ended with me feeling gross and uncomfortable, and him laughing like it was the funniest thing. But I never found it funny. I’d told my mom about it once but she’d brushed it off, saying he was just goofing around. I never talked to her about it again.
Safe in bed, I shoved all thoughts of Gavin and his little “games” out of my head, and focused instead on the mysterious guy from the back yard. I wished I had been able to see him better. I imagined him with dark curly hair, locks of it falling into his eyes as we talked. Those eyes would be hazel, or green. He was tall, so he’d have big hands, big feet. Long, strong arms that could probably wrap around me twice.
I smiled to myself in the dark. Did I have a crush on some guy I’d never seen before? Some guy I’d met through the fence in the back yard? I’d always been kind of boy crazy, but this was a little extreme, even for me.
I drifted off to sleep with Reed’s dark shadowy face floating through my mind.
***
The next morning, I avoided Gavin’s eyes at breakfast, picking at my eggs and toast while my mom did the dishes. He made a big show of grabbing her ass before grinning back at me, and giving her cheeks a firm, jiggling squeeze. God, he disgusted me.
My mom giggled like a little girl, and swatted playfully at him. I couldn’t have eaten even if I’d wanted to. I got up from the table, about to go back to my room and get dressed for school, when my mom shot a look at me from the sink.
“Take the trash out back, will you, Taryn?”
Sighing, I pulled the bag from the can and tied it closed. I glared at Gavin who smirked at me as I opened the back door. Shouldn’t he be taking out the garbage? After all, he was a piece of one.
I carried the bag to the small dumpster, against the back of the house. My eyes darted over to the fence. The rotted hole looked like a round black eye, watching me from across the yard.
I shivered, suddenly feeling naked and exposed, as I stood there in my t-shirt and sleeping shorts. Then I chided myself for being so silly. It wasn’t like Reed would still be out in the back yard. He didn’t live back there. He’d be inside his grandfather’s house, sleeping or eating breakfast. Anything but bending over to watch me through the hole in the privacy fence. Wouldn’t he?
I threw the garbage bag in the dumpster, slammed the lid closed, and forced myself to walk slowly to the back door. With one hand on the knob, I threw a final look at the fence. Was it my imagination, or did it look like the leaves which had sprouted up over the side of fence seemed to shake, as if someone had brushed against them?
No. I was being stupid. I ran inside.
***
That night, as promised, I met with Reed again in the back yard. He was already there waiting for me when I came out. I didn’t bring up the incident from that morning. He probably would have laughed at me.
“You look pretty tonight,” he said to me by way of greeting as I approached the fence. I flushed with pleasure. He didn’t need to know that I’d dressed up for him, or that I’d made sure to put on my favorite perfume. I was sure he’d be able to smell it through the fence.
“No fair,” I said, leaning down to try to catch a glimpse of him through the hole. “You get to see me, but I can’t see you. It’s so dark back there. Why don’t you come over?”
“I can’t leave my grandfather alone,” he said quickly.
“You wouldn’t be too far,” I pressed. “You’d be right here.”
“Actually…” Reed’s voice lowered. “I don’t think I should leave the house or yard. I might be seen.”
That piqued my interest. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” I could hear him shifting from foot to foot, leaves crunching under his feet. “I’m not really supposed to be here.”
“Why not?” I leaned forward, pressing my body against the fence. I was totally absorbed by what he was saying.
“I sort of… ran away,” he answered reluctantly.
“So, your grandfather’s hiding you for a while? That’s nice of him.”
“They don’t know where I am, but I’m sure they’re looking for me,” Reed’s voice was low, serious. “I don’t want to leave yet.”
The way he said it was like he didn’t want to leave me yet. Or was that just wishful thinking?
“So, you shouldn’t tell your mom or anyone… I’m here.” Reed finished.
“I won’t,” I promised. It wasn’t her business, anyway. Not hers or anyone else’s.
I took a chair from the patio table and pulled it up to the fence, ready to stay a while. I liked talking to Reed. And I loved a good mystery.
“So how long are you going to be staying over there?” The thought occurred to me that he might only be visiting for a short while. I didn’t want him to go. I wanted him to stay. And mostly, I wanted to see him.
“Not too long.”
Did I detect a note of sadness in his voice?
We stayed at the fence all night long. The hours just melted away as we talked about anything and everything. I noticed he shied away from most of the personal questions I asked, but that was ok. I knew I’d get him to open up soon enough.
I couldn’t get over how funny he was. How sweet, and smart. It was like talking to an old friend I’d known my whole life. But there was something else too, an electric charge. I felt the shock of it through my body each time he said my name a certain way, each time his voice got low and husky. I didn’t want the night to end. And I still wanted to see him. Badly.
***
The next couple of weeks, I came to the back yard almost every night. Reed was always there waiting, ready to talk. I didn’t push the issue of seeing each other face to face again. I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. I did begin to wonder, though. Was he afraid I might find him unattractive?
I thought this over one night as I came inside, after another long late night conversation with him. Was that the real reason he wouldn’t let me see him? I thought about his voice, the slow, sweet way he said my name. No, he could never be ugly to me. I had come to care for him in a way much deeper than looks could go. I wanted to tell him I didn’t care how he looked. I just wanted to be close to him. Closer than the fence between us would allow.
My mom was at the kitchen table when I came in, surprising me. The light had still been on, but I’d been sure she and Gavin had gone to bed hours before.
“Who’s out there with you?” she asked me, her eyes narrowed accusingly.
So, she’d noticed, huh? Guess she wasn’t as stupid or blind as I’d thought.
“No one,” I tried to lie, avoiding her eyes as I grabbed a bottled water from the fridge and headed for my room. She ran past me and blocked the door to my room with one wide jutting hip. I knew I had to tell her.
So I told her I’d made a new friend in the old man’s grandson. I didn’t tell her Reed’s name. It felt too personal, somehow, telling her that. She seemed satisfied with my answer, though, and let me go to bed, but I got the feeling she wanted me to stay up and talk. We used to be close, especially after my dad left and we were all we had. But then Gavin came into our lives and everything changed. Now, my mom and I barely even spoke, unless she was demanding I do something around the house. It made me sad sometimes, but then I’d remember that Gavin had been her choice. She’d let him come between us. By reminding myself of that, I could just go back to being angry at her.
***
My birthday came, and I expected to wake up that morning feeling elated. At long last, I was eighteen! I could get out of here like I’d always wanted, far away from my crazy mom and Gavin’s little “games” that made my skin crawl. But instead, I woke up that morning feeling… melancholy. If I left, what about Reed? Would I ever get to see him? Would we still be friends, or more? And I realized, achingly, I wanted much more.
My mom surprised me with a party that evening at my Aunt’s house across town. Practically my whole family was there, and a few of my friends from school, too. But all I could think about was getting home, getting to the back yard; getting to Reed.
I left the party early, feigning cramps, taking advantage of my mom’s too drunk status to notice or care. I did see Gavin’s gray eyes watching me, but I threw him a mental middle finger as I left.
At home, I opened the side gate and walked straight back, not bothering with going through the house. My breath caught in my throat when I entered the back yard and looked over at the fence.
Flowers. There were flowers everywhere. He’d tucked them between every board on the wooden fence, even pulled some apart and sprinkled the petals along the grass in front. My heart melted.
“They’re beautiful,” I said, walking up to the fence. I plucked a flower to bury my nose in and sniff. “Thank you.”
“Happy birthday, Taryn,” Reed’s voice, husky and low.
“Did these grow back there?” I asked, wonderingly. When had the old man ever had flowers in his yard? It was true, the yard had grown lusher. The trees were thicker than ever, blocking out all light, making it harder to see Reed through the hole each night. Vines and small leaves had begun to make their way into my yard from his through the slats in the fence.
The weirdest part of all, however, was that I’d literally plucked the flower in my hand, as if it was still attached to the plant. If that was the case, how had they all managed to push through the fence and bloom all at once?
“I knew you’d like them,” Reed said, not answering my question. I could tell he was smiling, though.
“I love them,” I smiled back. I didn’t care how the flowers had gotten there. It was an incredibly sweet gesture.
“You look so beautiful,” he said. I stood in front of the rotted hole where I knew he could see me, and did a little twirl for him in my short pink party dress. Reed chuckled appreciatively. I kicked my heels off to get comfortable and we talked for a while, our faces close to the hole. A couple of times when he laughed, I could feel his warm breath on my face.
We were laughing as I told him about my drunk uncle Larry who’d tried to piss in the kitchen sink that night at my party, when Reed suddenly got serious and quiet. I leaned my face closer to the hole.
“Reed, what’s wrong?” He was quiet for so long, I thought he’d disappeared. “Reed?”
“I want to see you,” he said, surprising me. My nerves tingled with excitement.
“Me too,” I gushed, my face practically in the hole. “You owe me a birthday hug.”
“Are you sure about that?” his voice was soft, low. “I might never let you go.”
My heart kicked up a notch as Reed slid his hand through the hole. In the faint glow of moonlight, I could see that it was filthy, dirt packed up beneath his fingernails. Well, he had just been arranging a large display of flowers for me. That was probably why.
I entwined my fingers with his. I could hear his breath quicken when our hands touched, and I ached to touch more of him. I’d never wanted someone so badly in my life. I was falling in love with the boy next door, but one I’d never even seen before. One I’d met through the fence of the back yard. Did that kind of thing even happen?
The back door to my house burst open, flinging back against the wall with a loud crash. I jumped and my hand slipped from Reed’s.
It was Gavin. Drunk.
“Your mom’s staying with your aunt tonight,” Gavin slurred, blinking at me through the darkness of the back yard.
I stared at him, disgust rippling through me. He stepped off the back porch and walked over.
“What are you doing out here, pretty girl?” he said as he approached.
I cringed. I was sure Reed was watching him through the fence. His breathing had all but stopped as he listened.
“Just… hanging out,” I answered. Dread formed in the pit of my stomach, replacing the yearning ache from moments before. Gavin stood in front of me, looking me up and down in my short dress. He said nothing about the flowers. Maybe he was too drunk to notice.
“It’s late,” he said. “You should be in bed. You told your mom that’s what you were doing.”
“I know, I was going to in a few minutes,” I lied.
“Go now,” Gavin said, in a deep, flat voice. A trickle of fear ran through me. Gavin had always grossed me out, annoyed me, made me uncomfortable at times. But he’d never scared me.
Reed was dead silent on the other side of the fence and that scared me too. What was he thinking over there? I’d told him all about Gavin and his little “games”. It had made Reed angry, which I’d kind of liked. He was so protective of me. It made me feel… safe.
“I’ll go in a few minutes.”
I was making Gavin angry, I knew. But it was my birthday and I was talking to Reed. Gavin wasn’t my dad, and I wasn’t some little kid he could tell what to do. I was eighteen. I could make my own decisions.
“Out here chatting with your imaginary boyfriend, huh?” Gavin sneered. Great, so my mom couldn’t keep her big mouth shut. I should’ve known.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Reed, hoping he wasn’t mad at me for telling my mom about him when he’d asked me not to. He didn’t answer me, but I thought I could hear his teeth grinding together.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said to Gavin.
“Shit, Taryn,” Gavin’s eyes glittered. “If you were that desperate, all you had to do was ask.” He grabbed his junk and shook it at me.
“Ew, what the fuck?!” I recoiled from him. My body was so tight against the fence that the rough wood scraped the top of my bare back.
Gavin’s face twisted at my disgust. With a growl that sounded only half human, he grabbed me by the hair, yanking me away from the fence.
I cried out in shock and pain as he began to drag me across the yard to the back door. I struggled under the twisting strength of his hand on my head, unable to get away, or make him stop.
“Reed!” I screamed.
But I heard nothing from the other back yard as Gavin pulled me inside. He flung me across the kitchen, where I collided with the counter, banging my head against the cabinet above it.
The butcher block! I reached for the butcher knife but Gavin was too fast, his drunken weight pinning me against the counter as he pushed the knives out of my reach.
My ribs were being crushed against the edge of the counter and I threw my elbows back at him, trying to get him off me.
He laughed and sucked sloppily at my neck, his rank beer breath making me gag.
I grabbed the toaster and reared it back to connect with the top of Gavin’s skull. Cursing, he backed away, holding his head. Seizing the moment, I bolted from the kitchen and ran down the hall to my room. He chased me, stumbling over his own drunken feet. I slammed and locked my door, the pounding in my ears nearly drowning out the pounding of Gavin’s fists.
“Open this fucking door!” he cried, between bangs. “You want to keep playing these little games with me, that’s fine! You win! Come on out and get your prize, Taryn! I got a nice big one for you right here!” He cackled hysterically.
My stomach lurched and threatened to empty its contents all over my bedroom floor. Gavin was a creep and a pervert, sure, but he’d never taken it this far before.
“I’m calling mom right now!” I threatened, shouting at him through the door. “So you’d better just go to bed and leave me the fuck alone!”
I had flipped a switch. Gavin was no longer making lewd jokes and laughing through the door. Gavin was furious. He beat so hard at the door, I thought it was going to break down.
“Listen here, you little bitch,” he growled. “You call your mom and I’ll fucking kill you, you hear me?” When I didn’t answer, he went on. “You listening to me, you little cunt? Call your fucking mom and I will tear you the fuck apa-”
He cut off, mid-sentence.
I stood in the middle of my room, confused. When I didn’t hear anything more, I walked to the door and pressed my ear against it. There was scuffling in the hall right outside. It lasted a few moments then stopped.
Silence.
What the hell just happened? Was it Reed? Had he come over and tried to stop Gavin? An unbearable thought occurred to me: what if Gavin had somehow hurt Reed? My entire body vibrated with each pound of my heart.
“Hello?” I called through the door, the moment reminiscent of my first meeting with Reed in the back yard. “Reed?”
There was no sound of any kind. I opened the door and crept down the hall to the living room, my breath coming in short gasping pants. There was dirt and mud all over the carpet and dozens of little leaves. I looked closer and realized the smears of mud were footprints. Muddy bare footprints. What the hell? My mind was too rattled to even try to make sense of it.
I entered the living room, on high alert, my palms slick with sweat. Empty. My stomach rumbled its dissent, the vomit that had threatened me earlier wanting to make good on its promise. What the fuck was going on? I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
The muddy footprints and plant debris led to the kitchen, through the back door. To the back yard.
Shaking, but willing myself to stay calm, I opened the back door. I peeked out just in time to see Gavin’s body being pulled into Reed’s back yard over the wood fence. I only saw the lower half of his body as he was dragged over head first, legs kicking. Long thick vines were wrapped all around him, and I realized, in horror, that it was the vines pulling Gavin over.
I stared in terrified amazement as the rest of Gavin disappeared over the fence. It didn’t take me long to decide what to do next. I rummaged through a kitchen drawer for a flashlight and ran to the back yard. I screamed for Reed, but got no answer.
“Reed, you talk to me right now!” I yelled, the taste of vomit at the back of my throat. That’s when I noticed the flowers, my flowers, all wilted and drooping against the fence. How could that be? They’d been blooming so bright and so beautiful just minutes before.
I shoved the flashlight down the front of my dress and jumped up onto the chair against the fence. I began to climb, using the fence rails as foot holds. My hands and bare feet scraped against the wood, one palm catching a splinter. I hissed in pain.
Straddling the top of the fence, I gaped at Reed’s back yard in disbelief. It was a total jungle back there. It hadn’t been that overgrown just a few weeks ago, had it?
I pulled myself over and jumped down, landing painfully on all fours, my splintered hand throbbing. The grass was so tall, it reached above my head until I stood. It was nearly to my waist.
“Reed?” I climbed to my feet, trying to make anything out in the darkness. I pulled the flashlight from my dress and clicked it on, scanning it slowly around the yard looking for Gavin, for Reed. The foliage was so thick, I couldn’t see more than a few feet around myself in any direction.
I listened closely, straining to hear through the cacophony of crickets. I heard the muffled cries of someone in distress and a soft slithering through the grass. A saner person would have turned and run. A saner person wouldn’t have climbed that fence to begin with. But I put one foot in front of the other, and walked toward the sounds, the tall grass scratching my legs.
As I neared the sounds of what I knew to be Gavin, I was suddenly greeted with silence. I stood still, puzzled, listening for more direction. Something tickled my ankle and I shone the flashlight down at my feet to see what it was. A thin green vine was circling my ankle, winding upwards over my calf.
Stifling a scream, I jerked back, freeing my leg. As I did, the beam of my flashlight pointed upwards, illuminating what was right above my head. The scream I’d just been holding in exploded out of me.
Gavin dangled from a tree, bound and gagged by thick ropey vines. His eyes bulged from their sockets as the vines tightened around his body, one encircling his throat. He was already dead.
“He’ll never touch you again,” Reed’s husky voice.
I still couldn’t see him, but I could feel him. I tore my eyes away from Gavin and swung the flashlight around the yard, looking for him.
“How are you doing this?” I expected my voice to shake, but it didn’t.
“I couldn’t tell you everything before,” he murmured, and now I could feel his hot breath on the back of my neck. Goosebumps littered my flesh.
I took two deep lungfuls of air and turned, catching him in the dim beam of the flashlight. When the light found him, I nearly dropped it.
He was naked, all but a single broad leaf that covered him down below, like Adam in the Garden of Eden. I would have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so dire. The bare muddy footprints in the house now made sense. A naked person wouldn’t be wearing any shoes, right? But why? Why was Reed naked and why was his skin so… green?
I still hadn’t seen his face. He was so tall, I had to run the beam of light up his body for several long seconds before reaching it. His hair was a thick and matted clump of leaves and twigs. I couldn’t be sure if he even had real hair, or if it was all made of plant debris.
I was right about his eyes, though. They were green; the color of moss.
There was a tickle at my wrist; another small vine, reaching for the flashlight. I gasped but held still as it wound around my hand. I tilted my head back to meet Reed’s eyes just as the light clicked off, throwing us back into a world of darkness.
I felt him bend down, lowering his head to me. He smelled of earth and musk and fresh cut grass. I closed my eyes and inhaled.
“What are you?” I whispered, beginning to form an idea, as impossible as it was.
“I come from the forest,” he murmured. “But I’m a long way from home.”
“But… I don’t understand. What is all this? The back yard, the vines, how you look. Reed, I-”
“I’ll tell you everything,” he said firmly, taking my face in his hands, “after we go.”
“Go?” I mumbled, uncomprehendingly, as he took my ear between his lips.
“I’m going to take you away from here.” His lips moved from my ear to just below my jaw. “Like you’ve always wanted.”
Like I’d always wanted.
“But, I…”
“Are you afraid of me?”
The question surprised me. Was I afraid of Reed? I had no idea who he really was or where he came from. He said he came from the forest, but what did that even mean? It seemed he could make plants grow and flowers bloom, and it was obvious he could control vines that seemingly came out of nowhere. All of this, and Gavin too, hanging from the tree above us. Was I afraid of Reed?
“Taryn,” he said, my name a song in his mouth.
A warmth settled over me, and with it a deep steady calm. No, I realized, as I dropped the flashlight and sank into him, his arms coming up around me. It was crazy, I knew. Possibly dangerous, but I trusted him. I was not afraid.
I felt his fingers grow impossibly long against my back. They curled around me to pull my body tighter against him.
The grass engulfed us as we fell into it, Gavin our homemade mistletoe.
Reed chuckled softly as vines coiled around my wrists and bound them together above my head. I arched my back to push into him and his hands replaced the vines. We clung to each other as the grass grew taller around us.
Our skin bloomed with flowers.
***
The police paid a visit to Thomas Bernard and questioned him about the missing man and young girl from next door.
“Who’s that, you say?” The old man squinted up at the officers through his thick horn-rimmed glasses, as they stared down at him from the front door.
“The girl’s mother said she’d been spending a lot of time talking with your grandson the past few weeks,” said one of the officers. He studied the old man’s face for any reaction. “Is your grandson home? May we speak with him?”
“Grandson?” The old man’s milky blue eyes opened wide behind his glasses. “Why, I don’t have a grandson. No grandchildren at all, actually.”
The two police officers exchanged long, heavy looks.
The old man’s house was searched but there was no evidence to support the claim that he had a grandson, or that anyone else had been staying with him. The place was turned upside down, but no trace of either of the missing was found, until investigators searched the back yard.
The missing man hung from a tree, vines weaving in and out of his nose, mouth, and ears. They dangled from his empty eye sockets, stained with dried blood.
All that was found of the missing girl was a flashlight, and a short pink party dress.