The Things We Bury

Chapter Three

Ember

They lapsed back into silence, as Charlie slowed the truck coming into the city limit. It was a sleepy little town, with a picture-perfect town square. A large courthouse sat on a square of grass, the streets surrounding where clearly old brick, with all kinds of Mom and Pop shops.

Charlie turned at a stop sign and began taking them out of town, once again Ember recognized this drive. Someone lived out here, someone important. "Charlie...where are we going?"

"My grandparents home. I inherited it after they passed a few years ago."

Ember felt her heart crack a little. Maybe it was the tone of his voice or the look on his face, or maybe it was a memory shoved deep down that grieved the loss of them. "I'm sorry." She whispered before looking back out the window.

Five minutes later, they were turning down a dirt drive that wound up a hill to a little house. It was white with a tin roof and a large front porch that seemed to wrap around the house. Ember was surprised to see how well kept it was; there was clearly a space with a garden, covered in a white plastic sheet.

As the truck parked, a figure darted off the porch heading towards them. She quickly realized it was a dog, perhaps a blue heeler, with a short stubby tail and big ears that stood straight up.

Charlie got out of the truck first, the dog running around him as he opened Ember's door. He helped her out and then grabbed her bag. "Oh this is Bandit. Git down!"  Bandit had jumped up on her, sniffing furiously at her clothes.

Ember smiled and patted his head. "Good boy."

"I'm sorry, he's not use to people come around." Charlie said while leading her up to the front porch. He stomped his feet on a large paving stone, knocking off chunks of mud before walking up the steps. "I'm sorry also if it's a little messy. I've been working a lot the past week and haven't had time to clean."

She followed him up, Bandit shooting between their legs through the dog door while Charlie unlocked the house. Inside was in fact, not a mess. He kicked off his boots by the door and Ember did the same wanting to be respectful. They had walked into a living room and dinning area, to the right was the kitchen and she assumed the bedrooms were down the only hall. Charlie put her bag down in the living room and immediately went to light a fire in the old stone fireplace.

The house smelled like vanilla, which was strangely comforting. "You have a beautiful house." She said while running a hand over the old wooden table.

"Thanks." He stood up. "I'm sure you don't remember, but you use to spend weekends out here with me and my grandparents."

She paused and looked around. Yes, that would explain the inexplicable feeling of home that washed over her. Ember could see her younger self, with long blond hair, sitting by the fire smiling. "I don't but—it feels like it. Like my body remembers it."

Charlie nodded, taking off his jacket and hanging it on the wall. "I'm going to change real quick. I'm covered in all kinds of grease and fluids from that damned tractor." He disappeared down the hall, taking a door to the right.

Ember sat on the couch in front of the table, Bandit jumping up and immediately curling up next to her, head in her lap. She pet him absently, while looking around. There were no pictures on the walls and the curtains did seem outdated as well as the furniture. The coffee table I'm front of her had a candle on it, TV remote and a hunting magazine. "Sorry about that."