Planted

Carried Away

When she and Misty came up, both gasping for air, they saw that the red-head was standing over the slim, beautiful older girl. She was ignoring him in that cool, sultry way that only girls like her could do. They were used to undergoing passive admiration. It was just...a natural part of their lives. They could get on with it, do what they had to do, all whilst being gawked at by their classmates, the creepy track coach, and even some...bridge ogre. Misty had to admire it.

"Do you think she knew he was coming?" Jenna had asked. "Like the whole thing was planned?" 

Misty thought about it. "I don't know, " she had said, slowly shaking her head. "It's almost like a movie, where it's not so much, like, she knew he was coming...but that they are both playing a part. And they know it. And all she knows is, she comes here alone, where they usually come together. And she looks beautiful. And she waits." 

Jenna suddenly adopted a faux-serious pose, treading water to erect her posture with military-like magnitude and dragged her index finger across her neck, "AND...CUT!" she had boomed, just like a real director on a movie set. She and Misty had burst into giggles.

Misty looked longingly out the window, her heart filled with nostalgia for that summer. For her best friend. For laughing again with someone who just...got her. These days, it seemed like she had to perform multiple language translations just to get anyone to understand anything she was saying, let alone understand her with barely any words at all.

That summer was the first time Misty had seen the Gravedigger. It turns out the "demon" she and Jenna had laughed about was no laughing matter. The rumor was, he'd gone off to the state prison at the end of that summer for digging up graves at that plot near the Saw Mill.

Seeing the eerie flash of red hair from behind the maple tree gave Misty the shudders. Her phone lit up, and her heart swelled with an entirely different feeling this time. It was Tobi. Warm. Soft. Safe. Her head felt aglow with excitement and belonging.

Like most of the kids from the Church weekends, Tobi's family was well-off. His parents were real estate agents, and he attended a preppy, Catholic high school. She hadn't exactly been...honest about where she was from, but then again, she hadn't exactly lied either. Just...very...vague. As much as she dreamed of Tobi picking her up for a weekend ride, her insides burned with embarrassment when she imagined him picking her up from this dump.

Later that night, Misty tip-toed to the doublewide's kitchen in her bare feet. Her mom and stepdad weren't home, and she made a grilled cheese while FaceTiming Jenna. No answer. She sighed, waiting for the bottoms of Wonder Bread to brown just right. The cheese smelled delicious. She was grateful that Dave had offered to drop of her off at the bus station on Friday, so she could take a Greyhound and get picked up by one of the local parishioners. At least he was good for...something. Misty rolled her eyes to herself. "As if I should be so picky," she thought, cynically, "compared to the others, he's a real gem." As if on cue, a loud "THWAK!" interrupted Misty's inner dialogue, and she rushed to the window only to see steam gushing from the crunched front of Dave's Pontiac, followed by a shatter of broken class. "SHIT!" she heard him yell, angrily breaking another bottle against the maple tree. As Missy quietly evaluated the damage from the safety of the trailer window, she shook her head. "Shit indeed," she muttered quietly. How was she supposed to get to the bus station now?