Written by Angel E. Wright
"Mom, you can't be serious!"
My mom sighs and turns from the island counter in our kitchen to face me. Dusting her flour-covered hands on her apron, she says, "Why would I make that up, Lexi? Does it look like I have time for games right now?"
I huff and kick at the floor before crossing my arms over my chest. "A little heads up would've been nice."
"Last I checked, this was my house, and I was allowed to invite whoever I wanted over for dinner." She spins back around and continues kneading the dough, causing puffs of flour to swirl around her like leaves in the wind. "When you start paying the mortgage, you can dictate what goes on here."
Argh! I hate when she pulls this card! Don't get me wrong, my mother and I get along great, but every once in a while, she pulls some annoying, 'only-mom-can-do' shit like this and it drives me nuts.
"But he hates me, Mom! How am I supposed to be thankful when I'm sitting at the table with my mortal enemy?"
Without even bothering to look up from her work, my mom says, "Oh stop with the theatrics, Alexandra. Always so dramatic." She shakes her head in annoyance before giving me her attention again.
"I am not being dramatic!" I scream, stomping on the ground. Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic. I take a breath before trying to explain to my dear, sweet, naïve mother in a calm, mature and rational manner why I want to avoid her best friend's son at all costs. "He's always picking on me."
"Oh, honey," she says with sweet condescension, "that's probably because he likes you."
"No, Mom," I counter, "that's what people in your generation say to excuse abusive behaviour."
"For heaven's sake, not this again," Mom mutters under her breath. "Your father picked on me all through junior high and look how we turned out."
"The way Dad tells it, you were the one picking on him." I raise my brow and cock my head to the side, challenging her to 'fess up.
"Whatever, you know that's not true." She picks up the rolling pin, maneuvering it over the dough a few times. "Now go and make yourself useful and set the table before washing up. They'll be here in a couple hours."
Knowing this is a battle that I simply won't win, I begrudgingly stomp around the kitchen and dining room, putting the plates, glasses, and cutlery down much harder than is warranted. This is not how Thanksgiving dinner was supposed to be. My Oma and Opa backed out at the last minute because they weren't feeling up to making the drive out to our farmhouse in the country. Alison, my cousin and best friend, has to spend this holiday with her dad's side of the family. I had resigned myself to our little family turkey dinner, and now Mom has sprung this horrendous surprise on me. Not cool!
He, the wretched boy in question, is Keith Jacobs, the only son of my mom's bestest friend. He's a year older than me, and I'm sure our mom's have been plotting our eventual marriage since before we even existed. Throughout my entire life, he's been an absolute menace, terrorizing me the way only a bratty older brother could, and we're not even related. These past five years have been the only reprieve I've had—his dad was transferred to Calgary for work, effectively removing Keith Jacobs from my life forever. Or so I thought...
After finishing in the dining room, I go to my room to get ready. I was so excited to be spending a nice, quiet dinner with my parents and then maybe taking a walk through our corn fields after dinner before relaxing in front of the fireplace to watch a family favourite, The Princess Bride. Now, I barely want to change into "nice" clothes for our company coming later. But I know I'll never hear the end of it if I don't, so I put on my big girl panties and suck it up. I can survive a few hours with Keith Jacobs, right?
Showered, dressed, and ready for dinner, I make my way outside to my favourite spot—the middle of the corn fields where the scarecrow stands elevated feet above me in all his majestic glory. Counterproductive to wash up and then head out into the fields? Probably. Do I care? Nope!
For some reason, sitting by the scarecrow—I like to call him Eddie—has been my happy place throughout my life. His mere presence makes me feel safe, like I have a friend out here in the solitude of the country. Ironic, considering his main role is to literally scare the crows away from the field, and he does a damn good job of it.
"Eddie, chances are I'll be out here later tonight telling you all about the shitstorm Thanksgiving dinner is bound to be."
Always the "perfect" listener, Eddie stands resolute, staring straight ahead with arms stretched out at his sides, offering no words of advice or comfort. Right as I'm ready to get up and head back to the house, I hear a rustling of leaves.
"You and this scarecrow. Still can't find other friends, Lexi?"
"Fuck off, Keith." Not even bothering to turn around, I let the venom from my words speak for itself.
He walks around, chewing on some straw grass with a cocky grin on his face as he comes into view. "Weren't you sitting here the last time we saw each other? Pouring your heart and soul out to that thing?"
Five Years Ago
"Ugh! Eddie! I hate Keith so much! He's so annoying! He's been here like 30 minutes and already—AH!
A pair of hands land hard on my shoulder, freaking me the hell out.
"Who you talkin' to, Lex?" Keith leans against my back, speaking softly in my ear. I can feel his head move from side to side as he looks for someone in between the tall stalks of corn.
"None of your business, Keith." I pull myself from his grasp and push him away as I turn around.
He walks a few steps toward a row of corn before stopping and glancing at the scarecrow, then he starts chuckling and I know my face is turning a horrible shade of red.
"This thing?" he asks, pointing up at Eddie.
I don't give him the satisfaction of an answer, choosing instead to stare at his face with a blank expression.
"I can't! It is him! This is too funny!" He doubles over in hysterics, only fueling my anger and embarrassment more. "Do you not have any friends, Reimer? Pretty sure you could do better than this thing." Keith bends down and picks up a large rock and whips it at Eddie with so much force the stick bends.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"Relax, it's just a bunch of straw."
"I'm starting to think you're scared of it, Jacobs," I mock, raising my brow while my lips curve into a side smirk.
"Do I look like a crow to you?" he asks, pulling his own eyebrows down and narrowing his eyes.
"A little." I giggle as I picture his long nose protruding out just like a crow's beak.
He grunts his displeasure. "We'll see who's scared of who!"
I'm half a second too late in realizing he's running toward me. I try to escape, but my slight hesitation causes Keith to bump into me and we fall on the ground. Hair and leaves crowd my face and vision like Maleficent's Forest of Thorns come together to block Prince Phillip's path to Princess Aurora. Sputtering, I try to spit the hair out of my mouth when Keith leans in and gently pushes it to the side.
"Wh-what are you do—"
CRASH!
"What the fuck was that?!" Keith exclaims, as we both jump. He rolls off me, and we look around only to find Eddie face down on the ground. "I guess he didn't like that."
"Eddie doesn't take kindly to assholes." Standing up, I brush off my outfit. Mom's going to kill me. "Come on, help me put him back up."
Keith grabs a piece of straw from Eddie and places it in his mouth, shaking his head. "Nope, you're all on your own, Reimer."
Present Day
"Not quite," I say, mustering up the meanest, dirtiest look I can come up with. "I remember you leaving me to fix the scarecrow all by myself and making me late for dinner!"
Keith chuckles, a low rumble that forms in the deep recesses of his chest and pours out of his mouth. "Ah yes, that's what happened." He winks at me, grinning with that same damn cocky grin. "Relax, Lex, it's not like you got into trouble."
Crossing my arms, I narrow my eyes into slits. "No, but my dinner was ice cold!"
"And it will be again today if you don't hurry up and come inside. Your mom asked me to come out and let you know it's supper time."
Reluctantly, I follow Keith to the house to get this nightmare of a dinner over with.
~~~
"So, Keith, how's university?"
Dinner has been going well so far. As much as I was dreading it, it's actually been nice. I've always loved Marleigh, my mom's best friend. She's been like an aunty to me. Her husband, Trent, is hilarious and always has us doubled over with laughter with the different stories he tells.
Even Keith has been surprisingly pleasant and civil tonight. I keep catching him looking at me, causing my nerves to go berserk with anticipation of whatever antics he has planned. But he never did anything. Not anything bad, anyway. Occasionally, he'd slide his foot next to mine and then glance over to catch my reaction. I'd try to play it off because it was obviously accidental, right?
For some reason, I feel far more self-conscious around Keith this year than in previous years. Perhaps it's because we haven't seen each other since I was 12 and he was 13. He's grown out of that tall, lanky, awkward phase into a certified jock complete with biceps that make his sleeves so tight I'm worried they'll rip right open. What the hell am I saying? This is Keith Jacobs we're talking about!
"It's been good, Uncle Ray," Keith answers, setting down his fork after his final bite of turkey.
"Are you seeing anyone?" Mom asks in her totally obvious sing-song tone.
Keith laughs as he shakes his head. "Between my studies and basketball practice, I don't have a lot of time for anything, or anyone, else, unfortunately." He looks over at me with a slight smile and nearly makes my heart stop with his next words. "But you never know, things could change."
Mom and Marleigh fail to stifle their gasps as they watch this exchange, then they hurriedly whisper to each other with squeals of excitement interspersed throughout. Dad and Trent just roll their eyes.
"Why would you do that?" I ask with a groan, glaring at Keith.
"Do what?" he shrugs, but the smirk on his face tells me he knows exactly what he's doing.
Looks like the old Keith is back. I turn to face him and lower my voice. "You know they've been trying to matchmake us forever and your stupid comment just gave them hope."
"First of all, my comment wasn't stupid." Reaching for his glass, he takes a sip of his fruit punch. "And second, they are free to interpret it however they wish." With a smug smile, he winks at me then directs his attention to our dads and starts talking about sports.
~~~
After dinner we all go our separate ways. I offered to help with clean-up, but Mom insisted she and Aunty Mar had it handled. They had "lots of gossip to catch up on" or something like that. Dad and Uncle Trent retreated to the family room to watch football, and I've somehow found myself outside walking through the corn fields with Keith.
"I can't believe you're in your last year of high school," he says as we leisurely stroll through the stalks with the varying hues of sunset illuminating the sky.
"I can't believe they let you into university."
"Heh, I guess I deserve that. I never was one to be into school." He goes ahead of me a bit, facing me as he continues walking backwards, shrugging as he says, "But things change."
"I'd say. This is the nicest you've been to me our entire lives. Are you feeling okay, Jacobs?"
I gently smack him on the arm, but he catches my hand and holds it there. Part of me wants to pull it away, not trusting whatever thing he's going to do next, but I leave it there, enjoying the warmth of his hand as it covers mine.
"About that..." For the first time all evening, his cocky smirk disappears, and he looks almost remorseful. "I'm really sorry about being such an ass to you when we were younger."
"So you admit it then?" I cock my brow, inwardly doing a victory lap because Keith Jacobs is finally apologizing for something.
"It was kind of hard to miss, Reimer. Tormenting you was my favourite pastime."
His failed attempt to control his laughter causes me to remove my hand from his and fold my arms over my chest. His eyes quickly drop to where my hands have landed before traveling down the length of the rest of my body. The boldness of his checking me out flusters me and I awkwardly tuck some hair behind my ear.
Trying to draw the attention away from my body and back to the topic at hand, I say, "I hated whenever you'd come over. I complained about it all the time."
"Well, that's not very nice now, is it?" Keith licks his lips before breaking into a flirty grin.
"Even my mom tried to convince me that you had a crush on me or something. She's like 'boys pick on the girls they like, Lexi' or some other crap like that."
His eyes never leave mine as he takes a few steps closer. "She did, did she?"
My chest heaves as my breath speeds up. I'm not used to this kind of attention from a guy, preferring to stick to myself or my small group of friends. And Keith's not just any boy, he's a certified university freshman who's had an epic glow-up and is sending incredibly mixed signals right now.
He leans his head in and I internally freak out because it certainly looks like he's about to kiss me, but he stops and looks around, running his hand through his hair. "Uh, do you think we could keep walking?"
Slightly disappointed, I answer, "Yeah, sure, whatever you want."
"It's not that, Lex," he reassures me, noticing the change in my demeanour. "It's just that I'd rather not have this conversation in front of your creepy scarecrow."
"Looks like someone's scared of the scarecrow after all."
Keith chuckles and shakes his head. "Me? I don't think so." He grabs my hand, interlacing his fingers with mine. "Come on, let's go."
We continue walking through the rows of corn, talking about school and all the things we've missed out on in each others' lives since he's moved, as the sun descends behind the horizon and the cool October air blows around us. The barn comes into view, and we lean against the back of it, staring out into the night sky in a peaceful, comfortable silence.
"Your mom was wrong, you know," Keith says after a while, breaking through the stillness.
"About what?"
He pushes himself off the wall and stands in front of me. "I didn't have a crush on you. You were like a bratty little sister, and I made it my mission to torment you."
"Really? I had no idea," I say, rolling my eyes.
"But if she were to say that now...," Keith comes closer, leaning one arm against the barn, "...she'd be right." He cups my cheek in his hand and gazes into my eyes. "These past five years have been good to you, Alexandra."
A shower of shivers covers me from head to toe upon hearing Keith say my name like that. He has never called me by my full name, but now I want to hear him say it over and over again. The way each syllable rolls off his tongue is like a gentle caress for my soul. I need to stop this! I can't be thinking about Keith this way. But my traitorous heart is working overtime to convince my mind that Keith has changed. New Keith is handsome, confident, and downright sexy, and he appears to be into me.
"Is this a prank? I feel like you're pranking me." My words come out as a whisper, my heart not wanting them to be true, but my mind needing certainty.
"It's not a prank, Lex," he murmurs, leaning in until his lips lightly touch mine.
His kiss is tentative, as if he's waiting for my permission before working his magic. My hand reaches for his cheek as I kiss him back. I part my lips to receive his waiting tongue, and my knees nearly give out as our tongues collide and dance with each other. All my life I've heard about "the sparks", but I've never really understood what people meant until this exact moment. Keith's kiss is like the jumpstart my heart needs to roar back to life and beat again. And now that I've had it, I never want to be without.
"Wow, Lex...," he says, sighing against my lips.
"Keith, that was—" He holds his finger against my mouth, effectively silencing me. "What are you—"
"Umm, how many scarecrows does this place have?"
I grab his hand and pull it away from my face. "Not that scarecrow thing again. Are you seriously scared of it?"
"How many, Lex?" he asks again more urgently.
"Just one, Keith. What the hell has gotten into you?"
"Turn around and look."
He places his hands on my shoulders and spins me, and I see what's got him so spooked. There, only about 50 meters away, is Eddie perched just above the stalks of corn. I have no idea how this is possible and shake my head to try to refocus my vision.
"I think the dark is playing tricks on us, Keith. Let's just head on back."
I remove myself from his grasp and walk away, but Keith doesn't move. He remains frozen in place, mouth gaping open, staring into the field.
"Lex...look..." His hand raises in slow motion as he points back to the field.
My eyes follow his finger and I scream. In the 30 seconds since I last looked at the field, Eddie has moved closer, standing only a few feet away. I rub my eyes and squint, trying to make sense of it all, when suddenly, Eddie starts sliding down the wooden pole.
He's not good enough for you, Alex.
"What. The. Fuck?! It talks?!" Keith screams. "Run, Lex! Run!"
This time it's my turn to be stuck to my spot as I watch my inanimate scarecrow walk toward me by the light of the moon. Keith grabs my arm and pulls me, shaking me from my shocked trance, and we take off running together.
We dash into the maze of the corn field, zigzagging through the various rows to throw Eddie off our trail. The leaves and tassels whip across my face as we seek shelter from the haunted scarecrow.
"Keith, stop!" I yell, hunching over as a cramp radiates in my side. "I need to stop for a second."
He runs back to me and holds me while I struggle to catch my breath. In the quiet of the night, I hear the rustling of the leaves and know Eddie isn't far behind.
"Please tell me this is a prank. Somehow Uncle Ray made this mechanical scarecrow just to pay me back for all those years of bullying."
"Does this...look like...a prank...to you?" I manage to ask between breaths.
"Then I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think your scarecrow is possessed."
"You don't say."
Keith cradles me while I rub my side to ease the cramp. The air around us stills and silence overcomes us again, but it does nothing to quiet the thunderous beating of my heart. Dread rises within me as I try to wrap my head around what is happening. Eddie, my beloved scarecrow, is somehow evil and chasing us?? How is this even possible?
"What are we going to do, Keith?" I ask, my teeth chattering from the cold and fear.
"First thing's first, we need to escape this ma—"
Gotcha!
Straw hands stretch through the stalks and grab Keith's legs, yanking him off me and dragging him away.
"Let him go!" I scream, adrenaline extinguishing all the pain from my cramps. Running after them, I lunge at Eddie, knocking his straw-filled body to the ground.
Why are you doing this, sweet Alex? I'm getting rid of him for you.
Keith scrambles away, grabbing my hand as he rises and leading us through the maze of corn yet again. Stealing a look behind me, I see Eddie get back up, dust himself off, and charge after us again.
"Lex, how do we get out of this thing?"
I whip my head back and forth, trying to get a sense of my surroundings, but between the darkness and our constant zigzagging, I'm at a complete loss.
"I-I don't know wh-where we a-a-are!"
Why are you with that asshole, Alex? Why are you choosing him after everything he's done?
"Just ignore him and keep running, Lex! What direction is the house?"
"What?!"
"Your house! Is it north? South? East? West?"
"I have no idea!"
Keith does nothing to hide his frustrated groan. He looks up at the sky as if studying the constellations and changes direction.
Found you!
Eddie jumps in our path, throwing a punch at Keith who, thankfully, ducks before pushing him over. I jump over his fallen body and continue running into the abyss.
You can't escape me. She will never be yours.
We run until we end up back at the barn. Keith pushes the door for us to enter before sliding it back shut. I pull him towards a hidden spot in the corner and we sit and wait.
"What are we going to do next?"
Keith stands up and looks around the barn. "I've never really learned how to kill a possessed scarecrow before, have you?"
"Ha ha, very funny."
"I can't see a fuckin' thing in here, so I guess we just wait it out and hope he gets tired of us."
"Maybe Mom and Dad will realize we've been gone and come out and help."
"If he didn't get to them already."
"Keith!" I smack his arm. "Why the hell would you say that?!"
"Shh! I hear something."
He crouches back down and puts his arm around me. Off in the distance, we hear a familiar tune being whistled as the corn stalks sway from Eddie's movements.
"You've got to be kidding me," Keith scoffs, "he's whistling 'If I Only Had a Brain'?"
I squeeze his hand tight as my body grows cold with fear. "We need to do something. What can we do?"
He pulls me tight and kisses the top of my head. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you, Lex. We need to kill him somehow."
"Maybe we can just knock the stuffing out of him," I say offhandedly.
Keith stays silent for a few seconds, as the sound of whistling gets louder. "That's actually a great idea! Let's go hide behind those hay bales, then we'll wait until he comes in. When he's close enough, we'll push it onto him and while he's pinned underneath, we can literally pull him apart at the seams."
Using stealth movements, we run across the barn to hide behind the bales. Moments later, the barn door slides open and Eddie hobbles in.
Come out, come out, wherever you are!
With bated breaths, we watch as he moves with superhuman speed throughout the barn, knocking over anything in his path.
"I will find and kill the asshole, and protect my sweet, dear Alex, if I only had a brain."
"Now!"
At his command, we push the hay bale over and watch as it falls on Eddie. With him immobilized below, Keith and I come out of the shadows and start pulling the straw stuffing out from Eddie's makeshift outfit. Tortured howls fill the barn as Eddie's powers are taken away, piece by piece.
You fools! You think this will stop me? You think you will survive? Think again.
Eddie's final words send a shiver down my spine, but I try to ignore them, choosing instead to watch Keith rip into the burlap sack that once was his head and scatter the straw all around.
"So much for having a brain, huh?" he says with a cynical chuckle, as he silences Eddie once and for all.
"What are we going to do with the straw?" I ask behind closed fists.
"What do you mean?"
"What if he finds some way to bring himself back together?"
Keith crouches down and picks up a few strands of straw. "Someone's definitely been watching too many horror movies."
"Um, hello? My family scarecrow just came to life and tried to kill us," I say over his laughter. "I don't think I'm overthinking this."
His laughing ceases when he notices how worried I truly am. Pulling me into his arms, he kisses the top of my head. "If it'll make you feel better, we can build a bonfire and burn every last remnant of him."
"I'd like that very much," I say as I tilt my head up.
Keith gives me a small smile and places a sweet kiss on my lips before letting me go. We gather up all the straw we can find, along with the clothes and burlap sack, and head toward the house to start the fire. Our parents, blissfully unaware of everything that's gone on, have already gone to bed, allowing us to do our burning ritual in peace.
"Any last words for your psycho scarecrow friend?" Keith asks as he throws the last bundle of straw in the roaring fire.
"Just good riddance."
He comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. We stand in silence, watching the fire's flames lick and dance in a hypnotic rhythm.
~~~
My eyes open to the sun peeping through the blinds. As I try to roll over, I remember I'm nestled tight against Keith's chest. We had sex last night. He wasn't my first, but he sure as hell was my best so far. He had me "giving thanks" all night long. I just hope our parents didn't hear anything.
"Good morning, Alexandra," he whispers in my ear before kissing my temple.
"Hi to you too, Keith." I smile as I trace his jawline with my finger before motioning for a kiss.
We cuddle for a while longer, before both of us find ourselves peeking at the window every so often.
"Do you think...?"
"No, we got rid of him once and for all."
"Maybe we should check."
"If that will put your mind at ease, Lex, then let's go check." He kisses me again before rolling over and getting out of bed.
I catch myself staring at him as he stretches, watching the beautiful way the muscles flex and move. I never would've imagined this situation, even if you paid me, and now it's how I want to wake up every morning.
We quickly get dressed and head outside to check on the remnants of our Thanksgiving nightmare. The ashes still remain at the bottom of the barrel we used to torch Eddie and all seems well.
"See? All is well." Keith sidles over to me, a cheeky grin on his face as he wraps his arms around my waist and kisses me.
"All is we—"
My eyes widen as the sky turns black. Within seconds, hundreds—no, thousands of crows descend upon us, cawing incessantly.
"Keith! Look out!"
They circle over us, prompting Keith to push me out of the way, before they start swooping, diving, and lunging at him.
"Lex, get out of here!" he screams as they peck at his head, hands, feet, stomach, everything.
I grab a broom and swat at them, but it's no use. Helpless and mortified, Keith gets pecked to death right before my eyes.
Collapsing to the ground, my screams and wails erupt out of me like a volcano. Tears stream down my face as the world seems to cave in all around me.
He didn't deserve you.
Through my sobs, I'm sure I heard a voice, but my mind is so scrambled it could've been anything.
That's what happens when you get rid of scarecrows.
My eyes dart up and I see Eddie in his original location, perched high above the stalks of corn, his beady eyes staring back at me with a sinister grin on his face.
"Why did you do this?" I ask through my tears.
I needed to protect you, my sweet Alex.