Chapter Sixteen
"Hey, hey. We are a hurricane, drop our anchors in a storm." I sang from my seat on the plane. I boarded at 10am, it had been 15 minutes since I got on and I was already bored as crap. I had the seat all to myself, though. I was on my way to the house I hadn't been to in a month and a half. I packed all my things this morning and I was so excited to see my father. I didn't really want to leave Grim, but my mom said she would take care of him.
"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to quiet down. There have been complaints from some of the other passengers." a flight attendant asked me with a fake smile.
"Well if they would just sing along then they would be having fun, too." I replied.
"Not everyone wants to sing. Why don't you hum?" she said.
"Whatever floats your goat." I said.
"I thought it was boat." she mused.
"Oh, then, whatever boats your goat." I said back to her with a grin. She rolled her eyes and walked away to where ever she was going and I just sat and hummed for the rest of the ride.
When I got off the plane, I looked around and saw my dad waiting for me.
"Daddy!" I screamed running to hug him. He picked me up and twirled me around.
"Hey, babygirl. I like your hair." he said as we pulled away from the hug.
"Thanks. How's Molly?" I asked him. Molly was my dog that I had to leave behind when I moved with my mom. She was a brown pitbull with white on her stomach and nose. My dad was a police officer and he found her in an abandoned old house. He rescued her and brought her home for me and I fell in love with her the moment I saw her.
"She's missed you a lot. Why don't we go home and see her?" he replied.
"Alright, let's go." I said and he helped me with my luggage before we headed back to my old house. During the drive there, we just talked about my school and my future. I always liked talking about my future since I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a therapist or a counselor, I just wanted to learn about Psycology.
As we drove up to the house, I was jumping up and down in my seat with anticipation. My dad said that he would get my bags so I could go see Molly. I walked through the front door to be attacked by my dog. She jumped up on me and started licking all over my face.
"Hey, girl. Did you miss me?" I said as she jumped down and started wagging her tail. She barked in response and I patted her head.
"Hey, honey, you can set up in your room if you want while I finish lunch." my dad said as he walked into the house. I grabbed my things from him and went up to my old room. When I walked in, I saw that everything was the same. Same peach colored walls, same bed and same dresser that held all of the clothes that I couldn't take with me. I sat down on my bed when I finished unpacking and Molly came in and sat down next to me.
"Hey Molly." I said smiling at her. I decided to go out to the backyard and I sat down on the grass. I stayed there for about 10 minutes until I heard my dad call for me.
"Lyric, lunch is ready." he called. He wanted to take me out to eat, but I loved his cooking too much and I wanted him to cook for me. I walked back into the house and sat down at the kitchen table.
"What did you make?" I asked.
"Hotdogs." he said as he sat a plate down in front of me. He remembered the way I liked them. I got a coke from the fridge and started eating.
"It's been so quiet without you here." said my dad.
"Maybe you should try to find nice lady to marry." I said as I took a bite out of my hotdog.
He sighed, "I don't think I'm ready for that yet." he said as he drank some of his Mountain Dew. I knew he still wasn't over mom, but their marriage just wasn't working. I think mom missed him, too, she just didn't want to admit it.
"Yeah, I know. I just want you to be happy." I said looking at him.
"I know, sweetheart. You make me happy and I know you don't like it here, so what if you just visited more often?" he asked.
"I'd like that." I finished up my hotdog and washed my hands.
"So do you want to go into town and see some of our old friends?" my dad asked as he fed Molly some leftovers.
"Sure, how's Paul?" Paul was the owner of my favorite buffet. He always joked with me and gave me advice about the people at school. He was a great guy, but he had a heart attack about a month ago and was in recovery.
"He's doing better, but he misses you," he replied as he grabbed his keys. "Let's go see him." he said and we walked out the door. We hung out with Paul for a few hours until the sun went down and then we went home.
"Well, I'm tired." I said as I walked through the front door.
"Me too. I think we both should get some sleep." my dad said as he hung his coat up in the closet. I walked upstairs with Molly behind me and fell asleep with her in my bed.
* * *
I woke up to Molly barking like a madman. I walked downstairs and saw that my dad was talking to someone at the door. I moved behind him and saw that he was talking to Sheriff Sweeny. Sheriff Sweeny was probably the nicest and oldest sheriff that I had ever met. I still wondered how someone so nice could even be in law enforcement.
"Hey, dad. What's going on?" I asked curiously.
He turned to me and sighed, "Some of the girls that you used to go to school with were found murdered, Lyric. The Sheriff needs me to come in to investigate." he said sadly.
I looked down in disappointment, "That's okay dad," I turned to Sheriff Sweeny. "Who was it?" I asked
"Taylor O'dell, Sarah Short and Kinsley Sutter. Their families were killed as well." he answered sadly.
"Well, I'm sorry sweetheart, but I have to go in today." my dad said. I nodded and walked back upstairs. I thought it was a bit strange that everyone that was killed bullied me when I was here. Taylor was the leader of the popular group and she was the meanest of all of them. I sat on my bed and wondered what I would do today.
I remembered that there was an old park a few blocks away, and unlike in Georgia, this was the only one you'd find for miles. I walked there and sat beside an old tree. I saw that the tree had some carvings in it. My name was in the side of the tree and I remembered that I put that there when I was around 12, but there was another name. "& JEFF" was carved under it.
"Hey." I heard a voice from behind me which made me jump. I turned around and saw Jeff.
"Jeff, what are you doing here?" I asked confused.
"Protecting you." he answered as he sat beside me.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Those girls that were going to hurt you, I stopped them." he replied.
My eyes went wide,"You killed them? Jeff, you're going to get caught if you don't chill out, dude." I said and punched him in the arm.
He rolled his eyes, "No, I won't. I have ways of not getting caught." he said.
"Whatever you say." I said as I stood up. I started walking over to the swingset and Jeff followed.
"So when are you coming home?" he asked.
"Tomorrow." I replied and started rocking back and forth on the swing. Jeff was doing the same on the swing beside me.
"I miss you." he said.
"You're with me right now." I rolled my eyes.
"I missed you yesterday." he replied.
"It was only a day." I muttered.
"I day without you is like a year without rain." he started singing.
I bit my lip to hold back my laughter, "Did you seriously just sing Selena Gomez?" I asked.
"Maaaybe." he said like a child. I giggled.
"Well, I need to get back home." I said and stood up to leave.
"Wait, I'm coming with you." he said and I sighed. We walked back to my dad's house together, where we hung out until dad got home and Jeff had to leave.
"Hey, sweety. Sorry we couldn't hang out today." Dad said as he walked through the door.
"It's okay," I said and stood up to give him a hug. "Did you find out who did it?" I asked.
"Not yet. I can't even find a single clue." he said scratching his head.
"Well, I'm going to sleep now." I walked upstairs and fell asleep on my bed.
***Sorry I took so long to update. I had the chapter done for about a week, but the internet wasn't working.