Sammy stares out the window, wondering when it had gotten so dark, unconsciously drawing the same symbol over and over again into her palm.
Five minutes of research had come up with a name for it, something called a Unicursal Hexagram which is a six pointed star made by the interlaced lines of the Hexagram passing over and under one another to form a knot.
She doesn't remember ever seeing or hearing of it before but her dad had been obsessed with it before his disappearance.
In less than an afternoon she had found it everywhere inside the stacked up boxes collecting dust in the dark corner of the garage, from different centuries, in paintings, in photos of old buildings, all made by different hands.
After that she spent the entire day at the Everwood daily but it had been a slow one. There didn't seem to be any new stories for them to report on.
She notices how no one seems all that worried about it which is understandable, after all this is Everwood, it doesn't take long for something weird to happen in this town.
She'll soon realise how correct she is about that but for now her mind lingers and her fingers scratch over and over again until a stack of paper is dropped on her tiny desk.
"Take these to the shredder will you?"
"Sure." she replies, not even bothering to make eye contact with the person who hands them off to her, just feeling grateful to be busy, especially if that involves using her hands.
She strolls across the room towards the shredder hiding inside the closet sized cupboard behind the coffee room.
The machine groans to life as soon as she starts feeding it, so used to its monotonous clanking that it no longer makes her teeth grinding together as it rocks from side to side.
After a few minutes a head pops on followed by another; the first being a man named Stewart Golding who is the editor-in-chief here at the local newspaper.
The second is a woman who Sammy has never met before. From the looks of things she seems nice, wearing the same nervous smile that she can feel herself mimicking.
Sammy notices how she covers her ears with her hair, wondering if she naturally has dishwater blonde hair or if she dyed it to look that way.
Admittedly Sammy starts feeling a little lightheaded, especially once the stranger catches her looking a little too closely. It's even weirder once she realises how little room there is now that they're all squeezing into the same space.
"Sammy, I would like you to meet Braiden. She'll be our newest reporter starting Monday."
Sammy's eyes widen, wondering when the hiring of this stranger had gone down. "Congratulations?"
"Thanks."
"Nervous?" Sammy asks, ignoring Stewart as he tilts his head and gives her a look she doesn't understand.
"Not at all." Braiden replies, combing her long wavy hair out of her right eye, her laugh sweeter than honey. "I'm pretty used to working under a lot of pressure. If anything, I'm looking forward to something a little simpler."
"Well this is Everwood, simple comes and goes like the wind."
Thankfully Braiden finds her words to be more amusing than Stewart who looks just about ready to murder her.
"Braiden this is Sammy, she's younger than the furniture but has been volunteering at this place longer than I have. She's like everyone's little sister."
Braiden raises a brow. "Cute."
"She can help you find your way around."
"Right, of course, how did I forget. Introductions first, firing questions later." she utters, going to shake Braiden's hand but forgetting the huge stack of paper in her arms. "Sammy Donovan. I'd shake your hand but as she can see, I have a lot going on."
"I could help if you want?"
Sammy glances towards Stewart, quickly making up her mind once she sees the vein threatening to burst in his forehead. "I'm sure you still have a lot left to see."
"Actually, we still have half of the tour." Stewart interjects, checking his watch. "And shouldn't you be heading out?"
Sammy's heart sinks, hoping he wouldn't notice. "Yep, I just have to finish shredding these."
"Great, shall we?"
Stewart leaves the room first but Braiden lingers behind, giving her an apologetic smile. "Maybe some other time?"
"Sure." Sammy mumbles, the paper in her arms slipping slightly.
Once she's done stalling as much as possible, Sammy begrudgingly makes the journey home, turning the key in the door slowly, expecting much worse than what she actually got.
She walks in on a stranger making out with her mother on the kitchen counter but by the looks of things he is way more than that.
When they see her they quickly rush to adjust themselves which only makes things worse. "Samantha, you're home early!"
"Clearly." she replies, looking the stranger up and down.
Still looking flustered, Susan fixes her hair. "This is...Richard."
Things to note about Richard, he's tall, much taller than her father, older too by the look of his frosty white sideburns. To be fair his full beard and neatly combed hair remain black but Sammy suspects that too is a facade.
"You must be Samantha, your mother speaks of you often. All great things, I promise."
"I'm sure she doesn't."
Richard's laugh is loud enough that he doesn't hear how pitchy Susan sounds when joining him. "Believe me, she doesn't love anything in the world more than the three of you."
Sammy grabs her phone once it vibrates with a notification but only holds it on her hand. "What job do you do?"
"I'm actually a lawyer."
"If what they say about lawyers is true then I guess we'll never be able to trust you completely."
"Sammy!" Susan's gasps, soothing Richard by rubbing his shoulder in the same way she used to with Sammy's father.
"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" Sammy inquires, keeping her dark eyes trained on Richard as she continues to try and get a better read on him.
After all, what could a good looking man in his early forties, a lawyer no less, want with a mother of three?
"I am thirty-nine years young." he smiles at her mother, acting as if he has just made the funniest joke of the century.
"Any children?"
Susan intervenes, shaking her head as she wonders what has gotten into her eldest. "Alright, Samantha, that is enough."
"Let the man answer mom." Sammy replies, becoming partially distracted once she starts reading the messages flooding in from Justin. "So?"
"Eh..." he looks unsure whether he should answer or not but eventually chooses to. "No, no kids."
"Fire? What fire?" Sammy mumbles to herself, reading through Justin's texts carefully whilst pinching her bottom lip with the sides of her thumb and index finger.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah no," Sammy replies, her locs brushing against her shoulders as she shakes her head. "I have to go."
"But you just got back." Susan's remarks, failing at not seeming immediately disappointed.
Thankfully a second later a car horn beckons her arrival, giving her the perfect out. "That'll be Justin." she explains, reminding herself to reward him for always showing up at the perfect time.
She gives her mother a polite kiss on the forehead before rushing out the door, skipping down the steps leading up to her home as Justin kicks open his passenger side door from the inside.
"Okay, explain it to me from the beginning."
Justin starts the car, his face burning red after rushing to get here. "I don't really know everything. I can only tell you what Sky told me."
"Alright, I'm all ears."
"It's Cloud...he's gone missing!"