Hide and Seek Her Read online

  Hide and Seek Her

  “For the people who don’t have dreams and doubt those who do; I dare you to live.”

  My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder.

  -William Goulding

  By H.B. Stumbo

  Copyright © 2015. All rights reserved.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission from the author; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in publication reviews.

  Empire Publishing

  www.empire-publishing.com

  Dedication

  Just a thought before I go;

  I have a lot of people I want to thank but before I get to that I need to make a few things known. None of these characters are real or based on anyone in particular. With that being said, if I know you personally and if you think that one of the characters resembles a trait you have or springs a memory that involves you and I, it probably means you have inspired me in a way that I wanted to give you a little bit of notoriety. Let’s keep it our secret, something sacred between you and me because once the secret is out, it is out and it will lose its luster.

  I’d like to thank my closest friends who really pushed me to finish this. It may have taken several years but your constant questions, constant push and confidence in me really helped get me here. Shay, I owe a huge “thank you” to you. You are such a driving force and good friend, thank you for reading this first, thank you for being so caring, thank you for being you.

  Carly, Amanda, Tracy, Bobbie and my new friend Keri – you all are equally important to me and your support is beyond anything I can explain. You were amongst the first to know the title, the plot and about the story in general. You individually helped me in different ways. You’re all great – I love you.

  Ross, thanks for not complaining too much when the glow of the computer light kept you up at night or when I spent my time off work buried in the laptop. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me and your incredible respect for me as well as push for me to finish this has made me love you that much more.

  To my Mom and late father – thank you for breathing life into my veins and pushing me to do better. Also thanks to my other set of parents, my in laws who have loved me from the start without question. My sister Carrie– I appreciate you even if I don’t always tell you that, thanks for being excited.

  Jenna – thank you for being an amazing photographer and taking headshots even when I complained, your talent knows no bounds.

  Everyone at Empire Publishing who has been incredibly supportive and caring. You understand the desire people have to write, and you understand the happiness that comes from seeing your work complete.

  I want to praise the following musicians/bands who aided in the creative process. Some of these chapters were written and based solely off of one of your songs or albums. Alt-J, The War on Drugs, Gregory Alan Isakov, Hozier, The Head and The Heart, Andrew McMahon, and Vance Joy. I’d like to credit the specific songs Every Other Freckle by Alt-J, In Reverse by the War on Drugs,Greek Tragedy by The Wombats, and You Haunt Me by Sir Sly as being huge inspirations for certain scenes and characters in this novel. If I could hug you and thank you for unlocking a part of my mind that I didn’t know existed with your words, I would.

  If you got this far in this book and are actually reading this part I would like to hug you, too. As a writer, I’ve read this probably over a hundred times. Sometimes it strikes me as not what I originally set out to do and sometimes I’m impressed with myself. If it wasn’t what you expected I’m sorry, and if it beat your expectations then I’m glad. Please know that either way, even if more people hate this than love this, that the tale is far from over. Vance, Charlotte, Jackson and even my favorite character Riley are still living and are still going strong. I can’t wait to give you more, I can’t wait until you see where the next chapter takes them all. There is a lot going on in their live right now and I’m only halfway into the next book.

  I leave you with this; don’t ever stop swimming. I almost sank once, I almost settled into what was comfortable for me and what I thought made me happy. I threw the anchor in the water and just stayed afloat where the ocean was calm and I was safe. I can’t tell you what exactly it was that changed my mind; it may have been an event or just the urge to swim, but something reminded me that I needed to get back on course. If you have something you want to do, something you feel like you have to do, please do it. Life isn’t short, it is long and if you spend it floating along the surface and just getting by, it will be a lot longer. Dive deep, hold your breath, and swim hard.

  -Hayley

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Hide and Seek Her

  Prologue

  I am invisible.

  I am swift.

  I am troubled.

  I am unwanted.

  And in the finest hours of the day I watch and I wait until I know it’s safe for me to come into view. I am constantly worried, constantly looking over my shoulder and hoping that I am not spotted by anyone or being detected. I am the light in the blackout of night that moths cling to. I am the attraction of everyone and the hope that someone, anyone, will reach me and save me. I am the thought that lingers in the back of your mind even though you think you have forgotten me. I am very good at being very odd, most of my life no one has understood me, and I am okay with that, I sleep better that way.

  I am here and I am alive and well, but I am not ready…at least not yet. No, definitely not yet. I thought I should make a move, thought it was time to make a scene, but I was wrong. Of course there is the element of surprise that I know I would bring out of everyone, but I am craving more than that; I want to bring out something more than just shock. What’s the word I’m looking for? It’s not awe, it’s not even mind-blowing. I want to bring out realization, realization that I not only exist but that I’m the one and I’ve always been the one that the universe owes everything to. Maybe I’m fate, maybe I was her fate. I liked the way that thought reverberated through my mind. That’s what I was, what I had always been. I was the reason that the she was the way she was. I wasn’t something to be swept under the rug, I was of great importance. I was fate, I was reasoning, I was every noun in between.

  I shook my head, I agreed with myself because I had a slight amount of doubt that anyone else would. I didn’t need anyone else to, but I did need her to. Even if she wouldn’t admit it out loud, she would think it and I would still be there, always hiding, always a lingering thought in the back of her mind. Yeah, for now that was good enough. I burrowed myself into that feeling and smiled because I knew eventually I would be more than just a thought in the darkest corner of her mind. Someday I would tell her, someday I would have to, but for now, this was good enough. I was invisible because I sought out the most perfect hiding place like a child playing a game. I could hear them counting until it was time to try to find me.

  One, two, three, four, five….ready or not hear I come!

&nb
sp; No…not yet, I’m not ready yet. No Ollie, Ollie oxen free, no Marco polo, no clapping, not yet at least. Someday, but not now.

  -J. Greene

  Chapter 1

  It had rained for two days straight now. The water marks on my windows seemed like they would be etched there forever and I sighed against the sudden onset of thunder and lightning that was plaguing my life. I held my mug close to my chest as I stretched out on my cushioned bay window and watched the bleakness of the Alabama sky offer no remorse as it stared back at me.

  I took a sip of my coffee and winced as it was starting to turn cold. I stretched out in my window and wondered how I could spend yet another day stuck inside waiting on the rain to clear. I had already done a week’s worth of work in a day and a half and if I jumped further ahead, I would have nothing to keep me busy during the slow season that was rapidly approaching.

  I glanced over at my desk that was littered with measurements and drawings of several different living room themes, and stacked with what seemed like hundreds of pastel color swatches and bits and pieces of carpet and wood. I really could have cleaned up after myself but sometimes when I had a creative burst, the only way to ruin it was to clean up. I hadn’t officially cleaned up in a while.

  I had just finished re-decorating a small cottage on the outskirts of Locke’s Point, Alabama. A newlywed couple had bought it at sheriff’s sale and I warned them that it was going to need more than a little paint and TLC. Halfway through the remodel, I was sure the couple who had been head over heels when I met them, was going to be heading straight for divorce. They bickered about paint and flooring, they fought endlessly over décor themes, and they bitched to each other about their in laws. I gave it three more months. Eventually I convinced them to go away for a weekend and spend time with each other and forget about their remodel. I worked almost thirty six hours straight but I had their home ready for them when they arrived back in town Sunday night. They couldn’t have been happier to see their dreams come true and their hard work completed; I couldn’t have been happier to not have to deal with them anymore. Last I heard they were pregnant, redecorating really does bring out the worst and the best in people.

  Summer was on the horizon and my projects usually waxed and waned over the May to September period. Most people in Locke’s Point had their homes remodeled before summer, mainly because they rented out their properties to tourists who wanted a beach front home in a secluded and less traveled area on the coast. I had a few things to keep me busy over the summer; a couple of acquaintances wanted their bedrooms remodeled or a new addition to be decorated a certain way, but it was nothing steady and I was okay with that. I felt as though the last year of my life had been a whirlwind and I had submersed myself into lengthy and sometimes time consuming projects that required a good eighty to ninety hours a week. Looking back on it all it probably was the best thing to do and the best way to keep my mind busy, but I was ready for a break. I had declined a few offers from clients in nearby towns who had projects that would keep me steady because I longed for some time to just relax. After a battle with myself and my emotions over the last year and a half of my life, I was ready to work on myself. I needed to get back on higher ground permanently and I wanted time to just be. So far though, the time was dragging and the weather was making me rethink my whole hiatus.

  I sighed as I swirled my mug around in my hand and let my mind wander off to who I was back then. Memories flashed quickly in my mind, memories that I usually kept a good latch on but lately had been firing off like rockets at the most random hours. I thought of my childhood a lot, of my brother Micah who I missed more and more each day and the bond I shared with him that now seemed to be stretched thin as he traveled the world. I sometimes wondered about my Mother and where the road had taken her over the years. I thought about my Aunt Lara and Uncle Rich and their facial expressions when Micah and I landed on their doorsteps on that cold day in February twenty years ago. I shuddered just thinking about that memory and I shook my head to try to tuck it away back in the corners where it belonged. One last memory plagued my mind though, Jackson Greene appeared quickly and I winced at him. The man that I had loved too much, the man that had ruined me and broke what was left of me filled my thoughts with his near perfect face and smooth words. I shook my head quickly again and sighed. I just wanted to be left alone but when I was, I was left alone with these thoughts; memories of the one thing I wished my mind would erase. Jackson plagued my soul like an infestation. I couldn’t think of Jackson without thinking about the story that came along with him. Memories of our life together were still fresh in my mind, memories of the man he was before loomed over me like stars in the sky. Even though I couldn’t always see them didn’t mean they weren’t there. His past was darker than anything I had ever heard of before, unfortunately I didn’t find out about his past until he was my past.

  The past was something I needed to get passed though. The things that happened to me happened; the things that shaped me were gone, blown out like a candle on a child’s birthday cake. It had been a year; I shouldn’t still be thinking of these things or dwelling on events that would never be forgotten.

  Just move on, Charlotte. That’s what I needed to keep telling myself.

  I decided on a shower and then maybe I’d start reading a book and take an afternoon nap. I just wanted to keep my mind busy, rid of the toxic thoughts that sometimes fell into it. Yeah, this break was going to be the best thing; I just needed to keep telling myself that, too.

  It was Monday morning before the rain finally let up enough that I could go out without an umbrella. The forecast was calling for sunny weather the rest of the week and that gave me hope. I decided to head into the office and check my voicemails and follow up with anything that needed my attention.

  Rine’s Designs was a local company that hired interior designers or contractors. I was lucky enough to get hired there right after college, but I didn’t give it my all until last year when I told Rick Mullens, the laid back co-owner of the company that I wanted to work full time and I wanted as many remodels as I could nab. Rick was lucky, his Uncle had owned his share of the company before him and because he had no children of his own, Rick was given control of a share when he died. There was a silent partner that held a share but never worked, hired people, or had anything to do with us. Hence the “silent” part of it I guess. I never pressed Rick for any information on the other owner, he or she stayed out of our way and we didn’t have to answer to anyone besides Rick which made my job a lot easier.

  Rick was more than happy that I wanted to work as much as I did. I put in more hours than anyone else and I was still paid salary which kept his money hungry grin plastered onto his face. Most of his employees over the summer months were interns from nearby colleges, there were two other employees from Locke’s Point who were lifers like me. I avoided the interns; I had no desire to get to know them when they would be leaving in a few months and besides that, I wasn’t in the market for friends.

  I pulled into the small office building near the pier and sighed. I glanced around at the traffic pouring down Main Street; the shops were open early and full of young, college girls in crop tops and short shorts waving anxiously at the boys who they would find in the bars later.

  Locke’s Point was probably the best kept summer spot in Alabama if not in the whole southern half of the country. It was nestled along the shoreline and boasted one of the nicest beaches the gulf had to offer. Locke’s Point catered to just about everyone; families stayed in the beach houses along the shoreline and college kids packed the condo rentals and hotels. The main street that ran through town like a vein runs through your arm was home to several nice bars and dance clubs, while the pier and boardwalk attracted families with theme park rides, games, and restaurants.

  May brought the tourists back and brought more with it every year. Within the next two weeks, the town would be overpopulated and it would stay that way through Labor Day. Sometime in October every
one would decide it was time to move on until next year. Stores would close down, hours would change at restaurants, and I could go back to enjoying the peace and quiet the fall offered me.

  I crawled out of my car and headed into the office, surprised to see that I was the last one here and that all the interns were here early. I could hear Rick’s loud voice from the meeting room and I figured he was going over summer projects with them and trying to peak at least one of their interests in relocating here after school to join our team full time. God knows we needed it. I was burnt out from the amount of work I did last year, but I would never tell Rick that. After all, I was the one who begged for just about every large remodel that came in either indoor or outdoor. Even with two other full timers, we were all swamped and the other two had less of an interest in staying busy than the interns did when it came to summer.

  I plopped my things down on my desk and rustled through a stack of emails and mail. Most of them were thank you notes and follow up invoices from a few large projects I had completed in March. There were some requests for small projects in the fall and I moaned. Word traveled fast in a small town and the word on the street was I was good at my job and had no life so I could finish it in half the time. I guess I should be okay with people knowing me for that, it was better than them linking my name with Jackson.

  I winced at his name and mentally kicked my own ass for thinking of him again. For some fucked up reason, I couldn’t shake the bastard from my life. Well, I had a pretty good theory but I wasn’t going to allow myself to dwell on that for now.

  Lucky for me, Rick approached my desk just as I was rubbing my temples and broke my train of thought.

  “I thought you weren’t coming in today?” He grumbled as he rubbed his neck.

  I glanced up and wanted to laugh at his choice of clothing. He looked less like a multi-millionaire company owner and more like the guy who ran the charter boats down at the pier. He was wearing his blue Hibiscus flower button up today, the one he got on his last trip to Hawaii and he had a ball cap on from some local shop. Talk about a matching outfit.