Southern Storms Read online

  I nodded as tears started to form in my eyes. “When someone makes you feel weak, do something to make yourself feel strong.”

  “Exactly, and that’s what you’re doing now. You’re rediscovering yourself. You’re starting over, and anyone who has the guts to start over is strong. You are so strong. Mama and Daddy would be so proud of you. I know I am.”

  Leave it to Yoana to make me cry. “Geez, just get out of here, will you? You’re going to leave me sobbing like a fool alone in a small town.”

  “Okay, I love you. I’ll call once we make it to the airport.”

  We said yet another goodbye because saying goodbye to each other was always an extremely long process. As my sister closed the front door, I took a deep breath and allowed the tears to fall down my cheeks.

  Leaning my back against the wooden door, I closed my eyes and felt the rush of loneliness slamming into my chest. It turned out, it didn’t matter how big or small one’s home was, it didn’t matter how warm or cold the house had been, and it didn’t matter how many things were packed inside the walls—when loneliness showed up, it still felt extremely sad.

  Just then, my cell phone dinged.

  Yoana: I forgot to tell you! I left you a present. I placed it out onto the driveway for a little comfort.

  I swallowed hard and pulled myself together as I headed out to find the surprise. The moment I stepped outside, more tears welled up in my eyes.

  There it was, parked right in front of me, a gift from the past that was meant to bring me a slice of comfort: Mama and Daddy’s convertible. That beat-up vehicle represented my two favorite people, people I’d lost. It was a dull yellow color with drawings all over it. Mama and Daddy would have us draw our favorite moments on the car throughout our childhood, creating lasting memories we were able to look back on throughout the years.

  As I walked around the car, I took in every memory inscribed upon it. Birthday celebrations. Art shows. Family vacations. I couldn’t help but feel a smile curve my lips. It was an instant reminder of who I truly was, down to my core.

  I remembered driving down the freeway with my family, listening to Lauryn Hill as our hair blew in the wind with no fears and loads of happiness. Yoana sat beside me in the car, and her laughter was infectious. She would fall into a giggling fit as she and I blew bubbles in the back seat of the car. You couldn’t be unhappy with those three people in your life and that kind of joy.

  I hopped into the driver’s seat and inhaled deeply as a particular scent washed over me.

  Mama.

  I glanced over at the passenger seat, where a basket was filled with goodies and a letter. Mama’s favorite perfume was there, and I knew that was what I was smelling. Yoana must’ve sprayed the car seats with the fragrance.

  Lilacs and honey.

  Along with the perfume was a bottle of whiskey and a jar of coffee beans.

  I opened the letter and read the words.

  Kennedy,

  I hate that I had to leave you so quickly after we reconnected, but I figured you could use a piece of your family while you rediscover yourself. Therefore, I’ve left you with a jar of Mama’s favorite coffee beans for the mornings and a bottle of Daddy’s favorite whiskey for your nights.

  Love you, sis. Call me if you need me. I’m just one flight away.

  And try not to overthink everything. You’re right on track, even on the days when it doesn’t feel that way.

  -Yoana

  As I stared up toward the stars painting Havenbarrow’s atmosphere, I opened up the bottle of whiskey and spent the rest of the night making wishes on the stars for better tomorrows. I asked Mama and Daddy to send me a sign that no matter what, everything would be okay. I asked for guidance, for prayer, and for miracles.

  I could’ve really used a miracle in my life.

  When morning came, I had a strong feeling I’d be able to finally feel the sun after so many days of darkness.

  3

  Kennedy

  “Watch your step, Louise. Don’t crush those bushes,” a voice whispered as I yawned in the back seat of the convertible I’d slept in the night before. I was pulled away from my rest when I heard rustling in the yard.

  My heart leaped in my chest as I pushed myself up to a sitting position.

  “Oh hush, Kate. Me stepping on these bushes would be doing them a favor—trust me,” the other woman whispered-shouted back. They were tiptoeing around the property, sneaking peeks into the windows as they both held plastic containers in their hands.

  “Do you think it’s a big family?” Louise asked. “Lord knows the last thing we need is more kids running around the neighborhood.”

  “I don’t know but based on the lack of furniture in the house, they might be struggling.”

  I cocked an eyebrow at the snooping ladies, who hadn’t noticed me sitting feet away from them.

  “I hope they hire someone to take care of this pigpen of a yard. I don’t need the property value going down because of the newcomer. The last family who stayed here already did enough damage,” Louise huffed in disgust.

  “Can I help you, ladies?” I cut in, watching the nosy women jump right out of their Louboutin heels at the sound of my voice. They caught their balance and luckily kept the containers in their grips as they rotated to see me sitting in my car.

  “Oh my gosh, sweetheart, you shouldn’t sneak up on people like that,” said the one in the yellow sundress—Kate, I gathered—while holding one hand against her chest. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

  I almost rolled my eyes at the irony of it all, but instead I just gave her my best Southern smile as I climbed out of the car and walked their way. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Louise’s eyes danced over my vibrant outfit then locked with mine. “Well, yes, you should be more careful.”

  “I’ll do better next time. So how can I help you?”

  Kate stepped forward with her perfect blond curls dangling in her face. “Oh, yes. We’re your neighbors! We saw you were moving in last night and thought we’d stop by to say hello. I’m Kate, and this is Louise.”

  “No relation,” they said in unison, and then they giggled. “Just kidding, we’re twins!”

  Because of course they were.

  “I live two houses down from you to the left, and Kate lives two houses down to the right,” Louise said. “You’re right smack dab in the middle of the twin sandwich.”

  Lucky me.

  “Well, I’m Kennedy. It’s nice to meet you.”

  They kept their big smiles on their faces as they glanced at my parents’ convertible. Then their glares danced across my appearance and back to the car.

  “I must say, that’s quite the unique-looking car,” Louise mused, her tone dripping with judgment. “Do you drive it around, or is it more of a…statement piece?”

  “It belonged to my parents. It holds a bit of family history on it. I haven’t started it up to take it out on the road yet, but I might give it a go at some point.” Maybe tomorrow. Maybe in a year. Who knows…

  The women grimaced. “Interesting,” they said, once again, in unison.

  “Are those for me?” I asked, trying my best to shift the conversation and get it moving along. If I knew anything about small towns from all the books I read, I knew these twins were the perfect recipe for trouble.

  “Oh, yes. We each made you a pie. Best strawberry pie and apple pie you’ll ever come across in your life. We stayed up late last night cooking them when we saw you moving in.”

  “You shouldn’t have,” I said.

  “Sweetheart, of course we did. We are, after all, your new neighbors. We take our Southern hospitality seriously in these parts,” Kate commented, still frowning at my property.

  Louise cleared her throat. “Speaking of landscaping”—Were we speaking of landscaping?—“who’s handling yours? I can get you a few names of individuals who do great work.”

  “Well, thanks, but we have that all line
d up. I’m not the actual owner of the place.”

  “Oh my.” Kate whimpered as her fingers landed on her lips. “Are you a squatter? You don’t actually live here? I mean, I guess that explains the car, but that’s quite illegal.”

  “We should inform Sheriff Reid,” the other sternly stated.

  Are these women serious right now? Am I being Punk’d? Is Ashton Kutcher hiding in the Louboutin-crushed bushes?

  “No, no. What I mean is I am renting the place from my sister and brother-in-law for the next few months before they sell it. The landscapers are supposed to be coming through over the next few days to get started.”

  “Oh, thank heavens!” Louise exclaimed. “I couldn’t for the life of me let this wildness go any further. We are already dealing with Crazy Joy Jones next door with her unkempt property. If I had the chance, I’d buy that house right out from under her, the weirdo.”

  She said weirdo like it was a bad thing. I’d personally found myself more attracted to the weirdos of the world. They seemed far less judgmental.

  I looked next door at the property that was the saving grace in keeping me from being direct neighbors with Louise. The house was exactly as she’d described it—rather unkempt—but still, it was somehow perfect. Wildflowers bloomed as if they’d been planted to be free. There was no true rhyme or reason to the way they grew, but it looked like a piece of artwork.

  The ladies would’ve probably hated me if I told them I loved the property. The freedom of it all sang to the caged part of my soul. I wanted to move the way those flowers danced.

  Free. Uncaged. Like the wind.

  “Her husband died years ago, and Crazy Joy hasn’t left her house since then,” Louise explained. “You ever see Hey Arnold!, that cartoon from the nineties? There was that one character, Stoop Kid, who was too afraid to leave his stoop? Well, that’s Crazy Joy in a nutshell. She’s too afraid to leave her front yard since her husband died.”

  “If he hadn’t left Joy money and their house wasn’t paid off, I’m sure she would be homeless. I’m not one to gossip, Lord help me, but that woman is a nutjob,” Kate added in. “Rumor has it she believes aliens are going to take over the world someday soon. All those letters she writes each morning on her front porch are letters to Area 51. Total wacko.”

  The more they talked, the more I wanted to meet this neighbor.

  “Whatever you do with your landscaping, don’t make the same mistakes Joy made with her property,” Kate warned. “Especially with that,” she urged, pointing over at Joy’s yard.

  I arched an eyebrow. “With what?”

  Her eyes widened with confusion. “Don’t you see it??”

  “See…what?”

  “Those blue flowers!” she whisper-shouted, gesturing like a crazed woman. “She planted blue flowers front and center!”

  I waited a few moments for Kate to continue her thought, but her lips shut as if that was the conclusion.

  Louise must’ve caught on to my confusion. “Blue flowers! It’s just not natural.”

  Oh my gosh. If Yoana and Nathan had known who my neighbors were, I was almost certain they’d have reconsidered having me stay in that home.

  I smiled at the two crazy ladies. “I will keep that in mind. Now, I better get back to—”

  “I hate to pry, sweetheart, but were you sleeping in your car when we arrived? Don’t you have beds in the house?” Louise asked.

  Don’t you have manners?

  This woman was out to make up the most absurd stories about anything and everything. I had a history of seeing the best in people—which, yes, came with its struggles—but Louise and her sister obviously had a tendency to see the worst.

  I bit my tongue. The last thing I wanted to do was make enemies out of the neighbors. These two women seemed the type to raise hell if they felt they had a reason to do so.

  “I like sleeping under the stars sometimes. Plus, my furniture isn’t being delivered until next week. Thanks again for the pies, ladies. It was nice meeting you.”

  Their stares moved across me once more, and then they smiled creepily at the same time.

  Stephen King would’ve had a field day with this pair.

  “We’ll be seeing you around, I’m sure. Welcome to Havenbarrow. If you don’t want to be seen around town driving that, err, family heirloom, I’m pretty sure you can get yourself the Cuber app,” Louise said with that evil smile.

  “You mean Uber?” I asked.

  Louise chuckled and waved a hand in my direction. “No, honey, I mean the Cuber app. We don’t have none of that Uber or Lyft stuff in town, but Connor Roe created his own app called Cuber. He’s seventeen, but the boy is swift. Plus, his car is more…stable than yours appears.”

  Oh, if only she knew how much more her comment made me want to drive Mama and Daddy’s car around town. I’d dealt with enough bullies in my past. I had little room left in my heart for their nasty tones.

  Still, I hadn’t driven since the accident. The truth was, I didn’t know if I’d be able to do so any time soon.

  “Don’t make yourself a stranger while you’re here. Remember, if you need any information on anything and anyone in this town, you can always ask us, sweetheart. We’re pretty well informed on everything that goes on around here. Kate’s husband is the mayor, after all, so it’s our job to be informed. If you want, you can mosey down to our houses for landscaping inspiration. Remember—two to the left and two to the right and you’ll find us!” Louise said before the both of them hurried off.

  Note to self: Don’t turn left or right when leaving the house.

  By midday, I had a dozen more neighbors show up with desserts in tow, all claiming they were looking to introduce themselves. If I hadn’t been overwhelmed by my life before moving to Havenbarrow, I would’ve been by the time I received my fourth loaf of gluten-free, nut-free, taste-free banana bread.

  From the number of questions and nosy invasions I’d experienced, I was certain the women of the town would have plenty to say about me at their next book club meeting.

  To get a break from the madness, I tossed on a pair of tennis shoes and grabbed my journal. I couldn’t take any more human contact for a while. I needed to ground myself. I needed to go back to the basics.

  Just me, my journal, and the woods.

  4

  Kennedy

  Something about nature always made me feel at peace, something about the way the trees grew of their own accord and leaned in toward the sun for kisses of light. Something about the way their branches waved and danced with the rhythm of the wind while their roots stayed solidly planted in place spoke to me, the way the fresh air smelled crisp with a mixture of florals and greens.

  The way the birds sang…I loved the songs they sang at the start of each spring, revealing the way they were awakening to a new beginning. I loved how the birds moved through the spaces of nature as if they belonged no matter where they were, how they moved freely without restraints. That was all I’d wanted in life, to move freely as the birds while still having my roots placed solidly in the ground. It sounded ridiculous—the idea of both flight and steadiness—but my dream was to belong in a place yet still be free.

  I’d been wandering through the forest behind my house for the past forty-five minutes in search of a place to unwind and write down my wishes, my dreams, and my hopes.

  I hadn’t left any type of roadmap back to my house and hoped I’d be able to find my way on my own. Worst-case scenario? I’d sleep beneath the trees. It wouldn’t be the first time, and I doubted it would be the last.

  When I pushed my way through a few branches, I was surprised to come upon an open field, one free of any trees and filled with flowers of all kinds. The flower that stood out the most was the one that took my breath away.

  Daisies.

  Hundreds upon hundreds of vibrant yellow daisies seemed to have been placed there on purpose. My eyes flashed with tears as I tried my best to control my breathing pattern. In the middle of the
field was a white bench, and I couldn’t help but find myself walking down the manmade path toward it. It was beautiful. The way the sun peeked through onto the flowers and made them glow was breathtaking.

  I couldn’t think of a better place to sit, breathe, and write.

  So I did exactly that.

  I began scribbling in the notebook, losing myself as I poured out any and every feeling that came to mind. I didn’t have a clue how much time passed as I moved the pen across the paper, and I didn’t care. I was more concerned with getting my truths—no matter how messy they were—down on paper.

  When the afternoon sky began to darken, the solar lampposts interspersed throughout the daisies began to light up the space, making everything feel that much more special.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” a voice barked my way, making me leap from the bench. My pen and notebook went flying from my grip, landing amongst the flowers. I turned to see a man standing behind me and a wave of nerves crashed into me.

  “Oh, hello. I’m Ke—”

  “I didn’t ask who you were,” he cut in, his voice low and stern. “I asked what the hell you’re doing here.”

  He was a well-built man. His shoulders were broad, his biceps were impressive, and his smile was—well, nonexistent. And his eyes? I got lost in those dark eyes that matched the sky at midnight. I knew it was ridiculous, but I could’ve sworn I’d seen those eyes before. Maybe in a dream, or perhaps in a fantasy, but either way, I felt a pull toward the harsh stranger. I knew those dark irises that drank me in, and the way he tilted his head toward me, completely perplexed, made me feel as if he perhaps knew me, too.

  But from when?

  From where?

  “Do I know—” I started, but I was quickly cut off by his harshness.

  “Are you deaf?” he scolded.

  Maybe I didn’t know him. I’d have remembered knowing someone as rude as him and would have reminded myself to stay far, far away. “No. No, not at all.” I hurried to collect my journal and pen that had gone flying a few moments ago. As I stepped forward, flustered, I tripped over my own feet and stumbled, trying to catch my footing.