Chapter 4: Carry On Wayward Son
October 30th, 1979.
The morning sky was gray and overcast. Strays of white and gray clouds drifted through the sky. A chance of rain looked good in the forecast today.
Katrina sat at the oak dining table, a half eaten bowl of cereal sat next to her as she worked on a crossword puzzle from the morning newspaper.
She grunted, setting her pen down.
"What's wrong, hon?" Her mother asked from inside the kitchen.
"I cannot figure out this last word to save my life. It's supposed to be a three letter word." She scratched her head as she analyzed the puzzle, making sure she didn't miss anything.
"Well, what's it asking for?"
"Anger; temper; wrath; indignation…"
Her mother curled her lips as she thought for a moment,
A gentle snap sounded from her fingers, "ire."
"What?"
"Ire. i-r-e."
Her eyebrows raised, surprised the answer actually fit.
"Huh. Thanks."
Katrina cleaned up the table and brought her bowl to the kitchen, the soft jingle of Peter's collar followed close behind her.
"Alright, I'm headed out. I'll see you in a bit." She walked over to put her boots on before her mother stopped her.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where are you going?"
"I was just gonna hop over to the record store real quick."
"Well, here, take these with you." She handed Katrina a small plate of cookies wrapped in plastic.
"Okay… and what are these for?"
"I want you to give them to the neighbors next door. To welcome them to the neighborhood."
She shrugged as she stepped into her black boots,
"I'll be back before Chris gets home."
"Katrina," her mother called out, "please be careful, there have been a lot of people going missing around town. Just make sure to be aware."
"Alright, I will." Katrina said, before walking out the door…
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She breathed in the chilly October air as she made her way up the steps and onto the neighbors porch.
The wood creaked beneath her feet as she approached the smokey gray door;
A bronze door knocker with a Victorian design hung in the center.
After about three knocks, she could've sworn she heard a growl coming from inside.
She stood on the porch, observing the exterior of the house, which actually looked a bit better than she remembered.
After waiting for about five minutes, there was no answer.
From what little she could see through the crack of the curtains, the house seemed to be dark.
It couldn't have been empty, since there was a yellow Ford parked in the driveway, but nobody answered. She shrugged as she set down the platter and made her way off the porch.
The dried grass and leaves shuffled beneath her boots, the chill in the air whistled through the trees of orange and brown, which made the hair on the back of her neck stand straight up.
"Hey,"
Katrina let out a gasp as she froze. She turned around to see a familiar face peeking out of the doorway.
"Oh. Uh, hey.."
"What's up?" Adrian rubbed his eyes as if he'd just been woken up.
"Um, nothing. My mom just wanted me to bring those to you guys,
to welcome you to the neighborhood."
He let out an amused 'ooo' as he picked up and examined the platter, giving a soft smile as he looked at her.
"That's awesome, thanks."
"Mm hm." Katrina nodded, standing at the foot of the porch with her hands in her pockets, she smiled back.
After a few moments of awkward silence, a voice echoed from inside the house. "What is going on out here?" A tall brunette woman appeared in the doorway, pushing Adrian aside. "Oh," she mused. "Who's this pretty young thing?" She smiled at Katrina with bright red lips.
"She's just the girl from next door, mom." He sighed, handing the woman the platter. "She wanted to bring these over for us."
She gasped as she admired the sparkling blue plate wrapped in plastic.
"Oh, she's so sweet!" She turned to Katrina with the same wide smile, "You're taking my son with you when you leave, right?" The woman winked as she laughed loudly.
Katrina could only give an awkward laugh followed by an uncomfortable smile.
She looked over at Adrian, who had his lips curled in embarrassment.
"Oh alright, I'll leave." The woman scoffed, "Jeez, you're what, seventeen now and you're giving attitude? Watch out for this one." She gave another loud laugh before disappearing inside.
Adrian rolled his eyes as he stepped out on the porch, closing the door behind him.
"Sorry." He sighed.
"She seems nice." Katrina smiled
He let out a breathy laugh, "Yeah, the whole family's like that pretty much. At least I'm fortunate enough to have an actual brain. Well, at least half of one anyway."
They both gave a soft laugh before silence took over again.
"Well…" He said, turning to the door. "I guess I'll see you around."
Katrina didn't respond as she stood, she didn't know what, but there was something about this moment that made her feel like she needed to know more about him.
"Hey, wait!"
He stopped as he turned to look at her, a hint of curiosity gleamed in his eyes.
"Uh, I was going to go over to our local record store for a bit," she fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke. "If you wanted, I could show you where it's at…"
He returned the same soft smile he gave before. "Yeah, sure, that'd be great. Let me go get my jacket."