windows. It was falling apart: sections of
its roof, siding, and shutters had been
ripped off by the wind. She hadn’t heard
of any major storms in the area that could
have damaged the house in such a
drastic way. And what had happened to
the poor family?
She had heard that End House
boasted a gigantic indoor pool with a
Jacuzzi and sauna. It also had an outdoor
pool, which she couldn’t even get a
glimpse of over the dense circle of tall
trees surrounding the property.
The house stood alone at the end of
the drive with no neighbors nearby, jutting
over the edge of the steep cliff with a long
drop to the jagged rocks below. Just
thinking about it caused chills to travel up
and down her spine.
She never planned on visiting that
house—ever. But she could not dwell on
that now: she had to get ready for the
barbeque. She didn’t have to bring much
since Mike and David did most of the
cooking. She returned to her kitchen, took
out few steaks from the freezer, and
packed them up with the strawberry pie
that she’d baked yesterday.
She climbed the stairs to her dark
bedroom. The turquoise and pink drapes
were closed tight, blocking any light from
entering the dark room. She turned on
the small green lamp on the end table
beside her bed. On her white
embroidered quilt were her two cats,
asleep together on her turquoise throw
pillows.
They brought a little peace and sanity
to her life that she sometimes felt were
severely lacking in this strange little town.
She quickly changed into a
sweatshirt
and
jeans,
ran
back
downstairs, grabbed her food, and then
rushed out to the barbeque.
The others were already there. Mike
and David had moved their barbeque grill
onto the beach; hamburgers and hot
dogs were sizzling on the grill with buns
warming on the side. Shana was
setting the picnic table with a
checkered tablecloth and baskets of
breads. Louise, who’d brought the
salads, was busy arranging them
down the center of the table.
Linda noticed Todd lounging on a
reclining chair, reading the Wall Street
Journal. He always brought with him a
large selection of wines. He never
cooked or served, but observed
everyone from a discreet distance.
His long legs—stretched out before
him—looked tan and muscular in his
biking
shorts.
His
expression
appeared pensive and serious as he
perused his newspaper. The sharp
angular lines of his face and his long,
straight nose could have been drawn
from the likeness of a Greek god: a
strong god such as Zeus or Hercules.
She quickly turned away before he
noticed her gawking at him.
Once the food was cooked and
served, they sat around the picnic
table. The only topic of conversation
on everyone’s mind was the
mysterious party at End House. They
all seemed to be excited about the
party—except for Todd, who stayed
silent
during
their
heated
conversation.
Linda
wondered
whether the owner of End House was
also one of his many clients.
David had been the one to first
introduce the topic of the party during
the meal. They had been eating in
silence until David spoke up. “Should
we go to this party? It might not be
such a good idea. We don’t even
know who’s throwing the mysterious
party.”
Mike glared at David. “You always
try to ruin everyone’s fun. If you don’t
want to go, don’t go! Just don’t bring
down everyone else’s spirit of
adventure.” Mike constantly scolded
David for his inappropriate comments.