AINEY A R.. R RAINEY JENNA R BY JENNA. NOVELBY ANOVEL
N SECRETS SECRETS IIN
IST HE M T THE MIST
SECRETS IN THE MIST BY JENNA R. RAINEY
- SAMPLE E-BOOK CHAPTER -
2
Saoirse awoke on a cool October’s morning to the distant cries of her siblings jostling for their turn in the bathroom. ‘Kaitlyn I’m already running late.’ Then, a thudding on the door. ‘Two minutes, arghh.’ Saoirse turned over and rose from the covers, reluctant to retreat from the warmth of her bed as she felt a cool air whip up around her. Running a hand back through her hair, she whipped her legs over the edge of the bed and stood before the window, her arms wrapped around her middle as she allowed her body to adjust to the new subliminal temperature of the room. She could hear a creaking from beyond her door, footsteps approaching from along the hall. Her door creaked open. It was her mother come to check if she was up. ‘Morning, I just wondered if you were up, but you are so.. Oh do you know what time you’ll be finished today? Only I may need someone to look after Kaitlyn tonight.’ ‘I’m not sure, probably around dinner time. Why, are you heading out?’ ‘I might be. Well can you let me know as soon as you find out? It would be a great help..’ Her mother was interrupted mid-sentence as the shouting of a young infant came barrelling down the hallway. ‘Mummmm..’ I’ve got to go, but if you could..I‘d really appreciate it.’ Then hurriedly her mother left to tend to her troubled sibling. Another day in paradise, Saoirse thought. She soon let the thought float from her mind as she went to fetch clothes from her wardrobe, she didn’t have the time to worry about her crazy family today; she had to make a good impression at work. If she didn’t, she mightn’t get the extra shifts, and if she didn’t get the extra shifts, well, she didn’t know what she would do; driving lessons were a priority now if she were ever to escape the confines of her certain imprisonment in that house. Over the summer months Saoirse had taken up a part-time position at a cafe in the near-by town. She’d been working longer hours over the holiday season, but now that business had shifted with the holiday-makers gone, she wasn’t required to come in often, if at all aside from the weekends. It was an ideal job she thought, it wasn’t exactly heavy-labour and she rather enjoyed meeting and greeting people from all description of backgrounds. One day she might serve a foreign tourist come to visit the area for its natural beauty, the next she could be serving a well-to-do mother of four, with grown-up children in all manner of jobs, or in some less-fortunate cases, in turmoil from a bitter divorce. Then there were the locals of-course, who came in daily out of routine and the teens from the local high-school who’d come to meet and gather with friends and impromptu lovers from the other side of town. On occasion she’d seen her wages as a mere perk when she thought about the personal reward she gained, and it was of-course a much sought after haven from the frequent chaos of her life back home. On that brisk October morning she wondered in with an open-mind, frugal with the thought of what and whom she’d come across today. ‘Hiya’ Amelia greeted, whisked behind the counter, as she prepared an espresso for the middle-aged man stood waiting, in the somewhat elusive queue. ‘Hey’ Saoirse returned, lifting her satchel over her head and making briskly to assist her 3
colleagues. As it was still early, her primary focus was to make sure all the necessary food was prepared and neatly presented along the counter. Saoirse quite liked this task, it kept her busy and was relatively easy, and certainly ranked higher than dishwashing duty. Checking the fridges, Saoirse took out a handful of black plastic containers and brought them out to the shop-front. Setting them down on the counter she slipped on a pair of plastic gloves and in turn opened each container. One by one she laid them out, side by side in the glass fronted fridge, making several return runs to the kitchen, until the shelf at the front of the shop was jam-packed with a colourful array of meat, veg and salad dressings for the visiting customer to choose from. A young mother and her two young children wandered in, followed by a middle-age couple who had tied their dog outside the front of the store. Already, Saoirse was certain that she’d no doubt be distributing the tray bakes, so she was glad that find that her colleagues already had most of them out on display. As predicted, the mother of two let the kids pick their weekend treats. ‘Right what do you want guys? If you get a healthy drink you can have a bun or you can have a hot chocolate instead.’ ‘Hot chocolate’ piped up the little girl in her bright pink coat. Her brother was quieter spoken, ‘Can I have a rice crispie bun and a drink as well?’ ‘Yes you can,’ his mother replied, ‘but you can’t have coke or any fizzy drinks because you’ve already got your bun alright.’ The little boy silently agreed and wandered off to fetch his drink of choice from the refrigerator. ‘Hi’ Saoirse greeted, as the mother finally glanced up. ‘Hi love, can I get a regular latte, a kid’s hot chocolate and one of the rice crispie squares please?’ ‘Sure.’ Saoirse grabbed the tongs and swiftly presented the woman with one crispie square. She’d begun to master the skill of quick-customer service and was proud when she looked back to just a couple of months ago when she’d first started out. Back then she wasn’t sure she could cope with the busy demands of the well-orchestrated coffee shop, but time had treated her well and now she couldn’t imagine her life without it. Initially, she’d gone for the job purely as a source of income to manage the expenses of her final year. Her mother was frank about how she couldn’t keep up with the costs of driving lessons and then there was a much-thought about dress for the debutant ball. However with summer having been and gone, Saorise’s attitude had changed, her perspective slanted, as if she looked upon the world around her with a fresh new pair of eyes. She’d grown up a little in some respects, but at the same time was still in the prime of her youth. Her mother, Saoirse thought, was taking full advantage of both these traits. She rang her mother quickly in her break just before five, to say that she wouldn’t be back until just past seven. Her mother saying that it was fine, that she wouldn’t be leaving til’ at least half seven now herself and asking again if Saoirse would mind terribly babysitting for the evening. Not wanting to cause a fuss, she reluctantly agreed, said goodbye and gave a sigh, aghast. There went any plans to chill out alone this evening.
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Saoirse purposefully took the longest route home that evening, secretly hoping that she’d be back too close to her mother’s deadline to be able to see her duties through. However despite arriving home a mere fifteen minutes before, her mother spieled off at her about this and that whilst she continued to get herself ready, flouncing out the door moments later, without so much as a glance in her direction when she shouted a quick thanks across the threshold. Being the eldest sucked. Luckily, as it turned out, Kaitlyn was quite content doing her own thing for most of the evening, until just past nine, when she declared the inevitable and much uninvited words to Saoirse’s ears.. ‘I’m bored..’ ‘Well do you know what you’d like to do?’ ‘No, that’s why I said I’m bored..duh’ Charming, Saoirse thought, although she was sure she could remember being very similar at her sister’s age, so really she was quite the hypocrite. Her sister provided a purposefully heavy sigh. ‘Well how about we draw?’ ‘I’m sick of drawing, it’s all I usually do all day’ ‘I could put on a dvd for you to watch?’ Saoirse tried. ‘That’s boring’ Kaitlyn groaned. ‘I give up, I would suggest reading to you but that’d be too babyish, we can’t exactly bake at this time of night and I’m not..’ ‘Go back..’ Kaitlyn urged, interrupting her mid-sentence. ‘What do you mean.. What, reading? You want me to read to you?’ ‘Yeah.’ This took Saoirse quite by surprise, she’d presumed Kaitlyn would see herself as too old for being read stories at bedtime by her uncool older sister. ‘Alright, well you pick a story and I’ll come upstairs and read it too you.’ ‘Come now’ Kaitlyn pleaded, reaching out her hand in a motion to follow her lead. Intrigued and somehow touched by her sister’s action, she insisted she’d make a cup of tea and come straight up. Telling her to be ready with a story chosen for when she came. Slightly miffed, Kaitlyn agreed but with an extra condition, ‘only if you make me a cup too.’ Again with an air of surprise, Saoirse found herself conceding with her sibling’s terms, wandering into the kitchen to boil the kettle as Kaitlyn hurried eagerly up the stairs. As she read, Saoirse’s mind cast back to when it was her that lay tucked up beneath the covers, ears eager, her mind premature and still open to a world of possibilities. Her mother perched on the edge of the bed as her eyes waivered toward sleep. Back then it was simple, a child’s existence so youthful and innocent. Sometimes Saoirse longed for time to slow down, to be able to catch her breath and make the most of being merely seventeen. All too suddenly she is aware of her juxtaposition and longs to recapture the kindly days of being half her age. It wasn’t long before Kaitlyn’s concentration yearned and Saoirse could tell that she was ready for the land of dreams. Gradually she slowed her pace of reading, lowering her tone. When her voice became merely a whisper she closed the book and cautiously rose to her feet. Keeping her movements light, she receded to the edge of the room and upon reaching the door, paused a moment, questioning whether to turn back and check if her sister’s eyes are indeed closed. 5
In the end she decided against it and wandered on along the corridor, half-expecting a call beckoning her back. But it never came, or if it did Saoirse didn’t hear it, reclusing to her own dwelling at the end of the hall. Her room was of adequate size, just about managing to fit a small double alongside desk, wardrobe and fitted shelves. A colourful woven rug adorned the wood panelled floor and the window provided a view across chimney stacks of the rooftops below, and then offered a view further on leading to the horizon of the sea. It’d been a long day and by that moment in time Saoirse was rather pleased to find her own solitary company and just simply be. With an inhalation of breath, she fell back upon her bed and relieved all residing tension from her body. It was only now that Saoirse realised just how tired she was herself and the thought of just falling asleep there and then was a welcomed reality. However with equal dread and anticipation she found her eyes wander over to the clock. 11.17. Was it really that time already? Her mother should surely be home soon? At the latest not far past twelve. She should stay up, make sure her mother can let herself in alright, that she’s remembered her keys, hasn’t brought back a stray gentlemen in the night. But no, it would seem too great a task tonight, her tiredness over-bearing, reigning supreme over her control. Just about managing to change herself for bed, she padded down the corridor into the bathroom, gave her teeth a quick clean, her eyes struggling to stay open, as she pondered back along the hall, closing her door and fell easily into bed. It took a matter of minutes before she was fast asleep. Saoirse managed a brief lie-in the following morning, waking just before ten; stirred by the distant clattering of pots and plates being clashed around, as her mother evidently dealt with the dishes. Fumbling with the covers she willed herself to rise, aware that she had duties that needed seen to before her afternoon shift at work. Her feet touched the cool wooden boards and with a shiver of cold whipping through the room, she threw on her long white cardi. Creaking open the door she paced along the hall and suddenly caught whiff of a lingering breakfast smell, which she followed down the stairs. ‘Someone’s been cooking’ Saoirse quipped, as she wandered into the kitchen. ‘Yes, I made Kaitlyn bacon-on-toast.’ Strange child, Saoirse thought. ‘Do we have any eggs?’ she queried, whilst browsing about the kitchen. ‘There should be a few left, I think. Making omelette are we?’ ‘Yeah, if we have the ingredients.’ Saoirse opened the fridge. Success, she thought, lifting out what remaining cheese they had in the not-so-very-full larder. Her mother kept on with the dishes. ‘You were out quite late last night..’ Saoirse started, posing a question to her mother. Her mother didn’t reply. ‘You and Kaitlyn survived I see?’ ‘Yes, we did. But that isn’t what I was talking about..’ A pan sizzled on the hob as Saoirse swirled egg yolks into fiercely heated oil. 6
‘I didn’t get in that late. It was just past twelve and you girls seem to have seen yourself to bed alright.’ Saoirse decided to say no more. ... The day was dry but clouded by the time Saoirse left for work. A cold westerly breeze blew in from the sea and whipped up around her heels, the sensation rejuvenating her senses. As she walked through the town and up upon the grassy knowls toward the neighbouring district, Saoirse thought to the lingering events in her final weeks of high school education. It was only a few weeks until they would be let off for their exams and then she had the pomp and pageantry of the Leavers Ball to look forward to; which would be wonderful, if she only had a dress. It’d be another two weeks wages before she’d have enough to cover the cost; admittedly expensive, as it was an occasion that would only ever happen once. It brought hint of a smile to her face as she continued along the weathered paths into the near-by village. The floor was bustling with retreating walkers and locals calling-in for their Sunday afternoon tea. Sweeping through the throng Saoirse made a beeline for the kitchen, knowing full well she wouldn’t rest until the end of her shift. Later on as the buzz began to die down, Saoirse found herself playing around with coffee cups, stacking, inspecting, rearranging, as she awaited the dwindling orders from a sparse drift of last customers through the door. It was then, as she casually browsed the shop floor, that she picked up on a familiar face sat alone in the middle of the room. A young man which she is almost certain was in just a day or two ago. Saoirse thought him to be rather handsome, albeit slightly rugged around the edges. The more she continued to study him, the more convinced she became that she’d seen him somewhere before; almost certain she must have served him once or twice. Saoirse tried guessing at his age, occupation; reckoned he was a coffee drinker, not so keen on tea. But that was alright, she could live with that. After all, her mother had never been that keen. Moments later he stirred, looked down into his now empty cup, when suddenly his gaze wandered in her direction and for a fracture of a second their eyes met. Almost awkwardly his eyes darted in the opposite direction. ‘Excuse me’ piped a voice from the unknown. Saoirse regained control of her senses and turned to greet the customer stood waiting to her right. ‘Sorry, how can I help?’ By the time Saoirse had assisted the customer, the solidary young gentleman had gone, leaving only remnants of coffee grains as proof that he was ever there.
TBC.
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Saoirse is a young and troubled soul, trying to find her place in life. Then a strange young guy walks into her life and she thinks she’s found something worth fighting for, only to be deceived by her premature happiness as her world is turned upside down... Little does Saoirse know about the secrets that lay hidden from her, lying, waiting for her to uncover, the secrets in the mist...
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