You Do Bad Things To Me

Chapter One

TILLY



Six months earlier

Pine Hills, Colorado

December 14th, 2018

“Ms. Winters! Rowyn pushed me!”

Exasperation consumed me for what felt like the millionth time today. I loved my job as an elementary teacher. In the small rural town of Pine Hills, Colorado, I felt blessed to have a job when finding work in town was nearly impossible. When Pine Hills Elementary had asked me if I would be willing to take over Mrs. Parkinson’s first-grade class so she could retire, I didn’t bat an eyelash.

I was lucky to be where I was. Most residents, the ones who weren’t generational farmers or blue-collar workers, had to travel an hour in each direction to work.

I turned around to find Rowyn at the back of the line. He ducked his head down to avoid my gaze, a sign of guilt. The excited chatter of kids filled the entire school as classes lined up in the hallway to head outside for pick-up.

Today was the Friday before the start of Christmas break. My little class of fourteen students was excited for Christmas and ready for a two-week break from school. I was more than ready after the chaos of making Christmas ornaments and helping my students write out their letters for Santa.

“Rowyn,” I called out over the noise. “I want you up here with me.”

Rowyn slowly made his way up to the front of the line, his long brown hair falling messily across his forehead. I combed back the soft strands gently before holding my hand out to him. Rowyn was a sweet boy, but like many families in Pine Hills, his family struggled financially to make ends meet, leading to many arguments in his house. Out of all my students this year, he was the most challenging, but I refused to give up on him.

I knew what it was like to grow up in a household with little money.

Dad wasn’t a generational farmer like everyone else in the community. After my mother died, he didn’t fall into a pit of despair like everyone anticipated he would. He didn’t struggle with the grief like Pippa and I had. He became busy. Purposeful. He tried to put as much distance as possible between my mom’s death and himself.

Once the insurance money had hit, Dad sold our childhood house in Roanoke, Virginia, and bought a bankrupt farm and a few acres of property on the outskirts of town. He knew nothing about farming, and money became tight because it had disappeared into the dirt beneath our feet.

For most of my childhood and teenage years, there was only money left over for bills and food. Everything else, like new clothes for school, was a rarity we could afford. Pippa had complained throughout middle school and well into her senior year of high school about wearing my old clothes, but Dad did his best to raise two girls in a small town that didn’t have stoplights or even a movie theatre to hang out at on Friday night.

“How about you hold my hand while we walk out together?” I suggested.

Rowyn gave a small nod before his tiny hand slipped into mine. He followed me down the hallway, and his classmates followed behind, talking about their plans and what they wanted for Christmas from Santa Claus.

“What are you asking Santa for this year, Ms. Winters?” Rowyn chimed up as we made our way through the school.

I smiled down at him as we walked by the small Christmas tree decorated with hand-made ornaments and string lights. The fresh smell of pine needles permeated the air. “I think I’m going to ask him for some new books to read.”

“Books?” Rowyn’s face scrunched up as he swung our joined hands between us. “I hope Santa will get me a brand new Lego set. The one that you can build a spaceship and fly to the moon!”

My heart ached to see the hope in his eyes. Last year, he told me that Santa hadn’t visited his house, and he had cried for days. “I’m sure Santa will do his best and bring you that.”

The metal doors swung open at the end of the hallway, exposing a winter wonderland outside. A heavy snowfall trickled down from the grey clouds above and smothered everything in sight. A line of cars had already formed in front of the school for pick-up.

After double-checking that everyone had their coats and hats on, I flipped the hood of my coat up and marched my students out into the late afternoon.

The next ten minutes were a chaotic mess of hugging students goodbye and loading them into their parents' vehicles while snow continued to fall.

I loosened out a relieved breath once the line of cars finally disappeared and the parking lot emptied.

“Thank God it’s finally Christmas Break. I’m getting sick of almost being run over every single day.”

I grinned at my co-worker, Adam Burnett, as he crossed the parking lot with a bright orange vest over his coat. As the gym teacher, he had been tasked with directing traffic to minimize accidents and hated it passionately.

“Mrs. McBurney thinks you do a wonderful job at directing parents.”

“Yes, it was my life ambition to be a gym teacher and direct traffic.” Adam cupped his bare hands in front of his mouth and blew into them while I giggled. “What are your plans tonight?”

Side by side, we started to trek back up the concrete and slick steps to the school.

“I have none, and I’m perfectly happy about it.” I wiggled my arms to get some of the snow off my coat sleeves.

“What about having dinner with me tonight at DJ’s?”

Surprised by the offer, I paused at the top of the stairs. “Dinner at DJ’s?”

A red flush filled Adam’s cheeks. I couldn’t tell if it was from the chilly wind circling us or from embarrassment.

“I know it’s not a place you go on a first date, but given the weather conditions, it’s the only place in town we could go.” A small, shy smile spread across Adam’s lips. “Of course, if that’s if you want to go out tonight. I know you had dreams of doing nothing. I wouldn’t want to ruin those dreams.”

I hesitated. Not because I didn’t like Adam or didn’t find him attractive. He was genuinely a nice guy. Most women in Pine Hills and the surrounding counties swooned at his curly black hair and vibrant green eyes.

It was because of what happened last time with Joshua Varner.

At the start of the school year, the town Marshall had found Joshua’s body in a cornfield with a bullet hole between his eyes. The day before, he had asked me out after helping Dad around the farm, and I accepted out of giddiness. Back in high school, I never had the chance to date or even interact with the opposite s*x. Dad wasn’t strict by any means, but I had been so focused on helping him and working towards my teaching degree that dating had never crossed my mind.

When I found my place in town, a small one-bedroom and one-bath house a few miles away from school, I had felt more than ready to get on with my life and venture out there.

So, when Joshua asked me out on an actual date, I was over the moon with excitement.

Cramps formed in the pit of my stomach when a wave of grief hit me. His murder had devastated everyone in Pine Hills and put them on edge. Including me. The town Marshall believed it was a targeted attack. An execution. A warning of some sort, but no one knew what the warning was.

At the top of the stairs, a sudden sensation hit me. The hair on the back of my arms went on edge, and it had nothing to do with the sting of cold air swirling around us.

It had everything to do with the eerie burn of being watched intensely.

I nearly stumbled on the snow and ice at the top of the step. My hand shot out to the ice-cold railing to steady myself. I twisted around to scan the parking lot and street for obvious signs, but nothing caught my attention.

The unease in my stomach only intensified. I couldn’t pinpoint it, but this felt like the previous times.

This feeling didn’t happen all the time. It happened randomly. On my way to school in the morning. Grocery shopping. Reading a book in my living room. Visiting Dad at the farm. Supervising school field trips.

I couldn’t shake the feeling of someone lurking in the distance all those times. Watching.

The only sign of life in the middle of this storm was the tail lights of a black SUV driving slowly away. I watched it, my insides twisting with anxiety as it turned right onto Main Street and then disappeared.

“Tilly?” Adam questioned, alarm lining his voice. “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“No, I mean…” I swallowed the anxious knot at the base of my throat. I returned my attention to Adam, who was frowning at me with concern. I didn’t know what to say or how to explain the feeling because it sounded crazy. “I’m fine. Dinner at DJ’s tonight sounds good to me. What time do you want to pick me up?”

Adam’s eyebrows furrowed. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I forced a pleasant smile on my face. “Of course. Will 6:30 work for you?”

Please let it go, I mentally pleaded.

After a few seconds ticked by, he finally nodded.

“Yeah, that’ll work for me.”