Haunted Savannah

Chapter Eight: Dependable

Friday evening was relatively quiet - aside from her doorbell ringing a few more times. The first time, the package she was waiting for had been deposited on her doorstep. It contained four beautiful bags of peaberry kona coffee, which made her skip around her apartment for a full five minutes. She’d have to break out the french press for this.

The second time, she’d been listening to low-fi on her headset while painting a dreamy fantasy scape with cotton candy clouds and sherbet hills with a background of purple galaxies when the ring came. She’d pulled her headset off at the sound, but after a minute with no follow up ring or knock, she just shrugged and went back to what she was doing. She figured she must have misheard.

The third time, she had just been falling asleep when the bell rang. She would have thought she’d just been dreaming, but it rang again - and she decided she ought to at least check. She felt like she was moving through molasses as she made her careful way to the front door. The motion activated flood light above her door hadn’t turned on, but there was enough light filtering through her blinds from the street lights on the main road, and the moon above that she could just about see. She slid a finger between two of the slats covering her windows, and lifted as she bent forward to peek outside.

In the shifting, speckled shadows outside, Savannah thought she saw movement that wasn’t accounted for by the wind. The floodlight suddenly flickered to light when a shadow, low to the ground, darted up the tree by her fence. This was followed by a yowl, and the wild flapping of a bird as it took to the night air. Savannah flinched back from the sudden brightness,  and came to herself with a shiver.

There was nothing out there but a prowling cat. She was sure she’d heard the doorbell ring, but she was awfully tired. If it kept happening, she’d just call her landlord. Her building was old, though not historically significant. Its original purpose was as a dairy facility, which accounted for the high ceilings ,cement floors, and exposed ductwork. Maybe it was having electrical issues.

That’s what Savannah told herself. But, when she laid back in her bed the unsettled feeling that had come over her as she approached the apartment door didn’t leave her. It kept her shifting restlessly for hours, trying in vain to push away the only real regret she’d so far had in her young life.

She knew, logically, that her regrets were borne of grief and underserved shame. She knew, logically, that she didn’t do anything wrong. Logic didn’t change how she felt. 

If all she had left of Shane were memories and regret, those painful pieces of herself were woven together so tightly that to let part of it go felt like letting all of it go. She’d have to confront it one day, but for now she wrapped the pain around her like her security blanket. In the dark of the night she let herself feel all the things that she hid away during the day, not wanting to worry her friends and family with the depth of the hurt she felt.

Savannah’s eyes had just drooped shut when dawn’s first light played across the folds and creases of her rumpled coverlet, which was a patchwork of blue and white floral designs. Mercifully, the light did not reach her face and awaken her from her tenuous slumber, as she’d hidden it from the impending morning with her delicate, long-fingered hand. Her fingers were slightly damp, having wiped away the tears that trailed like silver rivulets down her cheeks.

While Florida was widely known for sunshine and oranges, sand, surf and spring break, anyone who has lived there could tell you that Florida has a distinct rainy season - and the rain starts just after five pm nearly every day in September, as if it too was leaving work in a hurry.

Savannah sat in the rain, bemoaning her younger sister status. Her parents had bought a car for her older sister the year before, and given Darcie the responsibility of chauffeuring Savannah around. Which meant, of course, that Savannah got left high and dry - or in this case soaked and miserable - whenever her and Darcie’s schedules didn’t line up. She had told her sister the week before that she had to stay late for a make-up exam on Friday, and had even reminded her that morning, but it was all for naught; Darcie forgot.

Currently, she was sitting on the front steps of the gym soaked to her skin, watching as the last of her fellow students dashed through the sideways rain to their cars. She sighed from the depths of her hoodie, which she pulled low over her face. The older students didn’t even spare a glance for her. Why would they? She was a skinny freshman, and they had better things to do than worry about her. So did her sister, obviously.

Savannah withdrew her dying phone from the pocket of her zippered hoodie and bit her bottom lip as she scrolled through her contacts list. Her parents were out to a movie for their weekly date night, and most likely wouldn’t answer - even if she wanted to bother them. She wasn’t close enough to any of her older friends to brave ringing them for a ride. Her finger paused a moment in its scroll, and wavered - making the list scoot up and down as she considered.

There was always Shane. He was only a freshman, like her, but he lived right down the street. Maybe his parents would be able to give her a ride. She quickly tapped out a text to Shane, and had almost tucked her phone back into her pocket to keep it from getting wet when it buzzed. She fumbled the phone, nearly dropping it, before pulling it close to her chest. After taking a deep breath to calm her frazzled nerves, she peeked down - and smiled. Shane was dependable as the sunrise.

That said, dependable was not the same thing as sensible. An hour or so later, when Shane rolled up to the front of the gym on his bicycle the strong wind had died down, but the rain was still falling in drips and drabs. He grinned sheepishly in the face of her stormy expression.

“Your rescue is at hand, m’lady,” he said, bowing slightly as he flourished with his hand. 

He was wearing the coveralls he wore for his part time job at the autobody shop, but with the upper half pulled down, the arms tied around his waist. His white, greasy undershirt was soaked through, but despite this he seemed in good spirits.

“I suppose you’ll have to do,” Savannah said, snorting a bit at his ridiculous attempt at gallantry. “Though, I would expect a real prince to be, you know, clean.” 

She hopped up onto the aluminum foot stands sticking out from his back wheel, and put her hands on his shoulders as he started pedalling them away. 

“Luckily, it’s raining. Free shower.” Shane said, smiling up at her a moment before returning his gaze to the sidewalk they were rolling down.

Savannah smiled for the first time in what felt like hours, and turned her face to the sky, letting the cool rain splatter against her skin. She shivered a bit as the wind gusted, but for some reason it felt exhilarating rather than bone chilling now that she wasn’t alone.

“Thanks for coming to get me.” Savannah said, leaning down to his ear so he could hear her over the rumble of passing traffic.

“No problem.” Shane said, shrugging a bit. His ear was a bit red, but maybe that was probably just because of the rain. “I couldn’t let my bestie walk home alone in the dark.”

They rode home together in the dying light of a rainy evening, under the once grey clouds that soaked up the heat of the day in reds, oranges and rich purples. She laughed as they sped down small hills and splashed through large puddles that crossed their path. As the faint, flickering stars came into view just behind the thinning veil of clouds, Savannah felt her angst fade away. She whispered a thanks to her lucky stars for giving her good friends.

A gentle rain was pattering against the wide glass panes of Savannah’s apartment windows when the doorbell rang the next afternoon. She was so deeply snoozing that she wasn’t roused until the knocking started. Savannah snorted awake as the knocking became more insistent.

“Mmm’comin’- COMING!” Savannah called out, as she threw the covers off. The chill air of the non-blanketed world made her shiver, a shiver that started in her toes and wriggled up her body until she shook her head a bit.

She clambered down from her bed, grumbling a bit as she stubbed her toe on the corner of her computer chair as she made her way to the door, which she threw open rather abruptly.

“What is it?!” Savannah said, hands on her hips. She was trying to glare, but ended up squinting at the painfully stark white light of the afternoon sun.

Standing backlit on her doorstep was a shadowy figure of a man, who seemed to be holding some kind of large bag. When he spoke, his familiar calm, even tone of his deep voice made her eyes widen. 

“You missed our tea time, so I thought I’d bring tea to you.” Cory said, his lips turning up into his lopsided smile as Savannah blinked at him.

She had, of course, slept straight through their afternoon tea.