Moon Phased: The Triple Claim

Chapter1

Raven’s POV

You never really know what life has in store for you. One minute you can be with your family celebrating a remarkable moment in your life, and the next minute poof, everything you ever knew can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. The next minute, you find yourself in a juvenile metal institution, as flashbacks of the day you lost everything are triggered by the smallest of things.

Honestly, I don’t remember exactly how it happened. I just remember the aftermath of being pulled from the car, as my eyes opened just in time to see my parents both deceased in the front seat. My own screams are what haunt me to this day, as I remember watching the firefighters quickly moving to cover the wreckage with a tarp after pulling me out, as if they were trying to protect me, but they were too late, and the damage was already done.

Now I found myself at a crossroads, and if I wanted out of this place, I knew I was going to have to outsmart the prestigious shrink that was assigned to me. Even though I was far from overcoming the trauma that I had borne that day, I knew if I stayed in this place any longer, I was going to truly lose my mind.

“So, your nightmares have stopped, and I have reports that there haven’t been any incidents in the past week since I last saw you. I think that between your weekly sessions with me and the medication, we have finally gotten a hold of this, and the good news is, we were finally able to find a living relative to release you to.” The wonderful shrink said to me, and I knew that they must have finally tracked down my grandmother.

She was the only living relative that I had, but I had only met her once, when I was a child. My mother would, from time to time, call her, and I would speak to her over the phone, but other than that, she was a total stranger to me. But right now, anything was better than being in here, at least that was what I thought.

As the uber driver enters the town of Beaumont, I begin to realize why my mother had left here so many years ago, and had never looked back, as I couldn’t imagine living in this god forsaken town my whole life. It was a far cry from California, and it was going to take some major getting used to, but I kept telling myself it was only going to be for the next eight months. After that, I was out of here, and back to California, where I belonged.

“Miss, are you sure you have the right address?” The uber driver now asks me, as he brings the car to a halt, along a back road surrounded by complete wilderness.

Pulling my phone out, I looked at the address I had saved in my notes, and it was the same address I had given him. I was just about to tell him that I would call my grandmother for the right address, when I realized that I had no service.

“Just my luck.” I thought to myself, as I put my phone back in my pocket, while I tried to think of an alternative plan, as I watched the uber meter continue to roll.

Gathering my bags, I begin to say to the driver, “I will just get out here.” But he stopped me before I could even open my door.

“Miss, I can’t in good conscience let you in the middle of nowhere. Let me at least take you back to the small town. I have to go back that way anyhow.” He said pleading with me, and as I looked out the window at completely nothing, I had to agree with him.

Turning the car around, the driver headed back to the small town of Beaumont, where I had seen a small Diner on our way through with an open sign flashing in its window. Thankfully, when we arrived there, the sign was still on, and he wasn’t as hesitant about leaving me.

With my bags in hand, I walked into the Diner, and immediately all heads turned in my direction, as it was clear this town wasn’t used to getting too many visitors. Clearly, by the way I was dressed compared to them, I was sticking out like a sore thumb.

“Can I help you?” A girl asked from behind the counter with a huge smile on her face, who had to be around my age.

“Yeah, do you by chance have a phone that works so that I can call my grandmother to pick me up?” I asked her as I made my way to the counter, praying that she did, because after the day I had traveling here, I was spent.

But before the girl could answer my question, a man sitting on a bar stool at the counter asks, “Who’s your grandmother?” Making me turn to look at him.

At first, I was apprehensive to tell him, but then I realized I wasn’t in California anymore. I was in a small town where I was sure that everyone knew everyone and their business.

“Rosemary Wilson.” I finally answered him, and as her name came from my lips, the atmosphere of the Diner changed, as everyone’s attention went back to the meals in front of them.

“You’re Carla’s daughter.” The man said to me, more as a statement then a question, but I answered him anyhow with a simple, “Yes.”

“There’s no need to call your grandmother. I can take you there when I have finished eating my dinner. Besides, I don’t think your grandmother has driven in years.” He said to me as if he knew my grandmother well, but I was still apprehensive to take his offer, but then as if he could sense my apprehension, he says, “My name is Evan. I went to high school with your mother, and to be honest, you’re the spitting image of her. You must be starving, traveling all the way here from California. Come take a seat and get a bite to eat, before I take you to your grandmother’s house.”

My eyes moved back to the girl behind the counter, as if to see her response to Evan’s offer, and by the look on her face, as she moved to get me a menu, it was clear that she trusted this man. To be honest, the smell of the food was making my stomach begin to growl, as I realized that I only had two bags of peanuts on the plane on the way here.

Moving to the empty seat beside Evan, I took a seat, plopping my bags to the floor beside my feet, as I looked at the menu now in front of me. Not wanting to get anything that would take a lot of time to cook, I opted for the grilled chicken salad, which actually sounded heavenly at this moment.

As the girl went to place my order with the cook, the door to the Diner opened, and a group of boys entered, all wearing varsity jackets. While I looked over my shoulder, I watched them all heading towards a table in the far corner of the Diner, but one of the boys that was in the group strayed from them and headed in my direction.

“Dad, I’m going to get a bite to eat, and then I will be home.” The boy said, addressing Evan beside me, and Evan slowly turned in his seat to look at him.

“You can grab a bite to eat, but you are leaving when I leave. I have to take this young lady to Mrs. Wilson’s house, and then I need your help to take care of something.” Evan tells him, making his son’s eyes move to look at me.

“Mrs. Wilson?” The boy said with a confused look on his face, as if he was shocked that I would be going there.

“Yes, Chase. This is her granddaughter.” Evan said, and I took that as my cue to turn to completely face him, as I extended my hand to him and said, “I’m Raven.”

Chase stared at my hand for a few seconds, and then turned back to look at his father, making me retract my hand when I realized that he wasn’t going to take it. “Can’t you get one of my brothers to help you?”

“No Chase, they are busy doing what I need them to do, unlike you.”

“Fine.” Chase said before he stormed off to the back table to join his friends, and Evan stood from his seat moving to the restroom, leaving me sitting there thinking that their family had some issues.

As I turned back in my seat, rethinking my choice of accepting Evan’s offer to drive me to my grandmother’s house, the girl from behind the counter appeared with my salad. As she places it on the counter in front of me, she leans over and whispers, “Don’t mind Chase. He hasn’t been the same since his mother passed away.”

My eyes instantly moved to the back of the Diner to see Chase staring back at me, making me quickly look away from him. I knew better than anyone what he must be going through, but unlike him, I didn’t want people to see how it was affecting me. Unfortunately, he couldn’t run or hide from his loss, as I was sure he was reminded of it daily, living here in this small town.