Prologue
Callie gazed in the mirror while she applied cherry lipstick. Her eyes, deep turquoise, were lined with thick, black eyeliner and mascara. She shoved her hands into her cleavage and adjusted her breasts so they appeared larger and bustier.
"Much better," she said.
Something buzzed on top of the dresser. Callie reached for the new phone, which she purchased from a corner drug store a few weeks ago. She read the message, and her eyes lit up like the New York City skyline. She ran her fingers through her hair as she swiftly replied.
After she hit send, she browsed through the photos of her and a handsome man. Many pictures included them kissing, holding hands, or making silly faces. Her heart thudded inside her chest as she scrolled through.
Growing up, she managed to wrangle several boyfriends, mostly to piss off her parents. Now, as an adult, men asked her out on dates all the time. Although, that came with the territory of working at the club. But this time? This time was different. She loved this man, and he loved her. She dreamt of their futures almost every night. They'd leave this town and start a new adventure across the country. Maybe even across the world!
She'd give up dancing and shut down her website. They'd create a family of their own. What kind of mother would she be? The stern one? The mom who befriends her children? Or would she be clueless? Either way, they'd be together. It was all she wanted in life. She couldn't wait to start their future.
Little did she know, in less than twenty-four hours, she'd be dead.
One
There are some places in our lives that will never change, no matter how many years go by. Your hometown is one of them. Even if people come and go, businesses evolve, and the infrastructure is altered, the skeleton of your home, the root of your childhood memories, will always be the same.
I drove past my former high school. In the seven years since I left town, much had changed while so much remained the same. The traffic circle had been repaved, but I could still picture the cracked concrete where we ran during gym class. A new addition was added to the entrance of the school, but I still saw the ancient, crumbling pillars which once stood proudly. An electric sign flickered out front, replacing the old static board with removable letters.
I drove by in the blink of an eye, the same amount of time it took for my childhood to pass me by.
I continued along the same street, only a few cars sharing the road with me. I reminisced in peace without having to maneuver around the kids with newly stamped permits or the elderly, barely able to see over the steering wheel.
Some trees had shed their buds, which littered the streets like packing popcorn. Above, the grandiose trunks held canopies of lush, green leaves, blocking the sun. The trees were an umbrella sheltering me from the rest of the world.
The scent of freshly mowed grass filled my nostrils, and I lowered my windows to absorb the aroma further. A chill passed through my bones with the familiar smell. In a rush, memories from the past crowded my mind, the nostalgia overwhelming me.
The promise of blooming flowers loomed in the air, too. Soon, the leaves wouldn't be the only ones reappearing and shedding their winter blues.
On either side of the street, neighbors chatted with each other, speaking with their hands, presumably about the weather or the farmer's market on Main Street this weekend. Vendors across the county arrived before dawn to set up shop and display their fresh produce, natural bath and beauty products, and handmade jewelry. It wasn't only a farmer's market, though; it was a gathering of sorts. A time for the entire town to come together as one. It was like having a high school reunion every week.
Keygates's population hovered at about 20,000, and it wasn't uncommon to run into your best friend's parents, your former principal, one or two ex-boyfriends, or your brother all in the same trip to the grocery store. However, the closeness, the familiarity, always seemed like a double-edged sword. In times of need, there'd be at least one or two people you could call for help, but when you wanted to be alone, you couldn't get away.
The day I left Keygate was one of the fonder moments of my life. The shackles of the small-town prison relinquished their hold on me. The chains of my past loosened and then shattered completely. The city limits grew smaller in my rearview mirror, and I could breathe.
Keygate would always be my first home, but I didn't want it to be my home forever. Too many ghosts haunted the streets. Too many memories had sunk their claws into my soul and wouldn't let go, no matter how many times I tried to break the chains of the past and free myself.
There wasn’t anything necessarily wrong with Keygate, but as I grew up, I watched those who were born and raised in the small town die here too. I overheard many people throughout the years express frustration and regret about not leaving to try something new. Not taking the job across the world or the vacation of a lifetime because they were afraid to leave. I didn’t want to wake up one day and realize I’d let my life pass me by without venturing outside my Keygate bubble.
Most of my teachers in school attended the same classes I did at their age. They never got out. They never moved on and shed their small-town skin.
Would I have stayed if things were different? If there were more opportunities in Keygate? If the city wasn’t so small? Maybe. Maybe not. I wanted more than what I could find in the ten-mile radius of town. I craved adventure, experience, and new memories. A new foundation. A new life. I wanted the chance to be myself and not live in the shoes of the expectations set for me by my peers.
So many people have asked why I wanted to leave, and all I could manage to say was, “Why not?”
After leaving Keygate behind, I resettled about a hundred miles away in a city that was home to over three hundred thousand people. A complete one-eighty from where I came from. The city thrived, and I could walk down the street without seeing anyone from high school. New restaurants and shops opened up monthly. I could be anyone I wanted, anytime I wanted and no one would know the difference. The opportunities were endless, and nothing ever grew old.
In Ashford, my dreams came true when I pursued my dream job and became an Ashford city police officer. Life was exactly as I’d expected it to be, until it wasn’t. I never thought one day I’d wake up and not be a detective, but that day came sooner rather than later.
I sipped from my water bottle as chills spiraled down my skin. I immediately swerved in time before hitting a curb a few miles away from my destination.
I never thought I'd come back to Keygate. I chose not to visit during the years, and my parents graciously traveled to see me. However, after several years of blissful absence, I needed to return. You can live hundreds of miles away from where you grew up, but a part of you will always be there.
My dad called me last night with the news of Carin's death. The despair in his voice shook me to my very core. And not because I loved my stepmother, but because my dad did. Carin and I didn't always get along, but I forced a smile in her presence for my dad's sake. My dad told me Carin died suddenly in her sleep a few nights ago. The doctors think it was a massive stroke.
Despite all the effort I put into staying away from Keygate, I was mere minutes away from the house where I grew up. Beside me was a duffle bag that carried a black dress, a few other outfits, and a liter of vodka: enough for a couple of days max.