Noir
November
Dark twisted trees blurred out my window and autumn leaves whipped around my car as I drove through the long, twisting road. I wasn’t used to seeing a difference in seasons, having only ever lived in a place filled with mostly different evergreen trees that dared not shed their foliage no matter the time of year. Winter never brought snow, and summers were hotter than what most described as unbearable. I’d traveled some in my adult life, but not nearly as much as a twenty-eight-year-old with no husband or kids should. My adventures were usually lived through books because I never really had the guts to leave my parents behind in our hometown. This was a welcome change.
I’d never been anywhere like Crow’s Peak, Maine. It was practically a different country all on its own as far as I was concerned. But I was excited for the change and the possible inspiration an old city like this could bring my havoc filled writer’s brain. Nothing filled that creative cup of mine quite like dark and twisty roads or old homes that had been here for centuries that had more myths and scary stories surrounding them than any other part of this country. I was a horror and thriller novelist. Not a famous one or anything, but I’d learned this old city was exactly the place I needed to pull another book from the recesses of one Noir Rose’s brain. See? Even my name was meant to be on covers with stories about all things masked in darkness and depravity.
I could thank my mortician parents for that. Their humor had been a bit dark, hence why my sister and I had such ominous sounding names. Mine literally meant “black rose,” and my sister Devany’s translated to “dark haired rose.” It was a wonder either of us turned out the slightest bit normal. From a young age I was completely fascinated with death and the horrors the world offered. Not much bothered me. I grew up watching the scariest movies possible, never once having a nightmare. Devany, however, was the absolute opposite. If we didn’t share the same dark hair and pale skin, you’d never guess we were related.
She was all sunshine and rainbows. A bleeding heart that loved kids and animals, choosing a career as a teacher that volunteered on the side at the animal shelters. She was the sweetest person in the world and my best friend. Even being separated by four years, my big sister was never irritated by me when we were kids. She was always there for me. Especially after our parents died. A car crash took their lives while I was in college and Devany had started her first teaching job. It was one of the darkest times we’d ever gone through, so we leaned heavily on each other. Without them, it was just me and Dev against the world. And I counted my blessings every day that I still had her. She had always been my rock. My guiding light. My hero.
Which was why I’d traveled well over a thousand miles to be with her. Her husband Paul had gotten a great new job opportunity as the head cardiothoracic surgeon in a top rated hospital located on the outskirts of Crow’s Peak. He was one of the best in the country and had always wanted to run his own floor in a hospital. However, his hours were going to be a bit more insane than usual as he settled in, and Devany was becoming slightly overwhelmed with the change. She was just over a month pregnant with their first child and knew absolutely no one in their new town. It became even worse for her not having our mom to be there for her. So Paul called me in as a reinforcement to keep her company for a few weeks while everything adjusted. Devany wouldn’t start her new teaching job for another few months or so and he could tell she’d grown antsy. Noir to the rescue!
I was excited. I hadn’t seen Dev in about six months since we lived in different states. She was going to freak when I pulled up, considering she had zero idea I was coming. Paul was such a good husband. He was going to be an even better daddy.
My GPS signaled I was only ten minutes from arriving. I surveyed the area around me as I drove, completely in love with the place already. Most of the homes I passed were huge Victorian style houses. I was a sucker for old houses and manors. If I could visit a castle, I was pretty sure I’d pass out from excitement. There was such an eerie feel to this place, especially with the sun beginning to set on the mountainous horizon. Fog rolled in from all directions, causing the dim streetlights to cast a sinister glow along the roads.
Okay so Dev was only partially why I was here. I couldn’t pass up the chance to soak all this in. My creative juices had been next to nothing the last few months and my readers were growing anxious for another novel. My last one had only held them over for so long. If I didn’t get something done soon, I was likely to have a riot on my hands. Maybe I was exaggerating. Maybe not. Horror fans were crazy. I could only imagine what someone like Stephen King felt on a daily basis. After reading Misery the moment I was old enough to understand his writing, I was hooked. There was nothing stopping me from trying to follow in the footsteps of a man of his caliber.
“Turn left and your destination is three hundred yards on your right,” my GPS instructed me.
I followed where it said to go and was greeted with the sight of a gorgeous three-story Victorian home sitting all on its own surrounded by a mass of forestry. It wasn’t at all what I expected my colorful sister to be living in, with its steeply pitched roof and front facing gable. The textured shingles were a deep black color and the exterior a worn mauve hue, giving it a gothic princess vibe. I was worried I might’ve put in the wrong address, but then my eyes caught the one thing that confirmed I was in the right place. There was no mistaking the white Volkswagen Bug with the cute hot pink rose decal on the back window. The haphazard parking job was my second clue. That was definitely Dev’s car and absolutely her parking job. She was a terrible driver and parker.
I drove up and slowly stopped my car by the curb facing the house. I could see Dev and Paul milling about the kitchen through one of the windows and smiled to myself. I pulled my phone out and rattled a quick text to Paul, who I saw looked at it then immediately spotted me out the window. He did what he planned and distracted Dev, making her face away from the window while I quickly and quietly exited my car and grabbed my suitcase from the back seat.
With hurried steps, I shot through the yard and up the steps of their porch. I was happy they hadn’t creaked under my feet, though it was short lived when a floorboard groaned as I grabbed the knob of the front door. Cautiously as I could, I crept into the house, setting my suitcase next to the door.
Thankfully Paul still had Dev’s attention as I tiptoed to the doorway of the kitchen.
“Honestly, I have no idea why you’re acting so weird tonight. You could’ve easily mixed this pasta salad yourself,” Dev admonished him as she feverishly whipped a spoon through a large bowl. I always loved how her voice rose an octave when she was upset. It was a warning to run. Paul better hope she didn’t decide to use that spoon as a weapon.
He saw me and shot me a wink as I slinked closer, my hands raising up a bit as I did.
“Well, I had to keep you distracted,” Paul laughed, leaning against the island with a devilish smirk.
She snapped her head up. “Distracted from what?”
Just as she said those words, I threw my hands in the air and shouted, “Surprise!”
Devany let out a girlish squeal and flipped the bowl upwards and out of her hands as she turned. I had to side step the plastic bowl and all the noodles as they rocketed toward me. Well, guess we weren’t having pasta.