The Woods | Harvey #1

Chapter 1

Nicole jammed another pair of jeans into her suitcase, happily humming to herself. Satisfied with the arrangement of the contents, she closed it and sat it near the door. The girl sitting on her bed sighed. "You're excited."

Nicole nearly jumped. She'd forgotten Hailey was still there. "Of course." She shrugged, smiling. "I think I ought to be."

Hailey sat up. "Tell me again how cute he is."

She blushed and sat next to her best friend. "Very." They giggled. "He's a mystery. He's a couple of years older than us." She sighed. 18. Her parents would let her date him. They didn't like that she saw him all summer, especially when they had seen him nuzzling her ear and then kiss her temple. She'd barely managed to get out of trouble. They had ended up letting her text him all school year. Not that they'd texted all that much.

"Are you sure he doesn't have a girlfriend?"

Hailey's words broke through her reverie. Nicole swallowed. "I'm sure. He texted me last night to tell me just how much he couldn't wait to see me. He even said he has something special planned for us." It took all she could do to not blush.

"Oh, my gosh!" Hailey leaned forward, excited. "What do you think it is?"

Nicole shrugged. "I don't know, but I can't wait."

---

Ashton glanced around his home. Clean. Nicole would be bringing a friend of hers from home to meet him. Well, not just to meet him. He knew they were spending a final summer together before her friend went off to college, but Nicole had kept saying how much she wanted them to meet.

And how much she wanted him to meet her parents.

That thought gave him pause. He paced his living room, that familiar restlessness making his feet move. He knew what was whispered around the town. Her parents must know. He knew they wouldn't like him. He knew that she had nearly gotten into trouble last year when he'd kissed her cheek. She didn't know, but he'd cursed himself for getting so close to her. Getting close to outsiders was dangerous.

The pacing stopped. He was suddenly furious at himself. His thoughts were beginning to sound like his father's. Of course she wasn't dangerous. She was only 17. Well, 18 now, but still. That young, she couldn't be a threat. Plus, she was honest with him that day at the docks. He could see it in her face then with his own eyes and now in his memories.

A few more hours. He'd see her in a few more hours. He felt a nervous excitement.

That day, he'd surprised himself when he moved closer and closer. Even more surprised when his lips touched her cheek. More surprised still when she didn't push him away.

He walked over to a small table and turned a vase of fresh cut flowers a little more so the ribbon – her favorite color – would face the sitting area. He walked down the narrow hall to his bedroom. The bare walls now had a picture on them. It was one he'd taken of them at the beach. They'd been goofing off that day. He smiled as he remembered.

There was a slight rustling just outside of his open bedroom window. He hurried over to see what it was. It was probably just wildlife, but he still wanted to see.

A small child was wandering through the woods near his house. She was wearing a white dress.

He recognized her and that dress. It was strange. He left his bedroom and went outside, finding the girl around the side of his home. She stared at him with huge blue eyes. He smiled sweetly and crouched. "Hello, Taylor. What are you doing out here, honey?" He held out his arms and she ran over. He lifted her as he stood and carried her inside. "Why are you way out here all alone?" She just buried her face in his shirt.

Scared. She had to be scared.

His phone vibrated. He shifted her weight and took it out. Nicole texted to tell him they had just left so he had 5 hours until he got to see her. His heart beat faster. He smiled as he slid it back into his pocket. He held the child as he locked his back door. He went into his room, grabbed his keys, and headed for his front door. Once it was also locked, he walked towards town.

The main subdivision – where Taylor lived – was about a mile away. It didn't take him long until he was on the edge of the woods in that area. As he was getting ready to put her down, Taylor began to cough. He sat her on the ground to check on her. She hadn't been moving. He figured she may have fallen asleep.

Taylor stood a moment before collapsing on the ground in front of him. He shook her. "Taylor?" She moaned softly. She coughed again. This time blood came out of her mouth. He stared at the contrast of red against white. It was so out of place, like wine on snow. Except this 5-year-old girl's blood was on her white dress. He scooped her up. No one could see her. He knew what would happen to him.

She kept coughing. Blood kept coming. This isn't right, was all Ashton could think. He ran to a part of the beach that was usually empty. He laid her on the sand. She wasn't breathing. He checked for her pulse. Nothing.

He never wanted to use his CPR training from his lifeguard days. Yet, at that moment, he was immensely grateful for having learned.

Her lips were sticky with drying blood, but he ignored it. He breathed into her mouth and began to perform CPR. For a minute, it seemed to not be working. But suddenly, she rolled over, spit out blood and took a sucking, gasping breath that hurt Ashton to hear, but also comforted him because it was, after all, a breath on her own. She vomited onto the sand.

A peculiar odor wafted up into Ashton's nostrils. He recognized it. She moaned. He lifted her limp body – breathing, living body – and carried her towards town. He knew her blood was on his mouth and his hands. He could feel it drying. He ignored it as he carried her to the town doctor.

The man was sitting at his desk, writing down information for the patient he'd passed as he frantically entered. Benson looked up and his jaw dropped. "My God, Ashton!"

Ashton laid her on one of the tables as the doctor shot out of his chair. "She was wandering around my house." He backed up and sank into a chair nearby, suddenly exhausted. "She was coughing blood and she stopped breathing. I did CPR and when I brought her back, she vomited."

Benson examined her. "She's been poisoned." He gave Ashton a look. "I can take it from here. She'll be okay."

Ashton took the hint. He stood. "I need to go."

"You do." He sighed. "I trust you, Ash. There are many people that would blame you if they saw all that blood. Hurry."

With a nod, Ashton left and nearly ran home.