Chapter 1

Hollow Cove

‘Well at least it has a Starbucks!’ Trey threw his head back and laughed. His laughter filled the vehicle.  

His wife chuckled, she couldn’t do without her coffee.  His oldest son and daughter sat in the back of the SUV. They left Florida to pursue their dream of opening their own restaurant.  They had been executive chefs in Florida for years. Thankfully, the kids hadn’t opposed as much with the promise of frequent visits back.  

‘Hollow Cove's wonderful although it is sleepy. One would even overlook it.’ Margret his wife had grey eyes and long blonde curly hair.  

‘What kind of a place is called Hollow Cove?’ Clement mumbled.  

Lindsey smirked. Clement was a year older than her, he hated the move more than she did. Lindsey didn’t mind the change of scenery. It was a huge distraction but one she didn’t mind after what her Mom told her shook her whole world.  Lindsey needed peace and sleepy little Hollow Cove would provide just that. 

They arrived in their new neighborhood, the sun shined through the window,  drawing a smile from Lindsey’s face.  

Their luggage and sentiments trailed behind them. They sold all their furniture, Margaret wanted all new stuff for the new home.  The truck with the new furniture had always arrived.  

Lindsey jumped out of the car.  No fences, just green grass in front of every house with a porch on all of them.  The houses had identical structures, but different personalities.  It was a quiet neighborhood, most of the curtains were drawn. Weren’t any cars parked in the driveway. 

The house they were moving into was the only one with tall brown grass and dark green paint.  Lindsey eyed the bedroom with the view of the front. Surely, Clement would too.  

‘Guys!  Grab your stuff!’ Trey strolled into the house.  The movers hauled the new furniture into the new home. 

Lindsey grabbed her backpack, ignoring her suitcases. She knew what her brother was thinking and so did he.

‘Dibs on the bedroom with a front view!’ Lindsey declared.  

‘Grow up Lindsey!’ 

Lindsey darted towards the front door. She slid under the couch being lifted into the living room and zipped up the wooden staircase.  

‘Lindsey!’ Clement groaned. 

She laughed.  ‘You should have taken gym.’ 

She burst through the door and Clement barged in next. He gripped the doorframe and his knee.  

‘I don’t think you’d have wanted this room anyway.’ Lindsey chuckled.  

Lindsey dumped her backpack on the floor.  A carpet had been ripped off the floor. Hot pink paint covered the walls. Two giant windows faced the front of the house.  Lindsey noticed holes in the walls where nails had to have been to hold picture frames and a mark that indicated a bench had been under one of the windows.  

‘Uh, yeah you can have it.’ Clement got up and backed out of the room.  ‘I’m going to check out the rest of the house.’ 

Lindsey walked to the window and leaned against the frame, envisioning what her room would look like in a couple of days.  The hot pink paint made her chuckle.  Must have been a twelve year old’s room.  The room had a bathroom and closet.  The closet had white shelves and pink walls. The bathroom had a bathtub and a shower cabinet.  Lindsey nodded in approval. 

Later in the day the movers were still hauling and installing.  The noise was getting to her and she wanted to know the town.  They should have been in town a week ago but ended up arriving the week school started. Ugh, she groaned at the prospect of being the new girl.  

She grabbed the car keys and found her Mom standing outside the  house watching the men unload the truck.  Dad helped with installation. 

‘Hey sweetie, found a room?’ 

‘Yeah, it’s hot pink.’ Lindsey chuckled and crossed her arms. 

Margaret raised her brows.  ‘Hot pink? Do you want your Father to change it for you? He’s hell-bent on painting the house himself.’ 

Lindsey shrugged. It had grown on her in three hours.  

‘I think I’ll keep it for now.’ 

Margaret nodded.  ‘Going somewhere?’ 

‘Yeah, I want to see the town. I also want to find an antique store.’ 

‘Oh sounds fun. Go with your brother please.’ 

Lindsey groaned, but she agreed. She didn’t want to get lost in a different town alone. 

‘Don’t… be out too late.’ Margaret’s heart had many things it still wanted to say, but the fact that Lindsey wasn’t lashing out at her enough to keep quiet. She didn’t want to break the egg.  

‘I won’t Mom.’ Lindsey sighed as she hunted for her brother.

Lindsey got her driver's license three months earlier, but Clement still didn’t trust her behind the wheel.  

‘Can’t believe we have school on Monday.’ Clement mumbled  as he gripped the wheel. 

‘Well at least you’re a senior. You won’t be there long.’ The SUV zoomed through a line of the darkest trees Lindsey had ever seen with branches that resembled bones. 

They stretched and formed a forest so thick and tall she could see it from her bedroom window.  

‘So aren’t you going to talk about it?’ 

‘Talk about what Clem?’ Lindsey squirmed.  

Clement was two feet taller than her. His brown eyes were lighter than her chocolate ones.  He hated the gym and Lindsey was into gymnastics.  Clem played the guitar and Lindsey spent hours honing her cooking skills.  Their parents were excellent chiefs,  but Clem could only make fire in the kitchen. 

‘I know what Mom told you.’ Clem said. 

‘You didn’t know, did you?’ Lindsey snapped her head in his direction. 

‘Of course not. I was only a year old when you were born. How do you feel? You’re not pissed, not sobbing,  what is it?’ 

‘I don’t know.  I… don’t feel anything.’

‘That doesn’t make any sense!’ 

‘Let me finish!’ She swatted him.  ‘It really doesn’t feel different. Mom… she’ll always be my Mom even if she didn’t give birth to me. Plus my birth Mom was her sister. I-I just don’t know where my head is right now. I just know I wouldn’t trade what she gave me for the world.’  

Margaret had dropped the bombshell on a simple Saturday morning. After sixteen years she believed it was time for Lindsey to know the truth. Trey had been with her the entire time. Lindsey didn’t have the melt down they expected which made it harder for them to handle.  She couldn’t pinpoint her feelings, she would always love them but there was something bubbling in her soul that she couldn’t name.  

Clem was actually her cousin which was something that sank in like a rock. They’d always been really close, he always had his arm around her shoulder. 

‘Did she tell you anything about your birth Mom. I barely knew Mom had  a sister.’ 

Lindsey chuckled.  Margaret barely spoke about her sister Cami and she never called and visited either.  

‘Mom said she couldn’t take care of herself much less me. Grandma and Grandpa tried to get her help but it didn’t work out she ran away and never looked back it seems. Mom took me in and never looked back.’ Lindsey's chest swelled with emotion. 

Lindsey hadn’t even seen a photo of Cami. 

It was the first time Lindsey spoke to someone about her situation. Her jumbled up feelings were safely tucked away in the pages of her diary none of it made sense to her but pouring it out somewhere was like removing metal from her skin. 

‘What about your real Dad?’ Clem asked. 

She shrugged. ‘I don’t know… Mom doesn’t know who he is… she mentioned someone, but she wasn’t sure. Trey will always be my Dad. He never treated me like I was anything less.’

Clem nodded and sensed the emotion in the air. Then his stomach growled.  

‘Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.’ Clem pulled into a diner parking lot with barely five cars parked.  

The diner was called The Hollow Dinner Diner a massive cursive sign stood on top of the building. A handful of people sat scattered in the big diner. When Lindsey and Clem walked in soft music streamed from the speakers on the

‘Well at least it has a Starbucks!’ Trey threw his head back and laughed. His laughter filled the vehicle.  

His wife chuckled, she couldn’t do without her coffee.  His oldest son and daughter sat in the back of the SUV. They left Florida to pursue their dream of opening their own restaurant.  They had been executive chefs in Florida for years. Thankfully, the kids hadn’t opposed as much with the promise of frequent visits back.  

‘Hollow Cove's wonderful although it is sleepy. One would even overlook it.’ Margret his wife had grey eyes and long blonde curly hair.  

‘What kind of a place is called Hollow Cove?’ Clement mumbled.  

Lindsey smirked. Clement was a year older than her, he hated the move more than she did. Lindsey didn’t mind the change of scenery. It was a huge distraction but one she didn’t mind after what her Mom told her shook her whole world.  Lindsey needed peace and sleepy little Hollow Cove would provide just that. 

They arrived in their new neighborhood, the sun shined through the window,  drawing a smile from Lindsey’s face.  

Their luggage and sentiments trailed behind them. They sold all their furniture, Margaret wanted all new stuff for the new home.  The truck with the new furniture had always arrived.  

Lindsey jumped out of the car.  No fences, just green grass in front of every house with a porch on all of them.  The houses had identical structures, but different personalities.  It was a quiet neighborhood, most of the curtains were drawn. Weren’t any cars parked in the driveway. 

The house they were moving into was the only one with tall brown grass and dark green paint.  Lindsey eyed the bedroom with the view of the front. Surely, Clement would too.  

‘Guys!  Grab your stuff!’ Trey strolled into the house.  The movers hauled the new furniture into the house.  

Lindsey grabbed her backpack, ignoring her suitcases. She knew what her brother was thinking and so did he.

‘Dibs on the bedroom with a front view!’ Lindsey declared.  

‘Grow up Lindsey!’ 

Lindsey darted towards the front door. She slid under the couch being lifted into the living room and zipped up the wooden staircase.  

‘Lindsey!’ Clement groaned. 

She laughed.  ‘You should have taken gym.’ 

She burst through the door and Clement barged in next. He gripped the doorframe and his knee.  

‘I don’t think you’d have wanted this room anyway.’ Lindsey chuckled.  

Lindsey dumped her backpack on the floor.  A carpet had been ripped off the floor. Hot pink paint covered the walls. Two giant windows faced the front of the house.  Lindsey noticed wholes in the walls were nails had to have been to hold picture frames and a mark that indicated a bench had been under one of the windows.  

‘Uh, yeah you can have it.’ Clement got up and backed out of the room.  ‘I’m going to check out the rest of the house.’ 

Lindsey walked to the window and leaned against the frame, envisioning what her room would look like in a couple of days.  The hot pink paint made her chuckle.  Must have been a twelve year old’s room.  The room had a bathroom and closet.  The closest had white shelves and pink walls. The bathroom had a bathtub and a shower cabinet.  Lindsey nodded in approval. 

Later in the day the movers were still hauling and installing.  The noise was getting to her and she wanted to know the town.  They should have been in town a week ago but ended up arriving the week school started. Ugh, she groaned at the prospect of being the new girl.  

She grabbed the car keys and found her Mom standing outside the  house watching the men unload the truck.  Dad helped with installation. 

‘Hey sweetie, found a room?’ 

‘Yeah, it’s hot pink.’ Lindsey chuckled and crossed her arms. 

Margaret raised her brows.  ‘Hot pink? Do you want your Father to change it for you? He’s hell-bent on painting the house himself.’ 

Lindsey shrugged. It had grown on her in three hours.  

‘I think I’ll keep it for now.’ 

Margaret nodded.  ‘Going somewhere?’ 

‘Yeah, I want to see the town. I also want to find an antique store.’ 

‘Oh sounds fun. Go with your brother please.’ 

Lindsey groaned, but she agreed she  didn’t want get lost in different town alone. 

‘Don’t… be out too late.’ Margaret’s heart had many things it still wanted to say, but the fact that Lindsey wasn’t lashing out at her enough to keep quiet. She didn’t want to break the egg.  

‘I won’t Mom.’ Lindsey sighed as she hunted for her brother.

Lindsey got her drivers license three months earlier, but Clement still didn’t trust her behind the wheel.  

‘Can’t believe we have school on Monday.’ Clement mumbled  as he gripped the wheel. 

‘Well at least you’re a senior. You won’t be there long.’ The SUV zoomed through a line of the darkest trees Lindsey had ever seen with branches that resembled bones. 

They stretched and formed a forest so thick and tall she could see it from her bedroom window.  

‘So aren’t you going to talk about it?’ 

‘Talk about what Clem?’ Lindsey squirmed.  

Clement was two feet taller than her. His brown eyes were lighter than her chocolate ones.  He hated the gym and Lindsey was into gymnastics.  Clem played the guitar and Lindsey spent hours honing her cooking skills.  Their parents were excellent chiefs,  but Clem could only make fire in the kitchen. 

‘I know what Mom told you.’ Clem said. 

‘You didn’t know, did you?’ Lindsey snapped her head in his direction. 

‘Of course not. I was only a year old when you were born. How do you feel? You’re not pissed, not sobbing,  what is it?’ 

‘I don’t know.  I… don’t feel anything.’ 

‘That doesn’t make any sense!’ 

‘Let me finish!’ She swatted him.  ‘It really doesn’t feel different. Mom… she’ll always be my Mom even if she didn’t give birth to me. Plus my birth Mom was her sister. I-I just don’t know where my head is right now. I just know I wouldn’t trade what she gave me for the world.’  

Margaret had dropped the bombshell on a simple Saturday morning. After sixteen years she believed it was time for Lindsey to know the truth. Trey had been with her the entire time. Lindsey didn’t have the melt down they expected which made it harder for them to handle.  She couldn’t pin point her feelings she would always love them but there was something bubbling in her soul that she couldn’t name.  

Clem was actually her cousin which was something that sank in like a rock. They’d always been really close, he always had his arm around her shoulder. 

‘Did she tell you anything about your birth Mom. I barely knew Mom had  a sister.’ 

Lindsey chuckled.  Margaret barely spoke about her sister Cami and she never called and visited either.  

‘Mom said she couldn’t take care of herself much less me. Grandma and Grandpa tried to get her help but it didn’t work out she ran away and never looked back it seems. Mom took me in and never looked back.’ Lindsey chest swelled with emotion.  

Lindsey hadn’t even seen a photo of Cami. 

It was the first time Lindsey spoke to someone about her situation. Her jumbled up feelings were safely tucked away in the pages of her diary none of it made sense to her but pouring it out somewhere was like removing metal from her skin. 

‘What about your real Dad?’ Clem asked. 

She shrugged. ‘I don’t know… Mom doesn’t know who he is… she mentioned someone but she wasn’t sure. Trey will always be my Dad. He never treated me like I was anything less.’ 

Clem nodded and sensed the emotion in the air. Then his stomach growled.  

‘Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.’ Clem pulled into a diner parking lot with barely five cars parked.  

The diner was called Hollow Dinner Diner a massive cursive sign stood on top of the building. A handful of people sat scattered in the big diner. When Lindsey and Clem walked in soft music streamed from the speakers on the ceiling. 

Clem and Lindsey found an empty table by the window.  She hadn’t seen much of the town on their drive. 

Lindsey rubbed her bear shoulders. She should have carried a jersey, Hollow Cove was a chilly place. 

Clem scanned the menu that was the size of a book. 

‘Alright now,  Harvey lemme get to these customers.’ A busty waitress in a pink and white uniform waved at a man behind the counter and  pranced to their table. 

She froze by their table her pearly white smile dropped from her face like a glass cup from a counter.  Lindsey turned to Clem who raised his brows.  Lindsey didn’t the know what to say.  The woman kept staring at her. 

The waitress finally dropped her notepad. Her face crumbled and water filled her eyes. 

‘What is going on?’ Lindsey whispered.  Clem shrugged. 

‘Leah? Leah baby?’ She sobbed.  Heads turned there way and Lindsey caught a woman gasp across the room. 

‘Clem?’ Lindsey said out of the corner of her mouth. Lindsey had no idea what the woman was talking about. She scooted closer to the window. 

‘Leah King!  It is you!’ She yelled and rushed to the counter. 

‘It’s Leah King! She’s alive!’ 

‘Leah King?’ People said. Heads turned to their table,  all eyes burned on Lindsey. 

‘Can we get out of here?!’ Lindsey stood. Clement rose and grabbed his sister’s shoulders and ushered her to the door. 

‘I thought Leah King was missing!’ Someone bellowed.  

‘Y’all saw her!  That was Leah King!  Leah!’ The waitress pointed at the door. 

Lindsey turned her head to a dozen people staring at her. The waitress hadn’t stopped running or yelling.  Clement rushed Lindsey to the car.  A man followed them out when they climbed into the car, probably to get the license plate of the car,  before they drove off. 

***

The movers had gone and the lights in the house shined.  Lindsey slammed the door before Clem could enter.  He walked in and frowned.  They moved to the kitchen where Clem searched the fridge. 

‘What the hell was that?’ Lindsey whispered. Her parents were somewhere in the house. 

‘Probably nothing Lindsey.’ 

‘Nothing? That wasn’t nothing!  Did you see the way those people stared at me?! As if I were… some phantom!’ 

Clem dumped bread and ham on the counter and stood in front of Lindsey. He grounded her shoulders.  ‘Calm down Lindsey. The waitress was just mistaken.’ 

Lindsey shook her head.  ‘I know, I know. It was just so weird. She really thought I was her.’ 

Lindsey wondered who she was! 

‘You probably just look alike. Nothing weird there.’ 

‘I heard people say she was missing.’ 

Clem rubbed his face. ‘Forget it Lindsey it was just a misunderstanding.’ 

Margaret walked into the kitchen wearing a loose robe and flip-flops. She smiled at her kids who smiled back innocently. 

‘How’d you like the town?’ She asked. 

Lindsey offered a pressed smile.  ‘It’s okay,  a little creepy.’ 

Clem agreed.  Margaret rummaged through the cupboards for coffee. The coffee machine was the only appliance plugged into the wall.  

‘Yeah. Hollow Cove actually gets its name from a forest made up of completely hollowed out trees.’ 

Clem and Lindsey exchanged glances.  ‘Really Mom?’ Clem raised a brow. 

‘Yes, I found an article about it. Majority of the trees anyway. Locals were surprised about how the trees well survived for so long. It’s been standing for years the locals just left it alone.’ 

‘Let me guess it’s haunted?’ Clem frowned. 

‘I read it was cursed.’ Margaret said. 

Lindsey rubbed her face,  her eyes felt like bags of sand hanging on her face.

‘Okayyy! Bed time for me.’ Lindsey through her hands in the air and made a U-turn for the stairs.  

‘Wait Lindsey.’ Margaret reached her daughter before she could leave the kitchen. 

‘Yeah?’ 

She cupped her full cheeks. Margaret toyed her tiny honey brown locks. She’d had such a hard time taking care of her hair when she was a little girl.  Clem had curly hair too but he always cut his hair short.  

‘You know I love you right? You have and always will be mine Lindsey. If you want to talk more… about Cami. I’m here.’ 

Lindsey nodded, but she wasn’t up for the conversation. ‘I know Mom. I’m tired right now. I just want to head to bed. We can talk another time.’ She offered her Mom a smile. 

Margaret nodded and rubbed her cheek one last time before she watched Lindsey disappear up the stairs.  Telling Lindsey the truth was the hardest thing she ever did. She had to acknowledge that Lindsey wasn’t her exactly her daughter, but not even a thousand winds could separate her from her daughter.  She worried many nights that Cami would show up and tell Lindsey the truth.  Lindsey needed to hear it from her.  

Cami hadn’t been in contact with Margaret or their parents since Lindsey was three and it wasn’t about her daughter.  Cami was a beautiful woman but she was reckless and uncaring. She wanted things done her way. She met people that drunk and experimented with drugs which really hurt her. Rehab didn’t work and their parents knew Cami could never take care of a child.  Margaret couldn’t even begin to imagine where her yo-unger sister was.  

Margaret was about to get back to her coffee when she caught Clement trying to make a sandwich with a frying pan.  

‘Why don’t you just ask me to make you a sandwich?!’ She was a world class chef for crying out loud! 

Lindsey walked into a room hot pink room with a brand new queen size bed and two side tables.  With her clothes still in the suitcases and her stuff in boxes it felt hollow.  She grimaced at the thought of something Hollow.  

It was only her first day in Hollow Cove and it wasn’t the best. Still she held out hope for the little town. She needed school to be quiet. She didn’t need drama. She wasn’t popular at her old school but she wasn’t a loner. She left a couple friends behind. She was eager to join gymnastics and make a couple friends.  She wanted to date but not in the immediate future. 

Part of the reason Clem was grumbling was because he had to leave his girlfriend of three months behind.  Lindsey rolled her eyes at the thought. 

 She walked to the window. New purple curtains had been sprung up over The tall windows. She thought about the bench that had been ripped off The wall. She liked the idea of having a bunch by the window. She could sit and stare out the window for endless hours. 

 The hot pink had really grown on her, she preferred purple to pink but there was something about it that felt warm and familiar. She rubbed her shoulders and chuckled. What could be familiar about a place someone’s never been to? Her shivered intensified when she spotted the hollow forest.  The forest that spread out like a dark cloud over a town. It looked like light couldn’t touch it, like life couldn’t dwell there. She moved away from the window.

By the time she got into bed the experience at the diner was still replaying in her mind. She hoped the images if the waitress wouldn’t follow her to her dreams. If that experience was anything to go by then Lindsey was going to have a hard time living in the town with a forest made of dead trees.