Chapter 15: Moving On

On our first date, Austin took me to the Ravenview Gazebo. He set up a picnic on the grass where we could enjoy the view.

"This is nice."

"I'm glad you like it. I tried hard."

"What did you make?"

"Cheeseburgers. I hope you're not a vegetarian."

"Nah. I like meat," I said, smiling naughtily. Austin laughed between bites of his burger.

"So Sicily, tell me, how is a great girl like you still single?"

I shifted around on the blanket, unsure of what to say. I didn't want to freak Austin out with talk of curses and weird crap that I wasn't even sure I understood, but I didn't want to lie to him either.

"Uh, I think I just like sex too much. It gets me into trouble."

"Yeah, I noticed you had some kids."

"Most guys don't want to stick around for that whole family thing. I can't say that I was ever really family-oriented either, but life just happened. Anyway, enough about me. What's your story?"

"Well, I'm a firefighter because I wanted to help people. I like seeing the calm in peoples' eyes when they know they're safe."

Austin's words had me in awe. He was such a sweet guy. "So you're not a firefighter because someone you used to love died in a fire?"

"Nah. I don't have any dramatic reasons for doing it. I like the physical aspect of it too. It keeps me in shape. I'd hate to have one of those sit down desk jobs where I might get fat."

"I would hate it if you lost those sexy abs."

I smiled, savoring the moment. Austin was the first guy I'd made an effort to talk to since I lost Trent.

"Hmm, what else... I like to garden. It's calming after a hectic day at work, plus I get to enjoy the sunshine. I'm originally from Silicon Shores. I spent a lot of time on the beach and I loved being outside. My last name is Meringue."

"That's a cute last name. Why did you move to Ravenview?"

"I wanted to see other parts of the country. I grew up in Silicon Shores, and I liked it, but I was curious."

"So you decided the vast farmland of Ravenview was good?"

Austin laughed. "Well, it is the polar opposite of where I'm from, so there's a lot of things to spark my curiosity. I did like the history of Ravenview. It's so much older than Silicon Shores, and it's got so much richness to it. That old mansion up on the hill is especially cool. Back home, we've got mansions too, but they're all pretty modernized."

"Mansion? Where?"

"You don't know? It's this beautiful house up on a hill. It's not far from your house, actually. Do you want to go there? Look at it from the street? I don't know if anyone lives there, but its supposedly haunted."

I was a little shocked, but I tried not to show Austin. His interest in ghosts and history made me think maybe he wouldn't think I was crazy if he knew a little bit about my personal life. Things might be looking up for me. "Yeah, let's go!"

"It's up this way," Austin said, pointing to a small sidewalk carved in the side of the hill. We started walking up the path. The air felt cool up here. I'd never been up this high before.

"There it is."

Austin looked up at the sprawling mansion we had just found.

I gasped. I could swear this was the house from my dream, the house where my ancestors Alexandra and Eleanor Zenteri lived. The small portion of the house that looked like it was separated from the rest of it must have been where Alexandra was held captive.

I stood there in shock for a moment, my eyes getting really big. I hadn't had a dream about Alexandra or Eleanor or Vincent for a few months. Seeing the house was making my skin crawl. In my dream, horrible things had happened in this house. This house was tied to death and misery. I had been doing very well for a while. I had a nice new guy in my life. I was letting myself move on from Trent. I knew he would want me to be happy, and now THIS? My head started panicking. Am I going to end up like all the other females in my family? Am I going to commit suicide someday and I just don't know it? I certainly didn't want to commit suicide. I had been through a lot already since I found out about my family history and I had pulled myself through it. I was terrified that somehow this house was writing my destiny, sealing my fate into its cold bricks.

"Hello? Earth to Sicily."

I finally blinked, hearing Austin call my name. He was waving at me.

"Are you all right there? I lost you for a minute, babe."

"Yeah, sorry. I just... thought I- uh, I know this house."

"Of course you do, silly. It's the only elaborate house in town that sits up on a hill and it's not far from your house."

"Austin, can we go back home?"

"Yeah. Are you sure you're all right?"

I didn't know what to tell him. My head was spinning. Should I tell him about the house and my dreams? He was interested in Ravenview's history so he might want to help me unravel more of the mystery, but he might think I was insane if I told him about a curse. I really didn't want to lose Austin.