Meet Rosemary

[Laverna]

Chapter one:





The winter wind whipped through the small city like a bandit fleeing the sheriff and his bounty hunters. Nestled deep in East Texas, the town was a far cry from anything the scarlet-clad thief had ever bothered to fix her bluish-grey eyes upon.


The town was called Nobody Creek, a name as forgettable as the place itself. It lingered like a water stain on any criminal’s map of the southern states, a smudge most never noticed and even fewer cared to remember.


It wasn’t like V.I.l.E nor her competitors found any interest in this dying farming community. That was until the discovery of an infamous pizzeria that mysteriously shuttered its doors after children disappeared in the early eighties.


However, the pizzeria’s dining area had been repurposed as a temporary runway for a nearby children’s home. From the sidelines, a scrappy-looking girl watched as the dusty animatronics lurched to life, their cracked voices warbling out Happy Birthday.


They sang to her as if they knew it was her birthday.
Or perhaps they were only echoing the last celebration ever held there, a party abandoned mid-song and left to rot with the room.


The girl couldn’t make out the words to the song.


“Did they say *happy birthday* to Charlotte?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.


She rubbed at her ears and watched the rabbit and the chicken trade jokes she didn’t understand, her expression unreadable.


Her hand dropped to scratch behind her sheltie puppy’s ears.
“I’m okay, Ruth,” she said quietly. “Just a little dizzy.” The words felt more for herself than for the dog.


Later, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a stolen package of chili-cheese–flavored jerky sticks. She passed one to Ruth and ate the other too quickly.


The hiccups came almost immediately.


.

 

[Jade]

Nice start and I really like the name of a fictional town [Nobody Creek] as well; especially a westie puppy named Ruth.

 

[Laverna]

Nice start and I really like the name of a fictional town [Nobody Creek] as well; especially a westie puppy named Ruth.

She’s not a Westie , she’s a sheltie aka Shetland sheepdog.

 

[Laverna]

Chapter: Val?


She tossed and turned in her cotton sheets as the ceiling fan spun slowly. Her dreams were filled with melodies of one of her favorite video game franchises.


Ruth climbed on top of the stirring teen, her dark brown eyes clouded with concern. The girl finally fell back asleep for a few moments, dreaming of nothing important.


The front door slammed, and the distorted voices of twin brothers filled the air. The devilish twins were back from a long case in Berlin, Germany.


“Val, why don’t you wake your slumbering princess?” the eldest suggested, throwing his camouflaged backpack onto the dining table. He watched his brother walk toward Rosemary’s bedroom.


Rosemary awoke from her slumber to the heavy, excited footsteps of the twin superstars of the East Texas branch of the Acme Detective Agency.


She chuckled to herself and commanded Ruth to climb down from the deep pressure therapy task.


“Guten Morgen, Mausi,” his voice rang out from behind her bedroom door.


“Val, it’s 5:30 in the morning. You’re waking the deaf,” Rosemary scolded the young man waiting outside the door.


“Don’t you mean dead?” Val replied, causing Rosemary to palm her face.


“Well, you woke the D.E.A.F.,” Rosemary said, losing her composure as she laughed.


She climbed out of her bookshelf bed, her tie-dye pajamas hanging loosely on her slender, pale frame. A small bruise was visible on her collarbone. She approached the door without hesitation.


When she opened it, the first thing she noticed was that his curly blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail.


“Good morning, Val,” Rosemary greeted, gesturing for him to enter her room.


He shook his head, refusing, his ponytail swishing in the heated house.


“I’ll fix you some breakfast. I brought back Brötchen and some plum butter,” he replied excitedly, bouncing on his heels.


Rosemary nodded before following him toward the kitchen.


She didn’t have to pull out her plastic dining chair, as Val beat her to it with a swift and almost romantic gesture. She sat down in the squeaky, worn-out chair, her green eyes scanning the various German confectioneries lining the matte grey tabletop.


She watched from the corner of her eye as Vincent placed his newest snow globe on the shelf next to Sydney, Australia; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Paris, Texas. This globe featured the Brandenburg Gate and glitter in red, yellow, and black.


Val kissed the top of Rosemary’s head before pointing out all the flavors of jam he had discovered. Rosemary laughed as she spotted a familiar flavor: blackberry. She didn’t really speak or know anything about Germany, but she did love Haribo gummy bears for an afternoon snack.


A paper plate was placed in front of her, holding a slice of bread with blackberry jam smoothed across the toasted surface. A single soft-boiled egg topped with parsley rested on the side.


Rosemary tried to eat the meal slowly. Vincent wasn’t joining his brother at the table as he started writing up the case notes to file for the higher-ups to oversee.


Val looked at his brother before jokingly calling him a grandpa.


“Valentino, I am only an hour older than you,” Vincent snapped, causing Val to chuckle. He was tempted to throw a boiled egg in his brother’s face.