Curse of Crossing Chapter 2

Curse of Crossing

Chapter 2

Elizabeth

Well crap! I do tend to open my mouth before I think about what I say and how I say it. Now I have scared poor Ben half to death. All he is doing is staring out into space.

“Ben!” I reach out and touch his arm. “Ben, are you okay?” I do not know how many times I say his name or ask if he is okay before slowly his eyes seem to focus again and come to rest on me.

“How could my great, grandfather have founded a town and I not know anything about it?” He asks with almost a helpless tone to his voice.

“I don’t know Ben. There are all sorts of strange things that have happened where Crossing is concerned.” There are many strange things that no one can explain and for now, I think I will keep all of that information to myself. I do not want to risk frightening him even more.

Finally he looks at me like he’s here with me. “Well you would think that something as significant as a family descendent founding a town would have come up in talks of family history.”

I do not know what to say to that. Thankfully, the waitress chooses that moment to come over and take our orders. I order a burger with fries and a chocolate shake for both of us. Ben just sits there and nods at the waitress, not saying a thing.

I have lived in Medford all of my life. I have never even been out of Massachusetts. When my mother took the job as a realtor, I started helping her with deed searches and things of this nature. I have learned a lot about Medford since then. It seems that while Medford has been busy incorporating various parts of Crossing, the parts of the old town that were once owned by or are still owned by the Crossing family remain untouched by outsiders and by Medford. Mother told me when she first went to see the house where Ben’s parent’s car was found that something felt very off. Almost like she was being watched the whole time she was there. Mother is quite the scaredy-cat and she always thinks that someone is watching her. This is such a small, quiet town. Nothing big ever happens here, so why in the world would anyone follow my mother around? Besides, the Johnson’s that had lived there until they died in that terrible car crash just over a year ago never really had much to do with anyone in town. They kept to themselves and only came in to get groceries. It wasn’t until the bank laid claim to the Crossing house that any of us knew that they owed money to the bank.

Ben is still not talking. I cannot begin to imagine all the questions and doubts that he has going through his mind. I do not know what I would do if my mother went missing and all I had left were thousands of questions. The only thing I do know is I am determined to help him find out where his parents are. There was some sort of instant recognition with him the moment I saw him. It is like I have known him all of my life but I know I’ve never seen him before. Anyway, it is time that I start asking some questions to help Ben get to the bottom of this situation.

“So, you said you never knew anything about your great grandfather Benjamin Eugene Crossing. What do you know of your father’s family?”

“Well, my father said he didn’t know much about his father’s side of the family. He said that his father died just before he was born.”

“Do you know where he was born?”

“Yes, my father was born in New York City. I do not know where his father was born. Why is this important?”

“You would be surprised what you can find on the internet. I have been doing research on properties that my mother lists. I have not had a chance to do much on your father’s property, but maybe that is somewhere for us to start.”

“Look, Elizabeth…”

“Please, call me Lizzy.” I reach across the table again and touch his hand. I have never been this forward with a boy before. There is something drawing me to him and it is the strangest feeling. And I have never told a boy to call me Lizzy before. That is the name my father gave me when I was small.

“Lizzy,” his smile is dazzling. “I appreciate all the information that you’ve given me so far, but really, if you can just point me in the direction of the house and then tell me where the impound yard is so I can see my parent’s car, I would really like to be on my way.”

The waitress returns with our lunch. She sets our plates down and turns quickly.

“Not a chance Ben.” I tell him the second the waitress is out of hearing range. “There is something going on here, and I want to help you get to the bottom of it. Besides, since I am the one who knows where to do all of the digging for all things historical about this town, I am your best shot at finding out all we can about the property and your family history.”

Ben does not say anything right away. We both sit in silence as we eat our lunch. The burgers here are great, but the chocolate shakes are better. I can tell that Ben is deep in thought as we both finish with our lunch.

“Come on.” I tell Ben as I stand up. “We can either go to my mom’s office and start on that research or I can take you straight to the house? Which one will it be Mr. Crossing?” When I say his name, the whole diner goes silent. Everyone stops eating with forks or burgers halfway to their mouth and just stare at me and Ben. What the heck is this about?

“Let’s just get out of here first.” He says as he lays money down on the table for our bill and walks quickly out the door. I follow as fast as I can. I can hear talking and noise start up again in the diner as I get closer to the door and then just before it closes.

“I have no idea what that was about.” I tell Ben when we both reach the street again.

“I think I should go to the house Lizzy. Something bad is going on here, I can feel it. You should stay here.”

“Can’t. Come on, my car is parked behind mom’s office. We will take it out there.” I just start walking. Thankfully Ben follows. To the Crossing house it is then.