Original Stories Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ The Ghost Cave ❯ The Cave ( Chapter 1 )

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Leeann meets Conner Dean, he challenges her to accompany him to checkout the towns local haunted cave and she is not one to refuse a challenge. Strange things happen, and Leeann and Conner start investigating.

Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.27.2008 | Pages: 4 | Words: 8.2K | Visits: 867 | Status: Work In Progress

The Ghost Cave

Tasha McClellan

Chapter 1

The Cave

Leeann felt her brow furrow into a scowl. This was not where she wanted to spent her Saturday afternoon. She would much rather be in her bed, asleep. It was just too early to be up. Instead, she was sitting with her father and sister, Chelsea, surrounded by a family of eight, all of whom were just too happy. These relative strangers were the Deans. She didn't understand what was there to be so happy about. Mr. and Mrs. Dean had six children with another one on the way. Lee had been told their names and had naturally forgotten them as soon as they were spoken.

Chelsea had hit it off quickly with a girl here age and they were now joined at the hip. She glanced over at the Dean's oldest son for about the tenth time. He was her age and he seemed like an OK guy, good looking and all, but most of all he looked as if he would rather be somewhere else. He caught Lee staring and saw it as an invitation to come over. “Hey,” He said as he approached her.
“And you are?” she inquired, raising one an eyebrow.
“Conner.”
“Right, well you're blocking my view, so I would appreciate it if you would move.”
“OK then,” he said as he moved to sit next to her. “What is your name?” She was momentarily stunned be his bluntness, and answered automatically. “Lee.”

“Just Lee?” Conner prodded. She ignored him and asked a question of her own.
“Was there something that you wanted or are you just over hear to annoy me?” she had meant it rhetorically, but he answered, disregarding her hostility.
“Well, see, my dad was telling my sisters and I about this cave, up in the mountains, that was haunted and I was just wondering if you'd heard anything about it.” He said, pointing to the northwest. The place to that he pointed to wasn't really a mountain but just a really rocky hill that the rose up out of the forest.
“What do you mean “haunted”? With, like, a ghost or something?” she scoffed “Don't be silly. There's no such thing.” Lee rolled her eyes and fully intended on ignoring him, when he spoke again.
“You scared or something?” his tone was mocking.
“No. I'm not scared of some stupid, non-existent ghost.” She was getting angry. How dare he assume things? He didn't even know her. She figured that most of the girls that he was used to would be scared of their own shadow, let alone some creepy cave.

“Then what do you say about going up there with me tonight?” His voice sounded as if he had just invited her to have tea with the queen, and she would be crazy to turn him down. The truth was that she really wasn't scared but, she knew her dad would kill her if she did. In fact, Lee loved the outdoors. The wind that rustled the leaves and the soft calls of the birds in the early morning was very peaceful. Often she would go out there just to be alone, or she would go on the jogging path that wound through the nearby woods. Then again, she most definitely was not going to let Conner show her up. “Fine. You're on!”

Lee waited until the shadows melted into the darkened yard before she slowly eased open her window. She slipped out on to the weeping willow just out side her window, and set out across her lawn. The roads were dark and the outlines of the foliage remanded her of predators lying in wait. When she got to the mountain, Conner was already there. ”You ready?” he asked,
“As ready as I'll get, but I swear, if we get caught, I am going to kill you.” She still wasn't sure what she was doing sneaking around in the middle of the night with this boy she hardly knew.
Conner snorted, handed her a flashlight, and then took off into the darkness. As they climbed up the mountain the air grew chilly. Lee considered herself to be in good shape but soon her feet began to ach and her calves burned as the incline increased. Her breathing became labored and she found herself watching each breath as it melted into the mist that had begun to thicken but she refused to ask Conner to slow down or take a break.

Finally they reached the cave. The gaping hole gave off an air of foreboding and Lee shivered. Conner called for her to hurry as he walked through the rising fog. When they entered the cave, all was still, the only sounds were the wind that moaned as it went through the trees, and whistled past the opening. As they ventured deeper, the steady drip of water on stone became louder. Ahead of them their flashlights pierced the gloom and Conner shuttered. The stones seemed to be moaning for them to turn back; that this was not the place for them, but they forged on. Soon, they come to a place with strange marks on the stone. Lee peered closer, deciding that they were a stain of some sorts. The darks streaks seemed to reach across the whole wall. "What do you think it is?" questioned Conner, reaching up to press his palm against the rock.

"I don't know and I don't really want to know. We should go." Lee reached up to tug on his sleeve.

"I agree." They turned as one to go, but Lee paused, a gasp slipping from her chattering lips.

"What? What do you see?" asked Conner in a worried tone, looking around.

"I-its nothing. I just thought I saw someone. I must have been imagining it. Come on lets go." As they started to leave, Conner looked over his shoulder and glimpsed a beautiful green-eyed girl in a red gown watching them. He blinked, rubbed his eyes and looked again but the cave was empty. Conner shuttered and faced forward again certain that his imagination was playing tricks on him.

* * *

Lindsey watched the strangers walk away. A strange sense of recognition passed over her when she had first seen the black-haired girl. The boy had a familiar look about him as well, but it wasn't nearly as strong. Deep down something told her that this had not been her first encounter with the strangers, nor would it be the last. Intrigued, she decided to follow the girl. She may even have a bit of fun while she was at it. Filled with anticipation, she glided silently out of the cave.

* * *

Monday, at school, Lee was surprised to see Conner walking down the hall toward her. "I didn't know you went to this school."

"That's because you're too busy ignoring people to even notice who it is you're ignoring." Conner laughed.

"Ha ha. Your soooo funny." she seethed, rolling her eyes. He was right, and she usually did avoid most everyone. She found herself feeling oddly at ease with this obnoxiously optimistic boy.

“Ahh, come on, you're no fun.” Conner said as he laughed and swung his arm around her shoulders. Leaning close he whispered to her, conspiratorially, “I'm going back up to the cave tonight. Wanna come?”

“Are you crazy?” She gasped at him.

“Maybe,” He grinned, “You game?”

“Yeah. I'm just sure my dad would love that.” She drawled sarcastically.

“Well, my dad wanted to know if you and your family maybe wanted to come over and have dinner with us.” He was changing the subject. Still, Lee had a feeling he wouldn't give up that easily.

“Sure. I know my dad really would love that.” She said as she took his arm off her shoulders.

“Great! Then I'll see you later.” He walked off, looking like he'd just won the lottery. Leeann just shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. As Lee was putting her books in her locker her best friend came up and leaned up on the locker next to Lee. She studied Lee for a moment then slammed her hand against the locker making Lee jump.

“Oh, Jessica, it's you. I didn't see you there. You scared me.” Lee turned from her friend and continued to put her things into her locker.

“That's obvious.” Jessica turned and pressed her back against the locker as she waited for Lee to finish. She played with a strand of her hair, pulling at the nonexistent split ends, and watching Lee out of the corner of her eye. Lee was almost smiling and seemed distracted.

No one would ever guess that these two were friends. Jessica Hunter had long, wavy, brown hair and green eyes. She was tall and thin with a willowy, graceful figure. She always had a ready laugh in her eyes and made friends easily. Every morning she looked like she had put a lot of thought into how she dressed and how she looked to others. Most days Lee looked like she had thrown on the first thing she had touched, with didn't really matter in the regard of colors since all her clothes were dark and monochromatic. However, there biggest difference was their attitude. While Jessica was easy going and carefree, Lee was sullen and inward.

People said that Jessica was good for Lee rather then saying that Lee was bad for Jess. Lee liked this because despite not really caring about what people thought about her, she hated it when people looked down their noses at Jessica just because she was friends with Lee. All in all Lee really was a good friend. Most figured that it had something to do with the fact that Jessica was the one of the only people who had stuck with Lee after her mother had died. All of the other shallow people Lee had hung out with before tragedy had shattered her life had left her high and dry when she had trouble getting over it. Jessica on the other hand had stayed by Lee's side and the two of them had become closer because of it, more like sisters than best friends.

Growing impatient at her friend's silence Jessica sighed. “So are you going to tell me what Mister Quarterback wanted or am I going to have to guess?”

“Huh? What? Oh you mean Conner?”

“Uumm… duh! Of course that's who I mean. Are you like mentally retarded? What was that all about? I mean you two were acting like old chums.” Even as Jessica said this she was smiling. Lee smiled mischievously.

“Honestly Jess, I have no idea what you're talking about.” Lee laughed. Jess glared at her for a moment.

“Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about, and you have exactly ten seconds to start expalining.”

Lee just laughed. “Jess, that's just like you, isn't it? You just have to know.” Lee laughed again at the look that Jess was throwing her way. “Well if you insist. Conner was just asking me a question for his father.” At the skeptical look from her friend, Lee explained how Theodor Dean and Christopher Carter had been best friends ever since high school. She told how they had run into each other and had planned to get to have a family get together. “Conner was just asking me if my father would be up to having our family over for dinner. That's all.” Lee grinned, but only cause she couldn't keep it in any longer. Jess was looking at her as if she had just dressed up in a tutu and started dancing around her in circles.

The truth was that Jessica was very happy for her friend. After Lee's mother had died she'd stopped smiling very often and laughed even less. Now, in a matter or minutes Lee had both smiled and laughed several times. Already, Jessica could see the light coming back into Lee's beautiful eyes. Closing her gaping mouth, Jess smiled at her friend. “Well I'm happy for you then. Still that doesn't explain why he and you were all, like, buddy-buddy. I think he likes you.” Jessica spoke in a very matter of fact voice.

Now it was Lee's turn to gape, open mouthed, at her friend. “What…No!” Lee exclaimed. She would have made more protests but Jess just shook her head.

“No. He likes you because you are a fun, beautiful girl despite your best efforts to convince people otherwise. Now you are just going to have to face that and get on with your life.” Jess grinned then and walked off. “See you later.” She called over her shoulder as she headed off to class, leaving Lee to stare after her in disbelief. Lee gathered her senses and, looking around her, realized that she was going to be late for class if she didn't hurry. Lee rushed to class and had just sat down when the bell rang. As class started Lee turned her attention from the puzzle of Jessica's words and concentrated on the teacher.

The Carters joined the Deans for dinner that night and Lee paid more attentions this time as they were introduced again. The oldest girl's name was Victoria and she was going on a date so she wouldn't be joining them. The one that was Chelsea's age was Stephanie. The twins' names were Zachary and Zoë and they were ten. Melissa was the youngest. After dinner, Conner's dad told stories about “the good ol' days”. Theodore Dean was a scary looking man if you didn't know him. He was very tall with shoulders so big they would put most football player's to shame. He had a full head of dark brown hair and laughing blue eyes. Eventually, the subject turned to the cave. “Tell us the story about Lindsey.” Melissa asked.

“Well,” Mr. Dean started, “there was once a very rich family called the Owens, who lived here in the early 1800s.” The way he started it made it sound like a fairy tail and Lee suppressed a grin. “They were a happy family with a mother and a father and a daughter named Lindsey. One day the father's brother, Alexander came to visit. It was said that before Lindsey was born the family fortune was to go to him. It was also said that he was bitterly jealous of the young girl. Then one day Lindsey went missing.

“It was her eighteenth birthday and they had thrown a ball in her honor. The next morning Lindsey didn't come down for breakfast and by the time they found out she was gone, it was late afternoon. They searched everywhere for her but couldn't find her. A week later, her body was discovered in a cave with her throat cut. Of course, everyone suspected Alex but he was never proven guilty. Eventually the Owens left town, unable to stand the memory of their precious daughter. Mrs. Owen died 2 years later, and her husband joined her shortly after. Many say that they died of grief.”

“That's awful!” Lee's dad exclaimed, sneaking a look at Lee out of the corner of is eye. She pretended not to notice.

“Yeah. Many of the people in the town wanted to see justice for what happened, but it never happened. That's not to say people didn't try though. There were many cases where people tried to blame someone but it never worked out.”

“If the Owens were dead, what happened to the fortune?” asked Lee trying to sound indifferent.

“Well they never had any more children so it all went to Alexander. He squandered it until there wasn't much left. When he died it went to his much smarter children who then used it to found some organization or another in London. The legend is that on the eve of her disappearance you can hear her screams float down the mountain.”

“Creepy.” Conner whispered.

“Now Ted, you stop scaring the children, or you can be the one to get up and comfort them when they have nightmares.” Mrs. Dean scolded. Julie Dean was almost the opposite of her husband. She was short and had flaming red hair and forest green eyes.

“Yes dear.” Ted replied laughing

“Now, for whoever wants it I have ice cream in the kitchen, but you have to stay in there to eat it.” She said, and the little children raced to the kitchen and its waiting delights. Conner waited for Lee to get up before he went over to her. “Well, what do you think? Pretty creepy huh?” he said raising his eyebrows at her.

“Sure, whatever, but you don't really believe it do you? I mean about the screams and stuff.” She made sure her voice was laced with her skepticism and doubt.

“Well you know, you could come up to the mountain with me and find out.” He suggested trying to sound as if he really didn't care if she said yes or no, but Lee wasn't fooled.

“You don't give up do you?”

“Not when I think it's worth my time.” Conner winked

“Well, if you insist.” Lee blushed. She was used to guys running from her not chasing her. She hadn't thought much about guys since her mother, Lillian, had died. Because of that she was not sure how to react to his actions or if she should interrupt them as flirting or not. Jessica's words came back to her from this after noon at school, and Lee blushed even deeper.

Conner took this as a yes. “Great!” he grinned at her before heading into the kitchen. Shrugging, Lee followed.

That night Lee beat Conner to the summit. When he finally showed up, he had some lame excuse about having to do dishes, or something like that. As they approached the cave Lee had the same feeling of foreboding, but she ignored it, as before, and walked on. When they reached the place with the stain she could have sworn she saw a girl in the red dress again but she convinced herself it was just a combination of her imagination and Mr. Deans story. Drifting out of the darkness there came a soft whispering. “Do you hear that?” Conner whispered urgently.

“Yeah.” They both looked around, but the only thing to see was the cold, grey stone walls.

The whispering continued, and as it did, it got louder. They also notice that in the corner just below the stains a slender figure in red began to materialize. The beautiful face was twisted in fear and rage. A strong wing began to blow around her, swirling her hair and rustling her dress. Then in a flash of light the wind and girl were gone, as well as the light from their flashlights. In the dark they could still hear a soft breathing that was not their own. Then, Lee's shriek pierced the silence as she felt slender, cold fingers grip her upper arm so tightly they burned.

She then felt Conner's large, warm hand reach for hers. “RUN!” he shouted. Her legs finally found motion and she turned and ran. She tugged her arm free of the death grip with a bit of effort and was soon out of the cave. They didn't stop there though; they ran all the way down the mountain. Once at the bottom they both hunched over in the light of the full moon and gasped for breath. As soon as Lee could breathe without wheezing, she looked at her upper arm, which had already started to bruise. She quickly slipped her sleeve back over her arm. “Are you alright?” Conner inquired.

“Yes.”

“What happened up there?” Conner breathed as he looked up at the summit.

“I'm not sure," Lee wheezed. "Come on, lets go home.”

When Lee got home, she was surprised to find her window closed and locked. She tiptoed to the front of the house and was even more surprised to find the front door unlocked. She opened it slowly, stopping when it creaked. She eased it open and slipped inside. As she passed by the front room she heard her father's voice and jumped about a foot in the air.

“Where have you been?” He demanded

“Oh, hi, dad. You know you shouldn't startle people like that. You scared me half to death.” she scolded, holding her hand over her heart.

“I said, where have you been?”

“Um...Well, you see Conner and me...well we were just...um...up the mountain.” Lee stuttered. Even as she said this, she knew it sounded bad.

“And what exactly were you and Conner doing up the mountain? Because I'd really like to know what you think is so important that you would sneak out on a school night.”

“Oh, please dad, you sound like mom, I mean seriously what do you think we were doing?” being defensive didn't help her situation.

“Well, I don't know. That's why I'm asking you.”

“You know what, just never mind. I'm going to bed. I do have school in the morning,” she sneered sarcastically.

“Not so fast. Leeann Marie Carter, get back here!”

Lee cringed. She hated her middle name for two reasons. One, it meant she was in big trouble, and two, it was too feminine. She slowly tuned to look at her dad. His face was redder then a beet. "You are in so much trouble! I just don't know what to do with you anymore. You're grounded."

Lee gaped at her dad "What! You can't ground me!" she exploded.

"I can, and I am. No more TV, computer, books, naps, or anything you find enjoyable, until I feel you've been punished enough. From now on, you will come straight home from school, do your homework, and then you will do your housework. No ifs, ands, or buts. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." Lee glared at her dad. Did he have any idea what she just went through? No. Did he care? Absolutely not!

"Good. Now go to bed." With that, he tuned and walked to his room. Lee stood there for a moment, fuming, until she too, finally went to her room. After she had gotten into her pajamas, she turned to crawl into bed when she saw a shadowy figure pass by her large bay window. Thinking it was either a thief or Conner she looked out the window and saw the figure turn around to the back of the house. She grabbed her robe and then ran out of her room and into the kitchen. The back door knob was moving slightly as if some one were trying to open the door. Lee tip-toed over to the door, unlocked it, and paused. The door had become still. Lee reached out to grab the door handle when suddenly the light went on. Lee screamed and jumped as she spun around.

"Out for a midnight walk are we?" Chelsea asked mischievously.

"Chelsea, you scared me half to death! Don't ever do that again. Do you understand?" Lee was sure she was going to have a heart attack soon, especially the was she was treating her heart.

"Maybe if you weren't wound so tight you wouldn't be so jumpy." she countered.

"Well aren't we just so smart. Go to bed." Lee snapped.

"I could say the same to you. Or maybe I should just go tell dad." Chelsea sneered.

Lee made a face. Sighing she began walking back to her room when the door began to shake again. This time Lee could not ignore it. Turning away from her sister she faced the door. She heard Chelsea come up behind her, captivated and scared by the phenomenon that was the back door. As Lee reached for the door she felt the butterflies in her stomach start up. She slowly turned the handle, and then yanked the door open. Outside she saw nothing, just their empty backyard. Behind her Chelsea let out the breath she had obviously been holding. "Must have been the wind. Good-night. Oh, and don't forget to lock the door." Chelsea called as she walked back down the stairs and to her room. Lee paused for a minute. As she looked over to the far side of their small garden she saw a figure slowly appear.

The girl in red stared at her a taunting look in her eyes. They watched each other for a second before Lee slammed the door and locked it as fast as she could. She then ran back to her room. Even there she wasn't safe. Outside her window were those same mocking eyes. Lee yanked her curtains closed so hard she was surprised they didn't fall. After they were closed she could almost hear laughing, but it could have been her imagination. She slipped under her covers and pulled them up to her ears. She closed her eyes tight and muttered, "It was just my imagination. Ghosts aren't real," over and over again.

* * *

Not long after Lee had pulled the curtains over large window Lindsey smiled, very pleased with herself. She had not only scared the girl but her younger sister as well. Her joy was tainted with a growing taste of guilt. She had hurt someone and was happy with their pain. The thought of it sickened her. That fact alone told her something was not right. The same feelings that she knew the girl crept back to accompany the guilt. Frustrated with herself, Lindsey went to spend some time at her own home. Heaven knew it was more comforting then the cold stone walls of the cave. With that thought she drifted through the deserted streets of Owensville, Indiana, back to the home she had grown up in and had grown to love dearly, especially after her death. In fact, she found that since she had been caught in this strange space in-between dead and alive, she had come to appreciate the simple things in life, like family and home. One more reason to be angry with the living, because they took such things for granted and didn't know how fragile life was. Lindsey knew that now, but by the time she had figured that out, it was too late.

* * *

The next day she and Conner met in front of the school before class. Lee told him everything that had happened to her the night before. "What? You mean you saw her at your house? I thought she only haunted the cave." Conner exclaimed.

"So did I", she said in agreement, "but apparently she can go wherever she wants."

Conner followed her to her locker and talked about some TV show he had seen last night, but Lee wasn't listening. She was thinking about last night. She thought of the mocking eyes and the bitter laughter. If her mother had been there she would have told her that sometimes when people aren't happy they like to make the others around them unhappy too. That way they don't feel guilty about it because others are the same way. They walked to Lee's first class to drop her stuff off and then walked around for a while in silence before Conner asked, "Why are people staring at you?"

"They're not staring at me. They're staring at you." she stated simply.

"Me? Why?" He seemed genuinely surprised, and she sort of felt bad for him.

"Because you're with me." she said, in a tone that suggested that that was a very stupid question. "Didn't you know that I am like the weirdest, scariest person in this entire school? I guess this could be bad for your image; after all, you are the school quarterback. Sorry."

"Yeah, that's ok. My friends will understand."

"Will they? They are giving you pretty funny looks." Lee questioned doubtfully. Conner looked over to where his friends were and seemed torn between talking to her and saving his reputation. "Go ahead." Lee said waving him away. "I won't hold it against you." she tried to smile as he walked away. She wouldn't ever admit it, but she felt sort of lonely now that Conner was gone.

"Oh stop being ridiculous." Lee thought angrily to herself. "You didn't need his company before and you don't need it now. You were just fine before, and you will continue to be just fine without Conner Dean."

Those thoughts didn't stop the memories from coming though. She thought of when her mother was alive. She had been the most popular girl in school. She'd been cheerleading captain and homecoming Queen. She'd had the hottest boyfriend and the biggest "posse" (as she called it now). She had been the one that made the "geeks" carry her books for her. She had thought she was too good for everyone else.

After her mom had died she had missed school for a three weeks she was so depressed. After she came back she had been sort of empty, and eventually all her friends, except Jessica, became tired of it and had replaced her. It was then that she realized how shallow and meaningless her life had been. She had tried turning it around and being better. She had seen how much dad and sister needed her and she really had tried. Now as she looked back, she couldn't even tell when she had given up and gone on her rebellious streak.

For the next week she and Conner didn't talk to each other. This didn't surprise her in the least. In fact she wouldn't be surprised if he ditched her all together and ignored her like his friends did. She tried not to be hurt by the change, but still, she couldn't stop the hope that seized her as she got out of her car and looked for his friendly face among the masses. She was always disappointed. Jessica noticed every time Lee looked for Conner and cursed him for every time had friend's face had fallen when she didn't see him. Life at home didn't help Lee's mood much ether. She was having a hard time adjusting to her new schedule and her sister never missed an opportunity to rub it in that Lee had to work hard and she didn't.

One day after school, as Lee, was getting in her car, Conner came running up excitedly to her. "You'll never guess what I found out." He whispered as he approached her as if he where afraid of being overheard in the half empty parking lot. He was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Oh, you're talking to me now?" Lee tried to keep the acid out of her voice, but it slipped through all the same. She had promised herself that if Conner decided to grace her with his presence she would be courteous and kind but detached. That plan had clearly failed, but what else did he expect? He really had hurt her, even if she'd never admit it.

Conner's face fell and he reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "Yeah, um, about that. You're not mad, are you?"

"What do you think?" she whispered coldly. Conner flinched and she regretted being so cold. She almost took it back and apologized. Almost.

"I guess you have a pretty good reason to be upset, but before you decide to hate me forever, would you at least give me a chance to defend myself?" Lee sighed and nodded, so he launched into his defense. "I know I was a big jerk, and totally deserve any punishment you decided to give me, but in my defense, I plead temporary insanity." Lee raised an eyebrow at this but Conner continued as if he hadn't noticed, "I thought that I could be friends with you and everyone else and it would all be fine.”

"My friends couldn't understand why I wanted to hang out with you and of course tried to distract me. Well it worked for a while until I saw how lonely and dejected you looked. Like a half drowned puppy, and I knew it was partly my fault. So I went to the gang and was like 'look, me and Lee are sort of friends and I like hanging out with her but that doesn't change who I am. So if you have a problem with that you can just hit the road' and I meant it. Of course no one argued because you just don't argue with a hundred and eighty pound quarterback." He grinned briefly and then looked serious again. "I really missed talking to you. I realized that, when I'm around you, I don't have to worry about what you'll think and I don't have to work to impress you. It's really nice." He grinned again, except this time it stayed. "So what do you say? Am I forgiven?" Lee sighed and pretended to have to think about it for a long time.

"Well, I guess I could forgive you." She tried not to smile, and look like she truly was being extremely generous, but she was so glad to have Conner back, and that joy seeped out until she was grinning just as big as he was. "Do you need a ride home?" looking around she didn't see his car anywhere in the now empty lot. She was surprised by the emptiness of it. She hadn't notice how long they had been standing there.

"Yeah. That would be nice." They both climbed into her car and began driving home. About halfway there, she realized something.

"You never told me what you found." Out of the corner of her eye she saw some of his excitement light up his face.

"Oh yeah! Well another reason I didn't talk to you was because I was busy doing some research. I found the old Owen House. I also found out that the Owens were the ones who founded the town. Their house is now a memorial. It's down on Roseberry Avenue. 2707 Roseberry Avenue to be exact.” Conner exclaimed triumphantly.

“Really? Did you go see it?” Lee said perking up a bit.

“Well no...I was actually hoping you would do that, because my family is going to London to see relatives for the break.”

“I can't.” She sighed, her spirits dropping again.

“What! Why not?”

“Didn't you know? I'm grounded till the end of the millennium.” she said dryly.

“Oh. No, I didn't know. Why?”

“Remember that little hike we went on about a week ago." she hinted.
“Oh, I see.” he said, as his face dropped

“Yeah, my dad wasn't too thrilled about that." she sighed. "I don't know, Conner. Maybe I can get my dad to let up a little. We'll see.” she added at his look of defeat. They had pulled up to his front door.

“Great! I'll get back to you when I get back.” he jumped out of the car.

“OK, have fun. See you when you get back,” she called after him as he ran up the steps to his front door “If I'm still alive.” she added under her breath. She could tell it was going to be one long, Thanksgiving break.

When Lee got home she worked extra hard. She scrubbed the toilets, floors, walls, and cabinet fronts. She washed dishes, swept, moped, vacuumed, and in four hours she had cleaned the whole house. When her dad got home Lee was just putting dinner on the table. As he walked in slowly, he looked all around wondering if he had come home to the right house. “Hi, dad. How was work?” Lee asked pleasantly as she gave her dad a big smile.

“It was ok.” he said cautiously as he sat in his place at the table.

“That's good. I'll call Chelsea up to dinner.” she said as she yelled for her sister.

After dinner, Chelsea went back to what ever she was doing before, but Lee and her dad still sat at the table. After a couple of moments in silence, Lee began to clear dishes and put leftovers in the refrigerator. "Lee I've been thinking," He began "and I think I was a little hard on you the other night. I really appreciate all that you do around here and for your help around the house. If you promise that you won't sneak out anymore I think you can be ungrounded. So what do you say?"

"Sure” Lee shrugged. She was so excited it was hard not to show it. Luckily, she was an expert at hiding her emotions.

"Yes, well, it's almost time for bed so you better go get ready." he sighed, and with that Lee went off to brush her teeth and change into her P.Js. Tomorrow she would go see the old Owen house.