by L. L Hunter
I looked out the window and mumbled, “But we’re not together.”
“What did you say?”
“We shouldn’t be together. Tell your mom she’s free to date my dad if she wishes. I’m glad they’re happy.”
I went back to my book and willed him to leave me alone.
“Ugh. But Darcie, you don’t get it. I want to be with you. I told her no, okay? I want to take you to the Halloween Ball.”
I stared at him again. “What? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? I need a date. I don’t want to go with anyone else.”
I had had enough. Why didn’t he get my message? I stood and packed up my books, even though the lesson wasn’t over yet, or the bell hadn’t rung.
“Where are you going?”
“Away. Anywhere but here. please leave me alone, Dane.”
And then I walked out, muttering to the teacher that I felt sick. No one but Dane cared.
Chapter Six
The Pariah
That night, my father didn’t come home until almost midnight from work. So I ate dinner, a microwave meal, and went up to my room to do homework before getting tired. My bedroom was on the side of the house so that I could see into the next door’s windows. I couldn’t help but watch their picture-perfect lives play out before me, like a TV family.
I saw a glamourous woman in pearls and activewear preparing tomorrow’s lunches for her family in the kitchen. Upstairs, there was a younger teenaged boy, barely hitting puberty, playing electric guitar with his headphones on.
But when I looked in the room next to his, I froze. My stomach flipped, and I scrambled off the bed and pushed myself against the glass pane of my window to see better.
It was Dane.
Dane lived next door to me. How did I not know that?
He was lying on his bed reading. I couldn’t make out the book, the cover was unfamiliar to me, but it looked well-read like he had read it many times over the years.
It was then he caught me looking. Our eyes met. I stood up and reached for the blind to shut them, but it was too late. He grinned and walked to his window and opened it. He gestured for me to do the same. I shook my head and began to lower the blind, ignoring him.
I hated shutting him out, but it was for the best. What was I going to do now that I knew—and he knew—we lived next door to each other?
I settled back into bed and picked up my book again after closing the blinds, but a few minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Shit. It was probably Dane coming over to ask why I had just closed the blind in his face and ignored him. I sighed and headed downstairs.
I opened the door to Dane. I knew it would be him.
“Hey, I kinda suspected we were neighbors when my mom said the man she went out with lived next door. it didn’t click until I saw you.”
“What are you doing here, Dane?” I left the door open, feeling defeated, and headed to the kitchen to grab some snacks. He followed me, closing the door behind us.
“Why do you always say that? I’m here because I want to be. Anyway, why do you keep shutting me out?”
I paused in front of the pantry before opening it and going inside to grab a chips packet. I set the already partially eaten packet on the counter before Dane, grabbing a handful before walking to the cupboard to grab some glasses.
“Do you want a soda or something? Water? Juice?”
“Water is fine. If I have soda now, my mom will kill me, and also, I’ll be even more wired than I am now.”
I froze on my way to the fridge, pausing with my back to him. My heart beat wildly, galloping like a wild horse.
“Yeah, soda probably isn’t a good idea,” I said, and neither is you being here followed in my head.
“So, you didn’t answer my question,” he said, after eating a potato chip. I heard the rustle of the bag and then the crunch as he ate it.
“Oh, what was that?” I acted cluelessly.
He eradicated the distance between us and came up behind me. He grabbed my hips and twisted me around so I now faced him. and then he kissed me.
“Damn it, Darcie. Why do you like torturing me?” he kissed me again, carefully parting my lips with his tongue. I leaned against the fridge, and he pushed his groin into mine. I could feel the slight bulge of him there, ready and waiting for me. I sucked in a breath.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “You’re a bad influence.”
He chuckled.
“You’re a bad influence on me.” He pecked my lips before standing up straight again. He still held me, but not as close so that he could see me.
“Come to the ball with me, please.”
“Why me?”
“Why not you?”
“Because of who I am. I’m wrong for you.”
“No, you’re not. You’re exactly right for me. and it’s because this is so forbidden that it makes me want you even more.”
Forbidden.
He was right. In more ways than one. Because our parents were now dating, and he was a popular guy, and I was a social pariah.
“But you shouldn’t want me. I will ruin you.”
“Then I will die and go to hell with you. I don’t care.” He leaned his forehead against mine and looked into my eyes. I closed mine and pulled away from him, taking the packet of chips and heading back to my room. I didn’t care if he followed me or not, but of course, he did.
“Darcie, I don’t care what you’ve done. You’re in a new place. It’s a blank slate.”
I turned on him. “No. It’s not because the past always comes back to haunt you sooner or later.”
I sat on my bed, and he sat next to me.
“Is it really that bad? You can tell me. I won’t tell anyone or judge you.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. You won’t like me if you know who I truly am.”
“What is it? I’m sure it’s not even that bad. You have nothing to worry about.”
The way he was staring at me now, looking into my soul, his gorgeous blue eyes searching my face, made me want to pour my heart and soul out to him.
But if I did, there was no going back.
I edged into it, my secret, the one my father and I have tried to bury for years. I wouldn’t tell him the whole truth.
“Let’s just say I am not the nice girl you think I am. I have a dark secret, one that needs to stay buried. If I tell you, then I’ll have to kill you.”
He smirked and leaned over and brushed his lips over mine.
“Then, I am willing to die.”
Chapter Seven
The Secret
“It all started in my old neighborhood,” I began. We had taken our waters and the packet of chips and gone to my room, which was probably a worse idea than leaning against the fridge with him pressed against me. But I had a feeling after I told him a little of my secret, not the whole truth, but a little hint, we wouldn’t be doing anything. He would leave and probably rescind his invitation to the ball, and we would never talk to each other again. Which would suck because we lived next to each other.
And then I would have to tell my father to somehow break up with Dane’s mom so they wouldn’t fall in love and get married, causing Dane and I to get stuck together for the rest of our lives… I took a deep breath and continued.
“I was nine years old when I first found out my dad was having an affair.”
Dane’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry. That’s horrible. What did you do?”
“Of course, I confronted him. I loved my mom. We were close until she passed away a year ago.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry about that too.”
“I know. You’ve already said. I think knowing what my dad was doing made her sicker. My dad said my mom wanted to leave so many times.”
“So what happened next?”
“This wasn’t the first time he’d had affairs. He had a habit of having them. And they were always richer than we were.”
Dane’s eyes f
licked up and down, side to side. I could see him thinking. He was probably choosing his words carefully.
“So, anyway, one of the women he was having an affair with was a bit older than my dad. She was known to have some mental health issues. She would come over when my mom wasn’t there, at work or the store, and when they weren’t together, she would walk into my house like she owned the place. She used to say horrible things to me, call me cruel names. I hated her.”
“What a bitch.”
“Yep. She was, but that wasn’t the worst of it. She… did things to other children and me. She was a foster carer, you see. She thought I somehow needed saving or something. I hated her so much that I wanted her gone from our lives. So I, um… took matters into my own hands.” I fidgeted with the water glass, spinning it around in my hands. My cheeks heated with embarrassment. Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god.
“What did she do? What did you do?” he asked with a smirk. He also chuckled, which made me believe he wasn’t horrified. I swallowed the fear in my throat.
“She used to… tie me up when I was ‘wild’ and starve me. She used to hit me. She called me Little Witch. I called the cops and got her admitted to the local psych hospital.” I shook my head and sniffed. The threat of tears burned my throat and eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay. You did what any nine-year-old would do. She was a horrible bitch. No, she’s the witch. And people like her shouldn’t ever be around children. Plus, you said she had issues. Good riddance, I say.”
I gasped. “You’re not horrified? You don’t want to take back your invitation?”
“No. Don’t be silly.” He moved toward me on the bed and pulled me into his arms. I set the water glasses on the nightstand and leaned into him. His arms felt like safety. I wanted to lie in them forever.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He kissed my head. “I like you, Darcie. You’re going to have to try harder than that to get rid of me.”
Chapter Eight
I’m with the Band
The following Monday, I waited for Stacey at our lockers. I turned toward mine and gathered my books for the first few classes when a loud yell down the corridor caught my attention. It caught everyone in the school’s attention. I looked, and my jaw dropped.
Stacey—and wrapped around her like they were one person was Ashton Striker, the resident Summervale Rockstar. Ashton was probably the most popular guy in the school, seeing as he was the lead singer of the town’s favorite band, One Strike.
I was surprised to see Stacey wrapped in his arms. How in the hell did that happen?
They finally made their way to our lockers, having made their way through the rest of the school population, like a parade. Everyone still stared, and people lingered in their small cliques pretending to chat.
They were as shocked as I was.
“Hey, Darce,” said Stacey when they arrived in front of our lockers.
“Hey,” I said, smiling. Then I looked at Ashton. He was hot, sure, but not my type. He looked like the typical blonde poster boy for pop music. And he was destined to go somewhere after school, but only because his dad had connections in New York City at some of the biggest record labels.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hey, Darcie, right? You’re Dane’s girl.”
Oh, that. Yes. He just so happened to be Dane’s best friend too.
“Yes. That’s me.”
“Babe, I told you. She’s also my best friend,” Stacey told him.
“Oh, yeah. That’s right.”
Then Ashton’s gaze trained on something behind me. He waved at someone and raised an eyebrow.
“Stace, I have to go catch up with the guys. They’re here. I’ll see you later. Okay? You’re coming to our rehearsal, right?”
“Of course, baby. I’ll be there.”
Then they kissed. It was kind of a messy kiss with lots of tongue and was over way too quick for my liking. Then Ashton was running off toward his friends further down the corridor. When he was out of earshot, I turned on her.
“Okay, so what was that?”
Stacey played coy. “What was what?”
“Don’t play dumb. You and Ashton Striker? How did that happen?”
She shrugged. “It just kinda happened. He invited me to one of his parties on the weekend, and we kind of hooked up. No big deal.”
“You went to one of his parties? Why didn’t you invite me? I would have come and been your wing woman.”
She looked at me like I’d just grown a second head. “I thought those scenes weren’t your thing. Plus, weren’t you with Dane?”
“Yeah. But we could have come.”
She looked after Ashton. She seemed distracted.
“Hey, what’s up? You seem… different.”
“What? I’m fine.” She went to her locker and gathered her own books. “Our first class is math, right?”
“Yes. And history.” I looked down at the books in her arms. She had her English book and her geography books instead of her math and history textbooks. Something was up with her.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Stace?”
“Yeah. I’m great.” We closed our lockers and began to walk to class.
The bell had just rung.
“Oh, Ashton and the One Strike are having a rehearsal at lunch. They’re playing at the Halloween ball. Isn’t that great?”
“Yeah. That’s awesome.”
“Anyway, I’ll be there if you wanna come.”
“Okay, I’ll check my schedule.”
“And bring Dane.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t know where I stood with Dane. We were fine, right? I mean, he wasn’t disgusted by what I’d told him over the weekend. I would ask him, but it probably wasn’t wise to keep hanging out, seeing as our parents were kind of dating. I had to talk to my dad about it. If they were happy, then Dane and I had to break up. Who was I to deny their happiness? Even to sacrifice my own. I sighed and walked into class.
At the beginning of lunch, I found Dane at his locker. He was gathering his gym gear into a duffle. He smiled when he sensed me beside him. I fiddled with the strap of my backpack just to give my hands something to do.
“Hey! How are you?”
“I’m fine. You?”
He nodded, and holding his bag as it rested the lockers, he leaned toward me and kissed me on the mouth. My face heated, and I looked around when we parted.
“Do you think we should be doing that in public?”
His face dropped. “Yeah. Why not? You’re my girlfriend, aren’t you?”
Girlfriend. He’d just called me his girlfriend.
My heart skipped a beat.
“I… I wasn’t sure where we… you know, stood.”
He dropped his bag on the floor and turned to face me.
“Darce, if you’re still worried about what you told me on the weekend, I told you. I don’t care what you’ve done. You were nine, and that woman was a bitch. So don’t worry about it. It doesn’t make me like you any less.”
I smiled and stepped closer to him. he closed the space and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“That’s good. So, um, I actually came here to see what you were doing at lunch today?”
“Nothing, why? Just the usual, getting food. I’m starving. I just had gym.”
Oh, so that’s why he was sorting out his bag. But he was putting clean clothes into it.
“But you were packing your gym bag?” I said, gesturing at the open bag on the floor by his feet.
“Oh, yeah. I have football practice after school today. I’m just putting some clean gear in there and taking out the smelly gym stuff. Why?”
“Oh, no reason. I’m glad you’re free. I wanted to ask if you wanted to come to watch One Strike’s rehearsal with me.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “How’d you get an invite to that? Those gigs aren’t really open to the public.”
“Oh, really? Stacey invited me. And you. Did you know she and
Ashton Striker are dating now?”
“Wow. I didn’t know that. Ashton dates a lot of girls. I can’t keep up. That’s great, though. When is it?”
“Now. In the theater.”
He picked up his bag and shoved it back in his locker and closed it. “Let’s go then.”
He held out his hand to me. I smiled and didn’t hesitate. I took it, and we made our way over to the Drama Theater.
Chapter Nine
Murder on the Dance Floor
The band had already begun rehearsing by the time Dane and I arrived. We spotted Stacey swaying near the front of the stage, so we went to join her. A few other girls were there as well in front of the stage.
I tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned. The music was so loud we couldn’t hear a thing.
“Hey! You guys made it!” She threw arms around both of us then turned back toward the stage.
“Isn’t he hot?” she shouted.
I nodded for her sake, even though my guy was standing beside me. Dane nodded at Ashton, and he grinned before winking at each of us standing before him.
I began to sway to the music. I couldn’t help it. Their sound was infectious. It was a mix of pop and alternative rock.
Then I felt someone’s hands on my hips. I turned my head and saw Dane standing behind me. He rocked with me to the beat.
After a few songs, the band had a short drink break. Stacey and a few of the other girls excused themselves to go to the bathroom and get a drink as well.
Dane and I waited beside the stage, talking to the drummer Bobby, when a blood-curdling scream pierced the near-empty theater.
“What was that?” Dane asked.
“I don’t know. Let’s go find out.” We ran toward the bathrooms at the back of the theater because that’s where it sounded like the scream came from.
When we got to the girls’ bathroom, a horrifying scene worthy of the most gruesome horror films awaited us.
