Breaking Bloody Mary

by Stephanie Nichole

  As I walked inside the house I tried not to really look at the foyer. I was afraid that if I did, all I would see was Terry’s blood covering the floor. I didn’t trust myself to keep it together. For a few seconds I stood there just staring at the grand staircase when I heard noises coming from upstairs.

  As I made my way up the staircase, I couldn’t help but wonder why Leah would be upstairs with him? Or maybe I already knew but I was trying to be naïve about it, but I couldn’t deny it once I opened the door to his bedroom. They were both on his bed, barely dressed, and in the middle of a heated make out session. I wanted to turn around and leave, erase the memory from my mind. There was another memory I needed to forget but couldn’t. They must have felt my eyes on them because Triv looks back over his shoulder and freezes. The look in his eyes is flooded with guilt. I turn to leave, needing to make an escape as quickly as possible.

  I’m halfway down the stairs when Triv catches me. He’s still trying to put his clothes on. I shake my head in disgust. “Olivette, it’s not what you think.”

  I roll my eyes. “That’s the line you’re going to go with right now? I would have a least picked a good one.”

  “Please, listen to me,” he pleads with me.

  I hear footsteps coming down the stairs and the smell of her sickening, too sweet, vanilla perfume hits my nose. I turn to her. “What? Running away so soon? Please, by all means don’t leave on my account.” Leah goes to take a step toward me, but I hold up my hand to stop her. “Don’t,” I say quietly. “You,” I tell her while pointing at her, “Were supposed to be my friend. We spend a lot of time together and the fact that you lied to my face for however long…well let’s just say I wouldn’t trust you now if you were the last person on Earth.”

  Triv lets out a low whistle like I’m being harsh. My head whips around in his direction. “If I feel that way about her, try to use that tiny imagination of yours and imagine what I think about you. The only difference is I expected this from you but not her!”

  Leah gives me an apologetic look, but I don’t buy it. It’s fake, everything about her is fake. I can’t even stomach to look at her. “I’m sorry Olivette.”

  I glare at her. “I’m sure,” I reply, my voice dripping in sarcasm. Leah rushes out of the house and I’m stuck with Triv looking at me like a lost puppy. The silence and tension is thick, but once I’m sure Leah has had time to leave I walk past Triv and out of the house. When I step outside the chill in the air leaves me shivering. The sky above looks like another storm is brewing. Triv’s hand wraps around my upper arm and spins me back around toward him. “Let go of me.”

  “No! You knew this was coming. I’m a guy and I have needs and you refused to try and meet me halfway. You’re such a prude when it comes to affection,” Triv spits out at me as the thunder roars in the night sky.

  It got dark so quickly. I don’t know where it came from, but Triv’s words hit a nerve. Coming here was a mistake. There was a reason I said we were done. I should have stayed with my initial decision. “Why would I show you affection when I know you’re just waiting to find my replacement?”

  Triv growls in frustration and throws his hands up in the air. “I wouldn’t need a replacement if you’d act normal! I don’t ge— “Triv continues to talk but no longer has my attention. Instead, I listen to the sirens in the distance, so many sirens. Sirens and a storm cause goosebumps to coat my skin. The sky opens up and pours down on us.

  Triv begins to pace while I stand there frozen to the bone. The rain and the chilly autumn air has me wrapping my arms around myself. My unruly curly hair is now plastered to my face. I watch Triv through my wet eyelashes and wonder what I ever saw in him?

  As we’re standing there, headlights wash over us. To my surprise when I turn around I see Penn’s truck sitting in Triv’s driveway. Penn and Chasity hop out of the truck and jog toward us. As they draw closer I notice the bewildered look in their eyes. “What’s wrong?” I ask, as Triv hollers for Penn to get the hell off of his property.

  Penn shuts Triv up with a single glare but I notice that Penn clenches his hands into a fist. As I watch the veins in his hand protrude from the tightening of his muscles I notice his bruised knuckles. I turn around and look back at Triv and the bruise that is now covering his entire cheekbone and everything falls together. “You knew about Leah and Triv,” I say to Penn. I don’t bother asking because I already know the answer.

  Penn hangs his head for a moment. “Olivette.”

  I scoff. “That’s great and you called me a sellout, but you didn’t tell me about Triv and Leah.”

  An angry boom of thunder fills the air, silencing all of us. I don’t know who to glare at; Triv or Penn. All I know is I’m mad and disappointed. Chasity steps forward before I can say anything else. “Leah’s dead.” With those two words it’s like all the air leaves my body.

  Chapter 14

  Olivette

  We all stand there, staring at each other, unsure of what to say next because really, we’re all wondering who is next? First Terry and now Leah, any one of us could be next. Suddenly, the storm becomes even stronger. Little pieces of hail pelt us as well as huge raindrops. It’s impossible to hear anything but Triv sees something because the next thing I know he hollers and takes off for the house.

  As I look to the side of the house where he just was looking I see it. It’s weird looking, you can’t see an actual form, just a part of the scene that looks weird. There’s a portion of the tree you aren’t seeing clearly as the rest. I start to move toward the tree without a second thought just as a huge bolt of lightning lights up the sky. I stop and squint to protect my eyes, but it doesn’t protect my ears from the deafening crack and splitting of a tree. When I open my eyes, I see the sparks flying from where the lightning hit the tree.

  A large limb begins to fall but I don’t move. I can’t. I feel rooted here but then I feel a set of strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me back a few steps before I fall to the ground. The body covers me in case the limb falls this way which is possible with the way this wind is blowing. I can hear Chasity hollering from behind us but when I look up I get lost in Penn’s eyes. The water and hail beat down on us, but it doesn’t matter. I see something more than I’ve ever saw before. “We need to get inside,” Penn tells me as he moves to get up. He extends his hand and helps me up. “Get to the house,” Penn tells Chasity.

  We start to jog in the direction of the doorway where I can see Triv standing with the door open, waiting for us. Chasity is about ten steps ahead of us. She jogs past Triv and into the house. She’s turning around to check on us when the door is slammed shut. Penn and I come to an abrupt stop on the steps of the porch.

  Triv and Chasity bang on the other side of the door. Penn moves to the door and tries to pull it open but it’s not budging. As if everything happens in slow motion, I turn around and look back to the side of the house, only this time I can make out a figure. A girl dressed in white with red stems running down her face. The lightning dances in the night sky and the storm rages on. Her eyes look sad, almost apologetic and just like that she’s gone and the electricity around us disappears.

  Penn grabs my hand and pulls me back to his truck. He opens the driver’s door and ushers me inside. I crawl over to the passenger side of the street. Penn bangs the steering wheel in frustration. “I shouldn’t have sent Chasity ahead of us.”

  “She’ll be okay,” I whisper weakly.

  I can feel Penn’s eyes on me. He starts the engine and blasts the heater. “You must be freezing, and I think you may be in shock.” I stare blankly ahead, into the darkness. Penn grabs my face between his large, strong hands. “Olivette, look at me. I need you to stay with me. I don’t know exactly what’s going on but you’re a big part of it.”

  I nod because I know he’s right. I can feel it in my bones. Everything that is happening is because of me. I move my head to stare back at the house, only the headlights illuminating it. I see the door open and Chas
ity crawling out. I grab Penn’s forearm. “Penn.”

  He looks in the same direction as me. Penn curses under his breath then turns to me. “Stay here. I’ll get her.” Penn is out of the truck and moving before I can say anything. I watch as he runs up to the house and helps Chasity up but then I lose the image of them because the figure is back right in front of my face. Her face morphs into one of anger and her mouth opens as if she can scream, just as all the glass in the truck shatters. I duck down and grab the door handle. I move out of the truck and take off running toward Penn and Chasity.

  I’m halfway to them when the rain suddenly stops. I stop running as the eerie quiet washes over the area. I turn around and scan the area then the night sky. There’s nothing to be seen but you can feel it. Suddenly, the ground jolts, knocking me onto my butt. The ground shakes as if there is an earthquake. I hear Penn yelling for me, but I’m stuck exactly where I am. Penn and Chasity appear beside me, helping me back to my feet just as the fountain in the circle drive spurts to life. “Is that…” I try to ask but can’t finish the sentence.

  “Blood?” Chasity whispers.

  I hear Penn swallow before he tells us, “Come on we got to go.”

  Just as we are about to head for the truck, Triv peels out from one of the garages. He stops in front of us and unlocks the doors. “Get in!” he hollers from the rolled down window. None of us hesitate to hop in his mother’s SUV. As soon as the doors shut behind us they lock and Triv pulls out of the driveway like a bat out of hell. Each of our bodies bounce around between his driving and the ground shaking. Somehow, we manage to make it out of the driveway.

  Once were on the road and heading back toward town Triv asks, “Someone want to explain what in the hell is going on here?”

  After a silence that feels like an eternity, I answer with the only explanation I have. “Bloody Mary.”

  Triv laughs harshly. “Yeah, okay, sure that makes sense.”

  Shaking my head, I glare at the back of his head. “I didn’t say it made sense! All I know is that everything happening is somehow connected to that damn legend. The legend that one of you dared Terry to summon last night and now he’s dead.”

  “And Leah,” Chasity adds quietly.

  I scoff. “Oh yeah, so is your other girlfriend. Sorry for your loss by the way.”

  Triv starts to say something when Penn cuts him off. “Olivette, do you have the Bloody Mary book that Oski gave us?”

  I shake my head. “No, I already looked for it earlier today.”

  Penn sighs. “I don’t remember seeing it either.” We sit in the SUV, driving aimlessly through the streets of our sleepy town. Our town that had always seemed safe from the cruelties of the outside world. We had also prided ourselves on our low crime rate. Penn snaps his fingers, it’s one of his signs for when he finally remembers something or gets an idea. “Bannen!”

  “What about him?” I ask from the backseat, next to Chasity.

  “He might have the book. Bannen gets into these legends like you and I used too. If neither of us have the book, then he definitely does.”

  Chasity clears her throat. “Plus, we have some news from the research we did. Bannen is like a genius, right?” Penn nods. “Good. Then maybe he can figure out what we couldn’t.”

  I look between my former best friend and my current best friend and feel a bit of jealousy coursing through my body. “Have you two been hanging out long?”

  Penn looks over his shoulder and the rim of his glasses to meet my eyes. “No, just this evening while trying to figure out what was going on here. Chasity tried to call you, but you never answered.”

  His tone is condescending, and it grates on my nerves. I smile sweetly but he knows me better than that. When I speak my voice is sarcastic. “I’m sorry. I was busy finding my kind of boyfriend all over another girl. Some of us didn’t know about his side piece like you did.”

  “Really Olivette? That’s mature,” Penn comments, then turns back around to face the road.

  “I’m sorry I’m not the pillar of maturity right now. My entire world is being flipped upside down and I feel like my body is being ripped into two damn pieces. I saw a dead body for the first-time last night. Then my boyfriend was busy hooking up with Leah who is also dead. Now, my two best friends have become besties. So, I’m sorry if I feel like I’m losing my mind right now!” I end up yelling the last part. Chasity reaches over and takes my hand in hers. She’s trying to reassure me but right now nothing is reassuring. My insides feel like they are on fire and my head is pounding.

  “Bannen’s house is up here the right,” Penn tells Triv. No one comments about my outburst as we get out of the SUV and make our way to Bannen’s front door.

  Chapter 15

  Penn

  I can only imagine how we looked standing on Bannen’s doorstep. We were soaked, bloody, and scared. The moment Bannen opened the door his smile falls from his face at the sight of us. Without a word he steps aside and holds the door open for us.

  “Do you have a first aid kit?” Olivette asks from behind me.

  I turn around and see that both, Chasity and Trivitt are bleeding.

  Bannen nods his head. “Yeah, head up to my room. I’ll be right there. Penn, help me get some drinks and snacks.” I follow Bannen silently because I know the moment we are in the kitchen he is going to want an explanation. Just as I suspected Bannen spins around and gives me a questioning look. “Want to tell me what’s going on?” he asks.

  I ignore him, like I don’t know what he’s talking about, like me showing up with the three teens upstairs is normal. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tell him as I step around him and open the fridge to gather drinks for everyone. After the night we’ve had I’m sure we could all use some sugar and caffeine.

  Suddenly, the fridge closes in front of my face causing me to jump back with the cans of soda in my arms. “You know exactly what I mean? Olivette, Chasity, and Trivitt; when did you become one of them?”

  I roll my eyes. “I didn’t. It’s a long story and I’ll explain.”

  “Yeah, I think you should because none of this makes sense. Yesterday, you were beating Trivitt and talking about how stupid cheerleaders were and now all three of them are here,” Bannen quietly scolds me.

  I sigh and place the sodas on the kitchen island. “There’s something huge going on here.” When I don’t continue Bannen clears his throat to get me to go on. I can’t meet his eyes because he might think I’ve lost my mind. “Terry got killed last night but it’s completely unexplained and then Leah got killed tonight in a car wreck that was just bizarre.”

  “Okay…” Bannen says slowly. “How does this involve those three?”

  I sigh. “I don’t know exactly. There’s something going on that I have come to terms with, but telling you is going to make it sound crazy.”

  I finally raise my head enough to see Bannen’s eyes. He’s shaking his head at me. “Try me.”

  “I think that Terry summoned Bloody Mary and now she’s loose.”

  Bannen is silent for a moment before he busts out laughing. “Seriously?”

  I shake my head and start to grab the drinks and snacks again. “Yes, I told you it was crazy. I tried to deny it but it’s the only thing that makes any sense.”

  “How so?” Bannen asks from behind me, his tone serious.

  When I turn around I see there is no trace of his humor from moments ago. Maybe, he doesn’t think I’m crazy after all. “I think it’d be better if we discuss it all together. Chasity and I did some research earlier, but we need to trace something and you’re best at that. Plus, we’ll have to bring Olivette up to speed, so we might as well just recap all this at once.” Bannen nods and helps grab some of the stuff off the kitchen island and we make our way up the stairs. Bannen stops in the bathroom and appears in his bedroom seconds later with a first aid kit.

  I watch as Olivette works on doctoring and bandaging both Chasity and Trivitt. Once she finis
hes we all take a moment to eat something and let our nerves settle. “Okay, let’s get down to business,” Bannen says.

  I nod once. “Okay, so it’s no secret that as kids Olivette and I had a slight obsession with urban legends. Olivette really got into the legend of Bloody Mary. The night that Terry was killed he was dared to summon Bloody Mary. By the way his death was described, I’d say it could easily fall under Bloody Mary’s legend.”

  “Blood Mary can kill you now?” Trivitt asks with speculation.

  Olivette scoffs. “She always could. Legend says that when she is summoned she can leave your face horrifically scarred, rip out your eyes, drive you insane, or kill you.”

  “Olivette is right. Chasity and I did some research to make sure that my memory was correct this afternoon. One of the consequences of summoning her can be death. Did you ever finish reading the book Oski gave us on her?” I ask Olivette.

  She nods her head and I watch as her wild curls bounce. Her hair is still damp, but it doesn’t stop her curls movement. I had always thought her hair was unique. “Yeah, years ago, why?”

  “Did it mention anything about what’s happening now? Bloody Mary breaking free and going on a killing spree?”

  Olivette nibbles on her bottom lip while thinking. “I don’t remember. I didn’t pay much attention to any of that. I was intrigued by her story. I do know it mentioned the red lightning and blood rain.”

  Bannen stands up suddenly and walks over to the shelves in his room, He turns around with a worn book in his hands. “This book?”

  Olivette and I both stand up and move towards him. “How?”

  Bannen chuckles. “You lent it to me a while ago. I’ve been meaning to give it back but keep forgetting. Now, I’m kind of glad I didn’t.”