The Butcher Box Set

by Sian B. Claven

  Tatum was taken by surprise. She had spent the whole weekend obsessing over the vanishing girl and had completely forgotten about Roger and the way he had caught her when she collapsed at the party.

  Jacqui smiled. “Come on, going out with Roger will help you forget all about the macabre woman and Mr Wild’s stroke. We’ll have a ton of fun, Tat!”

  Tatum realised that Jacqui needed her to say yes more than Tatum needed to. Jacqui needed to know her best friend wasn’t destined for the loony bin, so Tatum gave her a bright smile.

  “Hell yeah! Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe he is actually going to go out on a date with me.”

  Jacqui squealed in happiness. “And it’s a double date because his best friend Darren asked me out as well.”

  She was hopping on the spot and Tatum imitated her, burying her dread and fear deep inside so that she could muster up some happiness to share in the moment.

  The two started to talk about the best night to go the fayre and soon enough had decided that the following night, on Tuesday, would be the perfect night. Jacqui skipped off to confirm the dates with Roger and Darren while Tatum opened her locker to get her books.

  Tatum didn’t want to dress all fancy for her night out with Roger, but she didn’t want her first date with him to be too casual either. After showering and blow drying her hair straight, she stood in front of her cupboard once again cringing at the averageness of her clothing choices.

  After the party fiasco, Kalli had clicked that Tatum had ‘borrowed’ her clothes and had such a fit that Tatum didn’t dare step foot inside her sister's bedroom again.

  Heaving out an extended breath, Tatum started to rifle until she found a nice pair of tight fitting jeans along with a light blue blouse. She wanted to go casual but pretty and this was about as close as she was going to get to achieving that. She applied some light makeup and after a final inspection of herself in her full-length mirror, she decided to leave.

  She was supposed to be meeting Jacqui at the corner shop. Jacqui said Roger was borrowing his father’s car to take them out. He was going to pick Darren up first, then Jacqui and Tatum at the corner. She got there first and tried to figure out the best way to hang around without looking like a hooker. She giggled at the thought and then decided to wait right by the corner shop door.

  Holding her left arm in her right hand, she swung slowly from side to side, thinking about all the things she wanted to do to look cool to Roger. Jacqui came skipping up the road; she had chosen to go for a casual look as well. Her blond hair was tied in a high pony and her tight jeans accentuated her curves. She wore a dark red boob tube that showed off just a little too much cleavage. Next to her, Tatum felt like she was dressed like a nun.

  They hugged and chatted about the boys and whether or not it was acceptable to reach second base on the first date. If anyone had asked, Tatum would honestly admit she was really excited about going on a date with Roger. She hadn’t told Jacqui, but it wasn’t just her first date with Roger, it was her first date ever.

  They heard a distant hoot and both girls swung around to look at the blue Chevrolet Impala that soon pulled up next to them with a roar. Roger killed the engine and got out. Tatum wanted to swoon at his dashing smile as he ran a hand through his wavy black hair and made his way around the car.

  “Hey” he said a little awkwardly.

  She couldn’t help the blush that crept up her face. “Hey!”

  Jacqui launched herself into Darren’s arms and kissed him deeply before pulling away to look at the awkward duo. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get going, guys!”

  Roger smiled and opened the passenger door for her, offering her his hand as she climbed in.

  “Thank you,” she said softly, still feeling rather shy.

  Inwardly she was cursing herself; she was supposed to be acting cool, and here she could barely string a sentence together. Roger shut the door once she was in and moved to the driver's side.

  With another roar of the engine, they were off to the fayre.

  Darren and Jacqui giggled in the back as the car snaked its way through the suburbs towards the pier where the fayre had been set up. Between the giggles and moans, Tatum and Roger would steal shy glances at each other. There was no point trying to converse over the noise in the car, but Roger did try to make her a little more comfortable by turning the music up.

  She gazed out the window at the passing scenery, bobbing her head softly to the beat of the song. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the pier and Roger started to circle the makeshift parking lot, looking for somewhere safe to park. Tatum craned her neck and, between the cars, she swore she saw one of the fayre workers. She had slicked back blond hair and her face was painted like a skeleton. Tatum turned in her seat to look back, but she was blocked from sight by the various cars and vans they had passed.

  “There!” Jacqui called from the back, leaning between the front seats to point out a parking. “Park there and let’s get going!”

  Darren pulled her back into her seat and kissed her neck hungrily.

  Tatum rolled her eyes and as the car stopped she climbed out. “You two are disgusting,” she called as she closed her door and tried to stifle a smile.

  Roger made sure the car was locked before he moved around to Tatum’s side. Jacqui looped her arm through Darren’s and the two of them took off ahead. Roger gave her a gentle smile.

  “Can I hold your hand?” he asked, holding out his right hand.

  She smiled and nodded, giving him her left hand and allowing their fingers to intertwine. They walked after their friends in a comfortable silence.

  The fayreground was anything but quiet and the closer they got to the fun, the louder the sounds and the stronger the smells were. Excitement bubbled inside Tatum as they approached. The smell of cotton candy and popcorn was so strong in the air that she could taste it in her mouth already. There were shrieks and squeals coming from the various rides and, of course, the sound of the carousel. All of them seemed to have that same built-in tune that called up memories of being young and small enough to pretend the horses were real.

  The sun had only just started its descent; therefore the bright lights of the fayre were not as enticing as they would be at night. Roger paid for tickets for all of them and led them through the gathering crowd at the entrance until they were inside and out of the way.

  “Where to first?” Roger asked, looking around.

  Jacqui was hanging on Darren and said, “We want to go on some rides.”

  Roger looked at Tatum who smiled and nodded. “Yeah, that would be cool.”

  They walked towards the back of the carnival where they could see the rides going in full swing. One looked like a huge circle of cages that spun around at high speed. One long arm extended the spinning circle up and around, and it appeared dangerous and exciting. There was one that looked like two ships swinging in opposite directions but timed together. There were other rides as well - a small roller coaster, a teacup ride that jerked people from side to side, a few rides for smaller children, and a Ferris wheel.

  Tatum gave Roger a big smile. “I want to go on them all; they all look like so much fun.”

  Roger gave a small bow. “But of course, whatever you wish.”

  He pulled her along and they started at one end of the rides and worked their way across all of them, sometimes doing a specific ride two or three times because it was so much fun.

  Tatum got caught up in all the happiness of the fayre and the hormones of being around Roger. He was perfect. The way he held her hand, or brushed her hair out of her face, or smiled at her. The way he called her name when she skipped ahead of him or how he held her when she squealed in fright.

  Darren and Jacqui were in their own world and it was only when they regrouped that they would all talk about the exciting things they had done.

  Time flew by and soon the fayre was aglow with bright lights as the sun disappeared from view and the night came out t
o play. Tatum felt as if it was one of the most magical evenings she had had since her father passed away. Roger made her feel alive.

  Once they exhausted the thrill of the fastest rides they could find, they went in search of food. While they sipped cold sodas and chewed on hot corn dogs, they fell into a comfortable silence. They took in the other sights the fayre had to offer while they ate, going from the bearded lady to a serpent charmer to juggling midget clowns. They finished their food just as they were approaching the final attraction - the haunted house.

  “Tatum doesn’t like haunted houses!” Jacqui teased as she snuggled into Darren’s side. “She scares too easily.”

  Tatum pulled a face at her, but shivered nonetheless. “I just don’t like things jumping out at me.”

  “I’ll protect you,” Roger promised, and slipped his arm around her shoulders smoothly.

  She blushed but enjoyed the contact, snuggling up close to him. “Okay. If you go with I’ll try the haunted house.”

  Jacqui clapped her hands. “Okay then, let’s do this.” Jacqui took Darren’s hand and pulled him forward, stepping through the thin black fabric that covered the entrance.

  Roger smiled and dropped his arm so he could take Tatum’s hand, leading her into the first dark room. A window cut out of the wall lit up with a mouldy looking mummy suddenly coming to life with a loud groan.

  Jacqui burst into laughter. “This is going to be cheesier than I thought,” she said, leading the way to the next room.

  Tatum walked slower than she normally would, trying to avoid becoming terrified by things that suddenly jumped out. The mummy didn’t do anything to her, but she knew there were also people in the house paid to jump out and scare guests. She followed behind Roger, holding onto his hand tightly.

  The next room was bigger and had what was clearly fake dried blood splattered onto the walls.

  A man dressed as a vampire sneaked behind Jacqui and wailed right by her ear, causing her to jump, and the group of friends burst into giggles. The man held his black cloak in front of his mouth so all they could see where his eyes as he wailed again, “Beware … beware …”

  Roger looked at Tatum with a grin and rolled his eyes. “This is so lame, you probably didn’t need me to protect you, Tat.”

  She smiled and moved closer to him. “I’m still scared,” she said.

  Even though she wasn’t, it was a good reason to be near Roger. He smelled good, musky and manly, and she liked how protective he was of her. The smile he gave her as he looked down at her was almost enough to make her melt.

  They walked into a darkened hallway. The only light was dimmed glows behind large panes of glass that lined the hall in sections. The rooms on either side had been turned into those spaces at the zoo where you could see the animals ‘inside’ their habitat. Only, instead of animals, there were spooking looking things behind the glass.

  Jacqui and Darren barrelled ahead, laughing as they looked into each ‘exhibit’, while Roger and Tatum trailed slowly together. Through the first glass, they saw what was clearly supposed to be a decapitated person walking around and clawing at the glass. It was a badly done costume and Tatum wasn’t even fazed.

  They went to the opposite glass and saw a zombie gorging itself on a brain, although they could clearly see it was just spaghetti in a bowl. The one next to that housed a person in a strait jacket laughing manically, the laughter dulled by the thick glass. They went to the final glass and it seemed empty, nothing in a black room.

  Tatum glanced at Roger, who shrugged, and peered back in the room only to come face to face with a blond girl, her face painted to make her look like a skeleton. Tatum nearly jumped out of her skin as she screamed in terror and buried herself against Roger.

  Roger chuckled softly and patted her back. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.” He rubbed her back soothingly. “It’s just a stupid clown.”

  Clown? She frowned and looked up. It was a clown, or rather some fat guy dressed up as an axe-swinging fool. Tatum looked inside the room.

  “Where did she go?” she asked Roger.

  He looked into the room too. “Who?”

  She frowned. “The skeleton girl, the one that gave me the fright. Where did she go?”

  Roger’s head tilted to the side. “A skeleton girl? No, Tat, the only thing in this room is the clown. I thought that was what made you scream?”

  She shook her head. “There was a girl, a young woman, painted to look like a skeleton. She had blond hair that was gelled back. Roger, don’t creep me out.”

  Roger held his hands up in defence. “I’m not, Tat. I honestly didn’t see a skeleton anything.”

  Frustrated, Tatum turned on her heel and stormed through the rest of the attraction with an apologetic, albeit discouraged, Roger chasing after her. She pushed past Jacqui and Darren, and exited.

  Once outside, Tatum stopped and wrapped her arms around herself. She had seen the damn skeleton woman, she knew she had, and Roger trying to freak her out in the Haunted House was not cool.

  He came up to her with his hands in his pockets. “Tat. I’m sorry; I really wasn’t trying to upset you. I honestly didn’t see a skeleton girl and neither did Jacqui or Darren. I checked with them both …”

  Tatum felt like an idiot getting spooked like that. “I’m sorry too. Maybe we should just get going, you know? It’s late and I don’t want to be late for school tomorrow morning.”

  Roger clearly seemed disappointed, but he let out a sigh and said, “Yeah, okay, maybe we can go bowling some other time?”

  Tatum agreed, hugging herself while Roger went to round up their friends to take them home.

  Roger opened her door for her when they arrived at her house. He had already dropped Darren and Jacqui off after they kissed each other a hundred times, and thanked him a hundred times for the lift and fun night. The drive home from Jacqui’s house was awkward because it was just the two of them and Tatum didn’t know what to say to make up for freaking out earlier.

  Once out of the car, Tatum thanked him quietly.

  He smiled down at her. “Hey, don’t feel bad, okay. Just because I didn’t see her, doesn’t mean she wasn’t there.”

  The reassurance did wonders for her and she gave him a shy smile. “I really did have fun tonight …”

  Roger took a step closer to her as she spoke, so she fell silent. He used his forefinger to tilt her head up to look at him and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

  “Next week bowling?” His warm breath whispered against her lips and she shivered slightly, not trusting the words to come out. She simply nodded. “Goodnight,” he said quietly before going back to his car.

  Tatum felt like she was soaring. She was so happy she couldn’t contain it and watched him with a goofy smile on her face.

  Roger started the car and waved goodbye as he pulled off into the street. She waved back, but her smile faded as she noticed someone sitting in the back seat. Her eyes widened as the person looked back at her; it was the blond skeleton girl from the Haunted House, and it looked like she was smiling at Tatum.

  It all fell into place then. The woman from her dream, she was the same shape and size as the woman who had been in Mr Wild’s garden, the same shape and size as the girl who had disappeared at the party. The same one in the parking lot and in the Haunted House.

  She was following Tatum around.

  Tatum grabbed her phone from her bag and dialled Roger’s number, but it just rang out. She tried dialling for the police, but the world felt like it was spinning and, before she could do anything further, her world turned to darkness as she fainted.

  Chapter Four

  Tatum sat bolt upright in her bed, and that in itself confused her. The last thing she remembered was Roger kissing her goodnight before he left and then she was trying to warn him about something, so finding herself in her bed in the early hours of the morning was a surprise for her.

  She wondered how she had gotten here and who had changed her into her py
jamas. She felt groggy, as though she was in the pool and all her movement had slowed and were laboured. Her head pounded and her neck felt stiff. A dried trail of drool made the right side of her mouth feel sticky and uncomfortable.

  Getting out of bed, she trudged to the bathroom. The bright morning light was blinding and made her headache pound more ferociously. She splashed cool water onto her face before looking at herself in the mirror. She imagined that this was what hung-over felt like. Sore, stiff and unable to do much.

  Tatum brushed her teeth with about as much energy as a slug before she washed her face properly and went to fall back into her bed.

  “Tat? Are you up, honey?”

  Tatum groaned at the sound of her mom’s voice. She just wanted to spend the morning sleeping in.

  “Tat? Your breakfast is going to get cold!”

  The statement elicited a rumble from her traitorous stomach; sleep was not going to happen now that breakfast was on the cards. She pulled herself together and walked downstairs to the kitchen where Luell and Sylva were already sitting at the table. She sat with a groan, crossed her arms on the table and collapsed onto them.

  “Late night, sweetheart?” Luell cooed, stroking the back of Tatum’s head.

  Tatum breathed into her arms, “Yes.” Her voice didn’t sound like her own. It sounded like someone who had smoked ten packs of cigarettes one after the other.

  Luell frowned and knelt by her. “You okay? You sound like you’re getting sick.”

  Tatum slowly raised her head and nodded. That alone took all the energy she had to offer.

  Luell rubbed her back and said, “Okay, well, have something to eat and head on upstairs and get some rest, okay? Or you can have a snooze on the sofa? No school for you today.”

  She smiled at her mother and said, “Okay.”

  They ate breakfast in silence and they were almost done with their eggs and bacon when Tatum looked around and asked, “Where’s Kalli?”