by Jamie Loeak
in the front yard. They shoved her underwear and bra into the most popular boy’s mailbox with a love note from Kate. Ally had even ripped apart Kate’s stuffed dog in an effort to fit in with the girls that were being mean to Kate. The worst part was the picture that circulated around school the Monday afterwards. The boy had taken photos of the supposed gift that Kate left in the mailbox, and sent it to all of his friends. Life after that had been difficult, and Kate had been eager to move to another city; she thought that each new city would bring new, kinder people into her life, people that wouldn’t hurt others on purpose. She crossed her fingers, hoping that she wasn’t about to make the same mistake.
Kate pushed the memory from her mind and finished packing. That kind of stuff would not happen at this sleepover. First, the girls were older now. Second, there was only one girl at this sleepover. She would not allow herself to think negatively of Adriana, especially since she knew so little about her. Kate hurried to finish packing her things and emerged from the house seconds later, excited for her second sleepover.
Adriana lived in a beautiful three-story Tuscan. Vines crept up the taupe walls and clung to the upstairs windows, seemingly blocking out any light. An onyx Audi A5 was parked in the garage next to a cherry Ferrari 458 Italia, and Kate stared at them as she walked by.
The interior was even more ostentatious. The chandelier above the foyer was an upside down birdcage; antique hanging lamps clung to the walls. The furniture scattered about the house was mix and match, with pastel wooden chairs sitting next to unpainted ones, all pushed underneath a table that looked like an old door. Kate followed Adriana up a winding staircase and into her bedroom.
Adriana’s bedroom looked like something out of Princess Jasmine’s catalogue. The bed was painted a dull gold color, dark wood peeking through the peeled back edges. Teal accessories, including an antique oval mirror and jeweled pillows, were placed in the perfect locations, offering splashes of color among the gold and chocolate of the bigger pieces. As Kate walked around the room, mesmerized by its beauty and maturity, she gawked at a magic lamp. Adriana even had a magic lamp.
“Do you like my room?” Adriana asked, obviously pleased with Kate’s reaction.
“Like it? I love it, Adriana. It’s beautiful,” Kate said honestly.
Adriana smiled and pushed her dark hair behind her shoulders. She walked to a door that opened to reveal a large closet.
“You can put your things in here,” Adriana said, pointing to a plush ottoman sitting in the center of the expansive room. Kate looked around at the ivory and black room. Adriana almost certainly had a hundred pairs of shoes, mostly high heels, and Kate didn’t miss that most of her wardrobe was black.
As if in answer to Kate’s question, Adriana responded. “Black is my favorite color. It’s very slimming and always makes you look older than you really are.”
Kate nodded like she understood. Inside, however, she was puzzled by Adriana’s sense of style and maturity. She was shocked at the amount of beautiful, handcrafted antiques in Adriana’s bedroom, but reminded herself that it was modeled after a Disney princess; it was proof enough that Adriana remembered her innocence.
“Come on, Kate. Let’s watch a movie downstairs. I’m in the mood for some popcorn. What about you?” Adriana asked.
“I think that sounds great,” Kate said. It would offer a great distraction from the questions that circled around Kate’s mind. Plus, it would be a great way to bond with a girl that she didn’t know very well.
Kate followed Adriana back downstairs. Adriana plopped down on a cushy couch covered with pillows and picked up the remote for a very large television. Expertly flicking through the channels that Kate still had to learn, Adriana showed a list of movies, asking Kate which one she wanted to see. Kate chose a sappy love story and the two of them snuggled into the cushions with bowls of popcorn, ready to bawl their eyes out.
“I just love being in love,” Adriana sighed as the girls walked upstairs after watching two movies in a row. They had managed to spend their entire evening bonding over their favorite movies while simultaneously eating four bags of buttery popcorn.
“I bet it’s beautiful, Adriana,” Kate commented, suddenly unsure of herself.
“Oh, I forgot, Kate. I’m sorry,” Adriana said. “I didn’t mean to bring that up. I wasn’t thinking.”
Kate smiled, understanding. However, she was glad that Adriana wasn’t going to bring up the fact that she couldn’t really join the conversation. It showed Adriana’s true character; Kate suspected that when Adriana fell in love, she did it fearlessly, and Kate hoped that she could be like that when her time came.
“Your time will come,” Adriana added knowingly. “Don’t rush it, though. It won’t be beautiful if you rush it.”
“I know,” Kate agreed.
The girls reached Adriana’s room then, and got ready for bed. Surprisingly, Kate was exhausted from the car ride back home and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the soft, feather pillow.
Much later, a noise from downstairs woke Kate up. She reached under her pillow for her phone to check the time. It was four in the morning. Sleepily, Kate shoved her phone under her pillow and tried to make herself fall back into the dream she had been having. If Adriana didn’t wake up then there must not be any danger.
However, moments later Kate heard footsteps below, on the second landing. She sat up, instantly alert, afraid that the demon had found her. Kate slipped out of bed, relieved that Adriana had a memory foam mattress. She might be able to get a good look at the demon and describe him to Rico when she next saw him. It might be able to help Rico on his quest to protect Kate and Adriana.
The hall was dimly lit, the antique light fixtures still burning. Kate pressed herself against the wall and walked slowly until she reached the top of the stairs. Someone was in one of the bedrooms on the second floor.
For a second Kate was torn, forced to choose between waking Adriana and continuing alone. She took a step toward the stairs before she even finished her thought, knowing that she would face the demon on her own. This was her battle; she knew that it would be smarter to wake Adriana, but she couldn’t risk Adriana’s safety. Plus, she had to find out who her stalker was.
7
There was a large vase filled with long, decorative metal rods somewhere, and Kate wracked her brain in an attempt to remember where. She stopped on the second landing, aware that her heart beat furiously. She almost decided to walk in empty handed but saw the vase off to her left, on the bottom level. Kate quickly slipped down the stairs, keeping to the shadows, and grabbed one of the metal poles, gripping it tightly, her knuckles white.
The second landing was covered with shaggy carpet, and Kate was thankful, because in her nervousness she failed to walk on her tiptoes. She held her breath as she got closer and rearranged her grip on her weapon so that she could disarm her attacker easily. Kate could see where the demon had taken refuge; a door at the end of the hall that sat slightly ajar. Light spilled out onto the carpet through the crack, and Kate was careful not to step into it, afraid of giving her position away.
Now that Kate was there, standing in front of the door, she was stuck. She didn’t know what to do. Was she supposed to yell and kick the door open? Was she supposed to peek in and watch his plan unfold before barging in and announcing that she knew all of his secrets? Or was she supposed to wait there, staff in hand until he actually came out?
Kate never had the opportunity to make a decision because the door opened at that moment. Kate reacted, swinging the rod down hard, connecting with flesh and bone. She saw her attacker fall at her feet, unaware of who or what had attacked him. She lifted her weapon up again, prepared to strike her assailant, to frighten him like he had frightened her, when she heard a soft moan of protest.
“Kate, it’s just me,” said the familiar voice, drowned out because of the carpet.
“Rico?” Kate asked, extremely confused.
“Yes, Rico,” said
the voice again.
Kate leaned the weapon against the wall quickly and crouched down next to Rico. Her heart pounded, a mix of embarrassment and worry. She reached out, touching the naked skin of his back. He flinched under her touch, and she pulled away.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I thought you were the demon. I thought you were trying to attack me. You told Adriana about the demons, so I thought he was coming here for both of us. I’m so, so sorry,” she said.
She watched as Rico stirred. He lifted himself up and leaned against the wall and rubbed his shoulder. He looked up at the ceiling, ignoring her presence as he regained control. Kate watched as a bruise started forming and winced. She began muttering apologies until Rico put his hand up, stopping her.
“Don’t worry about it,” he mumbled finally. “I’m fine, although I must admit that you aren’t bad. I almost think you could take care of yourself if you had to,” he said. A small smile broke across his face.
“I really am sorry,” was all Kate could say.
“Hey,” Rico said, catching Kate’s eyes and holding them. “You had no idea that I would be here. I know that you wouldn’t hit me like that on purpose. Believe me, I’m fine. I just need to grab some water and ice now. I’ll feel much better after that.”
With that, he stood up and held
