“You sure it was Alli?”
He shrugs his shoulders sarcastically. “Pretty sure. Don’t know many red heads. Why? Shouldn’t you be focusing on Oli-”
I replace the gun with my hand, squeezing until he sputters as I lower my face to nearly touch his. “Say her fucking name, and I’ll rip your goddamn throat out,” I warn him, seeing the fear caress his eyes before he shuts them, desperate for air.
I let go, making sure I keep the gun pointed at him as I take a step back.
“Jesus,” he gasps, leaning over and holding his neck.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, so I pull it out and see that the camera in Olivia’s room detected motion.
I watch her as she walks around her room and by the way she’s dressed, I can tell that she’s about to leave the cabin again. I stare in awe as she walks toward the mirror and touches her hair. And fuck, seeing her in her little makeshift Halloween costume has me in fucking knots right now—a sweater that looks identical to that of Freddy Krueger tucked into a black mini skirt, some fishnet tights, and tall black boots. A fucking nightmare my little reckless is. She always did love her scary movies. And her pink hair, I feel my body react as I remember how it felt to be tangled into my fucking fingers.
I hear Jensen breathing, forcing air into his lungs as he continues to try and catch his breath. I look up from the camera as Olivia walks out of frame, taking one look into the idiot's eyes before whipping the handle of the gun into his head and he tumbles backwards as he groans in pain.
“Agh, what the fuck!?” He holds his hands to his temple as he tries to maintain balance against the side of the house, but I yank him into me by the collar of his shirt.
“This is your last fucking warning before I decide that you’ll be breathing out of a fucking tube. Do not test me.”
He’s lucky I don’t kneecap him for his comment, for scaring her at the bonfire, for the stupid look on his face. For all the time I had to watch him be fuckingnear her, look at her, kiss her. He deserves worse than a bop on the fucking head.
He doesn’t even respond, which is probably best because anything he says might rub me the wrong way. I toss his pathetic ass to the side and he eagerly stumbles away, disappearing into the woods and out of my fucking sight.
I look at the phone one more time before putting it away, regretting that I didn’t set up the cameras throughout the whole cabin instead of just Olivia’s room. I might have been to see if Alli ever went back to the cabin, if only to verify what Jensen is saying.
I close out of the video feed on Olivia’s room and I lock the phone and stuff it away, placing my gun in my pocket as well. I decide to search the house, needing to be sure for myself. If Jensen was telling the truth, then Alli has to still be inside because as far as I know, there are only two exits and she hasn’t come out of either.
I round the corner and walk toward the door, hoping that Olivia’s friend isn’t who I’m going to have to kill tonight.
23
OLIVIA
"But you're doing so well. We can't stop now." — Ghostface, Scream (1996)
Ididn’t expect to fall asleep. My intention was to take a shower—washing my shame and lingering lust from my body—before getting dressed, and then heading back out. But all I can remember is getting out of the shower, drinking from my water bottle and then waking up damn near naked in my bed, minus Trace’s hoodie. I slipped it on because I’m weak. That’s the only excuse I have. He’s intoxicating and I can’t seem to deny the fucking claimed he’s marked on my soul.
As I stand in the mirror, analyzing myself, I try to think back to that night. That weekend. What it felt like to have Deck in my life back then. Remember my friendship with Seren before that weekend, and how I miss the hell out of both of them. But then something foreboding takes over, flooding my mind with an ominous feeling. I can’t place it. But it feels a lot like death. Like losing someone again. Like my heart is being yanked from my body only to be replaced by a hollow replica. Was I truly happy before everything happened? Was I truly as alive as I claim to have been? I feel like I was, but what if that is just a placeholderfeeling as well. What if I didn’t just lose memories, but feelings? What if I’m not remembering anything as it was?
I look outside, seeing that the snow has started to pick up a little again. And as I focus on the pine trees, watching the snowflakes fluttering down from the sky to caress the branches, I see…
Alli walks out from the distance, seemingly coming out from hiding beyond the trees and just as quickly, I notice Seren approaching her with what looks like irritation sewn onto her face. They both meet in the center of my view, immediately jumping into conversation.
I scoot as close to the window as I can but I can’t hear anything and I don’t want to risk being caught by opening the window. Instead, I just observe the interaction silently as I notice Seren starting to yell at Alli, pointing her finger at her and waving some kind of paper between them. Alli tries to snatch the paper, but Seren yanks it back and smiles wickedly. I watch as Alli folds her arms across her chest, seeming uncomfortable with the interaction and maybe even a modicum of regret painting her expression.
My curiosity plagues me; what’s in that note? What are they fighting about? But I don’t have time to truly come up with an explanation before I see Seren rear her hand back and swipe it across Alli’s face, slappingher. I gasp, stepping back in shock and looking away for just a brief second and when I look back, they’re gone. I step away from the widow, training my ears to listen for Seren, anticipating her to walk through the door but as I look into the mirror…
My eyes stare back at my reflection, my face paled as if it’s been drained of blood. A memory.
Seren didn’t come back to the cabin after that. I remember now. I remember texting her, but the service didn’t go through. And then I met her at the bonfire that night. That was the night we did truth or dare.
Alli said she’s never been to the Pines. At least not for Thriller Nights before. She couldn’t make it, I remember having that conversation with her. So then what the fuck was she doing in my memory fighting with Seren right outside our cabin that night? And what the fuck were they arguing about? Why did Seren slap her?
I leave my bedroom and walk over to Alli’s wondering if she snuck in while I was napping or not. But I find her room eerily empty and I wonder where the hell she’s been. I turn to leave, thinking maybe she’s still at the bonfire, but before I make it out the doorway, something catches my eye.
There’s a note laying flat on her perfectly made-up bed. I walk over to pick it up and as I start to unfold it…
The boy smiles up at Seren, his eyes seem hungry and excited, like a lion at mealtime.
