“I'm pregnant again. I was at a doctor’s appointment, that’s why I missed Wednesday morning yoga.” Her voice is soft and quiet, her smile so warm and full of excitement.
My eyes burn with unshed tears. Since the day I moved to this town, Rory has embraced me wholeheartedly. She never judged a single part of my past, my family, or any sordid detail I ever shared with her about where I came from. I could neverbegin to express my gratitude to her for making this place feel like a real home. The thought of their family growing again is such an incredible joy.
“Oh, Aurora,” my words are watery and choked, “I’m so excited for you guys!”
Tears fall, streaming down my cheeks freely until I’m a full-blown raccoon. But I don’t care. I can’t imagine two better or more deserving parents than Rory and Breaker. They’re the kind of people I wish would’ve raised me as a kid, but we all play the hand we’re dealt.
“Thank you, we’re really excited. Nervous, terrified, but so excited.” She responds, and I get it. I can’t even imagine the amount of responsibility of caring for another human. I’m barely hanging on, just taking care of Doug.
Now more than ever I feel the need to keep my problems as far away from her as possible. Whoever is creeping around my house in the middle of the night, if this ghost even exists, it can’t touch her and her family.
Later that night, I find myself staring at the crooked shiplap ceiling in my bedroom. Doug snores quietly at my feet as my mind races through a thousand different thoughts.
Jealousy…
As happy as I am for Rory and Break, I envy the love they share and the security their family provides them both.
Loneliness…
I lie here every night in my own home surrounded by a life I built with my own hands, but at what cost? My family, my friends, nearly everyone I grew up loving feels like nothing but a memory I’ve long outgrown. I don’t regret the decisions I madethat led me to Grovewood, but sometimes I wonder if I will ever have the kind of life my friends do. Will I ever have a man who truly loves me for me? Who knows the depths of my soul and accepts the darkness he finds there?
Wind blows hard against the side of the house, making the trees rustle nervously against the siding. That sound never used to unnerve me, but lately it has been. I tell myself there’s nothing to be afraid of. The house is old, so is the town, and nothing here is going to harm me.
Popping a sleeping pill into my mouth, I chug half a glass of water, leaving the rest on my nightstand before wrapping my blanket around me and forcing my eyes closed.
“Oh, diavolina. Might as well have left the door unlocked for me with a sign that said free buffet. You are mouth watering. And all for me?” My masked stranger runs his hand down my thigh. I’m frozen in place, my limbs like lead, completely incapable of escaping his touch.
“How…did…you…” I try to speak, but my words are whispered and slurred, like I’ve had an entire bottle of whiskey and finished it off with a joint.
“How did I what? How did I manage to find my way into your mind again when you’ve tried so desperately to keep me out?” He asks, and my confusion only deepens.
Is that what this is? Is it all a vivid dream? No, I know the glass was moved last time. I know Doug was locked out of my room. Doug. Where is my dog?
“W-wh….my dog…” I force the words from my mouth, and he grins, his smile vicious and sharp.
Panic floods through me, goosebumps spreading across my skin where his fingers trail. I listen for the familiar sound of his collar, but all I hear is the sound of blood rushing in myears. Searching the man’s face for any scrap of reason, any semblance of reality in the room with us, but I’m met with the same beautiful but terrifying mask from before. The moonlight reflects off the white surface, illuminating his dark features. Now, even more than the first time, I am more convinced than ever he is truly the devil. But why is he haunting me this way? What have I done to deserve this?
“Deserve? You think I’m here because you deserve this? No, diavolina. I’m here because I cannot stay away from you. Because I’m drawn to you like a moth to the flame. Because from the moment I laid eyes on you, you felt like mine. And I take what’s mine, Vanessa.” His voice is cool silk, sliding across my skin smoother than anything ever has before. The way he says my name, with such familiarity, it’s like he’s known me my entire life.
As much as I want to fight him, to fight back against his far too presumptuous words, I can’t. Because some sick part of me agrees with him. Since the moment he first touched my skin, I felt like he claimed me as his, like I can’t get the thought of him out of my mind, even though I have no idea who hides behind his false face. He has consumed my every dream, and fears of who he could be have taken nearly all my waking moments as well.
“D-don’t…” I do the best I can to shake his hand from my body, but it’s no use. I can hardly move a muscle. Surely he’s drugged me in some way. Sleep paralysis maybe? I’ve never experienced such a complete disconnect between my mind and body, but as desperate as I am to escape this room right now, it feels impossible.
His hand glides higher up my thigh, palm skating easily across my skin. Electricity buzzes in his wake, heat blazing across my skin, warming me straight to my core. I shouldn’t be turned on by this entire experience, but I can’t make my bodynot want it. Any rational woman would say fear is the biggest turn off but apparently not me.
“Don’t what, diavolina? Don’t give you exactly what you want? You think I can’t feel the heat from your body? Smell the sweat from your skin? I know you want this just as badly as I do.” He lowers his mouth to the shell of my ear, his voice a rough whisper. “I will give you everything, Vanessa. Everything you dream. Everything you desire, but are too scared to admit out loud. I will give it all to you.”
His black fingers wrap around my throat, squeezing until I see stars. But I don’t resist. I let him drag me into oblivion. Wherever he wants to take me, I want to go. It has to be better than this lonely existence.
“I will live and die for you, diavolina. All I ask is for you to do the same.” His grip shifts, turning my head toward his. I can’t see his eyes, but I know they’re boring into mine. I can feel them.
“Will you? Will you die for me?” He asks so simply.
That’s the last thing I hear before my vision blurs and fades to complete darkness.
eight
Bang
