Page 111 of When Darkness Calls

I’m in desperate need of chocolate ice cream and comfort movie therapy. My head hurts. My hips hurt. My back aches. The fucking cramps. That goddamn math test…

That is a specific kind of hell, and I apologize to whatever god I pissed off for making me go through that. It’s supposed to be easy college math, so why do I still want to rip my hair out and crawl in a cave to live as a hermit for the rest of my life?

Poor Liz. She has to take it next semester after she finishes the math prep class this semester. She’s not gonna make it. I give her two days of that class before she’ll be lying in my bed having a breakdown because she doesn’t know why X is that important to find.

She drops me off by the driveway, rambling an apology about having to get to work early so she doesn’t have to clean the bathrooms, and she’s speeding off down the street.

I look around the yard, taking in my decorations and the image of the mountains finally in full color. Hues spanning from yellow to a deep red dot the tree line painting a priceless background for my little graveyard, and Frank the Scarecrow sitting on our porch.

Frank’s kind of fucking creepy though, with his skeleton mask face. He looks so real sitting on the porch swing, the wind shifting it slightly.

“Hey, Frank. Long day?” I blow a piece of hair from my face.

Silence responds.

“Yeah, man. Me too. Me too. Just having a hay day.” I snort to myself, pushing through the front door.

“Cay! You home, dickface?” I call through the house, dropping my bag and jacket by the front door.

The house is quiet, and he doesn’t respond. I grab my phone from my jacket dialing his number.

“Were you talking to Frank again?” He asks amused.

I scoff. “What did I tell you about creeping on me through the cameras?”

“It’s not my fault you set it off by talking to the scarecrow.”

I sigh. “Uh, huh. When are you getting home, and are you bringing food?” I move through the kitchen, plucking around in the papers Cade has sitting on the island.

“I’ll be leaving in like two hours. Can you survive that long, or do I need to order pizza?”

“Pizza, please. Math test. Migraine. Period. Cramping. Pain,” I mutter and Cade sucks in a sharp breath.

“Ice cream too, got it.”

“Thanks, Cay.”

“I’ll text you when the pizza guy is near.” And he hangs up.

My feet drag me up the stairs to my room, exhaustion is finally starting to creep into my bones knowing I can finally relax.

One quick shower, change of clothes into my favorite pjs, two ibuprofens, and an ice-cold Dr. Pepper later I have the greatest of all blanket forts constructed on the couch, my heating pad across my stomach, and Psycho playing softly on the TV.

It’s the kind of evening that just erases all of your problems, ya know?

The only thing that could make this even slightly better would be getting to talk to Mr. Tall, Masked, and Stalky.

I snorted to myself. He’d probably kill me for saying that about him. His attitude is a lot like Grayson’s I have noticed. He likes it when I get shit talky and give him hell. I think he likes fighting. Which, if I’m honest, I kind of like too.

The movie is the perfect kind of vibe for the night. It’s not super creepy, and the calm pace is just right for a peaceful evening.

My mom and I used to watch a lot of Hitchcock movies when I was a kid. When my dad worked out of town, and Cade was out doing fuck knows what with his dipshit entourage, it was just me and her.

A black and white horror movie, a tub of chocolate ice cream, and the snuggliest blankets in the house wrapped around us. It made everything better.

My soft spot for horror definitely comes from her. She was such a fearless woman, and I like to think that I make her proud by trying to be as courageous and unafraid as she was, but I know I’m nothing compared to her.

She was so strong, so beautiful. Her heart was bigger than anyone else’s I have ever known.