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Andy

Resurrection.

Pale orange light was beginning to tint the horizon once he finished his story. I stared out the windshield, listening in sullen silence, trying to get inside his head to imagine the things he must have been feeling.

"Be honest with me," I breathe, turning my head toward him slightly. "Why do you really need me? It's not about living again. We both know that."

I looked over at him, trying to see the man hidden inside the shell. He frowns, looking ahead in silence for a few moments.

"How much of what you told me before your story was true?"

He looks back at me for a moment purses his lips. "Very little."

"So?"

"My lovely Lilly..." He says, narrowing his eyes as he pondered her memory. "You've always reminded me so much of her, from your hair to your eyes and voice and attitude..."

"So you need me for what? Her resurrection?" I frown, feeling unsettled, imagining myself as The Bride of Frankenstein.

"Essentially."

"I know how these things work... Do you even know where her spirit is? How do you know she did not cross over already?"

"I just know."

I scoff, looking out my window, the unsettled feeling turning into one of anger. "You're a real asshole, you know that? You deserve decades of immortality to live with your pain. You son of a bitch, none of those people deserved what happened to them."

"You weren't paying attention at all, were you?" He asks, a sly smile crossing his face.

"What does that mean?"

"Remember when I said I asked the first man what he did to deserve his wife cheating on him? I had dirt on everyone, I didn't just kill randomly because I could. That would have made it all too easy. When I had to pick people out for specific reasons, it formed a preference in my head. I only killed those who did wrong."

"Okay, what about your first girlfriend?" I demand, raising my eyebrows at him. "What the Hell did she do that was just so awful she deserved to be stabbed to death in the woods by Jeffrey Dahmer Jr?"

"I had only a few rules to live by.... The victims were chosen by this criteria: If they were shitheads in life, or shitheads to me or my family."

"So?"

"She was the first. The rules did not apply." He replies in a cold, delusional tone.

I shift my jaw angrily while carefully contemplating my thoughts. The fear had long since simmered away in favor of a burning hatred I felt every time I heard his imposter voice speak.

"Okay, what about you then, hm? She'll be alive, but you won't be."

"Just as it should be."

"What the Hell does that mean?"

"My involvement in her perfect life is ultimately what brought it to an end. If I could revive her... And let her go? It'd be the greatest gift I could give her for all she gave me."

"And what if she doesn't even want that? What if she is content now and you're just going to fuck her over again? Want some advice? LET HER BE DEAD! You're trapped in your foolish fantasies thinking that if you make things right, you're technically off the hook. But then she'd be alive again to suffer more in this life. Let her be dead in peace."

He contemplates in silence and I sigh, shaking my head.

"It's dawn now. Take me home."

"Don't you have any more quest-"

"No! I'm done! Take me home, I'm sick of you and I am sick of your shit! I gave you the greatest night of my life to spoil with your crap, you're not taking up any more of my time."

I cross my arms, angry and upset. He sits in silence for a moment before obliging and turning on the car. We drive home in complete silence while the night I'd just lived through ate away at me. I had to keep my eyes glued on the windshield, because if I allowed my gaze to deviate elsewhere I'd once again catch a glimpse of the horror show that is my dress.

The last time I made the mistake of looking, it was more red and pale pink than blue. It made me sick to my stomach to see all the blood staining the fabric, knowing who it belonged to and what had happened to him.

Charlie was so calm about everything, never getting into hysterics over it... Of course not, why would he? He's done it many times before.

He never outright told me how he did it, and I did not want to know. I am grateful he spared me the details, but that did not keep them from forming in my mind while my brain tried to dream up the images against my will.

Soon enough, he pulled up outside my house and sat in complete silence. I wanted to get out right there and leave the quiet as it was but I need closure. After a few minutes of debating in my head, I finally sigh quietly.

"What comes next?" I ask reluctantly. "Are you going to kill me? Abduct me? Hurt someone close to me?... What can I expect from the amazing shapeshifter?" I question, my voice dull and lacking enthusiasm.

"You're going to be fine." He replies, voice uncertain for the first time since he'd revealed his true self. "You don't have to worry."

"Yes, I sure as Hell do because apparently, you are psychotic. You killed Reece! What's going to stop you from hurting someone else?"

"Absolutely nothing." He replies in a cold voice. He turns his head toward me only far enough to be looking in my general direction, but not far enough to look me in the eyes. "Go."

I reach for the handle, curling my fingers around the cold metal and hesitating. "...Will I see you again?"

"No."

I take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds. He did not amend his statement nor elaborate, so I'd have to take him for his word.

I push open the door and scramble out onto the sidewalk in front of my house, grateful that the sun has not come up enough yet to reveal to any peeping neighbors the peculiar state of my dress.

I don't look back when I hear the car door open and close behind me as he gets out. I just bite my lip and assume it's him abandoning the car.

I quickly unlock the front door and stow myself away inside, twisting the locks and putting in the deadbolt as soon as it's closed behind me as though it'd do anything to keep him out.

Breathing heavily in a panic, I back away from the door, dropping my muddy heels onto the tile beside me and staring at it for a sign that someone was there. After a few minutes of chilling silence, I exhale slowly.

I turn to face the empty foyer, nothing but the quiet ticking of the clock as my company in the vacant house. I know I should head to the kitchen to check the answering machine for a call from my parents, but I simply do not have the energy to handle it.

I drag myself up the stairs, each footfall feels weighted and sluggish as I climb to the top, doing my best not to think about things. So many thoughts cross my mind, scattering my feelings and making me feel like a complete wreck inside and out.

I push open my bedroom door, everything inside left just as it had been before the night of terror began.

Everything is so still and quiet, it feels unnatural. I go to my bed and plop down on the edge, breathing slowly, scanning my environment trying to find the thing that is making me feel so uncomfortable about being in the room. It is then that my gaze falls upon the one reason I stayed safe so long... That cross hanging over my door. I was untouchable for so long because of that cross or because of my necklace...

My long, slow breaths meant to calm me down quickly turns to a panicked breath as I fall back onto my bed, pulling my knees to my chest and hugging them tightly, struggling to manage my breathing and the tears that followed.

Nothing could have prepared me for my own reaction to the tragedy. All I could feel was the hurt and pain and fear... Fear for what's to come, when people notice his absence and my classmates begin to recall our problems, fear for what comes next... Will Andy return to me or is he gone forever, too?

I laid there on my side, crying quiet tears, watching the sunrise from behind my curtains. I could not summon the strength to pull myself upright to get out of bed to change into something else or to even take down the knotted mess my hair had become.

Eliza can't remember anything now... Nothing I told her about Andy and Ashley, and maybe that's for the best. That way when she's questioned, she won't redirect them toward me... Even so, what I wouldn't give to just have someone close to me here right now to listen.

My Dad has always been a great listener... I wish I could tell him everything but to be honest, I don't even know where I would begin. There is too much to explain and little evidence of any of it happening. He'd think I was crazy long before I got to any of the good parts.

I take a deep breath, feeling it fill my lungs with a hopeless feeling of desolation. I'd dug this hole for myself and lied down in it and now I am stuck here. In the event that Andy never comes back and is gone forever, I am still stuck with the state that my life has become over this past month. All the stress and anxiety that is slowly consuming me, the fear that things could go wrong at any given time, all of it...

My gaze finally drifts away from the window and I look down at my arms outstretched in front of me across the comforter, little bits of dirt, blood, and other debris flaking off and speckling the pretty fabric.

No one ever could have warned me about any of this. That in four short weeks, I'd be lying on my bed, alone in my house, Grandmother dying a few states away and me fighting a spiritual battle alone in my home.

I can never seem to find the right words to describe the things I feel... The confliction, the complete disenchantment and the overall feeling of feeling like you're trapped within yourself, unable to share your story with others. If I could tell my parents about everything, it'd help put my mind at ease, but until I can find a way I am trapped here.

A quiet knock comes on my bedroom door, and I would have jumped if I weren't too numb and weak to even lift my head.

"Ash?" Andy's voice calls out, breaking my heart when I realize that it doesn't summon the same feeling of relief and love that it did before. I just feel wary and terrified that it isn't actually him and this is another trick.

The door pushes open, but I don't see him with my back to the door. I squeeze my eyes shut, the motion forcing out a few tears, sending them rolling down my cheeks.

"Ash? Here you are! I was out there all night, scouring the streets looking for..."

He stops when I assume he saw the state of my dress and my complete stillness. Hesitation followed for a few seconds before he walked slowly around the other side of the bed to see my face. He cranes his neck a bit to get a better look at my face.

"What the Hell?..."

I life my eyes to look into his, voice quivering as I whisper in a hoarse voice. "Red lilac?"

He blinks once, processing the request before nodding impatiently. "Yeah, yes - red lilac. What's up? What happened to you?!" He gestures down at the dress, a look of complete shock and disbelief on his face.

I take a deep breath which causes my lungs to ache. "I don't even know where to begin."

He sits down, pulling me up into his arms, his brow creased in concern.

"What happened? After you left the dance last night, I went looking for you... But couldn't find you anywhere."

I stare ahead out my bedroom window in silence for a few minutes before breathing my response weakly. "I never left... Ashley struck."

"What do you mean?"

I wince, feeling the guilty pang of pain when I realize that I am the one who has to explain it to him. "Ashley... Doesn't exist. It was never him... It was always the shapeshifter, it was always Charlie Apture, or his son, anyway..."

He doesn't answer me right away. I give him a moment of silence to process it. When he does not speak, I continue to explain the events that transpired after the point when he was tricked by Charlie to believe I'd left.

"Last night he tricked you... And replaced you. I returned to you, and we had a great evening until Ashley reported to us that Eliza and Reece were having a fight. I pursued her to the bathroom where I discovered Reece beating on her... Not knowing what else to do, I called for you and you handled it while I got her out of there. When you came out you were bloodied and vague about what had happened. During this time, Ashley used his abilities to make her forget everything. She went back to the party and you convinced me to leave right then to go to the Daisy Chain."

I pause, the memories running through my head. I think about them, how naive I was in that moment.

"Everything just felt wrong... I kept noticing little things and kept wanting to just look the other way and ignore it, but... It all came to an end in the form of a neatly wrapped package disguising the bomb inside... He drove me to the lake, and during that time I realized what he really was and he came clean."

"The very worst part came later..." I stop, unable to think of the right words to use to describe it. The gory scene that took place upon arriving at the beach.

"What happened?" He presses, voice hesitant as though he does not want to know, but authoritative enough that he'd kill a man in that instant if I'd been harmed.

"He..." I can't even begin to explain.

"Did he harm you?" He asks, his voice angry suddenly.

I shake my head. "No... Not really, I mean he hit me and made me freeze in the lake if that counts, but that's not what stands out, no... He... Killed Reece."

Notes

Inspired by Wounded Heart by Aelonia.

Jake and Inna's new album is out now and it is absolutely lovely. I really love both Wounded Heart, I'll Find My Way, and Counting Stars.

Comments

I just want to say, I am here to support you no matter what you do <3

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/12/20

Oh gosh, I'm getting weird vibes towards this "sketchy" part of town.

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
5/8/19

I am absolutely in love with this book!

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/30/19

Poor Ashley. Poor Andy. Poor Asheen. Wow, what a story! :)

Merelan Merelan
4/29/19

I am conspiring so many theories about this book my head hurts... lol... anyway, great chapter as usual! Can't wait to read what happens next

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/25/19