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Andy

Hollow.

“He looks her in the eyes and he says ‘hate me, break me, let me feel as hurt as you. Push me, crush me, but promise me that you’ll never let us go’.”
Hate Me - Eurielle



Andy couldn't speak... He couldn't function, couldn't respond in any form other than staring straight ahead, his brow pinching in confusion as he processed my words carefully. So many emotions played out across his face while he allowed himself to feel it all.

"No way..." He finally murmurs when nothing else comes to mind. He sighs slightly, the breath getting caught in his throat. His grip around my shoulder tightens slightly while he thinks over the unthinkable.

"I don't know all the details and the how but I got the gist..." I look down, shrugging a bit. "After he beat him to death, he put him in the trunk and he was there the entire time that I was at the Daisy Chain talking to CC, the entire time I thought that we were having an alright evening."

"Damn it... I can't even wish ill on him of all people. God knows he deserved it for the crap he did to Eliza and everyone else but... Shit..."

His eyes fall to my lap, taking in the abstract stains across the fabric. "What happened to your dress?... Is that blood?"

I nod slightly, resting my head on his shoulder again, breathing slowly and deeply to help me clear my head, praying for the right words to be given to me.

"The worst part... Was being asked to drag him out into the water and leave him there... There... In the place that meant so much to my family and I. That's so fucked up.

I peeled off the dress, dropping the clump of soiled fabric onto the tile floor of the bathroom. I sat on the edge of the tub staring at it, deafened by the roar of the water pouring into the bathtub. I couldn’t take my eyes of the various blood stains in the lace, slowly turning a darker shade of brown and pink.

When I got in the water, I completely submerged, closing my eyes and sinking under the hot water. I stayed under until my lungs burned for air then I resurfaced. When I opened my eyes again, the water all around me was pink.

I dressed slowly, cautious of all the sore and achy spots on my skin and in my bones.

Andy stayed hidden away in my room even after I left the bathroom. Jinxx brought CC over around ten... I watched them from the window by the staircase as they climbed out of his car, their joyful banter muted by the glass as they made their way up the driveway to the front door.

I stood there sullenly, wearing a pair of pink plaid pajama pants and a baggy college shirt of my Dad's... The nightmare dress tucked safely away where my Mother could not find it, but that does not mean that she will not inquire. I don't have a clue what to say when she does.

I walk down the stairs to answer the door when the doorbell echoes throughout the house, announcing their presence to its sole resident. Each step felt agonizing, my legs still aching.

When I pulled open the door, their beaming grins couldn't even strike light into my heart. I stared blankly at them both until they uncomfortably relapsed.

"Tired?" CC joked, squeezing past me into the house when I did not immediately invite them in. Jinxx follows him, gently taking the door from my white-knuckle grip to close it.

"You alright?" He asks, cocking his head to one side, crouching slightly to look at my face. I swore earlier that I was done with crying because there was nothing left to cry... But when I looked into his concerned eyes, I was reminded all over again that I only have the two of them because of Andy and I can't imagine my life without them now.

That endearing thought was enough to invite the moisture back to my eyes. The tears welled up and my face scrunched up in dispair, leaving them both confused as to what they'd done wrong to upset me.

CC instantly wrapped his leather-clad arms around me, resting his chin on my head while he cooed kind, reassuring words even though he did not even know the problem.

Jinxx's show of affection was more awkward, but by no means lacking. "What happened?"

"Everything!" I sob dramatically, CC patting the side of my face in his awkward hug.

I know Andy is upstairs in my room, probably intently listening to all of this, pondering some inner crisis about how he should have left me alone that day in April. Despite all of this, neither of us can bring ourselves to regret the way things went.

I break down and explain everything to them as best I can, sensing CC's distaste when I tell him about Reece's body being in the back of his beloved car.

"Wait... When they start looking for this kid, won't that trace back to me?"

I was going to shake my head and firmly reassure him that he had nothing to worry about... Until I remembered something crucial. Shapeshifter-Andy had made a complete show out of our arrival at prom. Everyone waiting outside to get in had looked when he squealed into the lot. And knowing my history with Reece, it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to assess the connections and frame me as a suspect, and later CC as an ally since it was his car.

Silence falls over us as we contemplate the problem we've just found ourselves in.

Andy comes down the stairs then, looking weary and cautious as he carefully acesses the situation, trying to guage how real either of them are. When they seem to pass his test, he sighs a bit, allowing his shoulders to hang down in utter defeat.

“Man...” Jinxx murmurs, “Sounds like you two have been through Hell in the last twelve hours.”

“To say the least.” Andy replies dryly, his voice low and hoarse.

“Is there anything we can do to help?”

Andy sighs a bit, crossing his arms over his chest. “According to what Charles told Ash, we won’t be seeing him again for a while... While that is a good thing, we don’t really know what he is plotting in the background or what he’s going to be up to in the meantime. We can’t afford to let our guards down, especially not with him wanting Ash for his fucked up pet project.”

They both cross their arms thoughtfully and stand back, trying to come up with a plan.

“Ash’s parents don’t get home until Wednesday at the soonesr... In the meantime, Ash cannot leave our sight.”

“What happens when her parents get back?”CC asks cautiously.

“We’re headed to California. With the way things are looking down there at the moment, I can gurantee you Ash’s parents are going to want to get moved ASAP. We’ll just need to nudge them along a bit. It’s not safe here for her anymore.”

I wipe under my eyes with my palms, smearing the tears across my cheeks. I look down at the floor, accepting my fate. It no longer matters what I want when my life is in danger. The lives of my family and friends are in danger, too.

Charles already explained that to be alive again, he needed living souls. If he wanted to hurt me, he’d go for them first. It’d be easy enough for him to do... Afterall, very few people seem to actually matter to him. I merely fascinate him, and I don’t believe that that is enough to secure my own safety from his morbid obsession.

I tune out, unable to hear more of the tragic tale revealed. I could feel their eyes occaisionally flicker to my face for a brief instant to read my emotions. I’ve never felt more exposed in my life than I have in these last few hours. I’ve never had to flaunt my vulnerabity and weakness in such an obvious way before. Most of the time I could just get away with faking my bravery and pretending that everything is fine when it’s not.

When you’ve had everything that makes up the essence of your strength peeled away, you can’t help but feel completely exposed. I hate the way I feel in my own skin now.

They treat me like a broken thing... Handling me like broken glass, careful not to say anything to trigger me when all I really want is to just rant about it to get it off my chest.

I drift away from them and go into the kitchen, noticing that the message machine on the phone is blinking. I hit the button and am greeted by my Mother’s cheerful, breezy voice. Just hearing it almost brings me to tears. I hold my breath to control the painful pang in my chest.

“Hi honey! I know it’s pretty early, but just letting you know that we’re almost to California. You’re probably still asleep so I’ll try calling this afternoon once we get there. Hope you had a fun evening, we love you! Talk to you later.”

I look back at the clock, it’s almost 11. I quietly debate back and forth in my head if I want to go rejoin the others or not. Going back to them means subjecting myself to further chat about the horrific night I’d just survived when I’d rather just talk about something normal to ease my mind.

My hands are shaking just thinking about it. I ball them into fists to silence the tremors. I feel sick to my stomach, and even the deepest breaths can’t calm my jitters.

I still have two days until my parents have a chance of getting home. Until then I’m trapped in this house where every creak makes me jump and every shadow makes me double-question its presence.

“Ash!” Andy calls to me from the foyer. “Where’d you disappear to?”

I stand there in silence, contemplating the few options before me. I don’t have a lot of freedom at the moment and I can’t leave their sight. Hell, we even have a damn codeword for the occaision.

I walk back out to join them, shaking out my hands and putting on a smile to sell the image of I am okay. I can’t tell if they’ve bought it or not when they look at me again, but just its presence on my face is enough to give me the false confidence to go on.

He dug out some boardgames from the hallway closet and set them up on the floor of the living room. It was around two in the afternoon that it started to rain.

I watched the storm outside from the window, looking out at the edge of the backyard where the forest started, the tops of the trees whipping around in the strong gusts. Shortly after the first rumble of thunder, the doorbell rung, sounding throughout the house. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up, exchanging concerned glances.

As much as it made me sick to my stomach, I knew I was the only one suitable to answer that door. Even so, Andy shadowed me to the foyer as I peeked through the peephole out onto the porch and was immediately relieved to see my next door neighbor Marcy checking in on me as Mom had promised.

That relief quickly went away when I realized that it could also be the shapeshifter standing out there and I would not know because she did not know the safe word.

“Should I open it?” I ask Andy nervously, standing back from the door.

“Don’t think you have a choice...” He murmurs, looking through the front curtains, trying to see the porch from the side windows. “You got that necklace handy?”

My throat is tightening as I reach up to claw at my collarbone, feeling a miniscule amount of comfort wash over me just feeling its frail thin chain under my fingers. I clutch the cross and nod once firmly, eyes locked on the door.

Reluctantly and with my heart pounding hard, I reached for the doorhandle and pulled it open.

“Hi Asheen!” She greets me cheerfully, dry for the most part except for the few dark sploches of moisture staining the shoulders of her grey V-neck t-shirt.

“Hello, Marcy!” I smile warmly at her, waiting for Andy to figure out if she’s Charles or not before I invite her in.

“She’s good.” Andy tells me semi-confidently, his tone self-doubting.

“Would you like to come in?” I offer, pulling the door open wider to provide her entrance but she holds her hands up in refusal, chuckling. “Oh no! I’m good. I just wanted to drop by quick to make sure that everything is okay? Your parents asked me to check in on you.”

“Of course! I’m fine, thank you.”

“You don’t need anything?”

I pause to think for a moment, a number of morbid and sarcastic answers crossing my mind before I politely respond with “No, I don’t think so. But I’ll let you know if I do.”

“You do that, if you need anything at all Dear, you know where to find me... Feel free to call over, too, if that’s easier and I will be right over.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

She looks over her shoulder to the road to check the progress of the storm but spots both Jinxx and CC’s cars in the driveway and an all-too familiar look crosses her face.

“Company?” She asks, trying not to sound nosy or prying.

I keep my smile in place, nodding once. “Yep! Just some friends over, taking advantage of the gloomy weather watching some horror movies and playing some games.”

She nods slowly, thinking over everything I’d just told her. “Oh... Well, if I hear screams coming from your house, at least I won’t have to worry.”

I laugh at her joke, but it hits me like a cold blow to the chest that there actually might be some hideous screaming coming at some point later in the event that Charles makes another appearance.

Her gaze keeps trying to see into the room behind me to catch a glimpse at just who I’ve got over. I know that under the preface of my parents asking her to keep an eye on me, she was also instructed to keep track of all visitors that come and go.

“Would you like to come in?” I ask again, ducking to meet her gaze as it flickers around inside my home.

“No... Have a nice afternoon.”

“You, too...” I nod, watching her walk away, back down the porch steps and across the yard to her own home next door. I close the front door and lock it again, going to the kitchen to peek through the blinds at her house. Sure enough, the crazy is in her living room facing ours with a pair of binoculars.

I know my parents would go to great lengths to keep tabs on me and to make sure that I am safe while they are gone... But I’ve never felt like such a prisoner in my own home.

I pull away from the window, standing in silent to listen to the laughter coming from the living room and it brings a sad smile to my face.

While I have the opportunity, I slip away and go up to my room, scooping my cellphone off the nightstand and scrolling through the messages, checking for a message from Eliza... Some kind of confirmation that nothing had actually happened and she could still remember everything.

When I pulled up the messager for her contact, I read our last texts to one another. We’d been talking about the alien lump on Andy’s back just before it.

I’ll see you there tonight?

Yes! See you then. Andy’s coming with you, right?”

Yep!


The blinking cursor on the text bar continues to flicekr at me, pressuring me to send her a message. I don’t even know what to say. Frowning, I turn it off and put it in the pocket of my hoodie.

I go back downstairs to join the others before they notice my prolonged absence.

I can see them trying their hardest to maintain an upbeat aura. Jinxx and CC keep cracking jokes, elbowing me in the ribs and trying to keep a smile on their face. I put on the front for their sake, laughing at each joke when all I want to do is sob.

We watched some movies, the rain coming down hard outside, pounding against the glass and blurring the landscape outside. If someone were out there, we’d never know.

CC invited Jake over for a bit, and despite me expecting him to not show up, he surprisingly did. He couldn’t stay long, but I appreciated it while it lasted.

I offered for Jinxx and CC to stay the night, not telling them the true reason why. It’s not because we are having too much fun to end the festivities, but because I am terrified to be alone in the house again with just Andy.

I’ve found it quite difficult to look at him today. Every time I tried, I found myself critically analyzing his face, trying to figure out if it is really him or not. He’d catch me looking a few times and would shoot me a small, stressed and sympathetic smile.

CC told me half a dozen more times before leaving that if I needed literally anything at all, to let him know. When they were gone, all was eerily quiet again and suddenly the house felt too big.

Part of my anxiety is actually due to the stress and pressure applied by the current situation, but the rest of it was my parents not being here. I’d never been left home alone overnight or longer than a few hours. As the sun gets closer to setting over the trees, I feel the anxiety kick up a few notches.

It was around this time that the call from my parents that I’d spent all day anticipating finally came... My Mother greeted me in her normally bubbly fashion, explaining that she would have called earlier but they got sidetracked while at the hospital and talking with family.

“So how’s Grandma?” I inquire, sitting at the island in the kitchen, each darkened window with the blinds drawn and rain pounding against the glass giving me the sense that someone was somehow still watching me from out there.

“She’s better,” She replies confidently. “She was awake for a little bit, told us what little she remembered. She did in fact have a stroke like the doctors originally thought... She’s going to have to go through some therapy to work to get things sorted out, but for the most part it looks like she dodged a bullet.”

“Praise the Lord.” I murmur, feeling the relief spreading across my heart and chest. Finally, just one thing had gone right.

“So how was prom? Did you have fun?”

A brief memory of dancing with Andy and getting our picture taken crosses my mind. I blink it away, stuttering for a good answer. “It was great.” I lie, “So much fun.”

“Did you stay the night at Eliza’s? I tried calling this morning but you didn’t answer.”

“Oh, no... I came home last night. I must’ve been asleep.”

“Okay, I wasn’t sure.” She laughs, the sound pulling at my heart, reminding me of the sinking feeling present in my soul.

“How soon do you think you’ll be back?” I ask, my voice betraying me by sounding broken.

“We’re hoping to be headed home Wednesday morning... Why? Is everything okay, Ash?”

I hesitate, wondering silently if I could slip up just this once and tell her everything. I bite back the words and force a lighthearted laugh. “I’m fine! Just not used to being alone, I guess... It’ll be nice to go to school tomorrow. I’ll probably stay over at Eliza’s tomorrow night, I’m not sure yet.”

“Okay, well be safe until we get home... Call me if you need anything at all.”

“I will. I love you.”

“Love you, too!”

We said our goodbyes and long after the line had gone dead, I continued to sit there at the island in silence, the tapping on the glass getting louder as the rain picked up again.

When it’s too dark to see anything outside anymore, I go to my room and hide away there, trying to find confidence in the cross hanging over my bedroom door, protecting it from him.

The reason Charles could get into the living room to possess my Mother that night was that the wood cross that was normally hanging over the brick fireplace had fallen down a few weeks ago and broke. My Dad took it out into the garage to work on it but hadn’t gotten around to fixing it.

The fact that a simple slip up like that was enough to cause the chaos that it did makes me hesitant to even leave my room until my parents get home. Unfortunately... That is not an option. I’m grateful that my school took the day off after prom to recuperate but bright and early tomorrow morning I’d be dragging myself off to that Hell hole again.

What would a haappen? Would people already suspect my involvement?... Have people even noticed that Reece is gone yet? I guess we’ll know tomorrow when panic ensues around school.

No one else will know what happened, but I will... I’ll walk the halls full of his crying classmates trying to help look for him... And I’ll know that after over 6 years since his last kill, and twenty since his last spree, Charles Apture has returned to resume his work.

Notes

Chapter inspired by Hate Me by Eurielle

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