Page 10 of When Darkness Calls

Issac takes a long, noisy slurp of the milkshake he finished half an hour ago.

“Smartass.” She fake coughs, thumping her chest and shooting me a smug grin.

“Prick.” My smile was just as smug.

Our friendship was unlike any other. Half the time, people assume we hate each other. But our love language is talking shit.

“Just come with me. Even if it’s for like an hour. Pleaseee,” Liz begs, bringing up her clasped hands and making an exaggerated pouty face.

“Liz, every time I go out and do something with you, something bad happens.”

“Pshht, nuh uh.”

“Yeah, huh. Every time.”

“Name one time—”

I open my mouth, but she cuts me off, “Not including last Halloween. We do not speak of it.” Her green eyes narrowed.

“Okay. Just this last year we have had…” I pause lifting my hand to count on my fingers.

“Friendsgiving: stove caught on fire. Christmas Party: drank too much, fell down the stairs. New Year’s Eve brunch at your parents’: blew a tire. Your birthday: food poisoning. Spring Break: passed out getting my nose ring. Graduation trip: lost my purse at the beach. I can keep going, but I feel I’ve made my point.”

I shrug while drinking from my Dr. Pepper.

Oh, Dr. Pepper, my love. Why does the world hate thee?

“Okay, I see your argument and raise you—those were all trips and parties. You have bad luck on trips and parties we go to together. This is neither. It’s like—” she pauses searching for the word, before snapping with a squeal, “It’s a girl’s night.”

I groaned, “Really?”

“Yes, absolutely. We are going to the Founder’s Festival. Possibly ride a fatally constructed Ferris Wheel. Eat all the bombass food we can. Maybe win a prize or two, or get matching shirts, or some other goofy shit. Then we’ll go back to your house, make the Browniezillas and watch whatever scary shit you feel like throwing at me. You get to see me piss myself, I get to drag you out into society for a night instead of holing up in your room. It’s a win-win.”

Liz was truly proud of herself. My sigh might have been a little over dramatic, but I smile brightly in her direction.

God, I love her. As much as I hate her, I love her.

“Fine, but you’ll be eating your words when I’m elbow deep into googling ‘Top 100 Scariest Films of All Time’.”

She nudges me with a small smile.

“Thanks, Deeds.”

“It’s not a big deal. Nothing that bad can happen, right?”

The lie was bitter on my tongue. Lizzie knew it. I knew it. She squeezes me in a short hug, before turning to Issac. They whisper to each other but I’m not really listening, my mind turns over what was to come over the next week.

I was worried. My luck has turned exceptionally sour since that night in October. The only good luck I have had was the unknown man who had helped me. A stranger in a mask.

Heat settles across my skin. The darkness that had swirled in the depth of their eyes. It was the same darkness that lurked in the corners of unlit rooms or between trees in the mountains after nightfall.

I don’t know much about the events that happened after I had lost consciousness, but I woke up in the back seat of Liz’s car parked outside my house. Issac was gone, and the sound of her and Cade arguing had pulled me from the darkness. No one has really spoken of that night since. Especially Grayson. Despite my attempts, I haven’t really been in a room longer than five minutes with him, let alone talked to him. Especially after I decided to stay in my childhood home with my brother, instead of moving with my dad into his new house.

The heat turns cold as a chill spreads through my limbs tingling at the back of my neck. I was grateful Cade let me stay in my old bedroom, but damn if the place didn’t give me the creeps now. Since that night, things haven’t really been the same—I haven’t felt the same.

With Cade’s work, I often find myself there alone. Before, I would have been celebrating the idea of having the house all to myself a few times a week. But now…

It’s always so quiet. And despite the house being a little off to itself at the end of the street, I can’t shake the feeling of eyes watching me from the shadows. It’s there every day, no matter where I am or who I’m with. I had hoped I would grow used to the feeling, but it’s been nearly a year since Halloween.