by Raathi Chota
“Are you crazy? You want us to go visit the guy we buried?” Benny asked.
“Why would we do that?” I asked.
“Well, think about…how do people get over their fears?” Liam asked.
“By facing them,” Nick answered as if he waited for Liam to ask.
“So Lana’s nightmares are the same thing. You think Jack August is haunting you and you ‘almost’ saw him in your room, so now we go there and you’ll see that he’s in the ground,” Liam finished with an innocent smile on his face.
“That’s stupid,” I muttered.
“It’s the only way that you’re gonna get sleep,” he sang. I turned to look at Benny, who stared at the ground. Nick held a blank expression as I squinted at him.
“What do you guys think?” I asked.
“Not such a bad idea if you think about it.” Nick shrugged.
“Besides, we got rid of him on the other side of the city. We won’t get caught,” Liam insisted as he looked at Benny.
“What do you think, Benny?” I asked as he nervously bit his lip. He looked at his friends, then me. I didn’t want to do it, but I’d do whatever it took to stop Jack August from haunting me.
“If it lets you sleep at night, then let’s do it,” Benny said as he nervously rubbed his hands together.
“Do what?”
My head snapped to the door Nick was supposed to guard as I saw Blake walk in. He had his plate in his one hand and overnight bag in the other as he watched us.
“Go out to the place…” Liam trailed off as he looked at Benny and me.
“What place?” Blake asked.
“The place to get the things…right, Benny?” Liam asked as he glared at him.
“Wha—oh! Yeah, the things. We’ll go get the stuff,” Benny said as he tugged on Nick’s arm.
“See you later, Lana; we’re going to get the ‘things,’ and thanks for letting us stay,” Liam said as he followed Benny and a confused Nick. Blake had a puzzled look on his face as he watched them tumble out of the kitchen. Once they were gone, he turned back to me and set the plate on the counter.
“I better get going,” he mumbled as he slowly approached me.
“Err…yeah. Thanks for staying,” I mumbled.
“No problem,” he replied. “And don’t worry, things will get better,” Blake assured me as he placed his hand on my arm and stroked it. I avoided eye contact as he awkwardly stood there. I think he noticed my discomfort as he pulled away. We walked into the living room as I greeted everyone. Melissa got a ride with Miranda because she said that Liam, Benny, and Nick were gone so fast.
After everyone left, I realized what a mess we made. Mom was going to be annoyed with me, but I couldn’t care less, even though we had guests tomorrow. I cleaned up until I heard a knock on the door. I raised a brow but thought it was someone who forgot something. I strolled to the door and opened it to see Liam. Nick and Benny were in the car watching me. I turned back to Liam to see a smug look on his face as he yanked me out of the house.
“Let’s go pay someone a happy visit.”
***
“Fuck you, Liam!” Nick yelled as he threw the shovel toward Liam. Thankfully, he saw it in time and dodged it. We drove for almost an hour to where we buried Jack’s body. Nick got frustrated because it was Liam’s idea, and to top it off, it rained. Not to mention the whole ride here Liam annoyed him. I watched the two in amusement as I leaned against Nick’s car. Benny took out shovels from the trunk as I turned to him.
“Do you really wanna do this?” I asked as he looked at me.
“I- I don’t know,” he stuttered. “We can’t stop now. Otherwise, we drove here for nothing.”
“Fair enough,” I stated as he handed me a shovel. We walked as Benny guided us. I didn’t remember where he was buried because it was almost two months ago. Thank goodness it drizzled and wasn’t hard rain. The sun set, which meant it’d be harder to see. Benny must have noticed it too, as he picked up his pace. After twenty minutes, we finally stopped. Benny looked around at the flat, wet land.
“Come on, let’s hurry up,” he said as he forced the shovel in the ground and dug. Everyone followed as we dug in silence. Something didn’t feel right. I looked up to see Nick’s squinted eyes as he dug. Liam didn’t seem fazed, as he was too excited to meet his friend again. It became harder to dig as the sun disappeared, which only left us with a little lantern. After what felt like an eternity, I dropped the shovel and ran my hand through my curly hair.
“Go rest, Lana. We’ll take it from here,” Liam assured me. I glanced at my phone and noticed that it was almost eight p.m. Time flew as we worked so hard. I walked away from where they dug, but not too far, so I could watch them. Nobody spoke, which made me nervous. We’re supposed to be typical teenagers who were supposed to go to parties and stuff, not bury bodies and argue. It’s funny that at the start of the school year I thought it’d be like any other year with Benny. It’s true how things could be fine one moment, and then the next everything crashed down. Three months ago, I’d never imagined myself doing this. I felt a tear run down my cheek as I remembered all the things that happened during the last two months. Homecoming was crap, mid-terms were crap. I didn’t want Christmas to be the same.
“Are you okay?” Benny asked as I glanced up. I shook my head as another tear fell, and I opened my arms. Benny immediately came and let me wrap my arms around him as I cried. “Ssh, don’t cry, Lana. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
“I’m a killer,” I cried into his chest.
“No, you’re not,” Benny said as I looked up at him. “You’re a smart, beautiful, kind, caring, and brave person. Lana Willson, you’re quite mysterious, but you’re no killer,” he whispered as he buried his head in the crook of my neck. I went stiff as he kissed up the curve of my throat, yet I didn’t stop him. My hands went around his neck as he lifted his head and pressed his forehead against mine. He looked at me, then my lips, as I did the same. A sudden déjà vu swept over me as the rain poured down on us. “I just want to feel your lips against mine again,” Benny whispered as he leaned closer. He pressed his lips against mine as I shut my eyes. I immediately kissed back as Benny’s hand went around my waist. I ran my fingers through his wet hair and gripped it; he responded. A strange feeling went through my stomach as he tugged on my bottom lip to deepen the kiss. I didn’t know how long we kissed, but I didn’t care. It seemed right in a way because I knew that Benny Nielson had changed.
“Hate to break up your guys’ little make-out scene, but we need help here, you know,” Nick complained as we pulled apart. I suddenly felt better and more alive after that kiss. Benny’s hands glided up my body as he took my hands. A goofy grin spread across his face as we walked back to Liam and Nick. We continued to dig as rain poured down on us.
“What’s that?” I pointed to a plain old fabric that stuck out of the ground. Liam reached down and pulled on the material. We thought that it was small, but it turned out to be a big piece of clothing. Nick shone his phone as we observed it. I suddenly paled as the realization hit me. The guys seemed to notice it too as Liam held the jacket up.
“I-If this is his ja-jacket then…” Nick trailed off as he shone his light in the empty hole that we dug. “Where’s the body?”
“What do you mean?” I demanded and looked at the jacket, then at the empty hole we dug. No one spoke, but our actions screamed for help. Liam tossed the jacket back in the hole and tried to shine his phone flashlight into the grave, but the rain made it impossible to look. Benny glanced around for who knew what reason, as if he’d know where Jack’s body would actually be buried. Nick jabbed his shovel in the ground repeatedly and cussed words that I didn’t even know existed.
“Maybe we just dug in the wrong place.” Benny shrugged, and a light shone on him. I turned to Liam, who stared at him with squinted brows. Liam’s hands trembled as he tried to steady himself because he was nearest to the hole.
“Liam, watch ou—”
“No, we did not. I made sure this was the spot where we left him, and why would his jacket be here? The body was stolen!”
“Why wouldn’t they take the jacket, though?” I asked, but Liam ignored me as he continued to look around.
“I find it ironic that it was your idea to come out here and the body’s suddenly gone!” Nick said as he made his way toward Liam. Nick gave Liam a slight shove, and I gasped because they could’ve fallen in the hole. The rain made everything worse; our shoes were muddy, our clothes clung to our bodies, and our hair stuck to our foreheads. “Where’s the body, Liam? This is not fucking funny!”
“I don’t know! Why would I steal it? How?”
“Hey! Drop it, you two!” Benny stepped in and pulled them back from the hole. I hopelessly stood on the other side as they stared at each other. Benny stood between them, a hand resting on each of their chests as he glanced at them. He looked up at me and announced, “We’ll just keep looking, all right? He’s gotta be around here somewhere.”
We did as Benny Nielson said and dug around the empty hole, which soon filled with rainwater. The night stretched into a dark, eerie silence between the four of us. The rain got to a point where I didn’t feel cold anymore. I was covered in a wet blanket that got thicker by the second. My shoes began to fill up with water, but I continued to dig until my hands ached from the repetitive actions. I didn’t complain, though, because the only thing I cared about at that moment was finding Jack August.
Chapter One
Lana
I’d experienced a lot of déjà vu in my life, such as being dragged to the empty part of the school, being babysat by Griffon Bronx one too many times, or Kelly embarrassing me, but this topped all of that. We spent the last five hours in panic mode in search for Jack’s body. We dug up the whole area and finally concluded that he wasn’t there. We left his jacket underground, not wanting anything to connect to us. None of us spoke since we got into the car. It still rained as I sat in the back with Benny while Nick drove and Liam called shotgun. I called Mom and told her I’d be staying at Miranda’s. She’s glad since I left a big chaos for her.
“Maybe we just looked in the wrong place?” Liam assumed as he broke the awkward silence. Nick let out a scoff as he turned to his friend.
“Then why was his jacket there?” he asked. Liam shrugged.
“What are we gonna do?” Benny asked as he looked out the window. To be honest, I was tired of that question. I didn’t know how to respond, yet the answer always came to us sooner or later. I turned to Benny and thought about the kiss we shared a few hours ago. I didn’t know why, but I enjoyed it, yet whenever something good happened it seemed something terrible topped it.
“I don’t know, just keep an eye out for anything and watch the news,” Nick said.
“Boring. I’ll just ask around,” Liam said as Nick scoffed.
“What are you going to ask them, huh? Have you seen a dead body lurking around? I buried him, but he managed to escape,” Nick babbled as he turned on the radio.
“Everyone thinks he’s missing, dude. You can’t just ask that,” Benny said.
“Oh yeah…I forgot,” Liam responded. Silence took over us, but it soon ended as the radio played weird old music. Liam turned to it and threw his hands up in surrender.
“It’s Will from Stranger Things!”
Nick hit his radio, and it replaced with the radio station he set it as. He turned to Liam with an annoyed look.
“For the fifth time,” he said, “my radio’s been faulty, and no, it’s not Will from Stranger Things!”
“Oh yeah…I forgot.”
“Why don’t you get it fixed?” Benny suggested.
“Yeah, Blake said he’d help me out,” Nick replied.
“Blake?” I questioned.
“Yeah, he’s a pro in fixing cars and stuff. No wonder he’s had that motorcycle for so long,” Liam stated, then started a new topic. “Who do you think Nancy should be with, Lana?”
“Huh?”
“Nancy from Stranger Things? Steve or Jonathan?” I raised my eyebrow at his sudden change of subject. Then again, I’m talking to Liam Sanchez.
“Err…I don’t know.”
“I like Jonathan. He’s cool,” Nick stated as he drove through the rain.
“The upside-down thing was cool,” Benny added as I raised a brow at their casual conversation even as we’d lost a dead corpse.
“Wish we could’ve dumped this in the upside-down…” Liam trailed off as he held up his black high tops. My eyes widened as Nick hit the brakes. He turned with an icy glare as he looked at the shoes, then Liam. We brought them with us because we had to get rid of them once and for all. We specifically told Liam to do whatever it took so that we wouldn’t see them ever again, yet with his addiction to Stranger Things, he thought he’d dump them in the upside-down!
“We told you to get rid of them in the woods!” Nick grunted as his fists tightened.
“Oh yeah…I forgot.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Benny move forward. I tried to hold him back as he continuously whacked Liam. We looked like a bunch of idiots on the side of the road. Liam tried to lighten the mood while Nick mumbled to himself and I told Benny to stop. You wouldn’t say that they played football, because after a minute it was quiet, only their heavy puffs to be heard.
“That guy didn’t have to mark it, though…these were my favorite,” Liam complained as he held the one that had a mark on it.
“What does it say?” Benny asked as we stared at it.
“S1,” Nick replied as we observed the white marker on the black Converse.
“What the heck does that mean?”
“Sanchez!” Liam suggested.
“Why would he put your last name and then the number one?” I asked. He shrugged as he looked up and thought for a bit.
“Maybe I wrote it…I tend to forget things,” Liam said as Nick sighed and started the car. “I’ll get rid of them, don’t worry.”
Benny shook his head in disappointment as we drove through the city. It looked beautiful, the bright lights followed by the big Christmas tree in the middle. It startled me how close Christmas was. I felt an arm around my shoulder as Benny shifted next to me. I gave him a smile as I rested my head on his shoulder.
“You can stay with me if you want,” he suggested. I gave a nod because it was already late and I didn’t want to wake Miranda or her mother.
“Aren’t you guys glad that we came?” Liam asked after a while.
“Yeah, I’m glad that we came and got our clothes dirty again and found nothing…so happy,” Nick replied sarcastically.
“That’s the spirit!” Liam clearly ignored his sarcasm. We pulled in Benny’s driveway and got out. We said goodbye to Liam and Nick, and they said we’d meet up tomorrow…well, later today. I followed Benny to the back of his house. Needless to say, his house was big. I remembered at Thanksgiving he said he’d take over the family business. Whatever business it was, it must be going well. Benny took out his keys and unlocked the back door as we snuck in. I followed him up the stairs and into his room. It was pitch black throughout the house, but as soon as he shut his bedroom door and turned the light on, I was blinded. I awkwardly sat on his bed as I watched him rummage in his closet. A few seconds later, he brought out a pair of sweatpants and a baggy sweater. He handed them to me, then ran his hand through his hair.
“Bathroom is right next door; you can clean up, then I’ll throw your clothes in the wash for tomorrow,” Benny suggested as I stood up. I thanked him as I strolled out of his bedroom and into the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I honestly looked dull. My hair was in all directions, and my black sweater had dirt on it. I quickly slipped into the baggy sweater and sweatpants, then put my hair up into a ponytail. I walked out of the bathroom and saw Benny in his sweatpants and shirt. He had a smile on his face as he gestured for me to follow him. We tiptoed down the stairs as Benny took my dirty clothes. He se
ized my hand in his as we walked through the dark. Once we reached the basement, he turned on the light. It was like Ethan’s but looked more like a family room than a man cave. Numerous games were stacked by the TV, as well as consoles. A bar was in the corner, and a pool table stood next to it. Benny put our dirty clothes in the washer and took out blankets and pillows. I watched as he set them on the two sofas. “It’s almost two in the morning,” he mumbled. “We should probably get some sleep.”
“Yeah,” I agreed as I rested on the one sofa and him on the other. I set my glasses on the coffee table as I snuggled into the blankets. Once I was finally comfortable, I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling. “Night, Benny,” I whispered as my eyes became weaker.
“Good night, Lana Willson.”
***
I slowly opened my eyes and noticed a figure towering over me. It was clear that it was morning since the person’s head seemed to glow. I squinted my eyes as I fluttered them open to see Benny, although it wasn’t Benny. It was a younger version of him with spiky hair and he wore headphones. The boy raised a brow at me but immediately grinned.
“You’re pretty,” he stated as I slowly sat up.
“Err…thanks,” I croaked out, then sat up. He looked to be twelve years old. He held a game controller in his hand as he eyed me.
“Can you make pancakes?” he asked as I glanced around the room. I saw Benny get up as he rubbed his eyes. Our eyes locked as he gave me a sleepy smile. He looked adorable with his morning hair.
“Morning,” he grumbled. Oh, his voice sounded deep and groggy.
“Morning,” I murmured as Benny turned to the boy and squinted his eyes at him.
“What are you doing here?” Benny asked as he forced the blankets off himself.
“I always play Xbox on Sunday, but I see I’m interrupting something,” the younger Benny said as he sent me a wink.
“Lana, this is my little brother Sam; Sam, this is my friend Lana,” Benny introduced us as we looked at each other.