Regina

by Mary Ann Moody

  Chapter Eighteen

  I continued to look over my shoulder for a monster, even on the day of my sixteenth birthday. I wasn’t excited, even though Katie planned a huge party. My parents never asked me what I wanted or what we should do to celebrate. Their limited interest told me they didn’t care. Katie, on the other hand, went to great lengths to plan a perfect party for me.

  “We can use your grandfather’s field! We can push the party a couple of feet back, away from the house. It shouldn’t disturb anyone.”

  “Sure, I think grandpa would be alright with that. I’ll make sure it’s cool with him.”

  “Alright, then that takes care of the place. Leave the rest to me, I have it all planned out! Just let me know if there’s anything you have to have there.”

  “How about Jane and Renee? Can you have them there?”

  She looked at me like I was an idiot. “Yeah, just let me reach into my black bag right here. Sorry sweetie, I’m not a wizard!”

  That morning, Nat took me to the salon. I actually had a good time getting manipedis together. I liked being in town and not isolated in the country. Nat insisted we go to the dress shop on main street and get new outfits for the party tonight.

  “Come on!” She shouted. “It’s your birthday!”

  We spent the rest of the morning shopping. Mom called my cell around lunchtime to tell me grandpa had plans to make a special lunch for my birthday, so I needed to come home. After I said goodbye to Nat, I headed home.

  The most wonderful surprise waited for me when I got there. Jane sat at the dining room table with my parents, sipping coffee. I was so surprised I didn’t notice what they were talking about when I came in.

  “Oh my Universe! You made it!” I shouted.

  “Surprise! Happy birthday!” Jane shouted as she ran to give me a big hug.

  I was so happy I hugged my parents next and thanked them profusely for letting Jane come to Lee. I pulled her away since the lunch was an excuse to get me home and took her to town to see everything. Grandpa graciously loaned me his truck.

  “Oh shit, GG, this is a small town! What do you do out here?” Jane asked with disbelieving eyes as we rolled through main street. I laughed at her. It felt great being in her presence and hearing her call me GG, my nickname at Will Lawson.

  Jane was a beautiful girl. Her long brown hair shined the sunlight, and her brown eyes were full of judgment. Her brown skin was flawless and her makeup was perfect, like always. Jane didn’t take crap from anyone and she loved treating people bad if they said something negative about her. I think that’s why we get along so well.

  “Nothing! Katie and I go out of town sometimes, but not enough. There’s some shopping, but not much. I like to drive on the backroads and think. Other than that, nothing!” We looked at each other and laughed.

  “How fucking boring!” Jane exclaimed. “Really GG, how can you stand it here?”

  “It’s not so bad. The town is actually ….nice, and the people are pretty awesome. They wave at me when they see me driving the truck through town. Everyone knows me and asks how my grandpa is. It’s ….friendly. You’ll meet most of my friends here tonight at the party.”

  “Friends? Really? I take it you’ve associated yourself enough with them to call them ‘friends’.” She rolled her eyes. “Where is this delicious party tonight? And you must fill me in on the boys here. Any of them good enough to eat?”

  I did a double take at Jane. “I thought you were dating Spencer Rodney.”

  “Ugh, I broke up with that loser weeks ago.” She said with the wave of her hand.

  I laughed. Jane is pretty picky when it came to her boyfriends. “Seeing anyone now?”

  “I’m seeing you.” Jane said with a wink. I loved the way she did that, like this was an ordinary day in New York.

  “Yes, that’s true. And, it’s your first pasture party!”

  “Terrific!” She said with a lot of sarcasm. “I’ve longed to be raped in the wilderness by inbred cannibals.”

  I laughed at her. “It’s not like that here. It’s pretty cool. You’ll see.”

  I drove us to the backroads while we talked about life at Will Lawson. I wanted to tell Jane about the dreams so badly. I thought if anyone would understand, she would. When Jane was little, she would tell us constantly of something living in her closet. She said it would wait until dark and come out. The closet door would open slowly, as if trying to muffle the creaking, and it would come to get her. We didn’t believe her, at first, but one day, Jane invited me and Renee to stay the night with her and see for ourselves.

  At first, we were scared, but we eventually stayed the night with Jane in her house. Nothing happened, but I eventually believed Jane. To this day, she tells me the stories of the monster living in her closet. It was not a childhood fear, it was real.

  “Jane, can I tell you something?”

  “Sure.” She said while looking outside. We were in the country now and some of the scenery did interest her.

  “I’ve had some crazy dreams lately.”

  “Yeah, me too!”

  “No, I mean about this place, this town.”

  She looked over at me. “Like what?”

  I explained my dreams about the backroads. I left out most of the crazy stuff. Jane kept interrupting me by asking questions to get a better understanding on what I was saying. It threw me off a lot and I kept forgetting where I was. After I explained the dreams and the roads, I felt like a whiney spoiled brat who was really crazy! I knew Jane felt the same way because of the way she looked at me. Doubt was all over her face when I told her about my theory that the town is evil.

  “Well, honey, that does sound pretty crazy.” She said.

  “I knew it! You think I’m crazy!” I gasped, my shame ran deep.

  “I said it sounds crazy GG, I didn’t say you were crazy!” We busted out in giggles. I don’t know why I was taking the subject so lightly, but I felt so good being around Jane again. My aura felt right, my chakras were aligned, and the world was in harmony. I always felt this way around Jane and Renee.

  “Take me to the house!” Jane shouted with joy, jumping in her seat.

  “No!” I shouted. “Absolutely not! Didn’t you hear what I said?”

  “Yes and I want to see it. Come on, GG.” Jane said when I hesitated. “You got to come over to see my nightmare, let me see yours.”

  “Yes and if I remember correctly, I didn’t see anyone in your closet.” I snapped, but regretted it the moment I said it.

  “Well, I don’t see anyone in yours either.” She responded.

  I drove for a little while. I wanted to apologize and start over but that wasn’t the kind of person Jane was. She built a bridge pretty quickly when it came to an argument with her real friends.

  “So, I have some news about Jeff.” Jane said, interrupting my thoughts. “Wanna hear it?”

  “Sure.”

  “He’s dating Trisha Marsh!” Jane snorted. I couldn’t help but laugh with her.

  Trisha Marsh was the skankiest girl in our school. She had big boobs, a huge butt, and a never say no attitude. She was every guys dream! And apparently, Jeff was an included dreamer. I think I was shocked more than angry. He sure didn’t wait after our breakup to go out with Trisha. Then again, I didn’t wait to go out with Steven.

  Katie and the girls were set to be at my house by four so we could work on the decorations. There wouldn’t be much because it was in the middle of a field. However, Katie got some balloons, streamers to hang on the house and white shoe polish to write on the windows of the cars. She painted ‘Happy Birthday Regina’ and ‘Sweet 16’ on the cars when they parked in the driveway.

  Everyone kid in town came to my party, including my cousin MeKayla. I don’t know how Steven did it but he scored a couple of kegs for the party and some hard liquor for me and my girls. Katie, Jane, and I did shots before people started showing up. Mom and dad took grandpa to Austin for the night. They wer
e going to see a show and take grandpa to eat at a fancy restaurant. They said Jane and anyone else could stay over if they wanted to. I was surprised they were being so nice to me, but as they say in the south, I didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

  Since I’m in Texas, Nat just had to give me a traditional Texas birthday dinner of barbeque ribs and brisket, potato salad, veggies, mashed potatoes, big buttered biscuits, and large pitchers of iced tea. They set the food up inside the house since my family left for the night. I sat down with Katie, Steven, Jane, Becky, Nat, and others for a rousing game of ‘I Never Ever’. Steven bought a huge bottle of tequila for the game. We sat in a circle while everyone had a full shot glass in front of them. The object of the game was to confess something you had never done, and those around the table who have done it must take a shot.

  “Okay, it’s my birthday so I’m starting! I’ve never ever been sixteen before! Yee-haw!” I shouted as I took a shot. Steven laughed hard at me and took a shot. The rest of the group in the game took a shot because they were already sixteen, but they all laughed at me like Steven did. I exclaimed, “Damn! Am I the youngest one here!”

  “Okay, my turn!” Jane shouted. Her eyes narrowed and turned sarcastically to Katie. “I’ve never ever ….betrayed my friends.”

  Katie looked at Jane with narrowed eyes. For a brief moment, guilt ran across Katie’s face and scored a touchdown in her heart. Everyone whooped in excitement when Becky took her shot, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off Katie and Jane. Something was happening silently between them. They continued to stare at each other until someone said, “I’ve never ever stolen anything.”

  “Loser!” We shouted and took a shot.

  Jane and Katie weren’t getting along very well since the game. They refused to speak or look at one another. At one point, I saw Steven console Katie. He grabbed her arms tenderly and tried to get her to look at him. I couldn’t see exactly what happened next because kids danced in my line of vision, but I thought I saw Katie smile at him. The people who came to the party swam in the tank, ate the food, and drank from the keg. Many people stopped me to say what a kick ass party it was and how much fun they were having. Oh yes, my sweet sixteen would go down in Lee history. In a way, I was happy. I loved these people at my party. At least they cared enough to show up. I appreciate my parents letting me have the house for my party, but I thought they would want to spend some time with me on my birthday.

  Katie rolled out a heavenly chocolate cake. It was decorated with cherries (my fave!) and had Happy Sweet Sixteen Regina written in purple letters. Sixteen delicate pink candles were lit on the top. I was so touched, I cried and hugged her. After the cake was cut, someone got into a fight. Steven and his friend broke it up and kicked the kids out of the party. That was the first time I saw Sabrina.

  “Happy birthday.” She said with sarcasm.

  “Thanks.” I replied dryly. “Who the fuck invited you?”

  “I just came to wish you a happy birthday.” She sneered as she walked past me and into the darkness. Her voice trailed behind her, “A very happy birthday.”

  I scratched my head at her. What was wrong with Sabrina? There was a rumor she was dating Steven when I came to Lee, but Steven swore he wasn’t. Plus Katie knows everyone and everything about Lee, and she confirmed Steven was not dating Sabrina. I didn’t understand the root of Sabrina’s hatred for me.

  The party was still going at two in the morning. All the shots I drank made me feel sick to my stomach. I wanted to go to bed so I could die from the hangover I was going to have. Before I went upstairs, I saw Steven sitting on the front porch. He was watching the water. He heard me walking and turned to smile at me.

  “Hey, birthday girl.”

  I fell into the rocking chair beside him. “Hey.”

  “Did you enjoy the party?”

  I giggled. “I sure did.”

  “What’s the deal with that Jane girl? She was rude to Katie.” Steven scoffed.

  His comment peaked my interest. “Why do you care if she was rude to Katie?”

  “I don’t. I just wondered why she was rude, that’s all.”

  “Really?” The alcohol dared me to speak my mind. “Steven, do you like Katie? And I don’t mean as a friend.”

  “No! Are you kidding me? Katie Kramer? You think I like Katie Kramer?”

  I wanted to laugh at the fact that he couldn’t form his sentences properly, but I stayed silent. Steven seemed genuinely angry that I accused him of secretly liking Katie. He opened his mouth to say something to me, but closed it quickly. His eyes refused to meet mine. He got up from his chair to leave.

  “Oh, come on, Steven. Don’t get all pissy!” I giggled as I ran after him. “Don’t leave! Let’s talk about it.”

  Steven spun around to face me. “How dare you accuse me of liking another girl!”

  “I didn’t mean to offend you. I want you to talk about it if that’s how you feel. I hope you know by now you can talk to me!”

  We stopped near his car in the driveway. It was empty of most of the cars except for those spending the night. A small shed with grandpa’s mower was twenty feet from us. I heard a cat meow near the shed. The stars were out and I wanted to look at them, but Steven was furious with me.

  “Why do you think I like Katie?” He asked.

  “I saw you console her tonight. If there’s something going on between you two, just tell me. I won’t be mad. I’m not that kind of girl.”

  The cat meowed again, but this time, it was much closer.

  “There’s nothing going on between me and Katie or any other girl, and it pisses me off that you think there is.”

  “I think you’re misunderstanding me, I’m not accusing you anything. I asked you a question and you answered it. I didn’t think it would piss you off.”

  “Well, you did!” He shouted.

  “Steven, calm down.” I said right as the cat meowed again. I looked in the direction of the sound and didn’t see anything. “I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me.”

  I took his hand into mine and kissed his knuckles. My charm worked and he smiled at me.

  “MEOW!”

  Steven and I looked in the direction of the shed. This time, the cat sounded like a person trying to scream like a cat. I tightened my grip around Steven’s hand. We looked at each other in fear.

  “Well, it was a great party, but I have to be going now. Goodnight.” Steven said as he pretended to turn away from me.

  I smacked his shoulder. “Stop joking around! What was that?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Bobcat maybe?”

  I widened my eyes in terror. “Let’s get inside.”

  “Meow.” The voice was calmer and smoother. I recognized the human tone.

  The world stood still as the wind blew through the trees. I don’t know why we didn’t move from the driveway. I think we were too scared to move. Out of the darkness, I saw something crawling along the ground. He was covered in something that conformed to his body. His yellow eyes met ours and I screamed. My voice echoed into the night and invaded every inch of space above us.

  My scream jolted Steven into action. He pushed me just enough to get me to run. Steven shouted at me not to look back as we ran to the sunroom. The door was closed but unlocked. Our heavy footsteps thumped hard against the concrete. I reached for the door and opened it. Steven’s screams made me turn around. I saw him being pulled away from me. His large hand was clasped on the door, it was the only thing saving him.

  “Help me, Regina!” Steven shouted.

  I grabbed ahold of him with both hands. I tried to pull him inside, but something strong had a tight grip on Steven and wouldn’t let him go. I grabbed the doorframe with my right hand and pulled Steven with all my might. I managed to get most of him inside and after I regained my strength, I pulled him again.

  His body came tumbling on top of mine. My head slammed against the concrete floor when I fell to the ground. My vision went fuzzy and I barely
heard Steven’s screams. I tried to focus on him and the blood exploding from his arm, but I couldn’t. Everything went black.

  I woke up minutes later. Jane was beside me, trying to rouse me from unconsciousness. I heard Steven’s screams in the distance. I moaned as I tried to sit up.

  “Lay down! The ambulance is on its way.” Jane said.

  “Where’s Steven? Is he ….is he alright?” I tried to speak.

  “I don’t know. What happened?”

  “Something ….attacked us.” As I said it, the realization hit me. “It’s out there right now!”

  “Okay, GG, okay. Don’t worry about it now, just lie back and stay with me.”

  I didn’t know it at the time, but there was a large pool of blood around my head. Most of it wasn’t mine, but Jane didn’t know that. She stayed with me until the ambulance arrived. It seemed like I laid there for hours listening to Steven scream that something in the forest bit him, but it was only minutes. The ambulance services in Lee were pretty efficient. They focused on our injuries and asked us questions. Steven and I told the same story, but the emergency workers thought we were in shock and not thinking right. They didn’t take us seriously.

  Steven and I were driven to a hospital outside of Lee. We were in the same ambulance, but Steven refused to acknowledge me. I asked him if he was alright, but he didn’t speak to me. I was on the stretcher while he sat on a bench attached to the inside of the ambulance. The attendant took care of both of us while the other one drove. I was afraid for those left behind at grandpa’s house. Jane promised me she would make everyone leave the house.

  My parents came to the hospital while I had a scan of my head. They waited for me in my room when I came back from my tests. I didn’t know what time it was, but I assumed it was morning. There wasn’t a window in the emergency room, so I couldn’t be sure. I expected my parents to be worried about me, but they seemed angry as the nurse rolled me back to my gurney.

  “What happened tonight?” Daddy asked me the moment the nurse left. He kept his voice low. Thin sheets served as walls.

  “Let’s talk about it later.” Mom suggested as she nodded her head to the gurney next to me.

  We waited in silence for someone to tell me the results of my tests. I kept my ears sharp in case I heard Steven’s voice, but I never did. I wondered what happened to him. I wanted to ask my parents but I thought it was best to keep quiet. I knew they were angry at me for hosting a party in grandpa’s house that got people hurt. The doctor came into my little section and told me my tests were clear. He tested my sight, hearing, and memory before he declared I didn’t have a major head injury. He wanted to keep me overnight in the hospital for observation, but I declined. I wanted to find out what happened to Steven and see Jane one last time before she went home. My parents didn’t disagree with my decision so the doctor released me from the emergency room under the condition I follow up with my normal doctor in a few days. Oh, and I have to return to the emergency room if I have certain symptoms.

  Mom and daddy wheeled me in a wheelchair to the front of the hospital. Daddy said he was going to get the car when we heard someone calling for us.

  “Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Roth?” My parents and I spun around to see my emergency room doctor running towards us. “I just received Regina’s MRI results. I need to show you something.”

  I wanted to hear what the doctor had to say, but I saw Steven’s name written on the whiteboard behind my parents. I looked at his room number and tried to think of some way to exclude myself from them.

  “There’s nothing wrong, is there?” My mother asked with concern.

  The doctor looked at me with a curious look on his face before he said, “Apparently not. Then again, I’ve never seen this before. Please step into my office.”

  “Mom, I really need to use the restroom. I’ll be right in, okay?” I didn’t wait for a response, I just got up from my wheelchair and walked away from them.

  I went into the bathroom nearby and waited for two minutes. I checked the hallway to be sure they were gone before I went straight to Steven’s room. The nurses didn’t notice me as I wandered around. I was a little farther from Steven’s room than I had originally thought. As I rounded a corner, I saw Steven’s parents leaving his room. They left the room and turned away from me. Thankfully, they didn’t see me. I didn’t know what Steven told them, so I wasn’t sure if they would be angry with me.

  I walked silently across the cream colored tile and opened the door to Steven’s room. A curtain surrounded the outside of his bed and the lights were off. The television was silent. The only light came from something on Steven’s nightstand, on the other side of the curtain. I closed the door softly and clasped my hands together with anxiety. Now that I was here, I didn’t know what to say.

  I whispered, “Steven?”

  I saw his head poke up from the bed. “Whose there?” The fear in his voice was incredible.

  I spoke fast. “It’s Regina. I only came to see if you’re okay.”

  “Are you alone?”

  “Yes, but my parents are talking to my doctor outside.”

  The curtain was the only thing between us. I felt incredibly guilty for what happened to him and had to know he was okay. Fear took a permanent residence in poor Steven Rank’s shattered body, even his shadow shivered from fright. “I don’t want you near me. Get out or I’ll scream.”

  “No, Steven, please don’t. Just tell me you’re going to be alright, then I’ll go, I promise. I promise.” I spoke in a soft tone and didn’t move an inch for fear of scaring him. He seemed to relax after I said that.

  “I’m going to live.” He said. His voice sounded a little stronger.

  “Okay, that’s all I wanted to know. I have no idea what that was or what happened, but I don’t want to push you to talk about it. I’ll leave now. I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried about you. Goodbye, Steven.”

  “Wait.” His soft voice rolled from the sheet. “Regina, open the curtain.”

  I gripped the curtain and pulled it across me. Steven sat in the bed with a horrible look on his face, as if his mind never broke away from what happened to us and he constantly lived in that harrowing moment. His short hair was bloody and disheveled. A big white bandage surrounded his right arm and shoulder. The padding in that thing had to be three inches thick. The skin around his eyes was black and purple

  I felt the tears rise up in my eyes. “Oh, Steven!”

  “I’m fine. Everything looks worse than it really is. The doctor says I’ll make a full recovery.”

  “Thank the Universe.” I said and stepped closer to him.

  “Stay away from me!” Steven shouted. He got a hold of himself when he saw the shock on my face. “Don’t come any closer. I only asked you in here to make sure you understand me. Don’t call me, visit my house, or try to see me. Just stay away from me.”

  “Why?” I asked with shock.

  “I saw what attacked me.” Steven said in an eerie whisper. I held my breath as I listened to him. “Everything happened so quickly, but I saw your little cousin, Michael, crawl out of the darkness and transform into some sort of monster.”

  “Michael attacked you?” I gasped. “You said he turned into a monster?”

  “Yes, it was dark, but I saw him. He transformed like a werewolf, but he wasn’t a werewolf, no, he was something else.”

  My hands trembled as I asked, “Did you tell anyone what you saw?”

  Steven shifted his eyes to mine. His face was pale and sweaty. He cracked his joints in his arms, legs, and fingers as he spoke to me. “It won’t matter who I tell. They’ll only say I got in its way. No big deal.”

  I stayed silent for a while. What was he babbling about? “It’s a big deal to me. Please, let me help you.”

  Steven stared into the space above my head for a few minutes while his lips silently moved. He seemed to be talking to someone only he could see. I heard, “It came for me because of her.”


  I shivered with fear as I watched Steven speak to people around him that I couldn’t see. I took his hand into mine and tried to get him to focus on my face. “Steven, look at me. It’s alright. I’ll take care of Michael. I promise.”

  “It was you!” Steven screamed at me. He looked at me as if he just realized I was there. “They came for me because of you! Get out or they’ll come back. Get out!

  I jumped off the bed and ran to the other side of the curtain. I rushed out of the room, not caring if his parents saw me. I felt horribly guilty. Why did Michael attack Steven? Regardless of the answer, it happened at my party. Steven wanted to leave when I confronted him about Katie, but I wouldn’t let him. If only I had let Steven leave. Then it hit me. Michael meant to hurt me, not Steven.

  I saw my parents waiting for me in the hallway outside the doctor’s office. I thought they would be mad at me for being gone so long, but they weren’t. Their faces were free of anger and they led me away quickly to the exit. When we stepped outside the hospital, I was surprised to see it was still dark.

  The drive home was quiet, but it didn’t last long. Once we were out of the hospital, my mother was a boiling pot of rage. She seemed ready to let me have it. The ambulance took me to a hospital twenty miles outside of Lee, so she had plenty of time to yell at me on the drive home.

  “What were you thinking?” She turned her head from the front seat to yell at me. My father drove our rental car and kept his eyes forward.

  I shook my head at her stupidity. “I wasn’t thinking anything. Steven and I were attacked.”

  “Is that so?” She said with narrowed eyes.

  “Yes! A creature came out of the woods near the tank and attacked us.” I shouted from the backseat. “Steven and I were standing in the driveway. We were arguing, then it attacked Steven. I pulled him inside the sunroom and hit my head on the ground in the process.”

  Daddy was silent after I told them the story, but mom wasn’t. She turned around and asked, “You and Steven were fighting? About what?”

  “It was stupid. I thought he made a pass at Katie at the party tonight. When I asked him about it, he got angry. He was going to leave and go home, but we were talking and then, ….well, we were attacked. I thought the attacker looked like aunt Rachel’s son, Michael.”

  “I see.” Mom said as she looked at daddy.

  “What?” I asked. “What’s the ‘I see’ about?”

  “Everyone thinks you attacked that boy!” Mom blurted out in a shrill voice.

  “What?” I exclaimed in shock. “Who does?”

  “Everyone! They are all gossiping about it behind our backs.”

  “Really, mom? It’s been only a couple of hours since it happened. I seriously doubt the whole town thinks I hurt Steven. Do you two think I hurt Steven? Or do you believe me?”

  I saw daddy’s eyes in the rearview mirror as he said, “Well, you have been unhappy since we came here.”

  I scoffed at him. “Yeah, it sucks to be here, but I wouldn’t hurt a guy I like to get out my anger.”

  “You said you accused Steven of liking your best friend. That seems like a good reason to hurt a boy to me.” Mom muttered.

  “What is wrong with you two? Steven’s doctor said something bit him and ate his flesh. You actually think I did that?” I shrilled at them, but they stayed silent. I looked out the windows as daddy drove. I was hurt and angry. “You know, I saw Steven while you two were talking to my doctor.”

  “Did you?” My father asked calmly. “And what did Steven say? Can he confirm your story?”

  I knew this was my moment. I wanted to tell them Steven was positive Michael attacked us and wipe those smug smiles off their faces, but I stopped myself. I remembered the look on Steven’s face as he recanted the story. Madness settled over his face and physical actions. It was also possible Michael was after me and Steven just happened to be there. I felt I had hurt Steven enough as it was, so I lied to my parents to protect him. “No. He spoke to me long enough to break up with me and told me to leave.”

  My mother shook her head as if Steven’s reaction confirmed her accusations. I sat back and took a closer look at my parents. This time, with a different eye. I allowed myself to view them, and our situation, from a different perspective. They were up to something. I felt them smiling to themselves as my father drove us back to grandpa’s house. This was the moment I knew everything was connected; my dreams, the house. It all connected with my parents odd behavior, yet, I couldn’t see what it all would lead up to. The only thing I could do was sit back and wait for it to happen. So I allowed myself to relax in the backseat of our car. I didn’t care if people thought I hurt Steven. We would be home in one week and as long as Steven knew the truth, I could live with the gossip until then. I hoped that, whatever this big event was, it would wait until I was safely back in New York, and far away from Lee.

  The next morning, Jane had to go home. We picked her up from her motel, and my parents and I drove her to the airport. I got to spend the last hours she had here with her. It took almost two hours to arrive at the airport.

  “Are you sure you’re okay, GG?” Jane asked me with concern. It felt good to know that someone still cared about me.

  “I’m fine. Oh, by the way, mom. What did the doctor say?” I asked her.

  My parents were in the front seat and dad was driving, again. She turned to me and said, “Oh, it was something with your back. He suggested we see a specialist when we go home.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with me, is there?”

  “Oh, no! He asked us if you have back pain, and when we confirmed your history of it, he suggested we see a specialist. May I ask you, Jane? What did you see at the party last night? Did you see what happened to Regina and Steven?”

  “Well, no, I didn’t. I was in Regina’s room when I heard their screams. I ran downstairs to find out what was wrong, but when I got there, Regina was on the ground.” She turned to me. “There was blood everywhere, so I told Katie to call the paramedics. I didn’t see what happened and I didn’t see what attacked you.”

  “What makes you think something attacked them?” My father asked.

  “Regina said something came out of the woods, and attacked her and Steven.”

  “It’s possible she was hallucinating from her head hitting the concrete, you know.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Jane spoke first. “No, I believe something attacked her. She was so scared something would happen to me, too. She was nothing but concerned for me and those left behind at the house. Besides, if it was a hallucination, what bit Steven?”

  Jane opened her door to get her luggage out. We were in the airport passenger drop off line. I felt the tears before they left my eyes. I hugged Jane tightly to me as if it were the last time I would see her. I breathed in her scent and rubbed her soft hair across my face. My friend believed me and I felt grateful to her for sticking up for me to my parents.

  “Good luck, GG!” She said after she gave me a bear hug. Her return ticket was in her hand. I hated seeing her name on it and not mine. She whispered into my ear before she left, “And don’t worry, everything will be fine. You’ll be home and those stupid dreams will be left on those back roads where they belong.”

  “I love you Jane.” I said through my tears as she walked away.

  Jane ran back to me and gave me one last big hug. “I love you, too, GG”