by Lucy Lambert
“I’m sorry. This is so dumb… I’m just a bit nervous is all.”
“It’s not dumb. Just trust me on this. You look like you’re in need of a good burger. I’ve seen what they serve at the cafeteria!”
He offered me a smile as he shifted his feet. He jerked his head in the direction of the town.
“Come on. I saved you last time something bad happened, didn’t I? I’ll do it again, if anything comes up.”
I had to nod at that. It was also a bit startling. We hadn’t really talked very much about the incident, mostly just skirted around it. But it did put me at ease. If he could handle two frat jerks so easily, what’s the worst that could happen in sleepy old Hazelglen?
“All right! You’re right; let’s do this!”
He gave me a mock salute, which earned him a punch on the arm. We both laughed as we started forwards again.
Though, as we crossed that threshold, I couldn’t help feeling a little nervous still.
The town seemed especially dark before I remembered that it was nestled in a valley. The rows of houses on either side of us also helped cut some of the wind. And it was more alive than the campus.
Though one old lady walking her dog, some puffy little white thing more fur than animal, took one look at us and rushed back into her home. She peeked out the front window at us, her eyes following our movement past.
“What’s her problem?” I said. I looked down at myself, unable to keep from wondering if I’d only imagined putting on clothes earlier or something.
Adam shrugged, “Let’s just say that my family has a reputation around here, and that superstitions are still pretty strong. Bonnie’s is just one more block up and to the right. That’s Main Street up there, if you can see it.”
I squinted. Yeah, that street up there did seem better lit, and a little broader. A few cars drifted past, their red taillights leaving spots in my eyes as I watched.
I burned to ask him more about this curse. The thought of how he’d look back in the cafe kept me from it, though.
I didn’t want to ruin our little outing. I didn’t have any more secrets to share with him. My get out of jail free card was already used, and so early in the game, it felt like.
We got to the intersection not long after that. Bonnie’s was right across the street, the ground level of some three storey building. A single spotlight directed back at the sign, which was done in swirling crimson cursive letters.
A little bell tinkled over the door as we went in. It felt good to be out of the cold.
“Over here,” he said, leading me to a small table along the wall.
I couldn’t recall having such a nice conversation with anybody in a long time. It was as though both our guards dropped. We talked about the movies we liked, shows to catch. All those little unimportant things.
There was none of that gravitas, that feeling of importance hanging over every syllable I’d gotten used to in lecture halls. Here, we were just two young people enjoying some burgers, some soda, and some talk.
Some little voice in the back of my mind kept nagging at me to ask him about this curse. I wanted so much to know more about him. Where was his house? Was it a big, creaky old mansion on the outskirts of town? What did his people do for a living; were they all fancy lawyers or something, with him bucking the trend getting a liberal arts degree and earning their eternal ire?
He was in the middle of talking about some movie when I broke in.
“What’s your favorite color?”
He had to put down his burger as he frowned at me.
“What? Are we five now or something?” he said.
It was a bit childish, but sometimes children have it right. They’re not afraid of being honest, or curious.
“No, it’s just that I don’t really know much about you. Usually, if you want to be friends with someone, you need to know a little something about who they are,” I said.
He tapped the Formica table with his middle finger as he studied the ceiling.
“Red, I guess.”
Red? A very boyish answer, very unspecific.
“What do you mean? Like rust, or blood, or crimson, or cherry… For instance, I’m a big fan of navy blue.”
He nodded, “Cherry red, I suppose.”
There, I knew something about him! Not exactly what I wanted to, but it was a start.
Chapter 18
“Hey kiddos, I’m gonna close up shop in fifteen or so. Fair warning,” the waitress said, leaning over the counter as she spoke around a big wad of pink gum.
That was weird. I could have sworn that their sign said they were open until midnight. I pulled out my phone.
“Wow,” I said.
“Huh?” Adam replied.
I showed him my phone. We’d been talking for nearly three hours here. It was about ten to midnight. Now that I thought of it, it had been quite a while since I’d seen a car go by outside.
It hadn’t felt like nearly that long. Though, when I shifted my butt on the chair, my legs did feel a bit stiff. Like I’d been sitting there, leaned slightly forward, for several hours.
Adam seemed pretty surprised, too.
“Really? Doesn’t it feel like we just sat down?” he said.
“I know, right?”
We started to get up. I tried to stretch as quietly as possible, wincing as my back cracked. But again Adam noticed, smiling at me.
“Come on, I’ll walk you back to your dorm,” he said.
“Good night, guys. Stay safe out there!” the waitress called as she came around the counter to collect our plates.
Despite all the talking we’d just done, the walk along the street towards the campus was quiet. I kept glancing at him, struggling for some topic we hadn’t already touched upon.
So instead I looked up. The clouds from earlier were gone. I did like the stars out here. Back in Pasadena, the only time I ever really saw them was during blackouts or brownouts. Light pollution, the called it.
But here, so long as it was overcast, you could see them every single night. They winked and twinkled up there. For a moment, I felt pulled out of myself as I considered them.
They were so tiny, like little pinpricks in a black sheet thrown over a light. I knew that was only my perspective, though. In reality, they were other planets, other stars, other galaxies all whirling away up there. It made me feel so small and insignificant to consider.
However, that wasn’t a bad feeling. It was comforting, almost.
I brought my eyes back down to glance at Adam. He looked at the sidewalk a few feet in front of himself, also lost in thought apparently.
It was comforting to be with him, too. It was like it was okay to be myself when I was around him, and it was so rare to find a person like that. Though, since I wasn’t even really sure who “my self” was yet, I didn’t really know what to think.
As we got closer to that arch of trees over the path back onto the campus, I realized we were only minutes away from my dorm.
My heart skipped as I wondered what would happen when we got there. Had this been a date? If he thought so, was he going to try to kiss me? Did I want him to?
Yes, I decided, I did. Even with all that stubble. My body felt hot, then, despite the breeze.
He was being so quiet, though. Now he had his shoulders hunched over, too, as though he didn’t want to be seen with me.
The warm glow I was experiencing started to fade as the cold pressed in on me. Something wasn’t right.
“Adam?” I said, moving a little closer to him.
I heard his breathing, then. It sounded different, deeper somehow. The sound made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. Something urged me to leave him there and run, and to not stop until I was safe in my room with the deadbolt in place.
“Are you okay? Was it the burger?”
It had tasted fine to me, and obviously I wasn’t sick. Was he trying to be macho or something by hiding it? God, boys could be dumb sometimes.
�
��No…” he said.
The sound of his voice made me grit my teeth. It was ominous, unnatural. Not his at all. Adrenaline surged through my body, then, leaving me shaking. I fought against the urge to bolt.
“If something’s wrong, tell me. Maybe I can help…” I said.
I reached out to touch him on the shoulder. When I did, he jerked. He jumped back away from me, crouching down. Then he looked at me.
Those weren’t his eyes. They were feral, animal. They glinted in the light from the nearest lamp.
A sound too much like a growl escaped his throat.
“I can’t… Sometimes, I can’t control it,” he said.
“Adam! What’s wrong, tell me!” I said, practically screaming at him.
I rushed in to try and hold him, to try and find out what was wrong, but he shoved his arms out at me. My heart slammed in my chest as my body begged me to run. But I couldn’t run; I couldn’t leave him in obvious pain out here in the dark.
“No, don’t! I can’t… I’m sorry!”
He pushed himself to his feet, still holding one hand out to keep my at bay. When he found his balance, he loped off into the darkness.
“Adam!” I said, clutching myself.
I wanted to go after him, but I couldn’t make myself. The campus was so dark at night, and I kept having flashes of Eric and Joseph’s faces staring down at me. I realized how alone I was out there.
Still hugging myself, I hurried back to my dorm. I kept glancing into the trees and bushes, and tried to avoid the areas of darkness as much as possible. I stayed in the pools of light from the lamps, rushing between them if there was any space.
My heart didn’t stop hammering until I was halfway up the stairs in my dorm, listening to the booming echo of my footsteps as I stamped my feet on each step.
I shut my eyes and leaned against my door as I closed it behind me. I saw Adam’s glowing eyes looking up at me, projected from my memory, so fresh. Then I flicked on all the lights, even the little lamp on my desk. Shadows were not allowed.
I had to talk to Jenn. I had to apologize to her. I needed her to help me through this.
I opened the laptop too hard and sat down too heavily.
“Come on, come on…” I said, watching the little Windows icon as the computer booted up.
I couldn’t wait for my desktop to finish loading. I launched Internet Explorer and went right to Facebook.
Jenn wasn’t online. That was weird. Normally, she was quite the night owl. I clicked on her name in the chat bar anyway.
“Call me as soon as you get this,” I typed, my finger hovering over the mouse button to send it.
I added, “I’m sorry about today. Let’s hang out tomorrow, K?”
I sent it. Then I checked her wall. Her status from about twenty minutes ago said that she’d gone out for a walk to “clear her head of all this college BS.”
I pulled my phone out and sent her a text. Five painfully slow minutes ticked by on the laptop’s clock. She must still be really pissed at me, I knew. Everything was just so confusing. I needed to talk with her.
So I thumbed the “Call” button on my phone.
It rang five times, then went to voicemail. I tried again.
“Come on, Jenn…”
The same thing.
I thought about going out to find her, but I couldn’t rid myself of the image of Adam’s eyes, and of his body as he sprinted away from me. Something was terribly wrong with him.
I looked out my window into the darkness, squinting to see through my reflection. It would be easier if I turned the lights off, but the cold fear caressing my spine deflected that idea.
I don’t know what I was expecting to see. Maybe Jenn waiting down there for me, or Adam waving for me to come down to say it was all some dumb prank.
But there were only the trees and the shadows. I thought I could make out the next residence building over as a black blob in the distance with a few room lights on, but there was absolutely no one out there.
I went over and sat on my bed, checking my phone to see if there were any missed texts.
What if it wasn’t some prank? What if something really bad was happening to Adam, something dangerous?
Jenn was somewhere out there, too, alone in the night.
I should go out and search for them, I knew, but the very thought turned all my insides to ice water. I didn’t think I could step foot out there if the building was on fire.
I checked the deadbolt again, then climbed in under the covers after kicking my shoes off. I wasn’t going to turn off the lights, either.
Chapter 19
The alarm on my phone was still set for the midterm. It was a happy melody of some sort, rising gently in volume. Normally, it woke me feeling refreshed and ready for the day. It helped me cope by not jarring me out of sleep like that awful buzzing alarm back home.
I rubbed at my eyes and shifted, wondering why I wasn’t in my pajamas.
It took only a few moments for all the memories of the previous night to crash down into my consciousness. The date (or whatever it had been) the walk home, Adam running off with those crazy eyes. Jenn, not answering my Facebook messages, texts, or calls.
Jenn, I thought. I wrenched the covers off and lurched to my feet, grabbing my cell phone off the desk.
“I must have slept through her texts,” I muttered, turning off the alarm.
But there were no messages from her. I know it’s cliché to say you have a sinking feeling in your stomach, but I did right then. My stomach was slowly dropping through the rest of my body, leaving a queasy feeling behind. I tried to silence it, to tell myself everything was okay.
“Facebook, right,” I said as I saw my laptop.
I flipped it open and it woke up right to my Facebook news feed. Jim wanted everyone to get together for another party his place (he spelled it “Par-Tay”) and apparently Cheryl was now in a relationship.
I started typing Jenn’s name into the search bar, then clicked on her profile.
The last message was from Jim, asking if she was coming tonight. Before that was her status message about going for a walk to clear her head. It was eight hours old now.
I checked my schedule, which was pressed against my wall with sticky tack. My next lecture wasn’t until 11:00, about two hours away.
The hole that had swallowed my stomach threatened to pull the rest of me in as well.
“Okay, okay. Calm down. She’s just pissed is all,” I said.
Grabbing my phone, I sent her another quick text. A minute passed with no answer, so I called her. Straight to voicemail.
I knew Jenn was mad that I’d picked going out with Adam rather than hanging out with her, but would she really give everyone else the silent treatment for that?
I yanked my curtains open to reveal a misty morning. It hung in the air and whisked silently across the ground. Skeletal trees were just silhouettes. If I looked up, I could discern the hot ball of the sun, doing its best to burn the moisture away.
I was in such a rush to step out, that I didn’t bother changing my clothes or combing my hair. It was very poofy from rolling around all night, practically crackling with static. My jeans had deep creases running down the legs and my shirt was wrinkled and clingy.
A few people in the hall gave me looks. One girl, my neighbor right across from me, smiled and winked as she looked me up and down. It took me a second to realize they all thought this was a walk of shame. Clearly I was wearing what I wore the previous night, and I had to look like hell.
“Damn it, Jenn,” I said through my teeth as I smiled at my neighbor.
If Jenn was just sulking in her room and this was all for nothing, she was going to get it good.
I hoped she was just sulking in her room. That would be such a relief.
The mist swirled around my feet as I went outside, rising into a filmy haze in front of my face, and I realized I was having trouble keeping my bearings straight. I walked the direction I thought he
r building was based on which door I left mine from.
The light from my phone’s screen was like a beacon. It looked ghostly, spectral, as I tried calling her again. It got the same result as before. This time I left a message. I was so angry that the heat of it kept me from remembering that I’d forgotten to grab my jacket, and that the mist was cold as it made my bangs stick to my forehead.
“Jenn? It’s Steph. Where are you? I’m really sorry about last night, okay? Look, just call or text… or whatever as soon as you get this,” I said.
Despite the mist, the campus was busy. The headlights of a car loomed up from around the curve, making halos of light around myself and the other students walking to and from class. I wove my way through a big group all chatting amongst themselves.
When I got to her building, I lucked out. I followed a girl with long, black hair in. And here I’d been, wondering how I was going to get through the locked door.
Quickly, I went up to her room. My body couldn’t decide whether it wanted to hyperventilate or hold its breath, the air constantly catching in my throat.
I knocked on Jenn’s door.
“Jenn?” I said.
Down at my feet, I saw only shadows under the doorjamb. She still had her curtains closed, and there were no lights on. Could she just have slept through everything?
I knocked harder. When there was still no answer, I tried the latch. It was unlocked.
Pushing the door inward, I fumbled for the light switch. I flicked it up, illuminating her empty room. Her computer was off, her bed was made. There was an open bottle of Dasani on her desk, about a third of the water gone.
The worry really started to eat away at me, then. Turning off the light and closing the door, I looked around.
The door of her neighbor to my left was open, light and some pop music spilling out as two high feminine voices chatted and laughed from within.
I knocked on that door before pushing it open. There were two girls sat on their single beds, both blonde and skinny. The one on the right had curly hair, where the one on the left had straight. They were both in tank tops and sweats, the universal uniform of laundry day.