by Kish Knight
Careful not to slosh any of the beer she’d been carrying around all evening, Bri clutched the bottle and started toward Deanna’s group. The bottle, still full, was for looks, not taste, since she couldn’t stand liquor. As she reached the door, a sudden thought struck. Aeryal would have loved to be here. She had loved pre-games. Even though she wouldn’t actually watch the game, Aeryal had loved just hanging around with a group of kids. If she was there, she and Bri would be up in the crowd, laughing it up with the rest.
‘But she’s dead.’ A dark pall settled over Bri, and instead of stepping onto the packed porch where Deanna and her followers giggled, she changed direction and headed instead for a different section of porch. Shanice’s parents had recently added a giant wrap-around porch around most of the house, and now Bri headed around that side of the house. Somewhere there wasn’t anyone. Suddenly, she wasn’t in the mood to laugh and be silly.
Bri leaned out over the railing and just stared at the view. Then she felt someone watching her. She spun. Korey stood at the corner of the house.
“Am I interrupting?”
Trying her best to force a scowl to her face, Bri failed miserably as he stepped up beside her to lean against the railing. Against her will, her heart began to pulse double-time. Triple-time.
Distracted, she began noticing little things about him, like how the lean muscles of his stomach imprinted his thin T-shirt and the way his lips were the perfect shape for a smile. Even if he never actually smiled. A sliver of porch light fell across his face, illuminating velvety eyes as smooth as warm chocolate.
Bri tried her best to act as if his voice hadn’t sent shivers down her spine and across her chest. She shook her head quickly, before she realized how childish that must look. “Oh. No way,” she managed. “It’s a free country.”
‘Oh!’ she berated herself. ‘That sounded soooo stupid. Free country? Who says that?’
With a nod, he studied her for a while without speaking. “So other than drink, what do you guys do around here for fun?”
She gestured at the porch around the corner. “This is it.”
“Hhmm.” He took a sip from a cup that she’d just noticed in his hand, and then carefully balanced the cup on the railing. “Okay.”
“Why are you so boring?” she blurted, and then instantly regretted the words as they left her lips. She had NOT meant it like that at all. What she had meant to say was, ‘why aren’t you more loud and boisterous and sloppy like the other teenage boys I go to school with?’ or even ‘why are you so cool and collected and well-put together?’
Not boring.
Anger flashed in the velvet eyes that she had admired only seconds before, and now said velvet had melted in the heat of a molten hot glare. Body stiffening, Korey seized his cup and faced her, lips parted. Bri cringed, knowing that whatever he was about to say would be insulting and very hurtful.
“Hey! We’re leaving, we’re leaving!” Sean Walters, the quarterback, and another football player, Ryan, stumbled toward the stairs laughing. “No worries, we’re gonna win, even if we’re drunk!”
Bri and Korey just watched as the pair stumbled by them to the stairs. With them, came a bunch of other kids, who seemed to be leaving as well. All were drunk. Bri wondered briefly how Sean and Ryan intended to win the game in that condition. The loud chatter from all the exiting kids had broken the horrible tension that hung over the porch. Apparently deciding to ignore her, Korey turned and stared out at the woods again.
‘I guess I’m off the hook, huh?’ she told herself. But even so, she found herself sorely disappointed that she had missed her chance to apologize to him for her insensitive comment. Why was it that every time she was around him, she managed to make a complete fool of herself? Even that time on the field trip. Thinking back to it, her face burned to remember how stupid she’d acted.
No wonder the guy thought she was nuts....
Still looking at him, she clamped her jaws together in time to stifle a startled gasp. Porch light was illuminating just half of his body, but it was enough to cast a beam at the correct angle for her to see his inner arm. And the pale, star-shaped birthmark that was there.
Korey was the one that had dug her out of the catwalk rubble. Korey, not Gerald. But what did that mean? Just that he wasn’t completely as bad as he seemed. It was still highly suspicious that he’d managed to be the first person on the scene, which could mean that he had seen her falling. And….he had kissed her.
Her head was suddenly hurting. Was he good or bad? She didn’t know.
With a sigh, she headed back inside. Halfway to the refreshment table, she paused suddenly, almost bumping into a slow gyrating couple. Something occurred to her. Why hadn’t she remembered to ask Korey what he was doing at Aeryal’s house the other day? Not to mention, where he’d disappeared to in the auditorium before she had fallen.
Turning to glance back through the glass doors to the porch, she caught sight of Korey staring into the growing darkness, his profile tight and intense. A shiver ran across her bones with the next thought.
‘What if that wasn’t his first time at the Swan house? Did he have something to do with her death? What if he had planned for the same thing to happen to me?’
Suddenly wanting to be far away from him, she moved deeper into the room. The hatred in Korey’s eyes had been unsettling. Even the energy of the dancers around her couldn’t change the mood that had descended on her. Movement at the far corner of the room caught her eye. Darkness rippled along the furniture as a shadow stole over the room. Fine hairs on her arms prickled alarmingly as she watched.
“Hey! Having a good time?” Familiar arms slung over her shoulders, and Bri glanced up sharply, recoiling from the embrace.
“Gerald?” A frown covered her face. “What are you doing here?” With one eye, she tracked the shadow as it made its way around the room toward her, rippling along the wall as it advanced.
“Wow. I’ve gotten more enthusiastic hellos than that before.” Though his words were light, she could see that Gerald’s feelings were hurt by her less-than-stellar greeting. Across the room behind him, the shadow paused, as if sensing something.
“Uh…I just meant that I didn’t know you knew my friend Shanice well enough to get invited,” Bri went on hurriedly, trying to cover her embarrassment. “It’s great that you’re here, of course.”
Gerald’s face spread in a smile and Bri felt less bad for insulting him. Too bad she couldn’t stick around to chat. The shadow started peeling itself off the wall and her heart pounded. He would just have to think that she was a jerk, again.
“Bathroom!” she gasped to Gerald’s shirt and stumbled away through the crowd, leaving him stunned behind her.
There was no way she was actually seeing the creepy shadow here, in front of tons of people; maybe she was hallucinating. But still…. Hurrying down the hall to the main restroom, Bri rolled her eyes as she saw that someone was in there. She wasn’t above hiding out until it was safe. Maybe the shadow would search the dance floor and then leave after it couldn’t find her.
‘Or maybe Shanice will find me curled up in her bathroom, frightened to death.’
There was another bathroom at the back of the house, and Bri headed for it. As she hurried, her mind flit across the coincidence that she’d just been talking to Korey right before the shadow appeared. She made her way down a narrow hallway, with only a sliver of light behind her from the living room. Wincing as she stepped on the creaky floorboard that Shanice hated, she realized that she could barely hear the laughter from the party. No one was around to save her if the thing attacked. She continued to move farther into the house. Just her luck, the bathroom was the only room that far down the hall. Just as she approached the door, a figure flickered at the corner of her vision. She froze. It was all she could do to keep her calm and not running screaming back to the party.
With a slow, calculated turn, she tensed to see who was spying on her. But no one waited there. Tensio
n ran down her spine, but Bri just steeled her shoulders, praying to actually have the confidence that she was faking. “I’m not afraid of you,” she muttered. Marching into the bathroom, she let the door slam behind her. And sagged against the door as soon as it shut.
It wasn’t her imagination that laughter rippled lightly on the air.
CHAPTER
11
“I think Aeryal was murdered.”
After about five seconds of surprise, shock and disbelief, all her friends burst out laughing.
“Yea, so was my Uncle Elmore,” Chas cracked.
“No! You guys aren’t listening!” Bri glared around the circle of her friends. Shanice and Chas as usual, were snuggled together at the edge of the group. ‘Figures,’ Bri thought. When was the perfect couple not ever joined at the hip, or sitting in each other’s lap, or some other romantically embarrassing pose? Bri couldn’t help but grit her teeth as Shanice nodded sympathetically.
Could she even begin to concentrate on Aeryal’s plight with Chas’s fingers running through the ends of her hair?
Not even.
Bri turned her gaze to Deanna. “If it were any one of us, Aeryal would have investigated it,” she said, eyes pleading. “Think about it. How can an eighteen year old teenager just up and die like that?”
Deanna didn’t hesitate to roll her eyes. “Bri, really, give us a break. Aeryal was dying when we met her. Hospital, remember?” She continued brushing her sleek hair, obviously already bored with the conversation.
“No, she wasn’t!” Bri was astounded that Deanna even considered saying that out loud. “She wasn’t. What about all the times we hung out and just partied? Went skinny-dipping? Dying kids don’t do that. Aeryal was fine before she turned seventeen. Then, everything went downhill. There’s something just strange about that.”
It was only when she paused to take a breath that Bri realized how loud she’d gotten. She lowered her voice and continued. “We need to find out what our friend died from….,” and dare she say it, “….and why Korey has been hanging around her house.” It was the perfect time to bring it up; she hadn’t seen him all day, so there was a good chance that he wasn’t in school.
“Come on,” Chas protested, “he’s a good guy. Stop talking crazy, Bri.”
“As usual,” Deanna muttered.
“No,” she hissed, “we don’t really know anything about him, and the other day, I caught him sneaking around in her yard.”
Shanice flipped the ends of her long ponytail over one shoulder. “You do know that he lives on Dead-End Avenue, right? He has a right to be there.”
With gritted teeth, Bri exhaled slowly as she tried to contain her anger. It wasn’t that she wanted to throw Korey to a lynch mob or anything, but there was just something off about him. She knew it. Every time she looked into those dark eyes, she could sense that he was lying about something. Or everything. Though sadly enough, her stomach still did flip-flops whenever she saw him, and her skin still grew flame-hot whenever he was near her. Didn’t attraction have any self-preservation at all? How could she be crazy about the guy that knew something about her best friend’s death?
Rob ground out his cigarette against the bench. “So, what are you saying we should do?” Bri remembered Aeryal’s comments to him in her letter. He was probably her best bet. Rob and Aeryal had been close, closer than any of the others in the group, even, save Bri and Aeryal. If anyone would want to dig up the info, it should be him.
Bri studied him closely. He seemed to be studying her intently, as if waiting to be convinced.
Sighing, Deanna shook her head, “Honestly, I just don’t like dead, depressing things. I just want to have a good time in life. I’m not doing it.”
Chas chose that moment to speak up. “Guys, I think we all agree that it was sad and someone should find out, but that’s not our job. We just all need to move on.” Shanice, of course, nodded as if Chas had made the most profound statement.
Without a word, Rob left his seat and walked away. Apparently, his mind had been made up with Chas’s words. Chas apparently decided to leave as well, since he stood, gave Shanice a quick kiss, and followed Rob.
‘No,’ thought Bri. Desperate now, Bri’s eyes darted between the two girls. “We HAVE to do something!”
“Um, don’t count on those of us that have lives,” Deanna mumbled into her soda. Instantly, hate bubbled in Bri’s chest. She couldn’t help it; just the sight of Deanna’s smug face below her perfectly coifed hair enraged her. The face of a selfish girl who didn’t have a care in the world.
“Oh, Bri,” Shanice’s eyes were understanding as she threw an arm over her friend’s shoulders, “you’ve got to perk up.”
Deanna took a sip of her shake. “Aeryal was a good friend to all of us. I really miss her.”
“We all do, Bri,” said Shanice.
Bri felt marginally better, but it didn’t change the ache in her soul that she felt over losing Aeryal.
Shanice took her hands. “You know what? Let’s have a girl’s night on Friday. It’ll be just us girls, catching up on the gossip and having a good time. We can use my place. My parents are out of town until Sunday, so it’ll be great!”
“Okay.” Bri had to admit, that did sound good.
***
“See? Isn’t this fun?”
The three girls were curled under a cozy blanket on the floor in front of Shanice’s widescreen TV. They had just watched the first movie in a sappy teen movie marathon, while munching on a stack of donuts and chips.
Reaching for her fourth cream donut, Bri nodded. “Yea, yea, you guys were right. Maybe I was letting Aeryal’s death get to me a little too much.”
Rolling her eyes, Deanna stretched luxuriously. “A little? Try wayyy too much.”
Anxious to change the subject before her depression kicked in, Bri twirled a curl around her finger. “So, Deanna, how did it go with the new guy the other day? You didn’t fill us in. Y’all dating yet?” She kept her voice to a forced casual tone, as if she wasn’t bursting with curiosity to know if Korey had asked her friend out.
“Yeah,” Shanice chimed in, “spill.”
With an exaggerated sigh, their friend just rolled her eyes and flopped back against the couch. “I can’t take him. You know, gotta leave some scraps for Bri, right? Besides, I met someone else yesterday.” Deanna winked. “So Korey….is all yours, Bri. We all see the way you’ve been eyeing him.”
“Shut up,” Bri joked, flinging the remainder of the donut her friend’s way. At Deanna’s squeal, Bri tossed another, this time trying to land it in Deanna’s perfect, sleek hair. Then she had to duck as Deanna sent several chips flying her way in retaliation.
“Guys! What the hell? Don’t just trash my house!” Shanice shouted.
Giggling furiously, Bri and Deanna gave each other a knowing eye, and then flung whatever snacks they had Shanice’s way. Shanice screamed and jumped to her feet, pointing an accusing finger. “That’s it!” she growled. “Both of you are cleaning my house tomorrow, from top to bottom!”
Before Bri could protest and worm her way out of it, a knock sounded at the door. Deanna jumped to her feet and rushed out of the room.
“Got it!” she called behind herself. Deanna disappeared so quickly one would have thought that the devil himself was on her heels. A minute later, the two girls watched as Deanna reappeared with Chas and Rob following behind.
“Hey, can we crash?” Chas flopped on the couch next to his girlfriend and gave her a kiss. “Hey Bri.”
“Hi Chas. Hi Rob.” With a sinking heart, Bri watched as Deanna resettled suspiciously close to Rob on the carpet. Why were the boys here? Hopefully, they were just passing through to say ‘hi’ and would be gone in a bit.
But Chas and Rob didn’t look as if they were just saying a quick hello. In fact, Chas was making himself very comfortable. As she eyed Rob’s hand sliding along Deanna’s leg, Bri scowled. Guess it’s not a coincidence that they showed up now.
<
br /> Goodbye to girls’ night.
***
A spring in the couch was poking her in the back. Bri squirmed and tried to get comfortable. Fat chance, as her shift in position discovered another spring. She groaned slightly and eyed the loveseat across the room. She should sleep over there instead; she was short enough, only……the loveseat was back to back with the guest room.
Even from where Bri curled on the couch, covers over her head, she could hear Deanna’s and Rob’s loud laughter in the guest room. First had been the giggling, but that had quickly died down as the two had gotten down to more serious business that Bri could only dream of.
Bri had been right. ‘Girls’ night was over. Not only had the boys been planning on staying over, but Bri, being the only one without a guy, automatically ended up sleeping on the couch.