by Destiny Webb
“Why not?” I blurted out. Weren’t boyfriends supposed to want to be with their girlfriends? Maybe they’re worse off than I thought. My heart started to pump faster at that thought. I really needed to calm down.
“She always says that I want to go out too much, which isn’t true; she just wants to do what she wants.” he explained. “So, I probably won’t see her for a while. That’s usually how it goes. It’s probably what she wants anyway.”
He sounded bitter.
“Okay then. So, what do you want to do?” I asked him.
“Movies?” he grinned.
Chapter Three
He just asked me to the movies! Oh my God! I couldn’t believe it! I had waited for this day all my life. I never thought it would happen…if I could only keep my cool.
“Sure,” I managed to stammer out—so much for my cool. “Just let me get ready.”
“Okay, I’ll just check the movie times,” he told me as he walked into Brian’s room.
I stumbled into the garage and started looking through the clean clothes. I knew they had to be there somewhere. Finally, I found my black skinny jeans and my pink cotton tank top at the back of my second rack of clothes, then ran up the stairs…living in a mansion could be a big hassle sometimes. Taking the marble stairs two at a time, I rushed into my bathroom to change.
I was trying to keep my emotions under control as I did my make-up. Slowly and carefully, I applied the smooth eye shadow and eyeliner. My hands were shaking as I put on my mascara. I took a deep breath.
As I put the finishing touches on my eyes, I started to calm down. I took one last look at myself before I walked out of the bathroom. Everything seemed to look right. Every long black hair on my head seemed to be in place, which was unusual since it was really curly. My eye shadow made my eyes look my favorite shade of gray. I shook my head and took a deep breath, walked down the hall, and opened the door to Brian’s room.
“Ready?” I asked Sean.
“Yeah, the movie starts at nine,” he replied with an awed look on his face.
We almost got out of the door before my parents called us.
“Samantha, we need to talk to you,” my dad said.
I looked at Sean. “This will only take a second, hopefully. Yeah, what’s up?” I said as I walked into the dining room.
“Where are you going?”
“Sean and I are going to the movies,” I sighed at him, rolling my eyes.
“He has a girlfriend, Samantha,” my mom said.
“I know. We’re just going to the movies,” I started to raise my voice, getting defensive. Was I not allowed to go out with a friend?
“Okay, okay, just don’t wake up anyone when you come in,” she warned me.
I turned and walked up to Sean. My expression must have said, “Let’s get out of here before I explode!” because he just turned and headed out of the house. We walked out to his lifted navy blue Tacoma. For my five-foot-three body, getting into it was a lot harder than he made it look. My uneasy balance didn’t help a whole lot either. So, when I tried to get into the truck, I ended up falling on my butt. Before I even realized what had happened, Sean was right in front of me, laughing like a hyena.
“I guess I should have warned you about how high up it is,” he snickered.
“Yeah, you should have,” I mumbled, dusting myself off.
“Let me help you up,” he offered, stretching his hand out to help me up. Grudgingly, I took it.
Before I could protest, he picked me up and put me in the truck. I just sat there in silence as he walked around to his side and opened his door. I stared at him incredulously as he hopped up with no trouble at all. He started the truck and turned to me.
“You need to put your seatbelt on, Sam.”
I put my seatbelt on without a word. The radio was off and an awkward silence washed over us. We were almost to the theater when I realized I didn’t even know what we were going to go see.
“The Gravedigger,” Sean said in response to my question.
I looked at him without a sound. I hated scary movies and he knew that. I figured he was doing this to get back at me for having to help me for the last hour and a half.
“Um…you know, I heard about this one movie that’s supposed to be really good. It’s about….” I rambled on.
“Don’t worry Sam. I won’t let the zombies get you.”
Hopelessly, I stared at him. He wasn’t going to let up. I liked the way he said he’d protect me though. I liked it more than I should…way more than I should.
“What?” Sean interrupted me.
“Oh, I was—well, umm—”
“Never mind…I can tell it’s too complicated. Don’t hurt yourself trying to explain,” he laughed, pulling into the parking lot.
“It’s crowded for a Wednesday,” I commented.
“Sammy, it’s summer. It doesn’t matter what day it is anymore.” His lips were in a tight line as he tried to hold back his laugh.
“Just do it. You look stupid when you don’t,” I told him. With that, he burst out laughing. I wondered whether he was laughing more at my comment or at my giving him permission to laugh at it.
He parked the truck and got out. I unbuckled my seatbelt and tried to calm my embarrassment. By the time I reached for my door handle, the door was already open and Sean had his hand outstretched to me. My heart gave a wild thump.
“So you don’t fall this time,” he told me, smiling brilliantly. I grabbed his hand and jumped down. Somehow, I still managed to almost fall. He grabbed my arms to steady me and we looked into each other’s eyes. After a few seconds, we both looked away, embarrassed. This was going to be a long, awkward night.
“We’re gonna be late if we don’t hurry up,” he said as he tried to hide his guarded face.
As we approached the box office, I pulled my wallet out of my purse to pay, when I was abruptly stopped.
“You don’t think you’re going to pay for yourself, do you?” he asked me.
“Well, as a matter of fact, I do. You have no need to pay for me.”
“Think of it as an early birthday present.”
“Fine, but I’m getting popcorn so I can throw it at you,” I murmured. He didn’t hear the last part, but laughed anyway. I wasn’t looking forward to my birthday. Everyone thought I was absolutely crazy, but rarely did anything go well on my birthday.
“Come on. If we don’t hurry, we’re gonna miss the previews.” He pulled my arm and we walked through the doors.
Thankfully, the concession stand line was short and we got our popcorn and drinks quickly. We were very lucky. When we got inside the theater, there were only about ten seats left, and two were directly in the middle. As we slid into our seats, the previews came on and I prepared myself for what I was about to face.
I wouldn’t sleep for weeks. It was undoubtedly the scariest movie I had ever seen. Never, ever would I go to a graveyard again! A cult of gravediggers had to feed on human flesh…but dead people weren’t enough for them. No, they just had to start feeding on live humans. I gave an involuntary shudder and Sean looked down at me. Having already shrieked twice, I was almost positive that it would happen a few more times. My face must certainly have showed the utmost horror.
***
“Adrian, quit it! I’m already freaked out enough. This is creepy. We shouldn’t be here, especially tonight. Why did you have to pick the thirteenth?”
“Relax Rachel! We’re going to be fine. The whole story is just a myth anyway.”
“Really? So that’s why this town is starting to disappear?”
“Rachel! Just drop that. You’re going crazy over nothing.”
There was a crackle behind the grave and their flashlights flickered out.
“Adrian…what was that? Where are you? I can’t see anything.”
“I’m right here. Grab my hand.”
“Let’s get out of here!”
“Okay, come on.”
They started to walk,
but tripped on a tree root. The Gravedigger jumped out from behind the tree and started to pursue Adrian.
“Rachel! Run! Save yourself!”
“No! I’m not leaving you!”
“Go now!”
The Gravedigger attacked Adrian. Rachel started to scream.
***
“Oh my God.” I turned into Sean’s shoulder. He put his hand on my head and told me it was almost over.
***
Rachel turned and started to sprint, screaming for help as she did. The Gravedigger was faster though. He soon caught up to her and attacked her as well. The scene cut to the townspeople coming across their dead carcasses. Then, the screen faded to black and the credits started to roll.
***
As the lights came up, I realized that I still had my head buried in Sean’s chest. He seemed to have also become aware of it. There was a sudden tension in both of our bodies and I glanced up.
“You okay there, Sam?” he asked, half amused.
“Oh, shut up,” I said as I lightly slapped his shoulder, stood up, and stalked off as far as I could.
“Hey! Wait up. I was only kidding,” he said, catching up to me.
“Yeah, and now I won’t be able to sleep for weeks.”
“I’m sure you will,” he disagreed.
We walked to his truck and once again he helped me up. The drive to my house was silent, but it wasn’t awkward this time as we both seemed to be lost in our own thoughts.
There seemed to be something between us, something that neither of us wanted to admit…well, something that one of us didn’t want to admit. What if this whole night was just two friends hanging out and I just got it mixed up? What if all the messages that I read as him liking me were really just nothing? I wanted to know how he really felt about me, but I was too afraid to ask.
He pulled into my driveway, got out of the truck, and came over to my door. He opened it and held out his hand for me to get out of his truck. For the second time, I fell into his arms, but this time, he didn’t let me go. I looked up at the stars just in time to see a shooting star blaze across the sky.
“Make a wish, Sammy,” Sean whispered.
“Only if you do.”
“Alright.” We both closed our eyes and made a wish. I made the same wish that I always made…that he would come to his senses and go out with me. When I opened my eyes, he was looking at me with uncertainty in his eyes. I tried to make my departure smoothly.
“I had a good—”
Suddenly, his lips were on mine. My body was going against my better judgment, but the line had been crossed and there was no going back. We moved up against his truck as my hands slid up to his face. Our lips glided together like waves washing up on the beach. The world seemed to disappear. All of my worries just vanished and I was lost in the moment…we were both lost in the moment. Then, as suddenly as it started, we both realized what we were doing, and he pulled back from our embrace.
I stared at my feet and mumbled, “Thanks for taking me to the movies. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I turned and ran into my house, shutting the door behind me. The movie isn’t going to be the thing keeping me up tonight.
***
I made sure everything was locked and drug my feet up the stairs. My head was buzzing. What did this mean? What was he going to do about Tasha? How could I have been so stupid? I opened the door to Sarah’s and my room to find Sarah lying on her bed—awake, of course, typing away at her laptop. Why does she have to be awake tonight, of all nights? We had plenty of space in our house for us to have our own rooms. Sarah and I shared more out of habit than anything else, but at times like this I wished I had my own room.
She looked up and stopped typing as I softly shut the door behind me.
“Holy crap, Sam. What happened to you?”
“I did something terrible,” I told her as I dropped my bag to the ground and sank into my bed. I began to tell her everything, from the first awkward embrace, to my head in his shoulder during the movie, to our parting kiss.
“Wow,” she paused, unsure of what to say. “How was it?” she finally asked with a grin.
“Amazing,” I answered with a brief smile. “It sent chills through my entire body.”
“Those are the best,” she laughed.
“Yeah, but that’s not the point.”
“Then, what is the point?” she asked, confused. She didn’t understand why I was feeling the way I did.
“The point is that I’m a terrible person. He has a girlfriend!” I explained to her, exasperated.
“No, Sam, you’re not. You just had a minor lapse in judgment. It happens to everyone. I’m sure it will all be okay.”
“And if it’s not?”
“Then, we’ll take it from there. Relax, get some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. ‘Night Sarah.”
“Goodnight Sam.”
I pulled off my jeans and climbed into my bed. The sheets and blankets didn’t give me the comfort that I hoped they would. I tried to convince myself that Sarah was right, but I couldn’t. I felt awful. How could I have done such a thing? But I couldn’t keep torturing myself with thoughts of the night’s events. My exhaustion soon overwhelmed me, and I fell asleep to the sound of Sarah’s typing.
Chapter Four
The snap of the curtains being pulled woke me up with a start. Shining onto my pillow, the sunlight hurt my eyes. I pulled the blankets up over my head to try to get some more sleep. The bedroom door slammed shut as my mom stormed out. I groaned as I realized that I wasn’t going to get anywhere near sleep again this morning.
“Someone’s not in a pleasant mood this morning,” Sarah sighed as she kicked off her blankets and got up.
“She’s not the only one,” I muttered darkly. Lying there, I tried not to think about the day ahead of me. As I tried to move around that thought, thoughts of last night came rolling upon me with a wave of nausea. Tossing back my sheets, I ran out of our room and into the bathroom. When Brian walked in, I was tossing out anything that was in my stomach.
“What did you do last night?” he silently chuckled. Usually, I would have some smart remark to shoot back at him, but under the circumstances, I just shot him a murderous glance, chucked a plunger at him, and turned back for another round of sickening punishment.
“Not cool, Sam. Not cool.” He shook his head as he walked out of the bathroom and shut the door behind him. I wondered what his problem was. He usually would’ve sat there and held back my hair. We were a set of those twins that was unbelievably close. I guessed everyone was just in an awful mood this morning.
No longer distracted by throwing up, I heard a muffled conversation from behind the door as I rested my head on the ground. It sounded like Brian and Sarah, but I couldn’t be sure. I was lying down on the cold stone floor, sure that I wasn’t going to be sick anymore, when I heard a soft knock on the door and it opened slightly. Sarah poked her head in.
Sarah and I looked nothing alike. She was tall and more sports-like, while I was shorter and more petite. She had shoulder length brown hair and green eyes, and usually wore contacts, out of convenience more than anything; she loved her glasses.
“Well, don’t you just look like a ball of sunshine,” she said as she came in and sat next to me.
“That seems to be the general consensus,” I moaned sarcastically as my stomach cramped up again. I sat up and leaned over the toilet again. She pulled my hair back as my convulsions started to take over. I had been wrong in thinking that there was nothing left in my stomach. When I was done, I lay back down and Sarah handed me a cool, damp washcloth.
“Is this about last night or did you eat something weird?” she asked, her voice touched with true concern. She stroked my hair soothingly.
“I just ate something weird,” I murmured as I looked away. I was usually a good liar when I needed to be, but for some reason, I could never lie to Sarah.
“Okay; well, you should wash up.
Mom’s going to kill you if she sees you lying on the bathroom floor. We’re supposed to be down at breakfast in an hour.” Sarah pretended that she didn’t know that I was lying, almost like she knew that I didn’t want to talk about last night’s events. She was very perceptive that way, very trustworthy. I knew she wouldn’t go talking about last night to Brian or anyone else.
When I’d first moved in, we’d wanted to strangle each other. She felt I was intruding on her territory, and I felt she was an annoying know-it-all. But, something had clicked the last summer I went to the cabin, and we grew very close, the only good thing that came out of that summer.
Finally, I found the strength to stand up. I looked at myself in the mirror and groaned when I saw that I really did look like crap. Sluggishly, I locked the door and started the shower. I was about to step in when I heard a banging on the bathroom door.
“Samantha! If you think you’re going to take a shower now then you’re wrong. You don’t have time for that. They’re going to be here in a half hour.”
I sighed and opened the door to argue, but my mom was already gone. Amazed that I had already wasted a half hour, I turned the sink on. The water was cool and refreshing as I splashed it on my face. My stomach wasn’t upset anymore…I just felt empty. I trudged into my room and looked around.
Sarah had cleaned up. The beds were made and everything was tidy. Wondering where she was, I looked over at the clock to check the time. Shocked to find out that I only had twenty minutes left until Sean and his family arrived, I rushed into my walk-in closet and searched for something to wear. I tugged my last pair of jeans off the hanger, grabbed the closest t-shirt within my reach, then pulled on my brown designer shirt and slipped on my light, cut up jeans.
I walked back into the bathroom, calmer than I was before. It was easier to think about everything now that my head was clearer. I pulled out my toothbrush and toothpaste and briskly brushed my teeth. When I rinsed out my mouth, I spit the water all over my clothes. Extremely frustrated with myself, I ran back into my room and closet and grabbed my green sweats and a black tank top. I jerked them on and rushed back into the bathroom.