“Holy shit, Soph,” Kerrie gasped. Birdie nudged her daughter and glared.

“So I was talking to—”

“Whoever murdered Matthew. You got a gut on you girl, good job watching your six.” Frank patted my shoulders roughly and wove his way around me to stand in front of his son.

“You’re not in trouble for being there for Sophia, got it?” Ray nodded quietly and let out a shuddering breath.

“So, what you’re saying was that this was a trap?” Birdie’s voice was small.

“More than likely,” Frank’s tone was matter of fact. “He was probably watching from the woods and split when he saw there was a group.”

All the women in the group shuddered collectively.

“All I know is that Sophia trusted her gut, and Kerrie was there for her friend when she needed her. that’s an admirable trait.”

Kerrie perked up at the words of praise, her dejected expression changed into one of pride.

Birdie thought on it for a moment before she sighed. She probably realized she wasn’t going to gain the agreement of the other adults. She looked over at Kerrie, smiled apologetically and rubbed her daughter’s arm.

“We’ll talk about it when we get home,” she said.

Kerrie shook her head and flinched out of her mother’s grasp. “I don’t want to go home, I want to stay with my friends!”

Birdie seemed like she was going to explode.

“Kerrie Anne, it’s late,” the woman’s voice was purposefully even and measured. “I’m tired. Please don’t’ fight me on this.” She pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke.

“I’m not going to be able to sleep, and I don’t want to be alone! We all pretty much agreed sleep wasn’t happening, anyway,” Kerrie persisted.

“Yeah, Mrs. Jeffers, we don’t want to be alone…parents are great and all, but it’s not the same. Y’know?” Samuel added.

“I don’t even know where I’m going,” I whispered and looked around the circle for the guardian I didn’t have.

“What? That’s right. Janice is missing,” Hattie’s wrinkles deepened as she frowned.

“We got her,” Frank assured Hattie. Ray gave me the ‘I-told-you-so’ face and swung our connected hands back and forth in a small gesture of victory.

“Thanks, Frank,” I grinned, glad I wasn’t headed home in the back of a cruiser.

“In fact,” Frank slung a lazy arm around Anita’s shoulders and gave her a quick look before he made eye contact with both Hattie and Birdie in turn. “How about we all meet up at our house. It’s a little out of the way, but we have room to entertain while we figure out how to handle this.”

Hattie immediately agreed, but Birdie’s face of annoyance was one for the ages. She rolled her pearls in her hand while looking between the other adults, all of whom were waiting for her answer.

“…Sure,” she finally agreed. Without giving the rest of us a second look she glided off to her sedan and left Kerrie at the trunk of the cruiser.

“I’ll guide her,” Kerrie spoke to Frank and Anita, her tone reeking of unspoken apologies.

I couldn’t blame her. Though she truly cared for her daughter, Birdie had a shitty way of showing it.

“Let’s get the heck outta here, kiddo,” Hattie patted Samuel on his chest to get him to move and shuffled her way back to her car. Samuel gave Ray and I a thumbs up before he spun to follow his grandmother.

As they were walking away, Frank turned to the two of us, his expression full Sargent.

“No shenanigans under my roof,” he jabbed a meaty finger at each of us which made my head jerk back at the quick movement.

“No shenanigans,” I promised.

“Yes, sir,” Ray agreed.

“Good,” Frank immediately melted back into the family man I was used to, his smile wide. “Shall we?”

With an arm around Anita’s shoulders Frank strode to the back of the truck os that the others could follow us back to their house. Ray and I trudge after his parents and hop into the bed of the truck—our usual seat when we hung out with his folks. We kept a tight grip on each other and the sides of the bed while Frank turned the truck and drove back to the highway.

My head fell against Ray’s shoulder as we rode to the little suburb that the Vena’s call home. It was one of the more affluent neighborhoods that was mostly made up of restored Victorians.

We leaned into the turn as Frank pulled into the driveway and parked the car before he came to help us hop out. he slapped Ray on the back as he jumped down and offered me a hand, so I didn’t biff my landing.

“Thanks Frank, it means a lot…you know, bringing me here.” My hand slid back into Ray’s as we navigated the manicured path to the front door.

“Darlin, if you haven’t already come to the conclusion, let me tell you: You’re family. No matter if my stupid kid fucks up or not, you always have a place here.” I laughed quietly at the face Ray made at his father.

I liked how candid Frank was when he was out of the public eye. His use and combination of swear words was impressive and never ceased to make me laugh.

“Oh and don’t let ‘Mary Jane Rotten Crotch’ back there get you down. She’s uptight as fuck, but she just loves her kid,” Frank unlocked the door and stepped back to let us pass.

I was just at the threshold of the door when Anita’s breezy voice could be heard: “I hate that woman.”

“We all do,” Ray snorted and made way for the kitchen. “You want anything to drink, babe?”

“Water,” I called out and sat on one of the plush couches that lined the walls of the great room.

Anita had done her best to make the gargantuan house feel cozy and warm. All the furniture had warm undertones, and the couches and chairs were all earthy shades. Paintings she had done herself lined the walls. I could spend hours just walking from room to room taking in all the different textures and patterns.

“They’re here,” Frank called out from the porch.

Just then there was a clattering of nails on hardwood and a hollow ‘thud’ followed by a yelp of pain. I could hear whining and whimpering from the other side of the kitchen near the back stairs.

“I’m in here, idiot!” I called out.

The whining stopped and the telltale steps of Jett, the Vena’s great dane drew closer at a rapid-fire pace. He emerged from the kitchen, pointed ears high on his head as he listened to the sounds going on around him.

“Hey, doof,” I patted my thigh to get Jett’s attention.

The blank and white spotted monster of a dog galloped across the open space and crawled up onto the couch next to me and planted a saucer sized paw in my lap.

I patted Jett’s neck. Small clouds of dust rose from his coat.

“Fuck, you need a bath,” I muttered.

There was a rise of commotion at the front door as Frank and Anita welcomed the first comers into their home. I heard something about drinks then saw Anita half-jog into the great room on her way to the kitchen. She had a mischievous sparkle in her bright eyes. That look for a parent was never a good thing. Especially one as whimsical as Anita.

“Yo,” Samuel lumbered into the great room with Hattie close behind him. He looked exhausted. Hattie on the other hand was buzzing with half-whispered compliments about the décor and artwork.

“Hey,” my lips parted into a miniscule smile as I scooted over a cushion to make room for him as Frank entered followed by Kerrie and an uncomfortable looking Birdie.

Jett leapt off the couch and set about greeting the new guests. After getting reacquainted with Samuel and Kerrie, he introduced himself to Hattie and Birdie who’s reaction was priceless. She shrank back against the doorway while the rest of us tried not to laugh at her discomfort.

I heard the rough gurgle of a throat being cleared and looked up to see Frank’s eyes on me.

“Fuck off upstairs, please. Take the others. I’ll send Ray up when he’s done helping his mom.”

Birdie gasped at the rhetoric from the door and looked to Kerrie with wide eyes.

“You got it,” I stood and jerked my head for the others to follow. The carpet of the great room sank under my boots as I crossed the wide space and made for the foyer.

We climbed the stairs and went directly to Ray’s enormous room which amazingly enough was the master of the house. When Ray had become a teen, Anita forced Frank to switch bedrooms with Ray so that he could have his ‘alone time’ and not have to leave the room. From what I heard it was a hell of a fight, but she eventually won.

The door was cracked open, as per Anita’s want, so we just walked right into the deep navy room and collapsed in our usual lounging spots. Samuel went right to the bean bag chair that was situated by the door and sunk into the velvet fabric. Kerry laid down on the padding for the bay window’s seat, her head knocked against the wall as she situated her head on one of the pillows.

I raided Ray’s closet and began looking for something to wear on my lower half. I wanted to perch in my spot—Ray’s bed, but my knees were still covered in Matty’s blood. I ended up finding a pair of basketball shorts in a drawer.

These’ll do.

The floor of the bedroom creaked as I ventured across to the bathroom. I would have done so in the room had it been just Kerrie in there, but because of Samuel’s presence the bathroom was the safer option. If Ray knew I’d gotten even partially undressed in front of Samuel, there would be a fight.

Once locked up in Ray’s bathroom, I peeled my jeans off and left them hanging on the sink so the blood wouldn’t get anywhere that couldn’t be easily cleaned and grabbed some toilet paper to clean my knees.

I wasn’t sure if it was the Xanax, or what, but even though I knew it was Matty’s blood, it felt more like dried paint for the reaction I had to it. It washed off easily enough, and I flushed the soiled paper before slipping on the basketball shorts so I could go collapse on the bed.

I was probably gone no longer than five minutes, but when I came out, I could hear Kerrie’s soft snore from across the room and saw Samuel take aim with one of Ray’s dirty t-shirts.

In the height of her next snore, Samuel whipped the shirt at her. It got Kerrie right in the face and snapped her awake with such ferocity that she nearly fell off the window seat.

I giggled on my way to the bed. The plush pillow topper was calling my name. I damn near swan-dived into the pile of pillows Ray kept at the head of it.

“So satisfying,” I groaned, my face buried into a pillow.

“Heard that before,” Samuel said.

“Doubt it,” Kerrie snapped, still pissed from the shirt to the face.

We sat there in silence for a while. The only sound that permeated the quiet was the occasional yawn or crack of the fingers.

After about twenty minutes with no sign of Ray and a growing swear count downstairs, I rolled off the bed and went to the door. I was fucking bored.

“Where are you going?” Kerrie asked through a yawn.

“Stairs. I want to know what’s going on and you two are boring as shit.” I brushed my hair back behind my shoulders and slipped through the open door out into the hallway.

I stepped lightly as to not get outed by the creaking floor as I moved down the hall past the spare room to the landing. I was about to take a step down when a shadow fell over me. I wanted to jump out of my skin.

I looked over my shoulder to see Samuel smirk at my reaction and Kerrie behind him with a hand over her mouth. Her shoulders bounced as she laughed silently.

“Fuck you,” I mouthed and turned back around. I made sure to use the sides of the stairs to avoid any noise.

The volume of the conversation in the great room grew as we descended. I moved next to the railing about halfway down the flight. Low enough to hear, but high enough not to be seen if Frank decided to look around the corner.

Kerrie took a seat next to me, and Samuel chose to sit a few steps up, his knees pressed against my back.

Birdie was in the middle of a rant about how they shouldn’t let us hang out anymore.

“Obviously tonight is further proof that the kids are bad influences on each other. Kerrie didn’t have her…confusion until they all started getting close.” Kerrie tensed.

“So, your daughter’s a carpet muncher. There’s worse things she could be…like dead,” Frank spat.

“Excuse me, sir!”

“What? It’s true. Who care if she likes boys and girls—she’s alive and she needs back up,” his voice verged on venomous.

“The children’s sexual preferences aside, I think the crux of the issue is that Birdie here seems to have a low opinion of Sammy, Sophia, and Ray.” The coldness in Hattie’s voice sent shivers down my spine.

“What? I said no such thing!”

“You don’t have to. You’re not as slick as you think. All night you’ve been looking down that nose of yours at every single one of us. What’s worse is that you had a chance to show poor Sophia some kindness in Janice’s absence and you didn’t even acknowledge her!”

Birdie attempted to cut in, but Hattie just raised her voice and continued:

“She may not be yours, but she’s your daughter’s friend, and if that doesn’t count for something then well…I guess what I’m trying to say is: I don’t see much ‘Godliness’ in the way you treat others.”

“Fuckin’ A, right, Gran,” Samuel whispered.

I glanced at Kerrie while keeping an ear out for more drama in the other room. She had the biggest shit-eating grin on her face as she stared off down the stairwell. I grabbed her hand and lifted our arms in silent celebration. I think we’d all been waiting for Birdie to get taken down a peg.

There was a long silence after Hattie’s proverbial mic drop. It was made all the better because I could tell without being able to see the reaction that even Frank was speechless.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Frank finally spoke, “what we really need to think about is school. When are we sending them? Tomorrow? Two days from now? Also, possible media whores—how are we going to handle that?”

Shit. Reporters.

The idea hadn’t even occurred to me, but once news of Matty’s murder hit the papers it was going to be a circus. Green Glen was a small town. Only a few thousand people and everyone knew we were Matty’s closest friends.

School was a great question as well—I wasn’t tired so who knows when I’d be able to sleep, so I didn’t think school would happen for me tomorrow unless Janice decided to be a true sadist and send me anyway. Then there would be no way for me to get the looks or questions.

A feminine throat cleared:

“In my opinion,” Birdie began, “I think that they need a few days to process. Tomorrow is going to be hard for everyone and I think keeping them close is the best way to go about it.”

“Agreed,” Hattie replied. “Sammy talks a tough game, but he breaks down when he’s exhausted. And if he’s set on not sleeping, sometime tomorrow the water works are going to be a-flowin’ and I want to be there for him.”

My lips pursed to stifle the laughter welling up inside me. Kerrie wasn’t faring much better and was gripping her knee in her own bid not to laugh out loud.

“Fuck you both in the ass,” came a sharp hiss from behind us.

“Just don’t cry during,” came my low reply. Kerrie snorted, and doubled over, her entire body shook from suppressed laughter.

Samuel ‘humphed’ and I heard a barely audible creak as he leaned back and pushed his knees further into me.

Ray’s going to be sad he missed this.

“Right, so we’re keeping them out for a few days until the frenzy dies down. I think we should all keep in contact during that time and make sure we’re a resource for each other as well.” Frank’s voice had softened back to its more ‘acceptable’ speech pattern.

“Sounds good to me. If one of us gets reporters camping, we can warn each other to keep the kids out of sight.”

“I’ll make sure Kerrie gives me your numbers to keep in contact,” piped in a less enthusiastic Birdie.

“Good, now final issue: getting Janice on the same page.” I froze at the mention of Janice. The railing of the staircase dug into my cheek from the amount of pressure I exerted as I tried my best not to miss a word. “I’ll take responsibility for that seeing as Sophia is staying here. I’m just at a loss on how to handle the woman.”

“I heard she’s lost it since Bruce left her for that man her met,” Bridie’s overexaggerated whisper was so loud I bet the neighbors could hear it too.

“I know Sophia has to babysit the twins a lot,” Frank offered in a less gossipy manner. “There’s plenty of times Ray’s moping around the house because she can’t come over. Something about making sure the boys are looked after.”

“It’s that side business she has. Keeps her out of the house. Don’t think she can stand to be there with all those memories. Lord knows after my Wyatt died, I could barely handle being in those walls,” Hattie’s voice broke at the mention of her late husband.

“She still has a duty to her children,” Birdie sniped. “Those little boys can’t be doing well without their mother around. A child should not be raising children.”

“Hey now. Sophia has a good head on those shoulders. I know damn well she cares about those boys,” Frank argued.

“I’m not saying she doesn’t care,” Birdied sighed deeply. “What I was getting at was: she’s sixteen. She should be having a childhood and not be pulling double duty as an interim mother.”

Wow, I never thought about it like that.

I never gave a second thought to taking care of the boys. They were so excited to ‘have a sister’ that we had bonded right away. They were generally well behaved for me.

Sure, I got a bit annoyed when I would have to miss time with my friends to make sure they were fed, bathed, and put to bed…. but if I didn’t do it, it wouldn’t get done. That was life in the Claybourne household. The great status quo.

“No arguments there,” Frank sounded put off that he had agreed with Birdie on something.

“I’ve spoken to Janice on a few occasions,” Hattie admitted. “She’s a rather tough nut to crack. Very stand-offish. I made a comment about her haircut, nothing bad, but she got extremely defensive and blundered off talking to herself under her breath. I would just choose your words carefully.”

“Noted,” Frank sighed. “Is that acceptable to you three?” His thunderous voice made me jump and lean back from the banister.

Oh shit! How does he know?

“First of all, your faces are priceless. Secondly, next time, check the door for reflections.” Frank’s heavy footsteps thudded on the old floor. His graying hair poked into view as he leaned around the corner looking irked. “Covert, you are not.”

“Guess not,” heat flared in my cheeks as I grinned at him sheepishly. “Sorry, we got bored.”

“Guess it saves time explaining everything,” he shrugged and waved us off the stairs and into the great room.

Kerrie and I exchanged a glance before we pulled ourselves up and tromped down the rest of the stairs to follow Frank with Samuel right on our tails.

We stepped out into the great room to be met with the disappointed faces of our respective guardians. Hattie had taken up residence in one of the old recliners, and Birdie was pressed against the arm of the couch as she tried to put as much distance between her and Jett as possible.

“What have I told you about eavesdropping, boy,” Hattie swished one of her bondy hands in Samuel’s direction. From the sharp intake of breath behind me, I could tell that though he was out of range, he still braced for the impact.

“Kerrie Anne, you know better,” Birdie’s pearls were firmly grasped in her hand.

“Sorry,” we all spoke in unison. I know for my part I was doing my best to look dejected and hoped that if I looked sorry enough that would be the end of it.

The clock on the wall above the main sofa showed it was way past one a.m. . I guess the face of the clock was my body’s que to yawn. Soon after I saw Kerrie’s face contort as she yawned as well, followed by Samuel’s deeper version echo from behind us.

Hattie put down an icy glass of water. Maybe Anita and Ray had come out to deliver drinks while we had been upstairs. Didn’t explain where he was, now, though and it made me worry about that smirk Anita had on her way to the kitchen.

“I think that’s our signal to get going,” Hattie reached down next to her feet for her purse and slung the patchwork bag over her shoulder as she stood. “We’ll check in tomorrow afternoon.”

“Come on, Kerrie Anne. Time to go.” Birdie stood and winced as Jett rose along with her. As much as I didn’t want them to go, there wasn’t any denying that we were exhausted. Sleep was coming for us whether we liked it or not.

I was apprehensive about the idea of shutting my eyes. I had no idea what I would see. Would it be Matty all broken in the bag? Would I be lost in the woods on my own as I was chased by a killer? Would the creature I saw make its return?

I didn’t even know if I would dream at all.

“See ya, Soph,” Kerrie pulled me into a brief one-armed hug. I returned the gesture doing my best to quell the sadness building within me. I wasn’t ready for them to go.

“Bye,” Samuel’s curt farewell and the memory of my dig on him in the stairwell brought me into a fit of giggling much to the confusion of the adults in the room.

“Oh screw you,” he groused, “can we go, gran?”

“Of course,” Hattie nodded to Birdie and gave Frank a hug on the way past us, all the while I was trying to calm my exhaustion fueled laughing spree.

“I don’t want to know, do I?” Birdie looked between Kerrie and I who had caught onto why I had laughed and began to giggle, herself. Kerrie shook her head at her mother and reached out a hand for her to take.

Birdie latched onto Kerrie and big Frank and I goodnight leaving a sullen great dane in her wake. We listened for the front door to close behind the Jeffers’ before his shoulder’s dropped.

“I really fucking hate that woman,” he groaned and covered his face with his hands. The rest of his body slumped as he walked to the recently vacated recliner and dropped heavily into it.

I padded over to the couch to recline next to Jett on the plush cushions. I sunk down and sighed in contentment. I would be fine with just staying the night in this spot. All I needed was a blanket.

I must have passed out for a few because next thing I knew, Ray was shooing Jett off the couch to be able to sit with me. I blinked myself awake, pushed myself off the arm of the couch and yawned.

“Sorry, babe,” Ray flopped down next to me in a Frank-like fashion. I bounced on my seat which only served to wake me further.

“’S fine,” I shrugged and reached for the icy glass of water on the coffee table in front of me to take a long drink.

“Well, now that we have you both out here, let’s do these rules really quick so we can all try and get some sleep,” Anita’s usual chirp was rather muted.

She sat on the arm of the recliner Frank was in though there were plenty of other spaces to sit. Her arm laid along the top of the headrest as she lazed. Frank pinched her hip.

“Do the damn thing, hun. They look like shit.”

“Thanks, Pop.”

“Now, Frank. Be nice,” Anita scolded. “Anyway, we know you two are young and in love. That much is clear. What we are asking is simply not to fall into each other’s arms and let the heightened emotions of the night allow you to make life altering decisions.” Her hands fluttered and flailed as she spoke.

“Translation for those in the back: ‘No fucking’!” Frank’s voice rose as his sentence went on. Ray and I looked at one another, his cheeks were a deep cherry red, and my own face felt hot.

“Yes, sir,” Ray’s wide-eyed horror at the topic of conversation could have easily sent sleepy me into another fit of laughter…if it hadn’t been for the fact that Frank seemed to want a response as soon as possible.

“Yes, Frank,” My answer came easily. I wasn’t completely ready for a sexual encounter—and I wasn’t about to have my first time be the night I found my friend murdered.

“Now that that’s out of the way, hun, can you find Sophia some PJ’s?” Frank’s head tilted up; his eyes filled with adoration for his wife.

“Of course, sugar. Sophia and I will go find those and I’ll show her to her room.” Anita rose slowly letting the arm she had on the headrest drop down to caress Frank’s head.

I glanced over at Ray who shot back an apologetic grin. I shrugged and pulled myself from the couch and put the water glass back on the coffee table.

I trailed Anita in her wrinkly pajamas up the stairs and down to the end of the hall. The room reeked of after shave and incense. The leafy green walls had tapestries of mandalas hung up on them and the bed was covered in pillows with inspirational quotes. It was very Anita. She meandered over to her closet and started to rummage through the hangers on the rack.

“I know I have something,” she muttered to herself. I saw clothing violently pulled across the wooden bar in her search for me to find something to wear. “There it is!”

Anita pulled out a short sleeve satin nightgown that still had the shopping tags on it and handed it over to me with a small smile.

The lace detailing on the mid-rise collar of the night dress was beautiful and flowery-the only thing that bothered me was the small keyhole cut out below it.

“It’s great, Anita, thanks so much,” I gripped the tags and yanked them off.

“No worries, my love. I quit wearing clothes to bed years ago, at least this’ll finally get used.” Anita giggled and put an arm around my shoulder to guide me back out into the hall to the guest room at the opposite end.

“This is yours,” she pushed the door open to the light lilac room. It was from what I had seen, the cleanest room in the house. Probably due to its lack of use. There was a dresser, a desk, and a full bed. Simple but cozy.

“It’s perfect. I love the color.”

“Good, because if you ever need a place to go, this room is open for you. You know that, right? Frank and I talked it over and we want to make sure you have a place you can come and decompress. We know you have a lot on your plate at home.”

“Wow, shit…I don’t know what to say, Anita. Thanks again!” She waved me off and pulled me in for one of her famous spine-cracking hugs. I returned the gesture with as much force as I could muster being as tired as I was. Anita laughed in my ear as she let me go and went back into the hall.

“If you need anything, let us know. You know where we are.”

“Sure thing.”

I checked the digital clock in the spare room and frowned. It was three in the morning and I still hadn’t been able to drift off. I’d been lying here for over an hours, eyes screwed shut as I tried my best to keep my breath steady and slow.

Then the crying started. Lucky for the others in the house, I was used to having to cry in silence. Crocodile tears rolled into my hair as I stared at the ceiling and wondered where Matty was. Was he okay, now?

The last few times we talked on my porch he had been really depressed. His father, Morton, was hard on Matty. He was also dependent on pain killers after an SUV at the garage he managed slipped off the jack and crushed his spine. Morton had someone to run the garage for him in the interim but wanted Matty to take over in his place as soon as possible.

Matty hated cars—they weren’t his thing. So, having to spend almost every afternoon in his carport taking instruction from his father was torture. When he did well, Morton rewarded him with a slap on the back. When he did bad, Morton hit him. There were several times Matty didn’t come to school because he was nursing a black eye.

That’s why he ran away. I knew it. his life sucked and he wanted out. he didn’t have a girlfriend to lean on, like how I leaned on Ray. He just had the four of us, and we weren’t always as supportive as we could have been.

I sniffled loudly and sucked back up a wad of snot that tried to run down my face.

I need a tissue.

The satin of my nightgown slid easily over the sheets as I got out of bed. other than the keyhole which showed off my barely there cleavage, I loved it. it was long on me because of how short I was in general, and a bit loose. The nightgown billowed about as I went to the bathroom where Frank’s bears-fighting-with-chainsaws snore could still clearly be heard.

On my way past, I heard faint music coming from Ray’s room.

Is he still up?

I got to the bathroom, blew my nose and wiped my teary eyes with the back of my hand. I felt mildly better after my cry, but knew I wasn’t anywhere close to being done. Matty had been a good friend and I missed him so much already.

I wasn’t ready to pass out, exhausted as I was. I crept up to Ray’s door. It was shut.

I knocked. My hands fidgeted as I waited to see if I would be allowed entrance or if I would have to head back to my room.

The door groaned softly as it opened to expose the innards of the room, and Ray who was in nothing but a pair of baggy sweatpants. There were bags under his eyes from lack of sleep, and his hair was erratic as if he’d been tossing and turning.

“Hey,” I whispered. “Did I wake you up?”

“Nah. Wasn’t working.”

“Me either,” I rocked from foot to foot on the smooth hardwood floor, unsure of what to say next.

“Wanna come in?”

“Are you sure?” I tilted my head.

Ray chuckled softly and stepped back to allow me into his space. “They said ‘no fucking’, not ‘no talking’.”

Fair enough.

The only light in the room was the moonlight streaming in from the large bay window. It made the furniture in his room cast strange shadows at odd angles. I made my way to the full-size bed and crawled up on top of the comforter to settle near the foot, not wanting to be in cuddling territory.

Ray flopped onto his mattress soon after and landed somewhere near the pillows. His lean muscle flexed as he landed. He rolled onto his back and dropped his head onto his main pillow to stare at the ceiling.

“You okay, babe?” I reached out and nudged his knee. Ray was never this quiet.

“Just…tonight sucked.”

Understatement of the year.

“Yeah, it did.”

“I keep thinking about what my dad said. About how it wasn’t Matty who texted you? It makes my skin crawl.” Ray’s eyes locked onto me. there was something more to the look, like he was in a reality where I had gone alone.

“Yeah, but I’m okay,” I offered.

“I know,” he shut his eyes and sighed. “I just want to know why. Was it because Matty was out there on his own? Did he see something he shouldn’t have? Why Matt?”

My elbows dug into the satin over my knees as I leaned forward and contemplated Ray’s musings. I didn’t have answers, that’s for damn sure…and all questions were valid.

“Are you okay?” He parroted my previous question.

“Got some crying done,” I shrugged. “I think I met my quota for the day. Just couldn’t stop thinking about Matty and where he was while I was trying to sleep.”

Ray nodded and rolled onto his side to face me.

“You two were pretty close.”

“Yeah,” I stared at the pattern on the comforter as tears threatened to spill again. Ray reached out a hand for me to hold onto, which I accepted. He was warm as always, and it went a long way to helping me feel better. It was familiar, and since so much had happened tonight, familiar was what I wanted.

“Enough about earlier,” I said once I was sure I wasn’t going to cry if I spoke. “I’m just glad to be here, now.

“I’m glad you’re here, too,” he grinned. “Never had a girl stay the night before.”

“Well don’t get hopeful,” I squinted at him. “I’m not messing this up or disrespecting your parents…plus I’m in your mom’s nightgown. It’d be super creepy.”

“Looks good on you though,” he jerked his hand back to pull me closer to him.

“Looks like a satin sack on me,” I grumbled.

“It looks wonderful.”

“Try hard.”

“Hey! Just learn to take a compliment, will ya? You’re making this whole boyfriend thing a chore!” My hand pressed to my mouth to stifle a laugh that very well could have woken Ray’s parents.

“Oh shut up,” the words came out muffled behind my hand.

Ray stuck out his tongue at me and yanked my arm to get me to come closer. I stayed in place. I didn’t want to get close enough for him to try and start anything.

For all his great qualities, Ray had a habit of getting too heated up when we were alone. He always backed off when I asked him do and apologized afterward…but it was just annoying to constantly avoid boners when it happened.

“You’re no fun,” he rolled his eyes and relaxed his grip on me.

“That’s right!”

“Do you think we’ll last?” The sudden change in conversation and his expression caught me off guard. The intensity in his bright blue eyes in the light of the moon made my heart skip a beat. That look was all for me.

“Yeah, I don’t see why not…why?”

“Because, I dunno…I want us to. You’re super chill, and you’re supportive of what I want to do with my life. Hell, you put up with me, shouldn’t that be enough?”

“Well of course I support you—you’re supportive of me and my dancing. If you want to join the Marines when you graduate, why would I stop you from doing that?” I repositioned my legs, so that they were tucked under me and continued: “I mean, it’ll suck having you gone for long periods of time, yeah, but its what you really want. So, do it.”

“It is what I really want,” Ray’s voice was earnest. “I want to make my dad proud, and prove I can be just as badass as he is. I know I’m just a goofy kid, now…but I know I can be more.”

“Doesn’t that just come with growing up, though? Not saying don’t do it, but you gain maturity as you make mistakes and learn from them, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m talking about having the balls to fight the bad guys—whoever they are and do whatever it takes to come out on top. Not letting my fear define me.”

“I wish I could do that,” I frowned. “I’m scared of a bunny in the woods. In daylight. Ever since my mom…I just expect the worst.”

My mom had hung herself in her bedroom in the middle of the night while I’d been asleep. Seven-year-old me found her the next morning when I needed help getting the cereal box off the top of the fridge.

She’d had her issues, even I could see it then, but like every kid, I always assumed my mom would be there.

“What happened with your mom was super fucked up, babe. It makes sense it’d affect you…and hey! You’re getting better bit by bit. Progress is good, right?”

“Yeah it is. I just…I don’t know. After tonight I feel like I’m losing it. I don’t know what is real, or safe. I thought I saw something in the woods after we found Matty—”

“Wait, what?” Ray sat up straight. “Babe! Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because I didn’t know if what I was seeing was real,” I lowered my gaze to the shiny crimson satin that covered my thighs. “It wasn’t…it wasn’t human.”

“Not human?” I could feel the alarm wafting out of him.

“I can’t describe it well. It was all stretched out and naked. It had this huge stomach…but what got me was its head. It only had a giant mouth.” I shook as I recounted as many details as I could. “It looked at me or something…then its mouth opened and I just…”

Tears rolled down my cheeks again as I thought of the pitch black inside the creature. I didn’t want to look at ray and see the face any sane person would have—concern. I couldn’t deal with that right now.

“That’s uhh…there wasn’t anything in the woods, Soph. I looked.” He squeezed my hand to get my attention.

“Because it disappeared when I screamed,” I quivered. “It just, I don’t know…faded into nothing.”

“Tonight was hard, babe. I think you were in shock and I think you kind of snapped for a second there. Monsters don’t exist.”

“What about the smell? That awful rank ass smell that came out of nowhere. That had to have been the creature!”

“We were standing by a dead body, babe. Like Dad said, Matty was in there for a while. It was probably just that.”

“I know, I know,” I wrenched my hand free and grasped my hair. I pulled hard hoping to ground myself. “It was so real, though.”

“But it wasn’t,” Ray assured me. “You have to believe that—and you have to fight it. this is just your mind playing tricks on you.”

The bed jostled as Ray moved closer and slowly unwound my fingers from my hair to take my hand back in his.

“Once you sleep, everything will seem better, I promise.” His voice was full of sincerity and I desperately wanted to believe him.

“You’re probably right,” my lips turned up into a small smile, but it felt wrong on my face. Like my muscles knew it was a lie. “I’m going to head back to bed.”

“Okay, “ Ray lifted my hands to his lips and gave my knuckles a quick kiss. It wasn’t something he usually did, and the sweetness of the gesture caught me off guard. My stomach did a little flip, and my smile became genuine.

“I want a real one!” I demanded and rose up onto my knees for a better vantage point. Ray beamed, slid his hands up my arms and guided me closer by the shoulders.

His lips pressed to mine firmly. There was fire, and passion and want in the movement of his mouth against mine. It left my fear out in the cold.

Ray cupped my head in his hands, and deftly wove his fingers through my disheveled hair as he poured a day’s worth of lack-of-kisses into this one.

I never thought I’d find love at sixteen and I didn’t expect it to be in a Podunk town like Green Glen. Guess there’s something to be said about small town boys and their charm.

Ray’s hands now traveled the slick satin of my nightgown, down my back and—

Oh shit.

He had a firm grip on my barely there ass, and was in the process of trying to pull me on top of him. I resisted, pressing back so I wouldn’t end up in a place I had promised I wouldn’t only a few hours before. The damn boy was trying to kill me, I swear.

I pressed a hand to his chest and separated my lips from his, panting slightly from lack of oxygen and rapidly increasing hormone levels.

“Babe—no,” I breathed.

Ray’s eyes glazed over in lust scanned my face for any hint of being unsure. When he didn’t find anything, he released his hold on me, sighed deeply and rolled onto his stomach without a word.

“What?” I poked his side repeatedly as I tried to get him to face me again. “are you mad at me? You’re not mad at me, are you?”

All I got was a head shake that made his mussed hair move back and forth. The small strands and chunks knocked together from the movement.

“Well you’re being weird,” I ‘humphed’ and set about climbing off the bed. I wasn’t going to stay and deal with Ray acting strange, especially with how emotionally drained I was. I had cried enough for the night.

My feet hit the floor and I was in the process of standing when his hand grabbed my wrist. I looked over to see Ray giving me a sheepish half-smile.

“I’m not mad. Just uhhh…” he glanced down at his lower half that was pressed into the mattress and his cheeks grew pink.

Oh…

Heat rose in my face as it dawned on me that he had tried to hide an erection caused by our intensely epic kiss. I felt like a dick for making a big deal out of it now, since he probably just hid it for my benefit.

“Oh, okay…I’ll uhh…I’ll just go.”

“Okay. Could you close the door on your way out?”

The heat in my cheeks flared. I nodded quietly and slipped my wrist from his grasp, bounding out the door before making sure it was latched behind me.

Back down the hall in my lilac room where my sheets were nice and cool, I prayed for a dreamless sleep.

The metal frame of the bed creaked as I slipped back under the covers and rolled onto my side to face the window. I always fell asleep better on my left side than my right. The moon wasn’t in view, but I could still see the stars and the tops of a few trees from the surrounding forest.

I stared at the sky for a while and wondered what the little bright blobs were called. My eyelids drooped and felt heavy. There wasn’t much I could do at that point, so I gave in and let my eyes close as I did my best to focus on the positive things I had going on.

There was Ray and his parents. Kerrie wasn’t totally mad at me, anymore. Samuel showed he could be a sweet person, and I had a dance concert to practice for over the next two weeks.

My mind settled on running through my routine on repeat as my consciousness faded into the background of my mind.

Kill them.

My eyes shot open. It was still dark by the looks of the window, though I had no idea what time it was. I felt a crawling feeling on the back of my neck, and went to swat whatever offending thing it might be, away.

Nothing.

My arm didn’t move.

The crawling continued as I desperately tried to move my arm, my head, my big toe—none of them worked. I was trapped in my own body as I stared out at the misty early morning sky.

Kill them.

That thought, that voice—it wasn’t mine. It was a gravel-laced groan that resonated into and pierced my mind. It was something I’d expect out of a horror movie, which I guess fit with the theme of the night.

My panic levels rose as I debated on whether being paralyzed and hearing voices was a good enough reason to wake the house. They would understand, right?

I tried to take a deep breath to amp my volume so I could call out, but my lungs only managed a petty inhale. Just enough to keep me going.

Stay quiet.

No!

Nothing.

I had every intention of calling out for Ray, or his parents but as much as I willed my mouth to open and for something—anything to come out…nothing did.

A movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention. My eyes darted wildly to the foot of the bed to see a pale gray tentacle slip from the end of the mattress to the darkness below.

Oh no.

Then the smell hit me. Hot garbage and sulfur on a humid day. The exact same smell from the woods earlier in the evening. It enveloped me and I swore I could feel my nose hairs singe.

The desperation to move was at an all time high. In my mind, I flailed, and scrambled out the door. However, the escape I concocted wasn’t a possibility and I laid there like a lump, literally waiting for the monster under the bed.

Kill them.