Everything But Communication

Kayla squeals, jumping up and down in her sneakers. “We look so good! Let’s take mirror pictures, hurry! Come on!” She waves us all into the bathroom, Madison letting out a groan and adjusting her black corset while Brooke and I silently follow along.

“Do you think Grayson will like my outfit?” Brooke asks in a timid voice, smoothing out her pink tube dress and shifting nervously in her bubblegum platforms.

Madison scoffs, “he’s blind if he doesn’t like what he sees. But don’t dress like this for him, do it for yourself.” She fixes the golden crown placed neatly on Brooke’s curls, centering it.

“Get ready, look pretty,” Kayla points her phone to the mirror and Brooke and I smile, Madison sticking out her tongue and Kayla doing a kissy face. “Georgous!” She scrolls through the photos, glancing up at us with a huge grin on her face. “Now let’s get moving, party people!”

I anxiously pick at my forest green circle skirt, feeling like a leprechaun in my costume. My hair’s red wild, my curls a fluffy mess in their natural state. But I tuck my doubt into the back of my mind — focus on the positive Riley. It’s fucking Halloween, get your act together.

We stream out of Kayla’s bedroom and down stairs, finding our way to her car and singing popular artists on our drive to the party.

Okay, I don’t know if I should call it that. It’s this event, kind of like a gathering, and a bunch of our friends from our high school are going to be there. Kayla says it’s our day to dress up sexy in front of loads of people, but I’m mostly excited for the cotton candy and spending time together part. We don’t really hang out together anymore, for the right reasons at least.

“Ayyy,” Kayla pulls into a parking lot packed with people and vehicles, the sky already dark and the smell of alcohol already invading the oxygen. “Who’s ready to party?”

“I’m ready to sleep — but that haunted house looks pretty cool too. Anyone wanna do that?” Madison looks to Brooke and I in the back, raising a brow.

We both nod.

We’re all good friends, really close friends, but Madison scares me. Kayla too. But in different ways. Madison is intimidating and I’m just scared to let Kayla down or hurt her feelings, because she’s really sensitive when it comes to confrontation. Which, honestly, I’m not too good with myself. I’ll be surprised if I don’t start crying the next time someone tells me not to do something in a firm tone.

I step out onto the gravel, my tennis shoes shifting on the worn road nervously. Brookes following Madison into the field covered in activities, walking under an archway to join the crowd. My eyes dart around the lot, searching for Kayla. She’s pressed against a car, her boyfriend pinning her against it and devouring her with his lips.

Ew.

I’ll just go with Maddy and Brooke, they’re probably not too far in, and Kayla should be able to find her way back easy peasy.

I wrap my arms around my waist, taking cautious steps under the archway and into the overwhelming lights. People’s laughs ring in my ears, spinning signs and dancing people in stilts.

Deep breathes, Riley.

Digging my nails into my sweaty palms, I hastily scour the activities, spotting the girls getting beer at a stand surrounded by jocks. I weave through groups, tripping a couple of times but meeting them nonetheless.

“Hey,” I breathe out, taking the bottle Maddy offers. The taste burns my throat, so I take it in small sips.

Brooke stands uncomfortably between two boys, both of them teasing her with smirks on their faces while she flushes and stammers her replies.

Why isn’t Madison doing anything?

“Are you guys ready for the haunted house?” She drapes her arm over my shoulder, swinging back her drink and taking a gulp. “Kayla’s right over there with Jake so we’ll have the whole group.”

A wave of nausea rolls through me, and I bite my cheek to calm myself. “We- we’re going now?”

My question falls to deaf ears as everyone goes to greet Kayla, following her like sheep to a shepherd when she starts making her way to the worn down mansion.

Moss covers the porch, wooden planks decaying and hanging loosely from the roof’s overhang. The smell of rotting swirls in my lungs, bouncing around the inside of the group while we walk in, shoved forward and pushed back.

Screams echo from the front, everyone falling back, before rushing further in, laughing and chatting again.

I close my eyes, but immediately open them when the world jumps. A masked man pops out from a hidden door gurgling, fake blood dripping from his face.

Chills run up my spine and cover my exposed skin, acid stinging my insides as I follow my group, tightening my hold around myself.

Deep breathes. In. One. Two. Three. Out. One. Two. Three.

My head jerks to the side when someone screams, and somehow my safety net starts splitting. They venture off through different halls, bellowing and gripping each other out of the thrilling fear. Leaving me behind in a creepy living room with an old lady twisting her neck and holding out her hand for me to come closer.

I run out into the hall, shoes making scratchy sounds against the rugged carpet as I look for a place to hide. My heart hammers in my chest, tears pricking my eyes and panic crawling up to my mind.

They left me. I’m alone. Why’d they leave me?

I turn into one of the rooms, yelping when someone pops out before darting away, ducking into a hidden corner away from the scare actors. Slightly surprised that no one’s taken this spot, but I’m trying to focus on my relief from finding shelter.

My visions blurring, my hands anxiously running up and down my legs, back pressed against the wall with my butt on the ground.

It’s okay. I’m okay. I’ll find my way out, then we can all be together again. We’ll get cotton candy, laugh about me getting lost, maybe even go to get our tarot read.

I let out a shaky breath, flinching when a scare actor comes up to me, holding a knife dripping in red dye with some peppered across his face. The rest of him is normal, better than normal. His defined facial features, sharp eyes and flexing arms.

A laugh bubbles out of me at my thoughts, “what are you supposed to be? A hot serial killer?” Now I might not come off as confident, but when in a life or death situation, I’m not afraid to joke around. Although I didn’t mean to say the hot part and now I’m really wishing this ground would swallow me whole.

He chuckles, relaxing my burning skin. “And what are you supposed to be? My beautiful next victim?”

I look like a fucked up Merida, I’m not even close to pretty in my current state. I don’t think I’d settle for pretty in my normal state either.

His comment sends my blush to deepen, a smirk playing on his lips as he takes my hand and lifts me up. “Come on, I’ve got you.”

Regardless of his job, he guides me through the mansion, shielding me from fellow scare actors and soothing me with his smooth voice. It’s rough around the edges, but that only makes him feel more real. He’s definitely prettier than I am.

Once we make it outside, I spot Kayla pointing to the merry go round, clinging to Jake’s arm, and I turn to thank the actor. But his spot beside me is empty, a feeling of loss and confusion taking his place.

Did I imagine him?

I walk over to my group, shaking off the feeling and squeezing past the football players dressed as themselves.

“Oh my god, Riley, did you hear?” Kayla puts her hands on my shoulders, her gaze filled with concern and fear.

Guilt rushes its way to my chest, my words falling out and tripping over each other. “What? What happened? Are you hurt- did someone get hurt? Do-”

“Dude!” Maddy shoves her phone in my face, “that serial killer was here.” She shakes the screen, uncertainty unfurling in my head.

Kayla nods, holding Jakes arms around her as he rolls his eyes. “He’s literally here, right now! He struck again and like, that could’ve been one of us!”

Julian Pierce.

I scan his face again, furrowing my brows and grazing it with my hand. “But thats-”

“I want to go home,” Kayla nuzzles into Jake’s chest, “I’m scared Jakey.”

He strokes her silky blonde hair, brushing it to the side and whispering in her ear. Probably something about her Rapunzel costume because she laughs.

We all dressed up as disney princess this year — except for Madison, she’s dressed as Maleficent — but it was my turn to pick the theme, so I thought we could go with something more family friendly than last time. It was Kayla’s turn, and she chose sexy animals, dressing as a bunny with barely anything covered.

She looked pretty though, I just thought that it’d be fun to be princesses together.

We make our way back to the car, my head weighing me down, thoughts consuming my mind throughout the drive.

Julian Pierce. He’s pretty. He’s killed a bunch of people, he killed someone tonight. He was there, blood painting his skin, knife shining in his grip. Julian Pierce.

I flip his name over, drawing his face and imagining his controlled movements, calming voice.

Julian Pierce. A killer. Why didn’t he kill me? I was alone, no one would have seen him do it. Why did he help me? Why did he take his time to pretend, to walk me out, to guide me through the scare actors that I was so afraid of, instead of killing me? Why was I scared of them and not him?

Why did he let me fear them, instead of making himself the one I was scared of?

My mind starts to spiral, hand itching at the thought of his gentle touch, weighing if I want to feel his skin again or tell someone what happened.

“Bye Riley, we’ll see you this weekend!” I nod at Madison, offering her a soft smile as I step out of the car.

I wave, “stay safe!”

Kayla doesn’t wait for me to get to my door before she drives off, waving with her hand sticking out her window.

My smile falters, eyes quickly darting around the darkened streets with the feeling of being watched stuck in the back of my mind. I shake it off, glancing behind me and unlocking my front door.

Mom’s not going to be back from work until the morning, she has some business thing she has to deal with. She doesn’t really like talking about her work.

I lock the door, placing the keys on the console table and taking in the empty house. Something feels…off.

Nudging my shoes towards the pile of the rest, I slowly make my way through the house. I glance around the living room, then to the left, scanning over the kitchen. Everything looks the same, nothing’s moved. Maybe touched but not disturbed.

I step into the hall, peeking into moms bedroom before walking into my own. My beds neatly made, stuffed animals line the folded covers, but there’s a new one sitting in the middle. A teddy bear with a slip of paper tucked underneath.

Cautiously, I reach for it, flipping the fluffy animal over in my grasp and reading the note.

Keep quiet, J.

What?

It’s a typed out sentence, but that’s it. Ink on a thin square of paper, with a little ‘j’ at the end. For Julian, obviously, but what’s up with the bear?

Is he trying to bribe me for silence?

I stare into its soft eyes, rubbing its cheek with my thumb. “I’m naming you Cuddles,” I nuzzle his nose with my own. “But you aren’t getting any until you gain my trust, got that?” His head sags forward in a makeshift nod.

I’ll take what I can get.

I place him on my desk, folding up my notebooks and sliding them into my drawer. And with a quick check to my windows, making sure the blinds are down, I tug off my outfit. Throwing my skirt into the laundry basket and yanking my sleeveless crop top over my head, adding it to the growing chore.

Now in comfy cotton pj’s, I let out a sigh, snuggling into my blankets.

Maybe mom has good news she’ll tell me about in the morning.