Cursed

Elizabeth

The pictures I’ve seen online don’t do justice to the view from the plane’s window. The landscape bathed in the pale morning light from this height is breathtaking. Since this is my first time flying, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t this. It’s so green, especially when comparing it to my home, the arid and desolate state of Nevada. Although, when I noticed that the ground was drawing closer, I realized the plane was beginning to descend, so I quickly pulled out my phone and snapped a few pictures of the view. As I grabbed my knapsack from under my seat; I looked around the plane and noticed some people were napping, while others were focused on their phones. It was quiet, and I seemed to be the only one ready to get off this plane and start my new life.

A short time later, I felt the landing gear strike the runway. The mild jolt of the plane made the fact that I’m alone begin to settle in the pit of my stomach. My excitement turned to apprehension, making it difficult to pay attention to the pilot’s spiel over the intercom. Hoping to calm my anxiety, I took deep breaths as I pulled my bag from the overhead storage and ambled down the aisle packed with people. There’s no going back now, I thought to myself.

Having just come out of the foster system, as terrible as it has been for me, it has also removed a safety net. There is no one to communicate with about my welfare or my whereabouts. I’m entirely alone. The idea had me gnawing on my bottom lip.

The last home I was in couldn’t wait to get rid of me. I’d been in over half a dozen foster homes since I was in diapers. Although, I was almost adopted once when I was seven. I was so excited, thinking that there would finally be a place for me and that someone actually wanted me.

The couple was unable to have children of their own and decided to adopt. I met with them a few times and each time they’d bring me small gifts. Now, I can see it was just bribery. They wanted to buy my affection, and being only seven I enthusiastically accepted it. But that only lasted so long.

During the time I was with them, they’d adopted a golden retriever puppy. That was where my love of animals was born. I adored that dog. It’s what drove me to want to be a vet. However, before my adoption was complete, my mother-to-be discovered she was pregnant, and I was devastated. Needless to say, they did keep the dog, though I guess he was still a part of their family. It was just me they threw away.

Despite my experiences, I never lost my love of animals and continued pursuing my dream to become a vet. That’s why I’m now in Michigan, to get a degree in biology and then on to veterinary school. “If” I can get into veterinary school, that is. For this reason, I scraped and saved every dollar from my grocery job, my scholarship for foster kids, and whatever other financial aid I could get my hands on. Otherwise, I know I would’ve ended up on the street.

A vibration in my pocket pulled me from my thoughts as I grabbed my luggage. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my phone to see a notification that displayed the driver’s information I’d arranged to pick me up in advance. The image of a beautiful redhead with emerald eyes and pale skin appeared on the screen beside the name Kailey and her current location. Since she was almost here, besides the fact that I have a long day ahead, I hurried to the restroom to fix my makeup.

I checked myself in the bathroom mirror while brushing out my long straight ash-blonde hair before tying it into a messy bun and adding a little mascara to bring more attention to my dark brown eyes. I didn’t bother to try hiding my freckles anymore, in part because it was a pain to do since they were pretty dark, especially against my pale skin.

Once I looked like I had at least put a little effort into my appearance, I snatched my bag and made my way toward the exit. But, before I knew it my foot caught on something, causing me to land hard on my knees. The pain had me gritting my teeth and I swore under my breath. I looked for what I’d tripped over and spotted a fuzzy yellow baby blanket. It was tempting to throw it. But when I thought about a distressed baby somewhere without his or her possibly favorite blanket, my heart clenched.

I looked around to see that no one had stopped after I fell, all of these people appeared fixated on where they were going or on their phones. The lack of acknowledgment saved me some embarrassment I suppose.

No one with an infant or stroller was near me and for a moment I thought about leaving the cloth on the floor but I reconsidered. It was only as I turned away with the blanket in hand did I hear a child start screaming from around the corner.

When I walked over I saw a very nervous young mother, seated on a bench, trying to soothe her child. She didn’t look much older than me. Her blond hair was in a messy french braid with an abundance of flyaways and she wore black leggings with an oversized black zip-up hoodie. The dark circles under her blue eyes heavily contested her ivory skin. She looked so worn out.

“Is this yours by any chance,” I asked, holding out the yellow blanket.

She barely glanced at me, preoccupied with her wailing baby. “Yes! Thank you so much. I just realized this was missing,” she said. The new mother took the blanket from me, tossing it over her child and shoulder before situating the baby to nurse him. Almost instantly the baby quieted. The girl held such a loving look toward the infant which I found sweet but it also made my stomach churn.

I wished her a good day and she thanked me again as I walked away. A moment later a tall, well-built, and equally as tired young man walked up to the girl, with a fast food bag in hand and two water bottles in the other. He set the bottles down next to their luggage and kissed the girl on the head before pulling out some fries for her. I pushed down the envy I felt and decided to focus on what today had for me.

As I was leaving the terminal, a gust of wind struck me, making me thankful that I’d tied my hair up. My phone vibrated in my hand, notifying me that my ride was here. While looking around, I spotted a grey sedan pulling up a few spaces down. Then, as I approached the car to see if it was my ride, the driver stepped out. Her long, red, windswept curls obscured her features until she held them aside, revealing a bright smile as she waved at me with her free hand. I hurried toward the driver, who extended her hand to grab one of my bags.

“You’re Elizabeth, right?”

I only nodded.

Something about the woman oozed toxic positivity, but I’ve been wrong before. We crammed my luggage into the trunk. Then, to calm my anxiety, I pulled out some gum while getting into the vehicle. We sped off, only just avoiding the worst of the traffic.

Kailey glanced at the rearview mirror. “I figure you’re going to U of M. Is that right?”

“That’s right,” I replied.

“That must be exciting.”

I assume she is attempting to break the ice for a tip, which is fine; it’s just not what I prefer. I was hoping for a quiet ride. However, I did not want to be rude by not acknowledging her.

“Uh-huh.” I then turned to the window to look at the lush scenery rushing by.

Kailey looked back at me in the rearview mirror. When my dark brown eyes met her vivid green ones, what I saw shocked me. Her eyes glowed as the air grew tense. Oddly, I didn’t feel threatened, but something was wrong. Those aren’t contacts. I know the morning light is casting on her face, but the glint in her gaze is mischievous. She didn’t turn back to watch the road. It felt like minutes had passed when I finally broke eye contact to glance at my phone. Not even a minute had passed, nothing seemed to make sense. I wanted to blame jet lag, but my gut was telling me otherwise. I didn’t know how to process it.

“Alot on your mind?” Kailey smiled like she was daring me to question what I saw.

Whatever this was, I didn’t want to find out. Geeze, if I wasn’t stressed before, I sure am now. Given the unknown territory I was in, I decided that it was just best to go along with Kailey’s lead and play it down. Who knows if she’s crazy? Intimidated, I stared at her speculatively from the back seat for a moment before responding.

“Yes, it’s just a big change, that’s all.” To which Kailey smiled in satisfaction.

Despite the odd situation that I couldn’t make heads or tails of, the rest of the ride, to my relief, was uneventful. I don’t understand what exactly happened, but what was I going to do? Tuck and roll from the speeding vehicle? I mean, I could if things got bad, but that doesn’t mean I’d survive. However, Kailey seemed to leave it as is. At some point, I must’ve experienced highway hypnosis for much of the ride because before I knew it, we were pulling up to an apartment complex within walking distance of the college. The missing time left me confused, but my priority now is to put distance between this woman and myself.

I awkwardly thanked Kailey for the ride, which I couldn’t be happier was over with. Soon after retrieving my things from her trunk, I watched her pull away before heaving my luggage up to the apartment to unpack. I only waited because I didn’t want her to see which apartment I lived in. Once I shut the door behind me, I quickly locked the door and heaved a sigh of relief before deciding to file away the crazy incident in the back of my mind. There is nothing to be done about it now.

The apartment was bare except for a few kitchen appliances, so adding what little I’d brought didn’t do much for the place. I’ll have to look for some second-hand furniture at a thrift store, I thought.

The living space was a small single-bedroom apartment with off white walls, and radiators in both the living area and the bedroom. The cramped kitchen had tasteless light gray laminate countertops and a small bedroom with a tiny closet. There was also the matter of the ugly brown carpet. Well, at least there was a balcony.

Warm sunlight filtered through the branches of the oak tree casting a shadow on the wall. Though the tree blocked the view from the balcony, I didn’t mind since it provides me with a little more privacy.

I guess since this is to be home for the next few years, I’ll have plenty of time to make improvements. But, my priority right now is to get the materials needed for classes, take a campus tour, and get started with my online orientation.

After a few long hours, I almost completed my list, except for the orientation. Because I don’t have internet set up in my apartment yet, I figure that the library would be my best option. Since my classes this semester are hybrid, going to work at the pet store will be much easier.

I applied for a sales position and was lucky to a job offer before coming out here. Although retail is the bane of my existence, I knew if I didn’t get some source of income, my meager savings wouldn’t last long. Thank God, my first day of work won’t start for a few weeks, so at least I’ll have a little time to settle in.

After unpacking my belongings, I went to the college and stocked up on materials needed for my classes. A few hours later, I only needed to complete my online orientation. Because I didn’t have internet set up in my apartmen yet, the college library was the only option for me to get both free wifi and a quiet place to work. I wandered around campus until I came upon my destination.

I slowly made my way up the steps, entering the immaculate building. My anxiety that I’d pushed back earlier took hold again. The place was mostly empty and so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. I felt like the few people present could hear me hyperventilating. However, no one batted an eye or even glanced my way. Nevertheless, that feeling of being invisible brought me enough comfort to gain control over my stress. Seizing the moment of relief, I took a few deep breaths before I strode down the rows of tables and aisles, finding a comfortable table in a corner to seat myself in.

As I focused on reading the class introductory materials, I felt someone tap my shoulder, nearly making me jump. I turned and saw a tall girl who looked a little older than me with warm tawny skin, a slender build, golden brown eyes, and wild brown curls. My first thought was that she looked like a dancer. She smiled at me and extended her hand to shake mine. I stared at her dumbfounded for a moment before self consciously shaking her hand.

“Hi, my name is Robin,” she said with a bright and infectious smile.

I waited to see if this was some kind of joke before introducing myself. I wasn’t used to such friendly people.

She looked over her shoulder, and I was surprised when she called out to a dark-haired guy sitting at a table nearby, “See, that’s how you talk to women! Not so hard now, is it?!”

Her voice echoed in the enormous building, attracting the attention of a few onlookers. The guy was hiding his face, but I swear if a blush could set something on fire, the building would be up in a blaze. He sank down into his chair as if hoping he’d be less noticeable. I’m certain everyone noticed, and I felt pretty embarrassed for him. Robin apparently didn’t care if she’d made a scene or not.

“Don’t mind him. He was just being rude to me,” Robin spoke loud enough for him, and everyone else to hear, earning a shush and glare from the librarian.

“Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Lizzy. Can I call you Lizzy? Well, either way, you look a little lost, and I wanted to introduce myself. Also, the nerd back there is Andrew. He’s allergic to people,” she rambled.

I’m not used to so much energy from one person and was a bit overwhelmed. Granted, this may have to do with the fact that I can’t help but feel suspicious of people. In my experience, they always have an agenda. The question is, what might hers be and what does it have to do with me?

Robin tilted her head to the side and gave a cute pout. “Are you okay?”

I paused a moment. “Um, yeah. Sorry, I’m just lost in thought…. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you but I’d better get back to this.”

“Okay, well, before I let you do that, I have one question… do you want to go exploring an abandoned farmhouse?” I stared at her, speechless. Okay, this is suspicious as hell. Whatever she’s fishing for, I’m not biting, I thought.

With an uncomfortable smile I said, “I know I may be blonde, but I don’t feel like being the first to die in what would be the makings of a slasher film. Thanks for the offer, though.” I spun back to my laptop.

“Please, it’d be nice to have another girl around. Otherwise, it’ll just be Andrew, and I know little girls braver than him.”

Andrew interjected indignantly, “Seriously?! What is your problem?!” The librarian leaned over the counter, looking down the row, and shushed us again, giving us a scowl that showed that this was the final warning.

Robin only brushed him off. “I swear this isn’t some kind of bait for trafficking. I’m not a serial killer with some devious plot to kill the first blonde chick I see,” she bats her eyelashes, the picture of innocence.

“Well, I wasn’t thinking either of those things, but now I am,” I said.

She pouts again. “Oh, come on. You can’t be that boring. Look, you can use that app on your phone where you hold down the button, and if you let go, it notifies the police of your location. I’ve heard that place is super haunted, and I don’t want to go without another person.”

Curiosity isn’t a luxury I could afford in my life. It’s always a surefire way to land in hot water. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t like the idea of going to possibly haunted locations. I always loved watching those ghost-hunting shows. Also, the idea of that app is a bit more reassuring, and I could always bring my taser, pepper spray, and my pocket knife. Ghosts may not exist, but plenty of other freaks do.

I knew I would regret this, but, “Fine. If I die, I’m haunting the both of you for the rest of your lives.”

Robin squealed in excitement. “You’ll love it. It’ll be so much fun!”

She turned to Andrew, “Hey don’t you have one of those meters they use for this kind of crap? For electricity or whatever.”

Andrew raised an eyebrow. “You mean an EMF reader? It means electromagnetic field reader. My dad flips houses. It’s only for finding exposed wiring or poor electrical insulation.”

Robin had her hand on her hip and gave him a look, clarifying that she couldn’t care less.

Andrew sighed. “Yes, I have one.”

She went back to her smiley self. “Great! I’ll pack the snacks and drinks. I’ll meet you both tonight at five at Andrew’s creepy ass cabin in the woods.”

The comment resulted in a deadpan look from Andrew which made me laugh. Robin and I exchanged the information before she and Andrew left the library. I heaved a sigh. That girl is a whirlwind, I thought.