Chapter 5 Allie
ALLIE
Avery’s missing. That’s the only theory that’s been tumbling around my brain for the last two days.
It’s been two whole days since we sat together on the lakeside.
Since I met Edith and read the note. Two days of missed classes and not having watchful eyes on my every move.
I even checked the lake with no luck. Something is very, very wrong.
Our classmates may spread rumors about Avery being some sociopath or something, and hell, she may even believe it…
. but not me. I see something in her. There's a spark of something there just waiting to be ignited. I don’t think the issue is that she can't feel anything… I think her problem is that she feels everything, and it’s just too much.
Deciding to skip my last class of the day, I drive over to where Avery lives.
In this town, everyone knows where everyone else lives.
It’s like some weird, unspoken rule for rich people or something.
Thankfully, my car is easy to spot in the parking lot.
Unfortunately, it’s also easy to spot…..
Well, pretty much everywhere. My white panel van is the epitome of the stereotypical ‘free candy’ vans that everyone's parents tell them to avoid at a young age. Guess that’s why some of the local fucknuggets decided to spray just that on one side of my poor old van.
Joke's on you, you unfortunate little sex souvenir.
I have dildos in my van… and that is way better than candy.
Big ones, small ones, alien and monster ones with that cool knot at the base, even a big double-ended one that's rainbow and sparkly.
For clarification, the dildos are for me, not the annoying people who sprayed my van.
I don’t share those. Well…. Maybe I will with Avery…
But I’ll have to find her first. Besides the necessities previously mentioned, my van also has a mattress, clothes, toiletries, my tattoo supplies, snacks, some Tupperware, and even a small camp stove.
I spend far more days and nights in this van than I do at home, attempting to become nearly self-sufficient.
My parents died when I was younger in a car accident.
Custody then went to my uncle. He’s a decent person when he’s around.
However, the trauma of losing everyone I loved caused me to act out.
I was lashing out, starting fights, getting involved with substances, and people whom I honestly had no business being involved with.
In an attempt to bond, my uncle took me to the tattoo shop he owned one day.
It was love at first sight. The mahogany wood accents mixed with the modern industrial design, and art drawn by all the artists lining the walls.
It was breathtaking. He began teaching me how to operate the various types of machines while I expanded my drawing skills.
Then, after a while, I started practicing on myself.
The steady yet rhythmic pain helped calm the chaos that was constantly swirling inside of me.
Slowly, it became a beautiful way to cope, and I started to return to the person I used to be.
Even if that meant being the only high school senior to be covered in tattoos.
Pulling up to Avery's house, I’m relieved to see the driveway empty. Hopefully, that means her dad isn’t home. That man always gives me the creeps, though I can never put my finger on what exactly it was about him. Something about the energy he gives off is just…. wrong.
An image of Avery's bruised face came to the forefront of my mind. I’ve always been protective of my friends, but Avery’s different.
I want more with her than friendship. More than I’ve wanted with any girl ever, really.
The soft curve of her lips that I want to run my finger over.
The sharp glint in her eyes when you can tell she’s holding something back…
.or plotting her next move. There’s something primal, instinctive, almost about the connection I feel with her.
It's like being at the top of a roller coaster right before it plunges into oblivion. Yeah, sure, the initial moment is terrifying, but damn, it’ll feel good later.
That’s how I imagine kissing Avery will feel.
Each time she looks at me, I swear it feels as though our souls recognize each other – one monster to another.
Trying the doorknob on the front door, I confirm it’s locked.
Not getting in that way. Slowly circling the house, I try not to draw any unnecessary attention from the neighbors.
Something inside tells me rumors or cops being called by a supposed good Samaritan are the last things I need right now.
This feels private. A discrete rescue mission of sorts.
Rounding the house, I come to the side with a large bay window on what looks like the third floor.
A startled scream catches in my throat as a doll’s face suddenly pops up in the window.
Edith. She raises one small hand and points to a ladder-type structure a few feet from where I stand.
Huh. She's…. inviting me up? The lattice and stone design remind me of a climbing wall.
It blends seamlessly into the style of the grand house, so well that if I weren't looking for a way in, I would have missed the hidden ladder entirely.
Nearing the top, I reach up to slide the window open.
A sign of relief leaves me upon finding the window unlocked and easily open.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw upon entering Avery's room.
A choked gargle sound lodges itself in my throat.
It feels as though all the air has been sucked out of the room, out of my lungs.
Time slows to a painful halt. Everything moves too slowly, yet too fast, all at once.
I can feel the blood drain from my face, rushing to the floor as my legs give out beneath me.
There’s Avery.
Broken. Beaten. Bleeding.
Lying in a crumpled pile on the floor as though her bed was too impossibly far away.
What… happened? What the actual fucking hell happened? And where had I been when my….my friend needed me the most? Friend. The word leaves a sour taste in my mouth. We were more than just friends. She evokes feelings in me that I never knew existed.
We never even kissed.
But I’m hers and she’s mine, even if she doesn’t know it yet.
And no one touches what’s mine.
The slow rise and fall of Avery’s chest is the only thing keeping me tethered in this moment.
Sitting beside her, I brush some of her long blonde hair out of her face.
I can’t quite find it within myself to pull my hand away from her just yet, so I let it gently linger on her hip.
As if on autopilot, I run small circles along her waist and across her hip, then back up again.
“What happened to her?” I ask Edith. The question is so hushed, it’s barely a whisper. She hears me, though, and with a slight turn of her head begins to catch me up in detail.
“Her steaming pile of shit father. He arranged for her to marry the son of one of his grimy sleazeball friends. They paid for her and came to collect. She resisted. Beat up the guy so badly, his dad pulled out of the agreement and demanded his money returned…plus medical expenses. He said she was feral. Some sort of psychopath and should have been culled earlier due to poor breeding. That really set her father off. I have never seen him turn that shade of purple. For a moment, I had high hopes the big, bulging vein in his neck would explode. But sadly, it did not.” The doll, Edith, shrugs as if the man's veins not exploding was merely a small disappointment.
I’m not sure what I was expecting at that moment, but a doll speaking to me was certainly not it.
Which seems strange since I swore I saw her move.
The talking is just a whole other level of terrifying.
Well, just one more thing added to the list of stuff I should probably get therapy for, but instead will use dark humor to cover up and cope. Good times. Oh well.
As Edith's words sink in, my blood turns to ice within my veins. He tried…. her own father… he sold her?! Like she’s a fucking lawn chair and not a whole ass human being?
! My hands begin to tremble as I force myself to take slow, timed breaths.
Avery's father is a dead man. All I need to do is figure out how to get rid of the body so it doesn’t trace back to either of us.
I must have been speaking out loud just then because Edith perks right up to join the conversation.
I swear the doll has a spark of lively mischief in her eyes that is more than a little unnerving.
“Actually, I think I have an idea! Avery will need to read the letter from her Mom… and of course agree to let me help… but once she does… I have a feeling things will get very exciting indeed!” I never knew planning a homicide could make someone so happy, but here we are.
Edith seems nearly giddy with homicidal glee.
If she were a person and not a demonic doll about to possess the woman I have feelings for, I think we could have been good friends.
“Okay, Edith, I would love to hear your plans, but first, we need to make sure Avery’s okay.
She doesn't look too good at the moment.
Help me get her to the car somehow, and I'll drive us to the hospital.” Avery's skin has taken on a greyish tint, and small beads of sweat have begun to collect just in the time I’ve been here. Things are going downhill fast.
Edith's high-pitched elfin laugh rings out in an almost playful manner. “Silly goose! I can help with that!” She must read the skepticism on my face before continuing. “If you permit me, I can possess her! Just long enough to heal her up really quickly, so she’s not at risk of dying. Of course, after that, I’ll be forced out until she can give me permission herself. ”
I mean…that seems pretty straightforward to me…
and really, what other choice did we have?
Narrowing my eyes on the doll, I take a moment to confirm that this won’t harm Avery in any way.
I lean over to place a soft kiss on her temple and whisper, “Fight, Avery. I need you to fight. Come back to me so we can drown everyone in this creepy shithole town together. Let them all choke on their sins while we find happiness in their tears.” With one more soft forehead kiss, I turn to Edith and say the two words I hope won’t come to regret.
“Do it.”