Chapter 9
NINE
MARNIE
I fall into somewhat of a routine as the minutes turn into hours and the days turn into weeks.
In the morning, I have either physical or occupational therapy, which in some ways is helping Esther.
My occupational therapist, Denise, has me washing dishes and doing light chores and Monica has me practicing going up and down stairs.
I’ve graduated to the walker and a cane, with the wheelchair as backup in the event I manage to exhaust myself.
Today, Ash is taking me over to the haunted house so Holly and I can help decorate it.
We’re working on the garage which will be for kids twelve and under, while the guys are all working on the physical house, creating themed rooms. From the laughter I hear piercing the air, they’re setting it up so that there will be plenty of jump scares for those who pay to go inside.
“They sound like they’re having a wild time,” I muse as Holly and I put the small maze together. The guys brought in and arranged the hay bales for us, as it’s the last area where the kids will crawl through to exit, then somehow attached the plywood.
Right now, we’re stringing up what feels like thousands of rubbery spiders that’ll hang down on spun webbing and tickle the children when they crawl underneath it.
Small fairy lights are woven around the bales providing just enough light for them to see and get a small thrill.
Once they exit, they’ll receive a decent-sized bag of candy and trinkets that Esther and some of her friends are putting together.
Some of the things can’t be done until the day we open it because it involves cooked spaghetti to give the aesthetic of guts, jello for brains, and grapes for eyes, but we have those ‘stations’ created already and that won’t take long at all to put together.
Mine and Ash’s relationship is growing stronger by leaps and bounds.
He rarely leaves my side unless there’s something he has to do for the club.
What’s even more exciting, is Prophet was agreeable to the club opening up a tattoo shop, and he’s willing to allow me to apprentice for him.
In fact, he said he has a few of his friends who’ll let me practice on them.
Right now, I’m tattooing on pig skin which is kind of gross but necessary so I can perfect my lines and shading.
Apparently, it’s the closest thing to a person’s skin flexibility.
Prophet is a patient teacher, and each day, my confidence grows stronger.
It’s the nights that have me blushing right now.
While we still haven’t had sex, the physical side of our relationship has gone beyond mere kissing.
It’s more intimate. Last night, Ash showed me what all the fuss was about when it comes to oral sex, and just thinking about it has my body humming with a carnal need I didn’t know was fluttering inside of me.
“How are things going with Ash?” Holly asks.
She’s biting her lip as she threads another spider through the mesh.
Once we’re done, the guys are going to put a piece of astro grass on the top and secure it somehow, so it doesn’t shift.
We’re gluing the string ends to the top of the plywood and they’re a bit tricky to work with.
We decided to use the bouncy string so that when kids crawled through, again on that astroturf stuff so they don’t get hurt, the spiders will swing and bounce around, which they wouldn’t do with regular twine.
“Really good,” I reply, my blush now even deeper.
She looks over at me and starts snickering. “I see,” she teases. “Sounds like we need to hit the mall.”
“Why?” I ask as I push at one of the strings to see how it looks.
“Lingerie, Marnie, lingerie!” she exclaims.
“Um, I’ve never had any of that,” I admit.
I have cotton bras and panties, but nothing to really write home about.
By the time I was at the age where I would learn about those things, my mom was sick, and my time was focused on school and her.
Most of my makeup skills came from watching YouTube videos, then finding my own style.
“Then we need to rectify that immediately,” she advises. Standing up, she looks around and says, “I think we’ve done all we can do today.”
I pull myself up from my seated position as well and look around, grinning at what we’ve accomplished.
Cobwebs are strung from all the corners, some dripping down to sweep across an unsuspecting guest’s face.
The guys painted the whole interior black, and there are lights that’ll activate at key points of the maze, so the kids know where to go next, since it’s going to be so dark inside, they’ll need that guiding light to get to the next phase.
The garage door windows have even been blacked out, giving it an eerie, otherworldly look.
There’s a talking skeleton in one corner to point the way and when he’s activated, he says, “This way if you dare.” Yeah, I’m impressed with what she and I have come up with, that’s for damn sure.
“I think so too,” I finally tell her.
“Then let’s go tell the guys we’re going to the mall. Do you have your wheelchair here? I don’t want you to get worn out or fall because you’re tired.”
“I do, it’s in the back of Ash’s truck,” I reply.
“What are you waiting for? Let’s go!” she exclaims, walking toward the house.
As we go inside, I’m stunned at how thoroughly everything has been modified.
The house is a bit older, so it has actual rooms that are divided into sections, not the open floor plan that many opt for now.
The room on the left, which is a library, now has a table with a hole cut in it where a head sits.
I know from what Ash has told me that it talks as well, giving out ‘fortunes’ while the witch that sits in the hardback chair behind it cackles.
Spiderwebs dot the room and there are a few that actually crawl up and down, their eyes glowing red.
Shuddering from the visual of those red-eyed, eight-legged arachnids, I dig my feet and walker legs deeper into the floor and keep following Holly as she looks for the guys.
Not because I’m scared per se, but because they’ll give me nightmares if I continue to stand here and observe them for a longer period of time.
Not much freaks me out, but spiders, they make me shiver because every time I think of them, I can feel them crawling all over me.
I remember hearing a statistic once that said most people swallow a specific number of those creepy crawlies while they’re sleeping.
I was so creeped out I damn near bought myself a muzzle like what Hannibal Lecter wore in Silence of the Lambs.
I stop dead when I peer into the kitchen.
They’ve turned it into a mad scientist’s lab.
There are scientific beakers of varying sizes and I remember that they’ll have different potions bubbling inside, while one of the brothers, who’ll be dressed for the part, mutters diabolical plans as people walk through.
He even offers them a ‘drink’ from the bottles, promising they’ll receive different powers depending on the color they choose.
The den has a television that will be playing a scary movie while the ‘family’ which is made up of adult skeletons, as well as two children-sized skeletons and a family dog, watch.
When I breach the doorway, each head snaps in my direction, the empty eye sockets glowing.
Even knowing what to expect, I still let out a screech worthy of a horror film victim and run to find Holly, forgetting that my legs aren’t working to their full capacity.
“Good to know that’s gonna work,” Ash says, catching me by the waist. “What do you think of the other rooms you’ve been in so far?”
“Shit, Ash, this is gonna scare the living hell out of people, especially when it’s dark inside, the fog machines are going, and the spooky sounds are piped in,” I reply, my heart beating so hard it feels like it’s about to escape my chest.
“What has the two of you coming over here?” Rebel questions, walking up with Holly in tow.
“And I was able to talk to the drama teacher at the high school. Most of the older kids will be playing various roles, including three girls who will be the wailing sisters. They’re going to stand at the top of the stairs and say, ‘Go back! Go back!’. What do y’all think?”
“I’m going to need to be resuscitated if I come through here,” I sass. “I don’t like scary things and I know y’all have quite a few jump scares planned that we don’t know about.”
Both men burst out laughing while they nod.
Jerks. I definitely won’t be going through this with the lights out and all the music and shit playing.
Not unless Ash plans to learn to sleep with the lights on.
I can’t help it; I’m a huge wimp when it comes to horror movies.
Won’t watch them but know a lot of them.
Even the psychological thrillers sometimes give me the creeps.
“We need to go to the mall. Don’t ask why, just give me the card so we can go. Ash, we’re going to take your truck since her wheelchair is in the back. That way, Marnie won’t wipe herself out.”
Ash reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet, handing me his debit card. “Use this, Marnie, and get whatever you want or need.”
“Ash, I can’t do that!” I exclaim.
“Are you my ol’ lady?”
“Um, yes,” I reply.
“Then you can and will take this. Remember, it’s something I’m going to do for you because you’re mine.”
“Are you always this stubborn?” I retort.
“Pretty much. He’s the most stubborn fucker, next to me, that is,” Rebel replies.
“Okay, you two have fun. We’ll meet y’all at the farm whenever you get done.
” He leans in and kisses Holly with enough passion that I have to look away, only to find myself in my own lip lock with the man who consumes my every thought.
“Have fun, baby. See you later,” he murmurs against my lips.
As I turn to go away, I find myself swept up in his arms. “What are you doing?” I ask as he walks toward the truck’s passenger side.
“You’ve done enough walking today, sweetheart.
Just go with it, okay? Plus, I like having you in my arms.” Since I like it as well, I shut my mouth.
Once he has me inside and gets my seatbelt on me, he kisses me senseless.
Then he leans in and whispers, “Can’t wait for you to model what you’re going to buy. ”
“Whatever.”