Chapter 23 #3
“Is she okay?” I ask.
“Noooo,” Callie whines. “Go away. You can’t see me like this.”
Garrett chuckles. “I think Poppy here had too much to drink.”
“Fuck you,” Callie slurs.
“In this state? No way. Sorry, babe, but I don’t take advantage of girls under the influence. Ask me again when you’re sober, and I’ll say yes in a heartbeat.” He grins down at her.
“You wish,” she mutters.
“That I do, my little Poppy seed. That I do.”
“I wanna go home,” she moans.
“Then let's go home,” I tell her.
“I can take her home,” Garrett offers.
“No. It’s okay,” I tell him. “She came with me. I can take her home.”
“But what about Rebecca? You can’t leave Rebecca.” Callie stands up, swaying a little bit.
“Rebecca?” Garrett asks, looking between the two of us. “Is she a friend of yours?”
Friend? Fuck no. That's one of the bitches who made my life miserable in high school. Remember the girl I wanted to stab in the throat with a pencil? Yeah, that girl.
While Callie and I were dancing, we accidentally bumped into her. The glare of pure hatred I got in return when she realized who I was had me wanting to do what I was too scared to do back then.
“Uh, yeah. Sure,” I say.
“This is your opportunity,” Callie pleads with me. “Don’t miss it!”
She's not wrong. I was just talking about wanting to take out a few of my past bullies to turn the attention of my kills away from the guys.
“You sure?” I don’t want to leave her. What kind of friend would I be?
“Batman, take me to your Batmobile.” Callie looks up at Garrett.
“She’s safe with me,” Garrett promises me.
I don’t trust people easily. I can count on one hand the people that I do.
But I believe him. He’s also good friends with Sylas and the guys. I don’t think he’d risk his own life by hurting Callie.
“Okay.” I nod. “Callie, text me when you’re home, okay?”
Garrett bends down and picks Callie up, making her groan. Her head falls onto his shoulder, eyes closing. “Make the world stop spinning,” she begs.
“I’ll try,” he chuckles, then looks at me. “I’ll make sure she texts you.”
“Thanks. Bye, Callie. Feel better soon.”
“I’m never drinking again,” she whines as Garrett carries her away.
I head back into the house, searching for Rebecca. But after half an hour, I give up. I know where she lives. I’ll just stalk her for a bit and find the right moment.
I’m about to leave when a hand grabs my shoulder. “Where are you going?” Jasper spins me around.
“Home,” I tell him.
His eyes flick between mine. “Why didn’t you leave with Callie and Garrett?”
Guess they were keeping an eye on them after all.
“Garrett offered to give her a ride. Callie insisted she go with him.” I shrug.
“Then why not leave at the same time?”
“Am I not allowed to be here without her?” I cross my arms, raising a brow.
“No,” he growls low.
“Well, it’s a good thing you're not in charge of my life.” I huff.
“Watch it,” he warns. “You’re sounding too much like Callie.”
“And that's a bad thing?”
“You’re not Callie, you’re Nola. Act like it.”
“People grow up, Jasper. People change. I’m not the same girl I was in high school. Remember that.”
Turning around, I try not to run out of the house.
Holy shit, I can’t believe I talked to him like that! What a rush. God, that was amazing.
And I didn’t even stumble over my words. Not. At. All.
Am I a little disappointed my Halloween night isn’t ending in getting my hands bloody? Sure.
I’m still on cloud nine over the fact that I made all three of them jealous!
I don’t think anything could bring down the good buzz I have going on right now.
I’ve just left the party, heading down the road that leads to the main highway.
Whoever owns this house they live in the middle of nowhere. And the drive back is a little over an hour.
It’s late, but I don’t mind. Rolling down the window, I turn on my Ashnikko playlist and set it to shuffle.
“Fuck yeah.” I laugh when Full Frontal starts to play. I turn the volume all the way up as I start to dance in my seat.
With the wind blowing against my face and the music blasting, I jam out, loudly singing along.
Nothing puts me in a better mood than Ashnikko.
The road is long and dark, not a single streetlight in sight. Not really the safest if you ask me.
I don’t worry too much, the roads are dead with everyone still at the party.
The song ends, and another starts to play. “Yessss.” I grin when Chichinya starts to play. This song always puts me in a stabby mood.
As I’m rounding the corner, screaming out the lyrics, I spot something on the side of the road off into the distance.
Singing along, I narrow my eyes, trying to see what it is.
It’s a person. Why the hell would someone be walking on the side of the road this late? Don’t they know how dangerous that is? I’ve heard of so many people getting hit by cars out here.
“Wait a minute.” My brows furrow.
The person looks over, shielding their eyes from my beams.
“No fucking way!” I squeal with excitement. “Whoever is watching over me, I could kiss you right now.” I burst out in excited laughter.
Out of all the people it could be, the stupid person on the side of the road is none other than Rebecca.
“It was fate. I swear, it’s meant to be. And how am I to deny fate?”
I could pull over and grab her. But she would try to run. And as much as I love a good chase, I’m not in the mood to follow her through the woods. There could be snakes and gators. Not taking that risk, thanks.
Rebecca must be looking for a lift, because she starts to wave her hand, stepping into the road to flag me down.
“Oh, you stupid, stupid girl. Didn't your mommy ever tell you playing in the street is dangerous?” I laugh. “Someone hasn’t seen the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer, and it shows.”
With a big, wicked grin, I shut off my Jeep’s light, making everything around us go dark. The moonlight illuminates my surroundings just bright enough to be able to make out the road and the girl on it.
Feeling like this song is perfect for this moment as I slam my foot down on the gas.
Singing along, I nod my head as I head towards her at full speed. “Maneater, grim reaper,” I sing. At the last moment, I flick the Jeep's lights back on just in time to see her wide, horror-filled eyes right before the Jeep crashes into her.
I hit her body with a hard bang, the impact sending her flying over my Jeep.
Stomping on my brakes, I put it in park and throw open my door.
The song still plays as I walk towards the back. I continue to sing the next lyrics, “Here’s the reason, you’re a bitch on the slideshow.”
Pressing the button for the trunk, I let it open on its own as I address the damaged pile of flesh that was once Rebecca.
“Damn,” I huff out a laugh. “I really did a number on you.”
She’s dead. Like, dead dead.
There’s blood all over the road, and her limbs are twisted in all the wrong directions. But it’s her head that has me grimacing. Stepping over her body, I look down. “Oh. Babe. No amount of plastic surgery will fix that. Sorry.”
Her face is all ripped up, chunks of skin hardly hanging on, her neck snapped like a broken twig, only half of it still attached.
“Alright, babe, let’s get going before someone sees you like this.”
Bobbing my head to the song, I drag her body towards my Jeep, leaving a streak of blood and other bodily fluids behind.
It takes a few tries, but I manage to get her body in the trunk. “Shit,” I sigh. “Dad is going to kill me for forgetting the plastic again.” I close the trunk.
Making my way back to the front, I decided to check out the damage to my front grill.
“Fuuuuck,” I groan. No damage, but there is some blood and chunks of god knows what in my grill. “Burning flesh is so nasty.” I wave my hand over my nose. “I'd better get home and deal with this,” I sigh, flicking the chunks off as best as I can with the tip of my sneakers.
Sliding back behind the wheel, I slam the door shut and slip my seatbelt on. Because safety first.
Shifting into drive, I turn the Jeep back onto the road and speed off, blasting “Itty Bitty”.
Shaking my head, I laugh. “This really did end up being the best Halloween ever. I was worried for nothing.”