Chapter Three
T he alleyway was dark and deserted, and the smell of decaying mice and week-old garbage made the setting super romantic. The sky above churned a pale purple from the city lights, hiding the constellations from view. A few people lingered, standing in a circle, sharing a cigarette. Cars rushed by, heedless of what was occurring in the dark.
I had just passed the rusted dumpster when two strong hands grabbed me by the shoulders, pinning me against the brick building, the jagged edges stabbing my skin. The sensation trickled throughout my body, the high of the drug feeding into the pleasure of being handled with such force.
A smile crept onto my face. “It’s not every day a girl gets handled by a strong man.”
He chuckled, the sound giving me goosebumps. “It’s not every day a pretty girl stalks that strong man.”
I bit my lip, letting the high of the drugs take control of my motor skills, and gripped the back of his neck, kissing him greedily. My hands flew to his hair, wanting to feel the texture between my fingers, still drenched in sweat. I pulled him deeper into the kiss as he set my skin ablaze with his touch. His hands traveled south to my waist, thrusting his body to mine, and a soft moan escaped my lips, feeling complete bliss from our interaction. His teeth caught my bottom lip, biting down hard. It was so hot. His hands slipped under my shirt, cupping my right breast, until his fingers slipped inside my black bra, the palm of his hand grazing over my nipple. The sensation had me grinding my hips against him.
“Get a room!” someone shouted. We ignored the comments directed at us, caring more about where our hands were traveling.
The more we kissed, the more intense our actions became. Gripping, squeezing, pulling, our movements mirroring each other’s. He eventually grabbed both my legs and hoisted me up, wrapping them securely around his waist, my back against the jagged brick wall, my dress riding up to my ass, ultimately evaporating thoughts of Josh and Nickie being together.
I tugged at his jacket, desperate for it to come off, when suddenly, an alarm sounded inside his pants, vibrating on my thigh. He leaned his clammy forehead against mine, our breathing mixed together, lips grazing just to savor the taste.
He eventually untangled himself from our embrace and placed me down gently before retrieving a phone from his front pocket.
“Damn it,” he murmured. His voice, breathless and hoarse, had no right sounding that hot. I gazed down, the bulge in his pants frantic to escape. My insides tingled with pleasure at the sight.
“Does Cinderella have to go?” I teased, breathing heavily, trying unsuccessfully to avert my eyes away from his constricted erection.
He laughed. “Unfortunately.”
“That blows.”
He tucked his phone away, fixed his hair from my assault, and readjusted his jacket. “Sorry this was cut short.”
“No worries,” I said, also readjusting myself, smoothing my hair and dress.
“Um…”
“Remi. My name is Remi,” I introduced myself.
“Right, Remi. Well, I’ll see you around.”
I sighed. “And the pattern continues.” I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms.
“Huh?”
“Every time I make out with a guy, he ‘forgets’ to give me his name.”
“You make out a lot?”
A sly smirk formed on my lips. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
His hazel eyes twinkled under the streetlight. “Maybe.”
My cheeks flushed. He stepped in front of me again, taking a strand of my blonde hair and twirling it with his pointer finger. “Kal. That’s my name.”
Chills formed on my arms. Kal. “Kal, huh?”
He smiled, a dimple forming on his cheek. “Yes.”
Another ring from his jeans pocket went off, his expression turning dark. “I’ll see you around.”
“The city is too big to collide again.”
He snorted. “You’re optimistic.”
“I’m realistic.”
Kal kissed me long and arduously one last time before collecting his belongings and heading toward the street, getting picked up by a black SUV with tinted windows. The car skidded hard around a corner, leaving smoke and a sense of sadness behind.
My palm lay flat on the brick wall for support, the psychedelic trip ebbing away at a snail’s pace. Colors were less vibrant, and objects remained in place, but the feelings lingered in my bones, and the heat of Kal’s lips stained me forever.
Or I’m so high I can’t tell the difference.
Completely unaware of what time it was—for all I knew, minutes could’ve passed though it felt more like hours—I gazed around, noticing the earlier crowd of smokers had dispersed. My lips felt swollen, my skin flushed from the way he touched my body, my nips tender and throbbing to be assaulted once more. Leaning my head back to gaze up at the sky where the city lights washed out the stars, I basked in the euphoria that invaded my senses. No strings attached, yet I wanted to see him again. The way he made me feel in just a short amount of time was a ride I didn’t want to get off; not yet.
Smiling to myself, I smoothed down my dress one last time when a black shadow whizzed out of the corner of my eye and the smell of rotting flesh stunned me back against the brick wall. The scent of death traveled through the streets, wafting up my nose and causing me to gag uncontrollably. Swallowing a hard, nervous lump, I craned my neck to get a better view, afraid to move too fast and disrupt whatever lurked in the shadows. Everything was the same; no trashcan or pile of cardboard boxes were out of sorts. The previous crowd of strangers were all inside or had gone home for the night. So, why couldn’t I shake the feeling of being watched? My vision was slightly obstructed, and I tried to squint in the distance when a strange figure emerged from the shadows on the opposite side of the street, hidden in another alleyway directly across from where I stood.
Its long fingers curled around the brick wall, dripping with an unknown black substance, staining the asphalt. With another step forward, part of its body began to show, wet with a foreign liquid. Black shoulders bulged just as the head poked around, its angular face smiling with rotten teeth. Three distinct points were rooted to the center of its forehead, and black goo dripped from the tips as an eerie hiss escaped its horrifying mouth, exposing its complete form. Tall, with skinny, crooked limbs, it started walking forward rather than crawling. I stumbled, taken off guard by its presence, one of my heels catching on something. I tumbled backward against the brick wall, scraping my arm down to my elbow.
The pain from the blow increased with each step I retreated. “I’m just hallucinating. This isn’t real.” The once vibrant colors turned to shades of gray and black, as if my mind could sense the creature’s reality as it began to morph and distort my happy trip.
Its head, long and pointed at the chin, twisted and turned, a clicking noise echoing with each step toward the crowded street. But nobody seemed to notice. My current state of mind tricked me into seeing such a disturbing creature. There’s no way in fucking hell this shit exists.
I was about to run for it when something red caught my eye from behind the gruesome creature. A piece of crimson fabric darted out, grabbing the attention of whatever lurked in the shadows, and attacked it with something shiny. The sound of it screaming with pain had me stumbling back as I quickly found my way inside, searching for the safety of my friends, when I suddenly collided with something hard.
“Whoa there,” he said, steadying my balance.
I looked up into the eyes of a familiar face. Josh. Why do I keep running into him tonight?
“I’m s-o-sorry,” I stammered, looking around frantically to ensure nothing followed me inside. My arm began to throb, the feeling of warm liquid cascading down my skin.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you okay?” he asked, touching me lightly where the brick wall made a deep gash and pulling his hand back to find blood on his palm. “You’re bleeding. What happened?” His eyes were intense as if he were searching for something.
“I saw… something,” I managed to say. As I tried to focus, the room seemed to spin with hazy waves and odd objects.
Josh’s eyes pierced through mine with such intensity that I barely had time to register him stepping closer to me, his nose inches from mine. “What did you see?” He then pulled out a black handkerchief from his breast pocket and tied it around my wound, creating a bandage to stop the bleeding.
“I—” Everything from the lights to the sounds made weird waves as I tried to focus on what he said.
Laughter erupted from somewhere around us, snapping Josh out of his hard gaze, and he stepped back to give me space again .
Would he believe me if I told him the truth? Would anyone believe a girl tripping on drugs at one of the most popular underground nightclubs?
“Yeah, just, uh, not feeling too hot right now. The liquor isn’t settling right.”
His eyes squinted as if he didn’t believe me. “Just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
I could hear Nickie’s obnoxious laugh from somewhere behind him and shook off his hand, creating enough distance between us. “I am, thank you.”
“Remi! Over here!” called Jeremy.
I was surprised to find him and Nickie lounging casually against the bar, laughing and mingling with a new set of people, clinking glasses together like they were old friends.
I waved and started to head over when Josh brushed his hand along my arm.
“I thought they were kidding about your name.” He chuckled, trying to change the subject.
“Wouldn’t be the first time someone referenced me to the rat,” I added with a laugh, thankful he dropped our earlier conversation, even though it left a dark cloud above my head.
Nickie met us with a drink filled to the brim and thrust it into my hand. Some of it splashed on the floor, including on my shoes. “Drink, bitch!” She then grabbed Josh’s face and planted a sloppy kiss on his lips. The small group at the bar cheered like they were at some sporting event, making it even more awkward standing there with a full glass of God knows what.
She finally let go, and he had the goofiest grin. “God, you’re so fucking hot!’ she shouted, squeezing his ass.
He squeezed her waist and said, “I have to go now. I’ll call you later.” Josh leaned in for one more kiss, gave me one last look of uncertainty, and left us watching him go.
Nickie sighed in a swoon and then grabbed me by the arm to drag my ass to the bar, where Jeremy sat flirting with some guy. He had his hand on Jeremy’s thigh, stroking it romantically.
I still had the stupid drink in my hands.
Nickie could sense my distaste for it. “Girl, you better drink that. It wasn’t cheap.”
“I’ll pass,” I snapped. My stomach swirled with uneasiness as I gripped the glass, ready to pawn it off on someone else. As much as the alcohol would ease my emotions, the idea of Nickie spiking it again with psychedelic drugs didn’t sit right with me.
“You’re leaving me for some stupid elite college. I want one night where we completely let loose before our teen years get washed away,” she whined.
“Why do you always do that?”
“Do what?”
“Whoa, ladies, let’s have a good night,” interjected Jeremy.
I ignored him by stepping closer to Nickie. “You always throw the college thing in my face. I didn’t ask for it.”
“I know you didn’t ask for it, but I just wanted one last night to enjoy our crazy shenanigans before you’re sucked into the corporate lifestyle from hell!”
“Who says that’s going to happen?”
Jeremy tried to get in between our heated argument, but neither of us was having it.
“Oh, I don’t know, your parents? Especially your mother,” sneered Nickie.
“You know how she is. Besides, it was stated in Grams’ will,” I reminded her.
“And I asked for proof.”
“You’re ridiculous. I’m telling the truth!”
“Then drink,” she ordered.
“What?”
“You heard me. If you’re telling the truth, then drink.”
Jeremy went to reach for the glass, but I sidestepped him. “How the hell does that prove anything?”
“You know exactly what it proves.”
I gripped the glass tighter, trying not to scream. What did she want from me? I tried my best to please both my parents and her, but lately, that had been a losing battle. If I didn’t please my mother, I disappointed Nickie, and vice versa. All summer, we did everything we could to make unforgettable memories, and somehow, that wasn’t enough for Nickie. I hated the way we acted toward one another under the influence.
She tapped her foot impatiently. “Well? Are you gonna let that monster you call Mother win?”
I froze, images of the creature coming back tenfold. My hands began to shake from the fear of it waiting for me outside, or worse, coming in here and killing all of us. The liquid inside the glass swished from my shakes, trying but failing to calm my erratic breathing. The others behind Nickie started to chant, begging me to chug whatever she’d ordered.
The quicker the alcohol was consumed, the faster these memories would fade.
My favorite coping mechanism.
Fuck it.
I chugged the whole glass, slamming it down on the bar table nearby. Nickie grinned like she had won the lottery and wrapped one of her arms around my shoulders. “Let the real fun begin!”