7. Jason
Seven
Jason
My heart pounds, echoing one singular word.
Danger. Everything is coming undone. I walk faster, trying to outrun the memory of her moans, the way her body rubbed up against mine.
Fuck. Desire pulses through my cock and I glare into the night.
It was one of the hottest things I’ve ever experienced, but I can’t go there.
Even if I want more. I’m already losing control and I need to stop anything further from happening.
Jerry taught me, through lessons carved in anger, that the people closest to you are the ones who can hurt you the most. My best friend is safe because I know the shape of us. With Daisy, I don’t know where I begin or end.
“Jason, wait up! I swear you enjoy making me chase you.” Daisy’s footsteps hurry behind me and I quicken my pace, afraid of what might happen if she catches me. How have I become the prey? It’s not meant to be like this.
I clench my teeth, every muscle locked tightly to stop myself from turning around.
I had to do it. I had to save Daisy from the edge of a bad trip, even if I pushed myself closer to insanity.
If she started freaking out, someone would have noticed, and it’s a small town—people talk.
With Nicky, what we take is always more than acid.
His “special concoction” would have been whatever the tabs were soaked in. Jerry cannot know.
Pulling out the lighter in my jacket pocket, I rub it between my fingers.
I’m afraid of what Daisy will do to me if I don’t keep my walls up.
But somehow, I have the sense that she’s already buried herself under my skin and it’s too late.
I exhale loudly, watching the air spread outward in slow motion, like ink dropped into water.
It shimmers into something tangible before I wave my hand through it, my breath disappearing.
If she wanted, Daisy could destroy me, making me just as weak as Jerry does with his abuse.
The fear of slipping back into that vulnerability grips me.
My mother left without warning. I came home from school one day and only Jerry was there, his cruelty unchecked in her absence.
He was already a monster from the start, but he got worse after she was gone. I vowed no one would ruin me again.
Pretty girls like Daisy always break hearts.
I don’t want to be hurt. Not again.
There’s something wrong with me. It’s the fear that I might lose control, that everything will change, and I have no way to stop it.
“You’re awfully quiet. Post-nut clarity hitting you hard?” Daisy breaks our silence and my internal debate.
“I didn’t come,” I hiss, trying to mask my secrets, my fingers curling around the lighter tighter.
“Sure. And I’m a nun.” Daisy throws a wink at me, walking past.
My eyes narrow at Daisy turning around to talk to me, forcing me to meet her gaze. I glare, because pretending keeps me in control.
“You know, you act like a tough guy. You want people to be afraid of you, but deep down, I think you’re squishy on the inside. Just a cute little teddy bear.” Daisy taunts.
I shake my head, flicking the lighter on and off. “Fuck off. I hope you fall flat on your ass. I need a good laugh.”
She taps her chin. Nicky makes that same face when he thinks he’s got me all figured out. My heart speeds up but I do my best to shake it off. I glance past her to see we’ve almost made it to the haunted house.
“I gave you an orgasm, but don’t mistake that for meaning anything. I hate you. I’ll never like you.”
Daisy laughs and my chest swells with pride. Not that I’ll admit it, but I wouldn’t mind making her laugh again.
My mind is a mess.
“Say it again like you mean it.” Daisy turns around and sidesteps a kid in a superhero costume, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
“I hate you,” I call out, making sure Daisy knows where she stands with me. “You’re the worst thing to ever happen to me. If I could erase you from my life I would.”
My eyes trail down the curve of her back.
It takes a moment for me to realize I’m staring at her ass while she walks.
The sway of her hips and the bounce of each step hypnotize me, but I force myself to snap out of it.
I can’t keep looking at her like I want to devour her alive.
She’s my fucking stepsister, and she’s dangerous.
I’ve had my fair share of scandals. Body modifications, getting caught sucking dick at church…
but this might break the town. They wouldn’t care that she’s my stepsister, that there’s no blood between us.
They would hear “sister” and come after me with their pitchforks and knives.
I’d be the one they blamed, because in their eyes I’m the devil incarnate.
Daisy stops walking as we come to stand outside the wooden fence, each picket jagged and broken like uneven teeth, that marks the entrance to the haunted house. Gravestones litter the front yard, which has been transformed into a makeshift cemetery.
The house is old-fashioned and charming, yet in dire need of maintenance.
Yellowing paint peels from the wooden panels and an unruly garden creeps up the side.
Gnarled vines distort into crooked hands, attempting to claim the house as their own.
After the owner died, leaving no family to inherit, ownership passed to the town, and it’s used only for special nights like this.
A gentle breeze sweeps through the yard, carrying the subtle scent of decaying autumn leaves and damp earth. Trees loom over the house’s boundary lines, branches contorting into twisted limbs, isolating the home from the neighbors.
“Welcome to the house of horrors,” I announce. Excitement builds under my skin like a kid waking up on Christmas. I fucking love Halloween.
The haunted house’s two front windows glow red vividly.
A skeleton peers from one, Help Me scrawled in fake blood on the other.
The house seems to breathe, each flicker of light an inhale before the building rattles like it’s exhaling.
The porch bends into a sinister smile, and the wood creaks as the front door yawns open, devouring the eager crowd.
A small line starts from the crooked gate, and excited chatter fills the air. Creepy carnival music plays in the distance, the sound going up and down in red lines.
We step forward to join the crowd and Daisy slows her pace, warily eyeing the scare actors who welcome guests with various weapons. I smirk as a plan forms in my mind. Maybe torturing Daisy will be the best way to survive the night.
I approach her from behind, slapping her shoulders. She jumps and glares at me.
“Don’t do that,” she hisses, each word unnaturally slow.
“Aww what’s wrong? Are you scared?” I taunt.
She doesn’t answer. I snort at her fear, entertained, and her body ripples before my eyes. Shiiit, the drugs are already working their magic.
“The weapons just look so real…”
I roll my eyes. “That’s because they are. Only adults are allowed, so there are no limits with what happens inside the house.” Her body shuffles closer to mine, and my grin stretches wider. “You’re not as tough as you pretend. You look almost adorable shaking like that.”
An evil-looking jester and a scarecrow carrying a scythe approach where we wait in line, sensing her terror.
The haunted house is a good place to earn some extra cash.
I remember the year before and chuckle. On one particularly good night, I jumped out at an asshole that I knew from school with a knife, and he ended up pissing himself.
It’s the best place to get revenge on shitty people who think it’s fun to bully you for being different.
Here, there are no rules. It’s perfect for adrenaline junkies and men who think they’re brave and want to impress their girlfriends only to get a rude awakening.
“Fuck,” I hear her whisper, and I laugh as she grabs onto my arm. “Jason, please.”
Nuh-uh. This is where I’m more than happy to be an asshole. Daisy wanted to go; she specifically requested the haunted house. Maybe she’ll learn a lesson and stay home next year.
I shake her off and step towards the actors.
Daisy slumps forward, seemingly in relief, thinking I’m going to tell them to back off.
But she doesn’t know me that well, then.
Suddenly, their movements flicker and glitch in this universe.
If Daisy hadn’t also seen them, I’d be questioning whether the people were real. I blink rapidly to refocus.
“Make her scream for me,” I tell them quietly. I watch with delight as Daisy’s face pales, the two actors walking towards her. Let’s see how pretty she sounds when she breaks.
The scarecrow focuses on Daisy, his stillness unnerving.
People fill the line behind her, blocking any chance of escape.
She doesn’t keep track of the jester and he vanishes, lurking in the crowd, waiting for the perfect scare.
Daisy, distracted, becomes easy prey. I’m sure she’d never survive a horror movie. She’d be the first one to die.
“I’ve been waiting for you. Watching you,” the scarecrow rasps. She makes the mistake of looking away, her eyes pleading with me. He takes a step forward, and she shudders in response.
The sound of the jester jingling his bells has her to whipping her head, frantically searching for the source of the sound, and the scarecrow takes his chance to creep up until he’s right in front of her.
Daisy gasps, as the jester springs up behind her, waving his hands, the bells going wild.
She screams. The sound is delightful, and turns into something dangerously toxic. I would do anything to hear Daisy scream again.
Her eyes widen with fear, then she claps her hands over her mouth.
Bending over, I laugh, mentally replaying her jump, the way her face twisted into shock. I wipe away a tear, then move back to stand next to Daisy, the actors already moving on to their next target.
Daisy pushes me. “Asshole. It’s not funny.” But the tension in her face has disappeared, a smile taking its place. She takes a deep breath, slowly coming down from the rush.
The line moves quickly, and we step up onto the porch. Soon it’ll be our turn to go in.
“That guy literally had no light in his eyes.” Daisy shudders. “That’s what made it so creepy.”
“You’re fucked. If you were terrified then, this house is going to eat you alive.” Scrubbing my face, I groan dramatically. “You’ll come home in a body bag because you’re going to have a heart attack and die, and then I’m going to get beaten.”
Daisy smiles sweetly and clutches my arm.
“You’ll just have to keep me safe then. Protect me from all the bad, bad men like the good big brother you are.
” She looks up at me, and I catch a glimpse of hunger in her eyes, before she bats her eyelashes, clearly thinking it’s enough to convince me to be her bodyguard.
I’m afraid it is.
I’m royally screwed with this girl, and that’s the scariest thing that I’ve ever encountered.