26. Chapter 26 #2
Hitting my front door, I aggressively dig into my trouser pocket for my keys, but stinging dread has me stopping, because the front door is already ajar.
I can see a sliver of light through the door, meaning the lamp is on in the hallway, something neither me nor Micah left on.
Teddy never came home after our last class because he was invited to an exclusive club with the agency he works with, so I know for definite that the lamp was not on.
Exhaling out a long breath, I kick the door open further with my boot. It creeks, sending my pulse rocketing because could it be any creeper? I’m freaking the fuck out, especially when I see red soft petals scattered all the way to the staircase infront of me.
Hell fucking no.
This is some Valentine horror movie shit.
I am not playing along. Worse–same actor–it's like that scene out of Buffy where Jiles follows the petals upstairs to find his girlfriend brutally murdered by a vampire. That’s not going to be me, I’m firmly staying downstairs and never using my bedroom again.
I’ll camp out down here. If I’m going to get murdered, they’ll have to come to me.
Throwing down the mask onto the little dining table in our kitchen, I unzip and kick out of these ridiculous trousers. The clatter of the belts every time I walk is sending me into an overwhelmed sensory nightmare.
Chest heaving, I turn on the kitchen lights and just stand there in my oversized hoodie and boxers. My socks are the ones Cass gave me, so I take them off and throw them haphazardly against the bin. They just sit there on the floor looking up at me, judging my pathetic ass.
Grumbling, I turn my back on the socks, looking at the bag of popcorn kernels I had planned to make, but I also refuse to be a horror movie stereotype. Not on Halloween!! A vibration booms in the silence that has me jumping almost into the air.
“Fucking Christ!” I slap my heart. It's about to beat right out of my chest if I don’t calm down.
The noise is coming from my discarded trousers on the floor, clearly my phone, so I lean down to grab it and stand rod straight when I see it’s an unknown private caller.
I’m sad for a second that it’s not Cass, but then the heightened fear that's been ramping up all day sets in, and I slowly swipe and place the phone to my ear.
I can’t hear anything. I swallow. “Hello?” My voice is rough.
A deep exhale makes me jump, before a distorted voice makes me feel paralysed with fear. “Hello Miles.” It’s the distorted ghostface voice. My head snaps to the dining table where I left my mask and it’s gone. “Turn on the lights outside.”
Closing my eyes, I take in a deep breath and swallow back bile. My entire body is in a cold sweat, my heart hurting with how quick it's beating. “W-Why?”
Whoever is calling me chuckles and I could throw up. They're in my house.
Slowly I walk to the kitchen's double doors that would take me out to the back garden.
Teddy is usually the one that's better at making sure that all the blinds are closed and lights are off, so currently the curtains aren't drawn thank god. I don’t think I could handle the suspense of pulling them back to find someone there.
I can’t see a thing outside, it’s that dark, only my own reflection in the glass. I look terrified, visibly shaking as I reach for the light switch for the back garden and click it on. No one is outside, but there’s a matte black box on the patio.
“What is it?” I ask, but when no one replies I see that they’ve ended the call. Fucking shit, are they outside now? Did I lock the door? Shit, shit, shit.
Unlocking the door, I slide it open just enough to crouch down and grab the box. It’s heavy and things jingle inside. There’s thin words printed on the outside that read Boo! Is this another boo basket?
I’m not even slightly relieved if this is from Cass, because I’m pretty sure he wants me to be scared right now and that can’t be a good sign.
Closing the door and making sure I lock it, I walk back to the dining room table and don’t wait to open the box. I can’t, the suspense is damaging my nerve endings.
Inside to my surprise is a bunch of comfort items, all Halloween themed in some sense.
There's a candle that smells like vanilla pumpkin, bath salts, a dark romance book which involves ghosts, a new ghost plushie and a bag of chocolates in the shape of vampire fangs.
There's even a set of face cloths with black cats on them, and a face mask which apparently is made of witches brew.
Another mug with whining ghosts is nestled in the middle, and a note sticks out.
You look scared to death, baby. Go take a bath.
I should not go upstairs. I’m screaming at myself with each slow step I take out of the kitchen, down the hallway and onto the staircase.
Rose petals litter each step, right up to the landing where they trail off into the bathroom.
I honestly don’t know why I’m clutching the vanilla pumpkin candle, but the smell kind of calms me, even if I might be walking into a trap.
That's what it feels like; that I’m being lured to my death by my clearly very angry and betrayed boyfriend.
The lights aren’t on in the bathroom, so I quickly pull the cord.
An empty room is revealed to me, not one petal in sight.
Swivelling on the balls of my feet, I stare at my bedroom, a red light spilling out around the cracks of the closed door.
I know he's in there, waiting for me. My footsteps can’t sound any louder on fucking carpet as I walk forward, turning the handle and pushing until the red glow casts onto me too.
Everything seems to throw a shadow, but I can’t see any figures hiding, ready to pounce.
I even look behind the door, but my room is empty.
My eyes notice the bed at last and my breath hitches.
Rose petals are scattered on my dark sheets, but an unlocked and open phone sits in the middle of it all.
It’s not mine–my phone is clutched in my hand, as well as the candle.
Putting both down on my bedside table, I kneel on my bed, picking up the phone and stare down at what appears to be Inkedreaper’s profile on social media.
It’s currently logged in, meaning this has to be Cassie’s phone.
There’s a new post uploaded minutes ago, after the terrifying demand that he was coming for me.
Something is immediate and obviously different about this post, because it’s of the both of us, bright, unmasked and actually clothed.
It’s a series of photos we’d both taken over the past two months, from coffee dates, cuddling at the cabin and shots that Harris took of us both up in the mist of the Abbey.
There are photos of him cuddling all the plushies he bought me, me flexing at the gym and then a photo I didn’t even know he’d taken of me asleep on his chest. He’s reading my dark romance book that I’d fallen asleep to, which makes my heart swell.
All the photos make me love him even fucking more, but what turns my blood molten is the video added to the series of photos, of me running my hands up his torso, but you can see my blonde head.
It leaves nothing to the imagination but is risky enough to be on social media, along with all the other videos we’ve filmed equally as the thirst trap masked men.
I can’t even explain why I did it, why I goaded him into making the account and joining me in harmless naked fun for billions of humans to see on the internet.
Now I’m possessively angry that others get to see him look so gorgeous, but the thoughts float away when I see his caption.
My ghost boy.
Turning towards the door, the scream that tears out of me is guttural and I fall backwards, hitting my back forcefully against my headboard.
Standing there in full black, is a figure wearing my ghostface mask.
He doesn’t say anything and it’s not like I could hear if he did, my heartbeat is louder than the sawing breaths tearing out of my lungs.
Completely over this bullshit, I kneel crawl to the end of the bed where he’s standing, reach up but Cassie grabs my wrist. The pressure isn’t firm but I still anyway, eyes wide as I stare into the black pits of the mask’s eye sockets.
“Jesus the mask is so creepy, why the hell did you not tell me sooner!?” I chide, slapping at his chest with my free hand, but suddenly he’s gripping it too.
I’m fully restrained and he presses my arms into me until I’m leaning a little painfully backwards, my legs underneath me.
For a split second I worry this isn’t him, that Cass isn’t the one underneath the mask.
I wonder if that’s what he thought each time I made him submit me to me, but my kinky boy didn’t even know who it was under there. “Cassie, this is terrifying.” I admit.
The distorted voice cackles and he pulls me closer, giving my back a break. The plastic mask is so close to my face, he brushes it against my nose tenderly. Fucking swoon. “Did you like your Halloween present?” He nods towards the bed, where his phone sits.
“It was perfect. You…you posted us on social media.” I wish the mask was off so I could read his expression, kiss him.
“I did. I know how much it means to you to be loved in the light.”
I swallow thickly. “It does, I–I love you very much. I thought…I’m so sorry…” I can’t finish that sentence. I can’t admit I thought I’d lost him.
He lets out a long sigh, before using my hands to push me back and crawls onto the bed with me. He looms above, my very own dark angel. I’m allowed to sit up and he swings his legs over, straddling me.