FOUR YEARS AGO,
OCTOBER 25th, 2016.
PINELAKE CITY, CALIFORNIA.
ZANE AND DAISY'S HOMETOWN.
****
"Daisy, it's late! Go to sleep!"
I roll my eyes at my dad's yelling, sighing.
"Yes, dad! I'll go to sleep!"
"You better! I don't like to deal with Miss Cranky Daisy in the morning!"
I laugh.
"I won't, I won't! I'll go to sleep, I promise! Let me just call Zane!"
"You and that boy, you're never gonna get tired of him and his bright blue hair, are you?"
"Probably not."
"I was just joking, angel. Do what makes you happy, and I'll see you in the morning!"
"See you, dad!"
I turn back to my computer, turning up the brightness a little bit.
I click the FaceTime icon at the bottom of my screen, tapping on Zane's number at the top of my list.
The tone goes out for three rings before he picks up.
I eagerly watch as the connecting screen goes away and I see his cute face.
I wave and he smiles.
"Hi, Zane!"
"What's good, Daisy?"
I snort.
"Who even says that?"
"I don't know, babe."
He sets his computer down on his desk, sitting in his chair in front of it.
"It's two thirty, Dais. Won't your dad lecture you on staying up talking to boys?"
He gives the camera a little smirk, rubbing his eyes before sliding on his glasses.
"He said it's fine that I talk to you. And since when did you have glasses?"
"Since I was an embarrassing dweeb in third grade. I got contacts in seventh and all of a sudden everyone loved me."
I giggle.
"I think you look cute."
"Well of course you do. You see, Daisy, when I was in third grade I wasn't hot like I was now, and I really couldn't pull off the nerdy look."
I roll my eyes.
"I bet you looked fine."
He glares at me through the camera, opening his drawer and pulling out a photo of him, Xavier, Xanthe, and Xander.
He raises an eyebrow.
"That's fine?"
I burst out laughing, and he shakes his head with a small grin.
"Told you. I looked like Chuckie Finster from Rugrats."
I continue laughing and he puts the photo back in his drawer.
"You have to trust me when I say I looked bad. I know I did."
"Talk about a glow up, Maserati. Now you're an official lady's man."
"Or you would say Daisy's man."
I flush.
"Aww...don't do that to me. You know I blush at everything. Now I'm a tomato!"
He smiles at my beet red cheeks.
"You're adorable."
"So are you."
I slap my hand over my mouth, and he chuckles lightly.
"Why thank you, malady."
"No problem—"
I yawn resting my head on my pillow next to me.
"You aren't gonna fall asleep on me, are ya, babe?"
"No..."
I say softly.
"Keep talking. Your voice is soothing."
Zane shrugs.
"That's something new. But alright. I'll continue to rant to ya."
*****
A FEW HOURS LATER...
DAISY AND ZANE BOTH FELL ASLEEP.
Zane fell asleep with his head leaning against his desk, while Daisy laid cozied up in her bed.
Both were asleep when Daisy had her first attack...
****
A heavy weight falls onto my back.
I assume that it's my dad, groaning.
"Dad, it's early. Get off of me. School starts in five hours..."
I swear to you I heard some sort of inhuman growl.
I open my eyes as something grabs me by the neck, lifting me from my bedsheets.
"GET OUT!"
The thing yells at me, and tears stream down my face.
It isn't human. It isn't human. It isn't.
The thing has a scary rabbit mask covering its face, dropping me back onto the bed and hovering over me.
The thing's face morphs, the mask melts away, peeling away a part of its face, revealing—
What...?
It's—it's me.
The person behind the mask is me.
She has bright purple hair, piercings and a carved smile on her face.
Dripping with blood.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
She also has a knife sticking through her head, blood dripping onto me.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
The thing twitches.
It smiles.
"He-hel-hello, Daisy..."
It's voice is scratchy and raspy.
"W-who are you?!"
"I'm you...you...you..."
****
I scream, screaming until I jolt up.
I wake up, sweating, crying, horrified.
That couldn't have been real...
But my vocal cords are raw from screaming.
Zane lifts his head up, looking panicked and confused.
"Daisy?! Was that you screaming?!"
"S-Screaming?!"
"Yeah..." his eyes drop to my neck. "What the hell happened to your neck...?"
I look in the camera, at the claw marks and hand marks on the skin of my neck.
"I-I uh, I have to go."
I wave before he can say anything, hanging up the call.
I stare down at my blanket, my eyes following a trail of blood.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
They lead right to my closet.
I stand up, opening the closet door.
I let out a scream, and that mangled thing drags me into the darkness, out of sight.
****
"Daisy?"
I hear a faint sound at the back of my head.
"Daisy?"
Is someone calling my name.
"Daisy?"
No...
"DAISY!"
I jolt my head up again, this time it's the morning.
I look at my computer and see it sitting on my desk, the camera aimed on Zane sleeping.
I turn my head to the left, seeing my dad.
"Jesus, Dais! You were out cold! Your room stinks, honey. I'd recommend cleaning it or spraying some febreeze."
I nod, and my dad inches out the door.
"School starts in an hour. I'd suggest you wake up Zane too. You both don't want to miss your classes."
"Yeah..."
I mumble.
I stand up, opening my closet.
I had such a weird dream last night...it was almost like...like sleep paralysis.
I turn my head to the closet, jumping back immediately.
There, sitting right on top of my dresser, is the same disfigured rabbit mask from my dream.
I look at the red letters next to it.
How'd you sleep, Daisy? I thought we had some fun. A peace of advice...don't leave your windows open for curious people like me to get into. Oh, and tell your blue haired friend he's cute when he's sleeping. I'll visit him next.
******
EIGHT MONTHS AGO,
MARCH 20th, 2020.
4:32 AM.
THE DAY OF THE MASSACRE.
I sit on the floor, looking at Jordan's dead body.
At Silas's dead body.
I killed him. I killed him.
I hold my head in my bloodied hands, letting out a choked sob.
I killed him.
I killed him.
I look over to him, at how peaceful he looks.
Maybe this is for the better.
Maybe he's happier.
He always told me he never wanted to live, maybe this is what he wants?
He died with a smile on his face.
He died.
I scooch closer to his body, reaching out and touching his cheek.
It's still warm...not ice cold.
Is he...is he not dead?
His are closed lightly, that little side smirk stained on his face.
I killed him.
He died.
He's dead.
I drop my hand from his cheek, standing up.
Even if he is alive...I just shouldn't.
I hold onto Jordan's limp hand, a feeling of despair washing over me.
She never got to live her life.
She never did.
She didn't deserve that.
I tell myself that it's for the better I killed him, for killing her.
Killing such an angel.
Killing such an innocent soul.
But is she who we think she is?!
Everyone has secrets.
Dark ones.
I do myself.
I mean...no one has three or four versions of themselves that tell them to murder someone or kill themselves everyday, right?
It has to be just me.
Jordan, I can see it in her wistful sapphire eyes.
She loved him.
She was so deeply in love with someone who just wasn't capable of loving her back.
She loved the one who stabbed a knife through her neck, who took away her life.
Yet she still loves him.
What a tainted soul.
I must be going even more insane.
I'm talking to myself.
I am hovering over dead bodies trying to tell myself that they aren't dead.
They're dead alright.
They're completely lifeless.
I stand up, walking away permanently.
I feel a cold hand grip on my ankle.
"Don't—don't leave me—"
I tense up, looking over my shoulder and letting out a screech.
"Jordan—Jordan you're dead—you're dead you aren't—"
Snap yourself out of it Daisy.
There isn't a dead girl holding onto your ankle.
There isn't.
I shut my eyes, opening them again.
She's back to normal.
She's laying face down on the floor.
I turn my attention quickly back to Silas, in fear that he won't still be there.
He is, and relief washes over me.
I pull out my gun, maybe I should, just in case—
No.
I drop the gun, leaving it behind.
I exit the room, blindly running down the echoing halls.
Where's Jayden? Shane? Dylan? Zane? Dallas?
My mind races with so many questions.
How is he alive?!
If Dallas is alive...does that mean...does that mean Dimitri is too? Mom?!
I stop at the sound of crying.
A familiar crying.
I open a door, seeing a woman with long black hair sobbing on the floor.
She's sobbing over a small little girl, one who looks dead.
"My baby! Dextra my baby!"
The name Dextra circles at the back of my mind and a chill runs through my spine.
Her voice...is that—?
"Mom?"
I inch closer, as the sound of slow piano music fills my ears.
"Dimitri..."
I turn around from the woman sobbing over the child, facing the man sitting over the piano, pressing on the keys as small red droplets the size of tears fall from his cheeks and onto the bright white keys, staining them as the red liquid seeps in.
A small singing voice fills my ears, and I flip around, seeing a girl facing a crowd, singing a song that matches perfectly with the music of my brother's piano.
"Mom, mom is that you?"
She grips harder onto the little girl, gripping so hard that her knuckles turn white.
"Please, please dont take my baby! Don't!"
The little girl with the slit in her throat disintegrates, and the piano music gets louder.
I reach out for her, when an ice cold hand grips onto my wrist first.
"Daisy...Daisy...Daisy..."
Blood starts pouring from the woman's eyes and mouth, creating a pool.
I back away, but the grip on my hand tightens, pulling me closer and closer when—
"Daisy?!"
I let out a gasp, and Zane let's go of my wrist.
I'm sitting in the middle of an old music room, with an abandoned grand piano and a small baby doll on the floor with a creepy look on its face.
I move my eyes to Zane, who looks worried.
Extremely worried.
"Are you okay?! I thought I lost ya there...you were just staring at the piano for like five minutes."
He lifts me off the floor, and my eyes are wide.
"She's coming back, Zane. She's coming back."
"Uhh...do I know this person?"
"She's coming back...she's coming back. She loved him, Zane. I killed him. I killed him. I—"
"Shh,"
He wraps his arms around me and I sort of crumple in his embrace, my breaths coming out in shaky huffs.
"Tell me what happened."
"Yes...but first...we need to find Dylan. And Shane. And Dallas."
"Dallas?"
He looks down at me, and I nod.
"Yes! He's here! He's alive!"
Zane frowns.
"She's really going through it..."
He mumbles, and kisses my forehead.
"Baby, he isn't here..."
"Wha—what do you mean?! I saw him! Dylan saw him! You all—you lied to me, didn't you?! I was imagining this...I—he's still dead...he's still dead isn't he?!"
Zane nods slowly, and holds my shaking body.
"I'm sorry, Dais. He was never here—"
"Then who was that?! Who—"
I shake my head rapidly, yanking free from Zane before sprinting out of the room, trying to find them.
Where is everyone?!
I'm all alone...what if I was imaging Zane too?! What if...what if he isn't real either?!
I run into the hallway, seeing all of the glass rooms.
I run forward, peering into one.
No...I swear he was there.
Dallas...he's still...he's still gone.
I run over to the other one, seeing a girl laying passed out on the floor with a bit of blood dribbling from her nose.
Her hair is blonde and pink.
"Dylan! Dylan?!"
The girl jerks her head up, crawling towards the glass.
She bangs on it, and I nod.
"I'm going to get you out, I'm going to—"
"But are you really?"
The same soft voice comes back, and I turn to see Lucinda in the doorway, her mouth stretched in a wide smile.
"You think you can just waltz into my house, kill my Silas, my Jordan, and—and just get out alive?!"
She starts laughing.
"Oh, honey! Aren't you just delusional! First you imagine your dead family, then you think dead people are talking to you, and then? Then you think you can get out of my home alive?! This is hilarious!"
I look at Dylan, then Lucinda.
"Lucinda..."
"Oh dear! Don't try to reason with me now! This place is going down in flames. And you're going with it."
She dumps a gallon of gasoline on the floor, smirking as she lights a match.
"I might not have killed you in that house fire eight years ago, but I will now!"
"What?!"
My heart stops as I realize she was the one who set fire to my home, she was the one who killed my family.
My eye twitches.
"You're going to die, bitch!"
I run forward, just as she throws the match down, watching as a mountain of flames erupt.
"Woah!"
I jump back, hearing her laughter echo as she disappears down the hall, leaving us to burn.
As the heat of the fire weighs down on me, I struggle to get Dylan out.
"Listen, Daisy! You're not gonna be able to figure out how to get me out of here! You go! Don't die for me! That's not what I want!"
"But—Dylan, I can't leave you—I can't—I can't lose you too!"
An angry flame throws itself at me and I jump back, embers of heat hitting my face and bare skin.
"You can leave me! And you will! Daisy!—"
I turn to her as the large fire engulfs me, and I hear her blood-curdling scream, just as a hand grabs onto my own. Tightly.
They pull me from the fire, throwing a bucket of water at my face.
I hear the sizzle, and lock eyes with Jayden.
"Jayden—"
"Enough of that! I couldn't let you die, Daisy!"
"Where's Shane?! Zane?!"
Her face blanks.
"Oh no..."
******
(SHANE'S POV)
4:59 AM.
I run through the halls that are slowly starting to crumble from the flames.
I reach the wall, punching it as hard as I can with my fist and watching as it splinters, caving in on itself.
I see the glass on the other side, and Dylan huddled in the corner as the raging fire slowly gets closer and closer.
"Dylan!"
She snaps her head around, her eyes filling with cold relief.
"Shane—"
A piece of rotting wood drops down next to her, and she lets out a small shriek.
I slide myself as far as I can through, holding out my hand.
"Take my hand!"
"What?!"
"Take my hand!"
She reaches out, grabbing onto my hand.
I pull her from the flames, dropping her down.
"Can you walk?"
She shakes her head, motioning to the large burn on her leg that's peeling back skin.
I hike her up onto my back, starting to run again.
Dylan holds on tightly, and I can hear her small little sobs.
"It's going to be okay."
I say, seeing the exit only a few feet away.
"You're going to be okay."
*****
(DYLAN'S POV)
He drops me back onto the floor, falling down himself as I back away.
"Shane—"
He looks at me, wiping blood from his face with a pained expression.
He's badly burned, and he has multiple cuts across his arms, legs, and face.
"Shane!"
I yell louder.
Oh no. Oh no, no.
I see a large piece of the roof sliding off, coming at him at full speed.
"Shane! Move!"
His eyes lock on mine as I get up, stumbling forward to push him out of the way when the thing collapses, throwing me back.
"Shane!"
I let out a shriek, staggering over through the dust and embers, throwing a hunk of wood.
I dig through, seeing a slip of his dark hair.
No, no, no.
I panic, splintering my hands while trying to lift the darn thing up, tearing the skin off some of my hand with a yell of pain before I get to him, lying motionless in the pile of rubble.
Fuck!
I drop down in the debris, shaking him.
"Wake up...please wake up..."
His face is contorted in pain, and his eyes slowly open.
"Shane! Shane are you okay?!"
He doesn't answer, and I try to lift him up but to no avail.
I look around desperately, hoping for someone to come.
He's going to die.
He just got hit by a roof.
I can't let him die.
"Hang on, okay? You saved me, and I'll save you! Don't close your eyes on me again, mister! I promise...I promise I'll get help...I—"
I break down sobbing just as I hear running footsteps.
"Dylan?!"
"Zane!"
I jump up, immediately falling back down a little.
"I need help, he's—he's dying,"
Zane sighs, lifting Shane out of the rubble who's in a fit of coughs.
"Take it easy."
Zane pulls both of us back as the rest of the house collapses, burning up in a mass of bright orange flames.
******
(DAISY'S POV)
5:34 AM.
Jayden and I are huddled together underneath a tree, watching the house turn to ash.
"Jayden...what if they're still in there?!"
"Then they're dead, Daisy. They're dead."
She holds her head in her hands.
"I'm sorry for involving myself with them...Lucinda and Silas...I thought they were going to help me..."
She looks devastated, tears falling down her face.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you the truth...I'm so sorry—"
"It's okay...if Zane can forgive you and move past it...then I can. You're okay. We love you."
"I tried to kill you. And Jordan."
Her eyes widen.
"Jordan!"
She jumps up, attempting to run back to the house before I grab her wrist.
"She's gone."
Jayden crumples to the ground, wailing.
"J-J-Jordan's gone?!"
"Silas."
Her breathing goes ragged.
"He-he told me he wouldn't touch her—where is he?!"
"He's gone. I—I killed him."
Her shoulders deflate as if a weight was lifted off of them.
"He's gone—he's gone!"
She wraps her arms around me, squeezing.
I give her a small squeeze back, wiping the tears from under her eyes.
"Hey...listen. It's okay."
"It's over—I'm finally free!"
She smiles, genuinely smiles before it immediately dissipates.
"Where are they? Are they all gone? Really?"
"I...I don't know. The best thing we could hope for is that they round that corner and come back to us. Alive."
******
PRESENT DAY, EIGHT MONTHS LATER.
NOVEMBER 27th, 2020.
12:34 PM.
They did come back to us alive.
All three of them.
Zane with sore arms from carrying Dylan and Shane between intervals, Dylan with twenty-seven stitches in her right hand and sixty in her left leg, Shane with a broken back and multiple injuries.
He just got out of wearing a back brace a week ago.
Jayden now goes by Jayden, and she's come clean to everyone but the police.
Surprisingly everyone forgave her, but it also wasn't that surprising.
I don't know what your expecting from a group of maniacs that can't tell the difference between right and wrong.
But no one has been the same ever since.
We've all been different.
Not after Salem relapsed and almost overdosed again on heroin.
We've all been watching him carefully to make sure it doesn't happen again.
We dropped out of school for obvious reasons, but are all still in close contact with Shane, even Dylan and her history teacher Arden Green.
*******
You're perfect? They're jealous.
You're smart? They call you a nerd and bully you.
You're confident? They judge you.
You're flat? They laugh at you.
You're thick? They say you've had surgeries.
You're fat? They bully you and give you insecurities.
You're skinny? Insecurities.
You start drinking? They call you an alcoholic.
You try drugs? They call you addicted.
You try everything you can to fit in and be exactly like them? You're back to square one.
What do they want from me?!
You're your own worst enemy.
Something I now understand.
How can I trust myself...when the girl in the mirror isn't me?
She's a version of me...a dark version of me that's to come in the future.
She's me from the future.
But she torments me...drives me insane.
Am I insane?!
Am I crazy?!
Am I crazy enough to let that monster touch me...to even let him kiss me?!
Am I crazy enough...to still be hung up on Silas?! He's a nut job. Made me believe that I killed Zane...yet I still allowed him to drive me to my worst. Drove me to murder him.
Don't get me started on Salem...the guy I believed I murdered when I was sixteen. The guy I went to jail for...and now he's here...bringing trouble back from the grave.
Then there's Shane...tall...dark...and handsome. Cliche, but fucking true. The sweet guy I met when I was eighteen...who's now my former science teacher? And definitely not as sweet and innocent as he was two years ago...he's now...how do I say this...grown?! Cold hearted. Off limits. Totally creepy...
Now, now...Zane. My first love. My first everything. Yet the most toxic one. The most unavailable one. The most psychotic one. Yet I'm the most attracted to him?! I can't count on my fucking fingers how many times he's hurt me, dumped me, ditched me, cheated on me, tried to kill me, but I still like him?!
Have I gone completely mad?!
I turn away from the mirror for a second, pulling on my hair and squeezing my eyes shut.
Get out of my head...get out! I don't—I don't want you here!
I feel her reaching towards me, and I hear her at the back of my head. I hear Dismay at the back of my head. Dismay. My future self. My split personality. The person I'm soon to become.
"Daisy...listen to me..."
"Stop...you're not real! You're not real Dismay!"
"I am...I'm you whether you like it or not. I'm who you're becoming, I'm the person underneath all your fake act...you are the one who should be trapped in my mind. Because I'm you, and you're simply just a cover, Daisy."
"Dismay—"
"Enough with the Dismay! My name is Daisy, because I'm you. I am you. Get it in your birdbrained mind!"
Control yourself Daisy.
It's not you. It's not you. It's not—
"I'm you!"
I let out a scream of frustration, flipping around and punching the mirror, the glass shattering and creating around fifteen different versions of her.
That's not me in the mirror.
I break down sobbing, shards of glass sticking out of my knuckles and others on the floor, whilst my blood slowly drops down, soaking into the carpet.
I'm not her. I'm not her. Dismay isn't me...am I Dismay?!
Am I not Daisy?! Am I not...me?!
Who am I?!
I continue to sob, and someone opens my door.
Great. Just who I wanted it to be.
He slides through the doorway, shutting the door behind him and looking at the shattered mirror, then my hand, then the floor.
He smiles.
"Babe, you know breaking mirrors is bad luck."
"Shut up."
I choke out, cringing when I see my hand.
"Come now. I'll fix you up."
"You aren't mad I j-just broke your mirror?!"
"I can afford a Bugatti...I'm pretty sure I can afford a new mirror, Princess. Besides...maybe it'll humble me. I sometimes believe I'm too cocky...but maybe it adds to my psychopath charm."
"You're not helping."
"I figured."
He takes my arm, dragging me towards the bathroom.
"Why don't you just get Jaylen? She's knows how to do this stuff."
"But I'm hot."
"Wait—What?!"
"I'm hot. So I'll do a better job."
"That doesn't even—"
"Hush, hush, babycakes. Would you rather have me, super sexy and totally helpful, or the elf, who's maybe a little more helpful but annoying and fucking British."
"What's wrong with her being british?!"
"It fucking pisses me off. I want to rip her head off so I can tear out her vocal cords and feed them to my pack of hyenas."
My eyes widen as he pulls out some supplies.
"I was only kidding, babe. Calm down."
He takes some tweezers, leaning in real close to carefully pluck out each shard of glass one by one, while I wince at each one.
"Sorry, babe. Does that hurt?"
I nod.
"Yes. A little bit."
"I would pity you but I won't. You decided to punch the mirror. I'll make it hurt more."
"Wha—"
"This is for breaking my expensive mirror, bitch!"
He rips the shard out, tearing my skin.
I let out a small scream, looking at my gushing blood hand.
"Ow! What the hell?!"
Zane starts laughing, falling onto the floor in a fit of laughter.
"What the fck is so funny?! I'm bleeding out! Fucking help me!"
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. That was hilarious."
He plucks out the rest of them, grabbing a bottle of rubbing alcohol with a smirk.
"What the—What the fuck are you going to do with that, Zane?!"
"Pour it on your hand."
"But—"
I let out a loud screech as he fucking pours rubbing alcohol all over my open wound, shaking my hand as it burns and literally sizzles.
Sizzles!
This is way worse than getting hand sanitizer on a small paper cut. And those hurt like hell.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"
I grab the bottle before he can pour anymore, wrestling him with my basically dead hand and falling off the counter face first into him.
"Ow, you fucking cow! You're like 300 pounds!"
"125!"
I yank the thing out of his hands, holding it above his face.
"Here's how this is going to go, buddy. I'm gonna pour this in your eyes then shove the rest down your throat, you hear me?!"
He looks at the bottle in my hands, then the bubbling and bleeding cut on my hand with a smirk, grabbing hydrogen peroxide and splashing it on it, watching as it turns white and foams while a pain stricken expression spreads across my face and my hand starts to shake.
I drop the alcohol, letting out a choked sob.
"You son of a gun! It burns! It—my hand! It's going to fall off! It's white! It's bubbling! It's like my hand has fucking rabies!"
Pain shoots through my arm, and I blink back tears when Dylan opens the door, seeing me on top of Zane before smirking.
"Looks like you two were getting into some—Jesus Christ!"
She looks at my hand, grabbing it and patting it dry before shoving it under cold water, watching as the rapid bubbling and sizzling dies down before wrapping a secure amount of gauze around my hand.
"Oh my god...what the hell happened?! Did your hand get rabies?!"
Zane simply tries to hide his smile and I glare at him.
"That son of a bitch poured—no—dumped hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol on my huge ass fucking wound. Now look."
Dylan crouches down time Zane level, taking his cheek and stroking it.
"Good job, baby boy."
She lifts him up, stroking his arms when I interrupt.
"What do you mean—"
"For being a fucking idiot!"
Dylan slaps him across the face, standing on her tip toes to grab his ear and drag him to her level.
"You are stupid. Now get out of my sight, leech."
He slaps her hand off him, rolling his eyes.
"Don't damage my looks, bitch. I'll shove my sausage down your throat."
Dylan's eyes widen and so do mine.
"Oh no, you dirty birds! I got sausages from the grocery store! My personal sausage, or you could say Zane Jr, is only for certain people to see. And one of those certain people's name starts with a D," Dylan makes a face and Zane shakes his head, bopping her nose. "Not you, babe. And ends with a Y."
He leaves it at that, walking out without another word, before opening the door again and throwing something at my face.
I catch it in my other hand, lifting it to my face.
It looks like a—
"Is that a pair of your underwear—?"
I nod slowly, dropping them with a weird face before grabbing the note from inside and throwing it.
Nasty.
I hope those weren't used—
I gag before reading the note.
Heyyyy, babycakes! It's me, your favorite person...meet me on the balcony at one AM sharp! Don't be late or I'll chop your boobs off.
XOXO, Zane.
My jaw drops a little and Dylan peers over my shoulder, whistling.
"Jeez Louise...I can feel it."
"Feel what?!"
"The sexual tension."
"The fuck?!"
"Just screw him already! I can't take it any longer! So sexually awkward, just open up and show him your kitty! And your tits. And what's so bad about seeing his ding-dong? I heard rumors that it's—"
"Enough, Dylan. I'm tired. Too tired of this."
"Don't tell me you're going to sleep on me."
"I am."
"Fine. Then don't forget me!"
She jumps down from the counter, running and flying out the door.
"Last one time the bed is a rotten egg! We're watching fan made videos of Zane to swoon over him!"
I run after her, laughing.
"Get your ass back over here! He's mine!"
Just as I was exiting the bathroom, I saw a glimpse of something red in Zane's closet.
I open it despite myself, seeing the same dismembered rabbit mask.
My breath hitches in my throat, and I swallow a large lump as I read the words in red.
And then the blood is on your hands...leaving a stain...and what better way to say...that you enjoy your lover's pain?
My mouth parts in fear, as I hear a buzz from my phone.
I look down, seeing a notification from Instagram.
Hello, dsaunders00! You have an unread message from silass94!
Unread message from...from Silas?!
I quickly open it, the rabbit mask falling out of my hand.
My eyes widen and I let out a gasp at my screen, shaking my head in disbelief.
I'm back from the grave, princess! After eight months...you must've missed me! I have a way for us to start off on the right foot again! What about a game of Truth or Dare? I'll give you a dare as a start. I dare you to not scream.
My heart thumps in my chest, and I frantically type back.
Why?!
I watch how it says he's typing.
Because I'm right behind you.