Sam felt bad. He had ruined his sister's day because he let his emotions towards someone else cloud his vision. He despised Dylan, but he could have kept to himself. He tried texting Taraya, but he wasn't surprised to see that she hadn't answered any of them.
Delivered. They read. She hadn't even looked at them. He sighed and put his phone away. He didn't want to go home for the time being because he wanted her to have her space because he knew how she could get when she was upset. Maybe he actually wanted to escape her rage.
He sat there in the cafe for a few hours, listening to the blues that were playing in the background. BB King's The Thrill Is Gone. Sam loved this song. He stayed for a bit until it finished, humming along to the energetic beat. He looked at his phone once more and realized what time it was. The party was in twenty minutes and there was no way that Taraya stayed home. He rushed out onto the street and hurried home.
-Ω-
Taraya had just finished getting ready when there was a knock at the door. She was finishing her makeup look for the night. She looked into the mirror and was very happy with herself. She looked good, or at least she thought so. She went to answer the door as she set down her eyeliner. When she opened the door, she saw Dylan holding a rose.
"Is that for me?" She asked, smiling up at him. The difference in height was pretty funny. She always thought of him as a big, friendly giant. This always warmed her heart up. He looked down at her and handed it to her. She smelled it and the aroma was sweet and heavenly.
"A beautiful rose for a beautiful girl." Dylan said. The smile on his face defined his sharp jawline. The sun was starting to set and the orange light gleamed on his skin, making his skin seem to glow. It was a wonderful sight to Taraya, seemingly the perfect time to take a photo. As tempted as she was, she kept the urge in and gestured for him to come inside.
"Feel free to get comfortable. I'm almost ready. Just some finishing touches." She said turning back and heading into the bathroom to finish applying her makeup. Dylan followed her into the hallway and began observing the pictures hanging on the walls.
"Are these of you and Sam?" he asked. One picture caught his eye. It was of Taraya when she was little. She was in the grass playing with a dog. Dylan smiled at the picture but it faded once he looked at the background. Behind the bushes was a shadow. It looked like a blur but it was shaped like a snake. It had a humanoid face and it was grinning. The smile was wide and frightening. He blinked a few times and looked at different angles but it was there. It seemed like the face was following him. He backed up and walked towards the bathroom to see Taraya. She was still applying makeup.
"Your pictures are making creepy faces at me." He said, his face a bit flushed. Taraya looked at him a bit strange and laughed.
"I know I was an ugly kid but I wasn't that ugly." She said, chuckling. She set her makeup down and walked into the hallway. "Which picture are you talking about?" She asked him. he pointed at the one he was examining and she looked at it. "What's the problem?" She asked, confused at his reaction.
"There was something in the back." he said pointing. He was shocked to find nothing there. "It was there. I swear-" He said before getting cut off.
"Just relax. I think you're just stressed. It's fine. Look there's nothing there," she pointed at the picture once more. "See?" She hung it back on the wall and walked past him. Maybe it was just his imagination. "Are you ready?" Taraya asked him. Her smile made Dylan feel warm. His worries melted away in that exact moment and he had already forgotten about the picture.
"Yeah. I'm waiting on you, slowpoke." He said, jokingly. With that, they walked out the door and drove to the party.
-Ω-
Sam had run to the house as fast as he could but he could tell that they were already gone. For one, Taraya was the only person in the house that left the door unlocked and two, the lights were off. He walked inside and sat down. He didn't want to go to the party, but he had to make sure his sister stayed out of trouble. And he didn't want her and Dylan....Jesus Christ. He thought to himself. He didn't even want to think about what might happen.
He got dressed and began walking. On the way there, he checked his phone. He noticed that he had twenty-nine missed calls. Who tried calling me twenty-nine times? He thought. That was just insanity in his eyes. He clicked on the strange number and put the phone to his ear. For the first few seconds, all he got was dial tone. He waited a bit longer and was about to hang up when he heard a click. Someone had answered but they weren't saying anything.
"Hello? Who is this?" Sam asked, frantic for answers. "Why did you call me so many times?" No reply. There were seconds of heavy breathing that felt like an eternity. Then a voice. It was raspy and faint but it was there.
"Twenty-nine days. Twenty-nine days. That's all you get, Sam. " The voice was scratchy and whoever was on the other end sounded deathly ill. The voice sounded like death in Sam's ears. He was getting freaked out.
"I'm going to call the police if you don't tell me who you are." Sam said. His voice was shaking and he was genuinely scared. He felt a cold shiver go down his back and he could have swore that her heard faint laughter. He turned around with the phone in his ear and saw no one.
"Not behind you." The voice said, chuckling evilly. Suddenly, the shiver grew worse. "Twenty-nine days. That's all you get, Sam." the voice repeated. It began to laugh maniacally through the phone and Sam hung up. He started speed walking to the house and was there within five minutes.
He knocked on the door and waited for an answer. He felt like he was being watched so he turned around. He glanced at the mailbox. It was worn down and there were scratches all over it. It seemed as if neighborhood kids came here from time to time to inscribe initials into it instead of a bench at the park. He looked closer at the scratches and his heart dropped. On the back, a larger scratch than the others could be seen.
29
His hear rate increased and he could feel it beating through his chest. He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. He looked into the sky at all of the colors beautifully blended together. When he was calm, he glanced across the street and seen was a figure in black clothing. He had on heavy equipment and a mask, so Sam couldn't see his face. There had been cars and people outside the minute before, but now the street showed no signs of life at all. The figure began walking towards Sam. The steps were steady and patient as if he wanted Sam to panic.
His breathing got heavy and he tried opening the door. The knob wouldn't budge. He turned around to see the man still approaching, getting closer and closer. Sam closed his eyes and took a breath. It isn't real. He thought. He opened his eyes and the man was right in front of him. He launched his hands out and grabbed Sam's shoulders with an iron grip that he couldn't escape from. His hands were cold as ice.
Sam gasped and backed into the door which was now open. He bumped into someone and turned around. It was a girl. She gave him a dirty look and gestured him inside. He turned back around and the man was gone and the street had been filled with cars and people again.
"Are you okay?" the girl asked. She was much shorter than Sam was so he had to look down to face her.
"I'm fine I just thought.." He didn't finish. He knew that she wouldn't believe him. She didn't even know him. Instead, he smiled awkwardly and stepped inside the house.