"Aaron! Are you dressed?!" Yelled a voice from downstairs unknowingly falling on deafened ears. Aaron sat complacently on top of his blue sheets happily blasting music inside of his headphones. Music was a gateway for Aaron, a portal to escape the confines of reality and it was at times like this he really wished music was a portal to a different world.
Tonight Aaron was being dragged to their neighbor's house for dinner, something about their daughter returning from a long trip or something. Aaron didn't understand why they had to go because after all he barely even knew these people and now they were being invited over for dinner? Aaron smelt something fishy and not just the Salmon Casserole they were bringing over.
Suddenly the door to Aaron's room flung open a red and hunched-over woman standing inside the doorway. "Aaron! I've been calling you for five minutes! We are running late so put on that damn tie and get in the car!" Ties. The bane of his existence. In Aaron's opinion, clip-on ties were fine. They're simple to put on, and most importantly served the EXACT same purpose. Still, according to Aaron's mother, clip-ons didn't look as fancy or some other line of bull. In his defense, regular ties required a level of coordination and patience he just didn't possess.
Begrudgingly Aaron rolled out of bed and onto the cold hardwood floor. "We're leaving in five minutes." His mother said as she frantically tapped her brown leather watch. "You BETTER be down there!" Like a Titan with drums for feet, Aaron's mother stomped down the stairs with a certain weight in the way she walked.
After more than a few failed attempts, Aaron successfully tied his red and blue striped noose around his neck in the narrow amount of time allotted to him by that feral beast he calls his mother. Slinging his headphones over his neck Aaron hastily ran downstairs and out the front door, their family's blue sedan an unwelcome sight in the driveway.
Imagine the frustration when he pulled on the door handle only to receive no response.
"Of COURSE it's locked!" Aaron's foot met the door with a loud bang a large dirt footprint visible on the paint. Suddenly the loud reverberations of an engine tore through the air followed by the burning smell of smog. Aaron perked up at the sight of a large U-Haul truck, its worn orange paint and ghastly engine indicative of its age. Hastily it sped down the street bouncing in the air as it hit potholes as well as some kid's bike.
New people moved in all the time, sure, but this one caught his attention. The condition of the paint and engine was terrible and the carelessness of how it drove was even stranger but those things he might have ignored. But when the truck stopped down the street THEN he was intrigued. Gazing down the long row of street lights Aaron surveyed the scene of movers. They were carrying in some brightly colored furniture, posters, and what looked like some clothing. He could be wrong but it seemed that they were carrying things for a girl's room.
Of course! Aaron thought back on his mother's words. In truth, he wasn't paying too much attention but he did remember her saying that their neighbor's daughter was returning from a long trip.
"They must have shipped in her stuff..." He mumbled under his breath. "Come again?" Startled Aaron whipped around and formed a finger gun at his mother, her ear inches away from him. "O-oh. I was just talking to myself." Unconvinced Aaron's mother waltzed over to the driver's side door before letting her son inside as well. The smell of dried bleach stung Aaron's nose as he entered the car, a short and silent ride awaiting the duo.
He wondered what these people were like, Were they nice? Is their house inhospitable? Are they secretly a reclusive cannibal cult? Who knows? But more importantly, what was their daughter like? If she was around his age he was guaranteed to be paired up with her at some point. No, not like that! More like when the adults want to talk about adult things, so they dump their children off on each other and tell them to poke their eyes out with sticks for an hour.
The thing is when you're a sophomore in high school and you see someone of the opposite gender you don't tend to aim your stick at their eyes. Audible whining in the pistons the car came to a stop, the tray of salmon warming Aaron's lap on contact. "Take it inside will you?" Of course, he would! What was he gonna say no? Careful not to rip the tinfoil seal Aaron haphazardly carried the pan to the door, the billow of steam a stark contrast to the cold, damp weather.
Part of Aaron didn't want the door to open...the rest wanted to put the hot ass tray down. Of course, as he predicted the door flung open orange lamp light flushing the outside world. Wide eyes surveyed the bronze figure that opened the door hungry for every detail they could gather.
Onyx curly hair reaching down to her nape, flawless complexion, very bony like she hasn't eaten in EONS. If I wasn't so well informed I would have assumed she jumped out of the grave and was here to eat our flesh. Aaron noted that she had a young complexion and her height was just slightly taller than his. "Uh...hello? Just static upstairs or are you gonna let us in?"
Aaron's mother glared at him, the orange light seemingly transforming her pupils into an evil crimson. "That was rude!" She chided to which Aaron shrugged, still examining his quarry. "I mean I'm just narrating at this point. No real harm there." Apprehension flooded his mind as something moved in the corner of his eye. "Heeey!" The three stopped in their tracks as an equally tan woman approached them, this one more appropriate. This new figure was taller than what seemed to be her spawn and her face boasted blemishes, unlike her daughter.
"Sorry." She said with a wide toothy smile. "We've got something of a move going on at the moment, But we're still happy to welcome you!" Bit of a spokesperson eh? Aaron thought. With open arms, Aaron and his salmon casserole were invited into the house, a throng of blue collars carrying boxes upstairs.
Finding the dining room table Aaron sat the casserole beside a dish of what he hoped was Mac'n cheese. The home was nice, like really nice. Like the "I just finished cleaning up" type of nice not the "Oh we like to keep a clean household" type of nice. The floors were shiny, the table smelt of bleach, there were spray bottles on the counter, hell the damn trash can was full!
Aaron didn't find anything wrong with all this; he simply wondered what the house normally looked like. Aaron pulled out his phone and began mindlessly scrolling away at one of his many mobile games. "Stupid guard rails!" He grieved. Dexterously Aaron's mother ripped the phone from his hands, the cellular device devoured by the dark, endless abyss of her purse.
"H-Hey! Why'd you-" He was cut off at the waving of his mother's hand. "No phones at the table, that's disrespectful! You'll get it back when we're done." Aaron slumped in his seat, a look of complete and utter despair present on his face. "Great!" He cried.
"Between Salmon Casserole and Macaroni and sweaty cheese, I will die of food poisoning before I get to finish that level!" The worst part for Aaron wasn't that the Macaroni looked unappetizing, the worst part was that IT WASN'T EVEN FRESH! For starters unlike when Mac N cheese is first cooked this abomination had completely solid cheese and pasta that had congealed together.
The tin foil covering it was cold and wrinkled and there was condensation on the sides of the pan! Christ on a bike! Never has he seen a dish that looked so inedible that the flies around it were dying from the stench alone...and this is coming from someone whose OWN MOTHER thought that Salmon Casserole was somehow a humane way of feeding others. Every single one of them was going to hell for food sins.
Soon after that a man introduced himself as "Mr. Payne" to Aaron and his mother and informed them that they had to make the final preparations for the night's dinner. Aaron's mother and who they could only assume to be "Ms. Payne" struck up a conversation forcing Aaron to retreat to the bathroom before his ears imploded at their prattling.
Ms. Payne told Aaron the guest bathroom was "Upstairs and to the left." Which Aaron already knew was the staging ground for another encounter with this extremely odd family.
Warily Aaron tip-toed down the carpeted hallway the smell of mildew wafting from the end of the hallway. "Guess they couldn't hit upstairs in time then..." Slowly Aaron's hand edged its way towards the doorknob adrenaline running up his spine. Tenderly his fingertips touched the metal knob sending danger signals ringing in his mind. His ears twitched at the sound of rolling kinda like...toilet paper...It's occupied!
With utmost haste Aaron spun on his heel determined not to be caught in an awkward situation...unfortunately it seems the most powerful demons are the ones we make ourselves. Standing before him was the girl who answered the door when he first arrived in hell, her hands were clasped behind her back and she was...frowning.
Doesn't matter what's happening there has never been a time in the history of the world where frowning has been a good thing. "You seem distraught." She said with a voice that might have sounded wise and powerful if it wasn't so high-pitched.
Well, her voice wasn't too high to where it almost sounded squeaky but just enough to where you can tell it was a fifteen-year-old girl who still was trying to figure out why her dad has a box of empty yogurt tubes hidden in his dresser.
"Mom drag you here? Stressed out? Social anxiety?" She said with a tone just shy of being condescending. Aaron already thought this girl was a freak but now it ALL started to add up. She didn't say anything at the door because she was too busy getting a read on them! That wasn't exactly unheard of especially for people you're inviting into your home but this girl seemed to be taking things to a new extreme.
Well if that's how she wants to do things...
"Listen, lady, I'm not really into freak shows alright? I've got enough to deal with already starting with the fact that I'm going to have to explain to my teacher tomorrow that I was absent because I was busy getting my stomach pumped.." The girl just stood there, her eyes locked on Aaron's.
"I mean don't get me wrong! You seem nice and all...it's just that your house belongs in a Febreeze commercial and your dad is downstairs microwaving eight-day-old Macaroni and Cheese!" The pair just stood there in that narrow hallway, the sound of the AC all that was left to provide ambiance.
Aaron knew this game well and its rules were all determined by how one chose to play. Awkward staring matches were the coup de grace of potential friendships. They set boundaries and limits and it showed the other what it meant to be dominant, an alpha...a centurion. Aaron's silver eyes met the girl's leafy green pupils, their center dark and endless. She wouldn't move, there was no sway in her movements, her hair was standing before the AC but remained still, even her nostrils showed no signs of opening or closing...was she even breathing?
Then it became apparent someone thought the house was too hot and decided to turn the AC up. The thing is the Payne's didn't clean upstairs and sure as hell like a fake snow machine the vent blew dust and lint everywhere leaving upstairs looking like a coal factory in nineteenth-century England. In that instant, the girl was caught off guard forcing her to blink in surprise...
...Victory.
His spirits high and his disgust higher, Aaron scuttled downstairs. After the duel things were smooth for a while despite the obvious sounds of a microwave in the background. Once the food was done being reheated that girl came back downstairs a small kid with caked-up snot around his nose following close behind. He was wearing a purple button-up and worn down converse sneakers much like Aaron's. Together Aaron, his mother, and the Payne family all sat at the table as the obligatory awkward moment of silence took place...
Every dinner party, every thanksgiving, every single social event known to man has a part where everyone is sat at the table and says nothing for thirty seconds while they wait for someone to break the ice. Sometimes someone will offer to say grace, other times the food will start to go cold and someone will decide to dig in...other times someone will do something stupid like spilling their drink which will force everyone to attend to the issue creating more tension than there was before...
...Guess who spilled their drink...
Yep. That little kid who just arrived at the table managed to splatter Hawaiian punch all over the floor in a stunning display of ineptitude and oblivious grandeur. The kid's dad practically picked him up and dragged him upstairs as his washed-out jeans dripped juice all over their carpets. Silence gripped the room again as the air turned so stale you could practically see the germs floating in it as the four sat in their seats avoiding any sort of eye contact.
"Food seems nice," Aaron said with a voice so dry it sounded like he'd returned from a long voyage in the Sahara. "Thank you!" Said Ms. Payne with a relieved tone. "We spent hours working on it!"
I didn't know Microwaves took so long to heat food. Aaron thought to himself. "As you know I'm Ms. Payne and this..." She gestured toward her daughter with a motion that made it seem as though she was unveiling a shiny new car about to be driven off the lot. "Is my daughter, Eve." Aaron did his best to smile knowing full well what transpired in the hallway. "Hello." He tried to sound as natural as possible.
Ten minutes later the lot of them were holding hands in prayer, getting ready to dig into their last meal before they all asked to be lobotomized so they wouldn't have to remember the horrible food. "Lord, Thank you for giving us the strength to cook this meal..." Never in his life has Aaron ever wanted to shout bullshit more than this. "And thank you for bringing our daughter to us safely, dear lord..."
Aaron glanced at Eve and found her already glaring at him as if she anticipated his gaze. Garnering their attention Mr. Payne butted into the prayer. "And thank you Lord for my new promotion at the office, you know that I've been gunning for it." If looks could kill then Ms. Payne would have started another Holocaust.
"And please keep my husband faithful at the workplace, dear Lord. You know he needs help..." What a stark contrast to their initial sunny disposition. Aaron thought.
"And please help my wife to realize that Martha is the secretary and nothing else..."
This was getting out of pocket and into the open where it could fester and develop into something more serious. One would think that esteemed hosts such as themselves would take better care than to argue during the prayer of all things. By now Aaron was practically drowning in his seat as though the cushion beneath him would shield him from the nuclear fallout. What a strange and frivolous family...Aaron felt like an observer. Like he wasn't even here and that he was simply watching this social napalm combust.
A few minutes later everyone started eating...Well, Aaron's mother was eating, Everyone else was just prodding at their food so it looked like they were eating when in reality no one had taken a single bite of their food for over an hour. It's appalling really. To serve a guest something you wouldn't dare consume is a sign of carelessness or maybe even spite. And then there was Eve and the way she just kept glaring at Aaron while everyone just played it off as if it was completely normal.
The thing that was worrying is that the Payne's seemed genuinely convinced that everything here was normal. He didn't pay much mind to it before but the more Aaron looked around the stranger this house seemed. There were no pictures anywhere in the house, not even family photos, no coats on the coat rack, shoes on the shoe shelf, magnets on the fridge.
It's hard to explain but...
Eve's gaze seemed to harden at Aaron.
This place seems so lived in...yet so untouched at the same time.
Sure it was clear the place was recently cleaned but that doesn't explain the photos or placid stares the Payne's were giving as they watched Aaron and his mother. Humans have instincts just for times like this and the Payne's were living proof of it.
Another hour passed and Aaron was back in his room starving yet relieved as he was swallowed by his navy blue sheets. Usually, Aaron would have his curtains open just enough to let the moonlight in, but not tonight. The whole ordeal at his neighbor's house left a bad taste in his mouth and he didn't even eat anything!
His mom seemed to have enjoyed herself so Aaron supposed there was a win somewhere in the whole ordeal, still, that didn't change his less than optimistic demeanor. Rolling under the covers, Aaron allowed his eyes to slam shut as he toiled to get some rest. It wasn't long after he slipped into unconsciousness that a ghastly breeze tore through the bedroom almost freezing the air as it knocked over some scattered clutter. "Unnnn...huh? Damn must have left the window open..." Glimpsing out into the driveway Aaron swore he saw something run behind the car before being enveloped by the darkness.
On the windowsill was a small key glimmering in the moonlight, it was rusted and old as it threatened to fall into the yard below. Intrigued, Aaron grabbed the small key, his eyes ravenously inspecting its makeup. It definitely wasn't a key he's seen before and the key is so...corroded that the boy can't see it fitting into any locks at all. That didn't even begin to answer why the key was here in the first place. The window was closed when Aaron went to bed. He's sure of it and even weirder was the fact that the wind halted as soon as Aaron noticed the key.
As if on cue the winds started back up as Aaron made a mental note of them, needless to say, the boy was puzzled as to what was happening. Still too tired to investigate further Aaron sat the small key on his desk as he climbed back into bed, his brain practically throbbing from all the headaches.