Deep Waters

Chapter Fifty-Six

Jay drove slowly through the night. Kason and I sat in the backseat, him taking up both the left and middle seat by stretching out and me cooped up tightly against the window. I didn't mind too much. Yes, it was uncomfortable but I was focused on watching the snowfall. It never snowed this early in the year. It was only late October. But unlike Kason and Jay, I didn't mind the cold. Bundling up in a hoodie and sweatpants is what I would prefer any day.

We were currently on our way to the "new" house that Daniel had hooked us up with. Daniel had thought that it would be more discrete with us traveling at night, even though it was only a few hours from Jay's parents' house. Personally, I didn't see the point of valuing discreteness if I was literally wanting Charles to find me. We were going here so I could wait for him, so why bother trying to have a safe journey?

Watching Jay say goodbye to his parents broke my cracked heart in two. Every single one of us knew this goodbye to them was probably his last. I had to watch as Shanice and Andre's hearts shattered. But they let Jay come with us. They knew this is what he wanted, so they didn't argue with him. They didn't beg him to stay. Which I think made it a lot easier on Jay. He hadn't said much this whole drive, but I could tell leaving was difficult for him.

At one point, the white snowfall in the dark sky melted into a dream. I was now standing in a plain white room, one that reminded me of a place for the mentally ill that needed to be isolated. All my friends were there, along with Gavin, Kason, Jay's parents, and the woman and daughter I had once stolen a car from. They all stood in a single file line, in the order that I met them, Gavin being in the back and the nameless woman's daughter upfront. Gunshots sounded in a uniform rhythm and one-by-one everyone I had met was murdered by a bullet to the brain. It was then when I realized Charles was standing behind me, firing the weapon over my right shoulder. It would have been better if he had done it all at once. Maybe then it would have been easier. Instead, he did it one scream at a time.

The last one standing was my brother, Gavin. I stared at him, my eyes now filled with all the tears sprung from all the innocent lives taken away. He stood about twenty feet in front of me, a distance of dead bodies between us. "Don't kill him," I begged my father, not daring to look away. "Don't kill him...please." I couldn't lose my brother. He was the one that kept me sane. He knew me like no other ever could. I needed him.

My words did nothing and Charles killed him without a single hesitation. By now, tears were streaming nonstop down my cheeks and under my chin. Without speaking a single word or showing a single expression, Charles turned around and walked toward the white door that blended in with the walls. Screaming in anger, I reached and clawed at the biggest monster in my life. My fingers moved right through him as if he was just some ghost from my past, and to my panic, he walked right out the door, locking me in behind him.

I yelled and clawed at the cracks of the door until my throat was raw and my fingertips bled. But in the end, it was no use because no matter how much I complained or screamed, he was gone and I was the one left surrounded by the bodies and blood. I was left with his mess.

#

Jay's voice woke me up. "Alright people. Let's check this place out."

I opened my eyes just in time to see Jay open the driver's door and disappear out of the car. Sitting up and glancing out the window, I saw that we had arrived at an old house. The place I assumed we'd be staying until further notice. Unbuckling, I reached for my car door handle, but Kason's arm reached out to me and stopped my movements by wrapping his fingers gently around my elbow. I looked at him and watched him search my eyes. Worry filled his own as he reached up and caressed his thumb down my cheek. "You okay?" he asked me softly. "What did you dream about?"

"The usual," I answered without any emotion. I didn't see the point in explaining every single one of my dreams to everyone when the gist of them was all the same. Everyone died, except for me. I was always left to deal with the aftermath.

With a deep frown, my boyfriend leaned in close to place a kiss on my forehead. His lips lingered softly and for a long moment. "I love you," he reminded me, finally pulling back to his seat.

I smiled genuinely at him close-lipped and softly. "I know."

We both climbed out of the car and faced the unfamiliar building in front of us from the driveway. It was small and old, looking like it could fall with a single poke like a house of cards. Sighing, I crossed my arms over my chest, shivering from the cold. There weren't neighbors close, but their lighted windows were in sight though in the distance. They were far enough away that if I yelled from here, I didn't know if they would hear.

Jay and Kason grabbed our bags from the trunk of the stolen car while I reached out and caught snowflakes in the palm of my hand. They melted upon impact. A loud "clunk" filled the air as one of the boys slammed the trunk door closed and a "beep" followed after as one locked the vehicle. As I followed the two boys up to the front door, a security camera caught my eye. I couldn't help but stare at it as I waited for them to unlock the door. At least we would know if someone would show up unexpectedly. Which was expected. What?

From the inside, the house looked a little more stable. Though I could bet ten bucks that I could still have the house on the ground with a sledgehammer in as little time as an hour. There was one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. That's it. A raggy couch sat in the otherwise empty living room with shredding bright green fabric and holes big enough for mice to run through. More unfortunate than the century-old couch, was the fact that there wasn't a bed. It was just an empty room. Actually, I take that back. Considering the state of the couch, maybe we were better off without a rat-infested bed.

"It's only a temporary stay anyway," Jay commented optimistically. Tossing his bags on the creaky bedroom floor, he started laying out the blankets we brought.

"Someone could take the couch," I brought up, seeing that all our blankets were being made into three makeshift beds.

Jay looked at me as if I had just said that I forgave Charles for everything he's ever done. "Absolutely not! There are definitely ghosts in this house," he assured me.

Kason sat down the bags in his arms and just stared at our friend. "What does that have to do with sleeping on the couch?"

Jay huffed. "If I'm here with your ugly face, they will be scared and leave me alone." My boyfriends growled at his words but I couldn't help but laugh.