Edge of the Dark // Noa Olivar

v. definitely not a sextape

It was so strange standing around in a house they all knew held a suicide not that very long ago. For Joey specifically, it felt eerie to be there. This had been her second home. Her second family. Davie was the closest thing to a healthy relationship with a mother figure she was able to develop after Ronnie packed her bags and checked herself into a psych ward.

She spent so much time crashing with Davie and Imogen, sometimes even bringing Kiara along with her to keep her away from Carter, but as time passed, she became concerned that they were overstaying their welcome consistently and that they were only burdening Davie with more problems, so they stopped coming over.

Davie, being the loving, caring, and nurturing mother that she was, reassured them that it wasn't a problem and that she was actually thinking about making it a more permanent thing, but obviously that never happened. She took her own life a few days later and now all Joey was left with were the memories they made along the way.

Her gaze darted around the room, taking everything in one last time. It was just as she remembered, but this time there was no cheerful Davie welcoming her inside and greeting her with a hug. It was empty and lonely. The atmosphere felt cold, even. Joey crossed her arms to conceal her chill, her shoulder brushing against Noa's.

"My mom's a real estate agent." Tabby broke the silence, staring off into the second floor. "She says bad things have happened in most houses, but this is an Amityville level of weird, right?"

Joey nodded silently, the hairs on the back of her neck rising whilst she felt herself grow more uneasy. The entire place was filled with silence, the creaking of wood being caused by literal air passing through as they just stood there.

"Like, I'm getting some serious 'Poltergeist' vibes right now." Tabby voiced, concern rising for her friend who so happened to be taking an insane amount of time to simply gather her phone. She hesitated in taking a step closer to the stairway and called out, "Imogen? Everything okay?"

"Maybe one of us should go up there?" Noa inquired, looking over at her friends.

"Yeah," Faran replied casually. "Maybe you should."

Joey snickered, earning herself a hard jab to her abdomen from Noa who rolled her eyes at the mockery. The comment, however, was exactly what Joey needed to quit being so hyper-focused on the past. She took a step toward the stairs, deciding to give in and check on Imogen herself since none of the other girls seemed willing to go up there.

"Hey, Imogen? You okay up—"

"Hey?"

A scream erupted from each of the girls as Imogen's sudden voice and body appeared to their left instead of up the stairway where they saw her go a few minutes ago. Joey clutched at her own chest, eyes closed as she recovered from the fright she just endured. She took a step back and sat down on the stairs momentarily as the other girls settled down.

"Oh my god!" Tabby had yelled the second she appeared. "No jump scares ever!"

"Jesus, Imogen! Where the fuck did you even come from?" Joey asked, setting her elbows on her thighs as she covered her face. "We literally saw you go up the stairs!"

Joey was already used to jump scares with Kiara as the little culprit. There were one too many times where her little sister had hidden behind a door or under her bed just for the sole purpose of getting a scream or fierce jump out of her. The bubbly laughter from the small girl was worth it, but ever since she's been gone, Joey's guard has been lowered.