The Blackwood Curse

The Invite

I hear the phone ring in the hall. I finish drying my hair and go to answer.
"Hi"
"Hey Maxie"
I freeze. I haven't heard that voice since...
"Josh?"
"That's me"
Immediately the scar on my chest starts tingling. I swallow back a nervous sigh.
"Uh...what's up?"
I feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. We never officially broke up after what happened last year, but it's in the air. It changed both of us. I should have been there for him for longer. I stood by him for a couple of months, but then I had a mental breakdown and had to go home. I contacted him as much as I could, but I had a lot of stuff to deal with.
"Before I say...what I'm gonna say...I want to let you know that you shouldn't feel guilty about leaving. You needed...uh...support. That wasn't...isn't your fault"
Wow. It's been months but he can still read my mind like a book.
"Thanks Josh. It helps to hear that"
"...good"
There is a long pause. I miss him, it's true, but the last time I saw him he wasn't himself at all. He had changed. I hope he got some help. I dread to think what could've happened if he didn't.
"Listen. We...I...am getting all of us back together again. For the, uh, anniversary. You don't have to, but I wanted to ask you if you...wanted to come?"
I can picture him flinching as he says that last part. I get a horrible feeling creeping up my spine. My mind hasn't been right; not since I saw that thing. I don't know if I can cope with being on the same mountain.
"Jeez, Josh. I-I don't know. I've changed a lot and...I don't know what the others would think. I don't know what you would think"
"I promise that everything will work out, okay? I won't let anything happen, I swear"
I sigh. He's so persuasive; always has been. Plus, it would be nice to see him and the others. It might even help me. I look at myself in the mirror.
My dirty blonde hair is cut into a messy, shaggy pixie with a sweeping fringe. I have gained muscle from all of my sports therapy; mainly boxing, unsurprisingly. My right eyebrow is pierced. I have small bags under my eyes that I gained over the last year, although I feel like I've aged at least ten. I have the Japanese Kanji for strength tattooed on my wrist. I basically did all of the things that I have always wanted to, but the others were there to stop me from doing.
I look down at my tattoo.
Come on, Max. Be strong.
"Okay Josh. I'll be there"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. It'll be cool to see everyone again"
"Thanks, Maxie. This means a lot to me"
"Oh, and Josh?"
"Yeah?"
"It's Max now"
He chuckles on the other end. The signal starts failing.  He says something, but it's unintelligible amongst all of the crackling and static.
"What? You're breaking up?" I shout at the receiver.
"I said see you there, 'Max'!"
"Sure"
Josh hangs up. I put down the phone and cross my arms.
I get flashbacks to last year.
'I swear if you didn't hang out with us you would be a total punk badass' Sam says as I pull my suitcase out of my wardrobe. I run a hand through my fringe. Well, Sam, you weren't wrong.
'I don't want a hangover' I whine as I pack some snow clothes. Hah, I forgot I used to be such a lightweight.
'Lemme kiss you' drunk Josh pleads. I stop for a moment. It isn't the first time that I wish I had taken him up on that offer.
Then the screams.
I have to sit down for a moment. I can still see both of them dangling from the cliff face. I can still picture that creature only inches above me, snarling as it prepared to deal the final blow.
I feel panic rising inside. I start controlling my breathing and try to stop remembering.
Breath in through your nose.
Out through your mouth.
In, out. In, out. Until my heart stops racing. In, out. In, out. Until the images stop flooding back.
In, out. In, out.
Eventually I begin to feel calmer again. I resume packing with one thought:
'Terrible idea'