I'm So Sorry

Chapter Fifteen

Ben

I enter the Atwell house rolling my eyes. I've never had to do this dare before. Randy did it last year, Mason the year before and Jackson the year before that. It's boring at this point, but it works, it's effective. It used to be funny, but for some reason, no longer is in the slightest. Not to mention I'm wearing what looks like swim shorts because that's all I grabbed by accident before I left this morning when I grabbed my wrestling gear. So it's not that big of a deal to me to be honest. I don't even care.

I grab a plastic bag from the garage where everyone knows they reside and head into the bathroom to rid myself of my boxer briefs. Once underwear free, I quickly pull my pants back on and shut off the light, walking to the door to rejoin everyone in the yard.

I open the back door and immediately hear a loud thud.

I turn around, starring at my surroundings. What the hell was that? I wait a second, trying to depict if it was just from upstairs, where Mr. and Mrs. Atwell are currently.

The thud sounds again, this time louder and more prominent. I immediately close the back door and start walking the perimeter of the kitchen, unsure what is happening.

A deep, heavy laugh suddenly emanates in my ears, a laugh that is for making fun of someone, a laugh that sends a cold chill down my back.

A voice sings out very soft but terrifies me. "I raped your sis-ter. I raped your sis-ter. There's nothing you can do-oo. There's nothing you can do-oo."

My heart begins beating heavily in my chest and my breathing becomes rapid and hot. Tears sting the edge of my eyes as I back up against the counter, remembering there's a knife rack next to me. I look up and reach in, holding the knife tightly in my hand, darting my eyes around the room again. "Come on out you sick bastard," I speak, my voice thick.

"Come and find me." The voice is filled with putrid filth, evil and taunting me. I want to scream. I want to punch and kick that fucking asshole in the face and stab him over and over and over again until his blood has spilled from his body, totally drained from him. I want him to feel the hurt he made Jessie feel. I want him to suffer a slow and painful death.

"Quit hiding from me and fight me like a man," I call out to the first floor.

Silence answers me.

Mason

"Pass me the s'mores bag?" Jackson asks, moving up in his chair.

Randy reaches down and grabs the bag, passing it to his sister, who passes it to Jackson.

"Thanks," he says, going through it.

"How much longer is he going to be?" Olivia asks, rolling my eyes.

"I thought I heard the back door open," Shannon tells her. She turns her head to look back at her house again. "I must have misheard. Which is weird. You guys don't usually take this long. It's just a simple, easy dare that I'm kinda glad we got out of the way early this year."

"Why?" Randy asks his sister, staring into the fire pit. "If you hate it so much, why are we even playing this game?"

"Because it's a tradition, maybe?" Shannon sasses back. "We've done it for years, it's something everyone always comes around to do and it's something everyone is used to. You have a problem with it?"