Hell's Love

Chapter 5

    "This is going to be so much fun!" Kaiya said as we sat in Natasha's living room. Natasha's house was beautiful. Her parents were both lawyers and made a lot of money. They had just spent thousands on remodeling their living room. The walls had a new coat of paint and the furniture was specially ordered from China. The color scheme of the living room had changed from summer patterns to winter ones. 
    "They did a great job on the place," Kaiya said and sprawled her tiny body on the red leather couch.
    "They did." I agreed. "Are you excited to meet Dominic tonight?"

    "So excited!" Kaiya responded with her eyes lit up. Kaiya wore a blue button-down shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans. To top off the outfit, she wore a white scarf and a pair brown boots. Her red hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. Kaiya would definitely have the attention of just about any boy tonight.
     "He won't be able to take his eyes off you," I said and pointed to her outfit. She looked down at her clothes.
    "You like it?" Kaiya asked.
    "Love it," I replied with a smile. "If Dominic asked, would you go out with him?"

    "Of course I would." She said. Her eyes widened and she frowned. "Do you not like him or something?"
    "I do. It's just I thought you liked Chester." I answered her as I moved to other couch and sat next to her.
    "I like Chester a lot. He's so hot, don't you think?"
    "I guess." Chester was attractive to many other girls at our school. He had spiked blonde hair and green eyes that seemed to smile.
    "If you weren't in love with Declan, then would you find him good looking?" She asked, sitting up.
    "No," I said and gave her ponytail a tug. "Because my best friend is head over heels for him."
    "He doesn't even notice me." Her shoulders slumped.
    "I thought the same with Declan, but here we are today. Take a chance with him. You never know what could happen."
    "You think I should?" She asked and gripped my arm. I nodded and she threw her arms around me.
    "You're my best friend too, Ava. I don't know what I'd do without you." She leaned back on the couch. "Are you okay with this movie night?"
    "Of course. It's going to a lot of fun." I lied and turned my attention to the new shiny coffee table. Truthfully, I hadn't slept since I had that dream and I couldn't keep my mind off what might happen.
   "I saw how Natasha has been trying to bait you and Declan."
   "She likes Declan. There's nothing we can do about that." I said. Natasha had a crush on Declan since the 8th grade, but she kept it to herself, mostly.
   "Does that make you angry?"
   I shook my head. "It's awful to like someone who is already in a relationship. She must be hurting."
  "We could talk to her," Kaiya suggested.
  "She wouldn't want to talk to me about that, but maybe you should." She nodded and we heard footsteps coming downstairs.
  "What's going on?" Natasha asked as she rounded the corner and sat in the chair next to us.
  "I'm going to talk to Chester." Kaiya filled her in.
  "It's about time," Natasha replied and grinned. Her black hair was curled and fell swiftly down her back. She wore a red dress with a jean jacket and a pair of black flats. "I thought you'd never go after him."
  "Sometimes you have to take the risk," Kaiya said and winked at me.
  "Where are the guys?" Natasha asked and checked her phone.
  "They'll be here soon," I informed her. "They had to make a stop on the way."
  "Did they say what they were doing?" I shrugged.
  "Probably getting food," Kaiya said as she leaned forward and grabbed the remote. "What are we watching?"
  "I haven't really decided," Natasha replied and looked through the movie list, as Kaiya scrolled. A moment later, we heard a knock at the door. Natasha stood and answered it. She returned with Dominic trailing behind her. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt with a black jacket over it. 
   "If looks could kill..." Natasha whispered to us with her eyes glazing over him.
   "Hey, guys." He greeted us.
   "Hi," I said and looked up at him. Kaiya stood.
   "Hello. I'm Kaiya Carrillo." She introduced herself and held out her hand.
   "Nice to meet you." He shook it.
  "We're waiting for the others," Natasha told him. He nodded and sat next to me. As he sat down, Natasha raised her eyebrows and smirked.
  "Would anyone like a drink?" She offered.
  "Sure," I said and Dominic nodded.
  "Kaiya, four drinks is a lot to carry. Will you give me a hand?"Natasha asked and Kaiya gave me a hesitant look. It's fine. I mouthed at her.
  "Okay, Tasha." She agreed as she followed her into the kitchen. I turned to Dominic.
 "How was your first week?"
 "Good. The classes aren't too hard." He replied while looking around Natasha's living room.
  "That's good. Are you finding your way around okay?"
  "Yeah, this town is smaller than my old one."
  "It is very small." I agreed. The temperature seemed to drop in Natasha's living room and I shivered.
  "Are you cold?" He asked and started taking off his jacket. I held up my hand.
  "I'm okay. Thank you, though." He slipped it back and stared at one of the picture frames.
  "Dominic, there something I need to tell you."
  "What's that?" He asked.
  "You know I'm with Declan." I began.
  "I've been overstepping my boundaries. I'm sorry. I know you and Declan are very close and it would take a lot to come between you."
 "It would. I love him. " I met his gaze. His green eyes seemed sad and distant. "I'm sorry."
 "He's lucky."
 "No, I'm the lucky one," I whispered as I turned away from him. The door opened and the others walked in.
 "We brought food," Chester announced, carrying several pizzas.
 "Tell me you got pepperoni," Natasha called to him. Aidan and Declan were behind him. I stood and walked over to Declan.
 "This must be Dominic." Aidan greeted him, warmly. "Aidan Brewer."
 "Nice to meet you." They shook hands. Chester nodded at him.
 "Chester Webb." We all grabbed some pizza and gathered on the couches.
 "How about a horror movie?" Natasha asked as picked up the remote and glanced around at us.
 "Sounds good to me," Chester replied.
 "Me too." Aidan agreed.
 "As long as it isn't gory." Kaiya piped in. I snuggled against Declan and Natasha turned off the lights. It will be okay. I reassured myself and watched the screen. The movie was a typical scary movie. It started out with a couple moving into an old house with a strange history and started noticing weird occurrences in the house. There were noises coming out of nowhere and doors slamming shut. Pieces of furniture flew across the room. Those parts didn't have much of an effect on me, but one part did. Later on, the man was possessed by the ghost in their house. When the man spoke, the voice wasn't his. He would shriek in the most spine chilling way. I felt lightheaded. The same things weren't happening to me. It wasn't possible. The dead stayed dead. They didn't come back. Unable to stand it any longer, I pulled myself off the couch.
 "You okay, Ava?" Chester asked with a piece of popcorn in his hand.
 "I just have to go to the bathroom." I breathed, feeling even dizzier. I raced upstairs and locked myself in the bathroom. There was definitely something haunting me, but who's to say that he wants to possess me? Maybe he has unfinished business. I turned on the sink and washed my face. After I dried my skin, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My brown hair was sloppily thrown into a ponytail. Turning my attention to my face, I noticed my pale skin was even more white and the little bit of color in my cheeks was gone. Fearful brown eyes looked back at me. Seconds later, the lights flickered and then it was dark. I flipped the switch on the wall, but the bulb didn't turn back on. I unlocked the bathroom door and turned the knob, but the door remained closed. Panic raced through me as cold air traveled through the room. He was here. I scanned the room and searched for some indication that someone was with me. There wasn't any.
  "I'm still here." A voice whispered from behind me. I slowly turned, preparing myself for what could be there. No one was there. The bathroom was still empty.
  "What do you want?" I asked, quietly. I waited for the response and felt my heart race in my chest.
 "I want your soul." The reply was so low I could barely hear it. I leaned forward. "Your soul! I want your soul!" The chilling voiced roared and knocked me off my feet. I smacked into the wall and collapsed on the bathroom floor.
  "Leave me alone." I whimpered. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
  "Ava?" Declan called. "Are you okay?"
  "I'm fine." My voice shook. I opened the door and tried to appear calm.

  "The movie's over. Chester, Aidan and Kaiya already left." He took my hand.
  "We should probably go." I leaned my head against his shoulder.
  "Are you sure you're okay?"
  "I'm sure," I muttered. We walked downstairs and grabbed our coats.
  "Do you guys need a ride?" Dominic offered. Declan looked at me.
  "Natasha picked me up."
  Declan nodded. "Thank you."
 "No problem." We went to Dominic's truck and climbed inside.

 "Is everything everything alright, Ava?" Dominic asked when we pulled out of the driveway.
"Yes."
"Did the movie scare you?"
"Yeah," I whispered. I looked out at the road in front of us and paid little attention to the conversation between Declan and Dominic. All I could think about was what might be waiting for me at home.