Temere Mortis

Chapter Fifteen

It was the day of Mallory's death party and Isla was definitively not looking forward to it. She had just arrived at Chrissy's apartment with Emma in tow. She had her outfit for the night ahead slung over one arm and a carrier bag full of unhealthy snacks on the other.

"Doritos!" Chrissy cried in excitement. "You're amazing, Isla." Isla laughed good naturedly.

"Who doesn't like Doritos?" she replied, holding them in the air in offering.

"Freaks, that's who," Emma chimed in, ripping open a bag of cookies and taking a bite.

"Y'know who's really a freak?" Christine asked with a mouth full of tangy cheese Doritos. "That guy from breakfast yesterday." Emma nodded in agreement. Isla found it ironic that they were calling Max the same name that he had used on them just yesterday.

"Bit possessive, wasn't he?" Emma added, chasing down her bite of cookie with a large gulp of diet coke. "I remember him from the day I moved in."

Isla shrugged, non-committedly. Her recent run in with the boy she once intended to date was still fresh in her mind, although she didn't like to admit it. It upset her that he felt the need to try and control her when he'd promised he was different.

"I think I must've led him on or something," she said, laying her outfit neatly over a comfy looking armchair in the living room. Chrissy snorted in a distinctly un-lady-like fashion.

"I'll say," she retorted. in her northern twang. "I'm pretty sure he thought you were married with five kids." Emma laughed, biting back a smile.

"I thought Henry and Isaac were going to kill him the moment he sat down," she admitted. "It was weird." Isla threw her hands up in frustration.

"Tell me about it," she huffed. Emma and Chrissy exchanged a meaningful look.

"Do you know what that was all about?" Emma asked her delicately as she poured the contents of her makeup bag out onto the floor. Isla shook her head in frustration.

"I genuinely don't," she said with complete honesty. "And I'd really rather have a night where I can forget about it if you don't mind."

Chrissy held up her hands in a surrendering motion, placating the rapidly angering girl before her.

"Don't blow your lid," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "Look, I'll ask the boys what their problem is, and you focus on beating that Max boy away with a stick, yea?"

Isla considered her for a moment then nodded, looking grateful.

"I don't mean to be so dramatic," she told the girls, quietly. They looked at her with sympathy.

"We get it, Alex is fresh." Chrissy responded, understandingly. "You're bound to be a bit sparky. But we've just started to like you and it'd be a shame if you were to blow your top and mess it up." Chrissy winked at Isla, but the undertone to her words was clear; Isla needed to reign in her temper. Isla chewed her lip and smiled. She liked Christine's no-nonsense attitude.

"Now let's talk about my new boyfriend, Pete."

At Christine's declaration all appeared to be forgotten. The girls got ready together, exchanging quips and stories from time to time. Chart music blasted in the background and roughly 2 hours later, although Isla had no idea how it had taken that long, the girls were ready.

Emma strode out of the bathroom, freshly changed; she wore a long black dress that went down to her knees. It was clear to Isla that she had taken to heart the funeral dress code. Comparatively Chrissy looked like a stripper, although she was only wearing a short black skirt and black t-shirt. Isla felt dour, in her black skinny jeans and lacey top but she matched the other two girls perfectly.

"The hair pieces!" Chrissy gasped, and Emma grinned in delight. "I almost forgot."

Chrissy ran into her room and re-emerged with what looked like three black clip-on masks. Delicate lace surrounded three small silver claw clips and ornate flowery patterns whirled around in spiral patterns throughout the material.

"They're a bit much, don't you think?" Isla asked the girls hesitantly, but their devious smiles didn't waver.

"It's tradition," Chrissy declared. "You have to wear one."

As the three of them clipped the pieces into their hair, Isla couldn't hold back a smile. They looked ridiculous.

"I'm not sure if we're supposed to be going to a Halloween party or staring in a punk-rock video," Isla admitted at Chrissy and Emma's questioning looks.

"It's honestly a bit of both," Emma told her with a sly smile.

Isla would like to say she was only going to this celebration due to her morbid curiosity about the support group's secretive traditions. Or maybe, just to fulfil her promise to Emma to give the support group a real shot. The real reason that Isla found herself looking forward to the night ahead however was that she quite fancied the idea of going out for the night.

Her drunken poker tournament at 11am with Danny, Ben, and Lucas hadn't counted in her eyes as a night on the town, and not only because it had occurred during the day. Then again, she supposed this hush hush night in with the support group probably wasn't going to paint the town red either. It was a much more appealing idea than spending another night on her own in bed watching films on her laptop however. Even if she was dressed in an outfit that was a mix of funeral attire and a jeans-and-a-nice-top ensemble ready for a club.

The venue for the Death Party was only a short bus ride away from Christine's apartment. The rickety movements of the bus made the girls sway unsteadily as they clung onto the vibrant yellow posts in the centre of the aisle. It was a relief when they reached their destination and could clamber out of the vehicle and onto the pavement. Emma and Chrissy lead a suspicious Isla towards a deathly silent building.

"It doesn't really look like a party," Isla observed, monotonously. She peered at what appeared to be a large warehouse curiously. "I can't even hear any music." Chrissy tapped the side of her nose conspiratorially.

"Ah, but it's a secret you see," she crowed ominously as the girls dragged Isla inside.

Isla had wondered if the building was merely sound proofed, but it was just as quiet on the inside as it had been from outside the front door.

"Good," a voice boomed around the spacious entrance way. "You're here."