Unholy

1

"Mom, why are we here? Why can't I come with you guys?" 

"Heather, sweet Heather. You know why you can't come. This is my job and it is no place for a teenager. Aunty Penelope will take care of you. You remember Cheryl, don't you?" My mother looks at me with questioning eyes. My dad keeps his eyes on the road.

"Yeah, but it's been ages since I have seen her."

"She's still your cousin, dear. You two will get along just fine." Mom looks at me with sincere eyes and clasps my hand within her own. 

"How long will you be?" I ask, pulling away gently.

"A semester tops." She promises as we pull into the gothic eerie-looking mansion. A shiver tears through me. Nothing good lives between those walls. They unload my stuff from the car as two women emerge from the hell house. 

"Penelope." My mom greets, kissing the other woman's cheeks. Her sister looks less than pleased but returns the favor anyway. My father takes my bags into the house and to the room I will be sleeping in while mom talks to her sister and I stand awkwardly.

"Come, cousin. We have plenty to catch up on." Cheryl finally speaks. She takes my hand in hers and leads me inside and up the stairs to her room. It is massive and filled with red, almost like a sex dungeon. The idea makes me giggle and she turns to look at me with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?"

"It's just that this is a lot of red." I shrug.

"Well of course it is. We are Blossom's after all, and red is our signature color. What? Don't tell me you don't wear much red." She gasps.

"Ignore her, she is a bit on the theatrical side." Another girl walks in with a leather jacket on and pink in her hair. I wrinkle my nose in distaste.

"TT, don't fill her head with nonsense. She's just like me. Did you see her reaction when you walked in? Familiar isn't it?" Cheryl leans on the girl with a smirk.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." I rush out my defense,

"It's ok. I am used to Blossom's looking down on me. Cheryl here is the only one who actually likes me." The girl, TT, says.

"Loves. I love you. And anyway, I was telling Heather that red is our signature color." Cheryl kisses the girl on the lips and my eyes go wide in shock. I didn't expect her to be gay, not that I have a problem with it.

"I'm Toni Topaz, this girl's girlfriend. I keep her in line." Toni shoves Cheryl off her and holds out her hand to me. I shake it with a kind smile on my lips. "Cheryl and I met officially when I tried to comfort her in the bathroom and she said-"

"This is my favorite part. Can I tell it?" Cheryl interrupts.

"Go ahead, babe."

"I said "get your filthy serpent hands off of me!" and you were hooked." Cheryl smiles wide at the story. "Anyway, if red isn't your signature color, what is?" I look down at the ground and think about the majority of my stuff.

"Black." I shrug. She eyes me up and down, from my black combat boots and leggings to my black and white striped crop top and a denim shirt over it. The word serpent still raises suspicion in my mind.

"Clearly. Don't worry, I'll give you some red pieces." Cheryl grins.

"I wasn't worried," I mumble.

"Come on, we will unpack you, won't we, Cheryl?" Toni gives a pointed look at the girl and she rolls her eyes but walks out the door and into the guest bedroom. It is just as big as Cheryl's next door with a massive blank canvas bed. Plain white sheets and a red comforter, with red drapes and black stained wood. It contrasts well with the white walls and I am starting to agree that red is my color.