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“You should’ve gone as Cruella de Vil,” Candie says, dressed in a sexy devil costume.
My hand touches the blonde streak I have pulled back into the braid hanging over my shoulder. “I didn’t have the clothes to recreate that outfit. Besides, everything in my closet is black, so dressing as Wednesday was the easiest option.”
“Well, I think you look great,” Rylee comments, putting a hand on her hip. With her long blonde hair and grey eyes, she makes the perfect Barbie. She turns to look at Jaycee and Candie. “We all look great.”
“We need to take some photos before we go,” Candie says, clapping her hands together. “I’ll go ask Emily if she can take some for us since she isn’t going.” She rushes down the hallway to the lounge room where I can hear the TV playing a movie.
Most of the girls in the house are also attending the party, but the majority of them have already left. Candie said we shouldn’t get there too early, so that’s why it’s nearly 10 p.m. and we have yet to leave.
Candie rushes back to the foyer with a tired-looking Emily in tow. She’s in her pajamas, and I envy her. Although I’m excited to go to the party, I know I’m going to regret it when I wake up with a hangover in the morning before my class. But that tiny detail isn’t going to stop me from going. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year, so I’m always down to attend a party if I can.
It’s been a little over a week since Jaylen and I went to the Black Rose together. I haven’t seen him since—I figured it was because he’s been busy with practice. Still being suspended for the red card incident, he has been training extra hard for when he is allowed to return in two weeks—but we do text on occasion about random stuff. He likes to ask me how my day has been and if I got up to anything interesting. Although I haven’t seen him with my eyes, I would often get the feeling that he is watching me from a distance, and I find that comforting, in a weird way. I want to ask him if he’s going to the party tonight, but I know he’s a busy man with a life, so I’m sure he’s got plans already.
Just this week, three new victims have been found murdered around Pullman. When I wasn’t studying, I was researching the current murders and the case from the ‘70s. I found podcasts that cover the cases in hopes that they know something I don’t, and I even went to the local library to pull up old newspaper clippings from the ‘70s that covered the case. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find anything noteworthy. But it does seem that the details of both cases are similar, which makes me think—however old they might be—is committing the crimes, or a copycat is behind them.
Whatever the case, I’m determined to get to the bottom of it.
Once we’ve taken what feels like a hundred group photos on the front porch, the four of us link arms and begin the short walk to the Alpha Delta Phi house. It’s only a few streets away, so we arrive within minutes.
The house is old with the wooden panels on the side rotting away, leaving large gaps in the structure. How are people still allowed to live here? Fake spiders and cobwebs hang from the bushes in the front garden and there are numerous carved pumpkins stacked on each other on the rickety porch. The floorboards creak under our feet as we enter through the front door. We’re immediately met with strobe lights and loud EDM music blasting from within the lounge room to the right.
I hold onto Rylee’s arm a little tighter as we walk through the house, past the mass of students, and enter the kitchen. It’s not as loud in here, but it’s just as packed with people trying to grab drinks from the large cooler in front of the island.
“Want a drink?” Rylee shouts over the music and loud voices.
I nod and watch as she and Jaycee walk toward the cooler, leaving me with Candie by the kitchen island. They return with four cans of beer. If I’m drinking beer tonight then I’m going to be in for one hell of a hangover tomorrow.
The four of us walk to the lounge room to join the mass of people on the makeshift dance floor. As we dance to the beat of the music, I take in the costumes around me. Every year, I tend to see the same costumes but executed in different ways—cowboys, sexy nurses and maids, Batman, and even Bob Ross. I spot another girl dressed as Wednesday Addams across the room, and we smile in acknowledgment of the other.
The music switches from EDM to remixes of popular pop songs. A chorus of screams floats through the air when a Brittney Spears song begins to play. Candie jumps up and down in excitement before swaying her hips to the beat. I can’t help but smile.
Rylee grabs my hand and twirls me around. I giggle, following her lead. Jaycee joins in too and we form a little circle while Candie is swept away by an attractive man dressed as Jack Skellington. Her eyes meet mine and I wiggle my brows in response.
I don’t know how long we stand in our small circle dancing to whatever song is played next, but I know my head is growing fuzzy from the beers I’ve consumed and my muscles are beginning to tire. Turning to Rylee, I tap her on the shoulder to get her attention. When she turns to me, I throw my thumb over my shoulder. “I’m going to head outside and get some fresh air. Do you want to join me?”
She shakes her head. “I’m good. I’ll stay here with Jay. If you happen to see Candie around let me know. I want to make sure she’s okay.”
I nod. Candie left a few songs back with Jack Skellington. I can only imagine what the two are getting up to.
Leaving my friends on the dancefloor, I push my way through the throng of partygoers until I reach the back door that leads to the deck. The cool air that rushes across my skin the moment I step outside is refreshing. My skin was beginning to grow hot and sweaty with all the dancing. Wearing a long-sleeved dress doesn’t help either.
There are only a handful of people sitting at the outdoor dining set—some smoking and laughing, and some playing on their phones. As I descend the small steps off the deck, I breathe in a lungful of air. The backyard is large and backs onto a small section of the surrounding woods. The trees sway softly in the wind, the leaves rusting together to create a symphony of sounds. The further I walk across the cropped grass, the quieter the music and voices get.
Stopping at the edge of the backyard, I lean against one of the trees, letting my head fall against the trunk, and close my eyes. The alcohol is making the blood in my veins warm and I can feel how loose my muscles are. This is the point of tipsy I like to be at because I still have control over my words and actions. If I were to drink more, I would lose all of that control.
A twig snapping behind me forces my eyes open. Spinning on my heels, I look out at the trees for any sign of movement. My heart races as my eyes scan the dark space.
What the hell was that?
Just when I’m about to head back to the house, I see the outline of a person standing among the trees. My heart just about leaps into my throat when they move toward me. I take a step back, stumbling a little on my jelly legs, but I manage to catch myself on the tree beside me.
“H-hello?” I call out to the person. When they hear my voice, they stop. “Who are you?”
The person takes a step forward. Half of their body is partially illuminated by the lights shining from the back of the house. My eyes widen when I see the person has no shirt on and is wearing a Ghostface mask.
“What the fuck…”
The person takes another step forward, their entire body now visible under the light. My eyes roam across the chiseled chest of the man and the sharp lines of his muscles. His hands are shoved into the pockets of the black chinos he’s wearing. The tension in my shoulders evaporates at the sight of the tattoos littering their right arm.
