Snowed In

"Lemme have some," she requested.

I glanced at the can in surprise. "Uh... yeah, s-sure."

I watched as she brought the can to her lips and tried to remember if she had ever before drank after me. I certainly couldn't think of a time that she had. Again I eyed the two pink protrusions in her shirt. Her ample breasts wobbled freely every time she moved. I had to look away. My cock was already pumping stiff in my pants, and I didn't want her to catch me with a hard on. She handed the can back to me, and I almost gasped as our fingers brushed. Even from the slightest touch I could feel how soft her skin was.

The lights began to flicker again, and this time they went dark for about a second. Jamie and I both froze before exchanging worried looks.

"Oh, hell no, I do not want to be in the dark," Jamie told me. "Especially not in this house."

I gave her a puzzled look. "Why? What's so bad about here?"

"Well, you know," she rolled her eyes. "All the stuff that happened... it'd just be creepy."

I studied her for a moment. "What are you talking about? What stuff?"

Jamie's green eyes widened slightly. "You mean... Pam never told you?"

"Told me what?"

"Oh, man," Jamie chuckled.

She got to her feet and headed around the stairs into the kitchen. My eyes were glued to her ass the entire way. Her grey sweats were wedged tightly between her cheeks and displayed the shape of her plump ass nicely. I absently rubbed at my crotch where my dick was still growing harder. I had to try to calm down.

"You know my dad got this place pretty cheap, right?" She called to me from the kitchen.

My brow furrowed. "Not really. I just thought you guys were loaded."

I heard her laughing as she opened the refrigerator. "Well, yeah, I guess he is, but he bought the house really cheap. I was there when the guy told him why. It's kinda creepy."

I could hear her pouring herself a drink and rustling around with aluminum foil.

"Why was it so cheap?" I called to her.

Jamie came around the corner holding a large glass of milk and half of a cookie. She finished chewing the half in her mouth before answering me.

"It was on the market for a long time," she continued. "No one would buy it but my Dad after the previous owners."

I smirked at her. "Why, did they die here or something?"

I was hardly surprised when Jamie nodded. "Yeah, but like, viciously."

"Wow, really?"

"The guy that lived here murdered his wife. He's serving a life sentence."

"Holy shit," I grinned. "That's freaky. Hey, where'd you get those?"

Jamie balked for a second, then glanced down at the chocolate chip cookie in her hand.

"Oh, this? Duh, your mom made them."

She disappeared into the kitchen for a moment before returning to offer me two of the cookies.

"They were in the fridge," Jamie told me. "You have to actually get off of the couch to find them, you know."

I smiled and bit into one of the cookies. Though it was cold, it was filled with chocolate, and was very soft and chewy. I became aware that Jamie was standing really close to me. Her exposed midriff below her shirt was right in front of me. Looking lower, I could see the outline of her mound through her tight sweats. The glass of milk was suddenly in front of my face then as she offered it to me. I glanced up to see her smirking down at me. I wondered if she knew what I had been staring at. Taking the glass from her, I still found it odd that she was sharing the same drinks with me. She turned and walked slowly away toward the kitchen. Again my eyes found the outline of her ass cheeks.

"Uh... s-so what happened?" I asked her. "Like, to the woman he murdered?"

"It was pretty gross," Jamie said. "The realtor guy wouldn't tell us details, but I looked the murder up online. Supposedly, the husband caught her cheating or something. Classic story. I dunno if he walked in on her or not, but the police said that she was actually having an affair. Anyway, he went nuts on her. They found her all cut up and bloody, like, Black Dahlia style. Her mouth was all cut open and her privates were mutilated and stuff."

I swallowed the cookie in my mouth hard. The image of a woman lying torn open didn't sit well with my stomach. I looked up at Jamie, whose eyes flashed excitedly.

"But all that's not even the best part," she told me. "The husband pled innocent, right? He claimed he never touched her, but that something else killed her."

"Something else?" I said perplexed.

Jamie nodded. "They said this guy was acting all weird and crazy, like crying and talking about some really strange shit."

"Like what?" I asked, enthralled by the story.

"Like, he blamed his wife's murder on an animal or something like that."

"An animal?"

She shrugged. "They said he was rambling about some wild animal he flushed out of a cave around here. Said he used to find his dogs dead and that the deer around this area that he used to hunt had basically cleared out. Anyway, he said that whatever was doing all that got into his house and killed his wife when he was gone. The jury obviously didn't take his word for it."

"Oh my god," I muttered. "That's crazy. Damn, Jamie, we lived her for two and a half years!"

Jamie snickered at me. "Yeah, and you never knew."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I dunno, I figured Pam woulda said something," she shrugged.

I shook my head. "Mom's never told me anything. I guess that's just like her though. Man, that shit is crazy."

Jamie giggled. "That stuff used to scare the crap out of me when we lived here. I wished I never looked that stuff up about the murder, but you know how I loved scary movies and things like that."

I nodded as I finished my last cookie, though honestly I had never known that Jamie had been interested in such things. I found myself wishing that I would have forged a stronger bond with her when we were young. Still, she acted now as though we had, and I enjoyed the interaction we were having at that moment. Jamie walked over and reached for the glass of milk in my hand. I gave it to her, feeling as giddy as a school boy that she thought enough of me to share the same glass. It warmed me inside to be this comfortable with her, though I knew she was probably only treating me this way because we were technically siblings.

"What do you think happened?" Jamie asked me suddenly.

Trying not to stare at her wonderful form in front of me, I gazed past her indifferently at the TV and shook my head.

"I dunno," I replied. "I bet the guy did it, and that now he feels like shit so he won't fess up to it."

Jamie walked into the kitchen after finishing the rest of the milk in the glass. She returned empty handed a moment later and took a seat right beside me on the couch. Her emerald eyes studied me curiously for a moment.

"Do you ever wonder about stuff like that though? Like what if he really was telling the truth? What if there really was something else out there that got in and killed his wife?"

I suddenly felt uncomfortable, for more than one reason. Jamie was sitting closer to me than she ever had, and I'd never felt more vulnerable in my life. I was conscious of everything at once, from how I appeared to her to how I smelled. I was unsure of what to do with myself. I found it hard to look her in the eye. On the other hand, it was not a pleasant thought at all that a woman had been savagely murdered in our parents home. It was even worse to suggest that what her husband had claimed was true, that some animal or some thing had broken in and killed her. I looked over at Jamie nervously.

"How could that happen, though?" I said. "I mean, even if it was a bear or something like that, why would it just target that woman? Surely there would be like signs of damage or a break in or something."

Jamie pondered that for a few seconds. As she stared off into thought, my eyes greedily wandered down her smooth neck and over her jutting chest. I felt hot and my breathing became shallow.

"I remember reading that the husband claimed that it got in through the attic," Jamie added. "I just can't think of what could do that. A bird or a racoon, maybe, but they can't kill a grown woman."

The feeling of warmth flushed away with her words and a cold chill slithered up my spine. I was suddenly drawn into memories of my teen years at this house. I had heard sounds, usually thumps or creaks from the ceiling of my room. Back then, I had passed these sounds off as the groans of an old house. Now, I had to admit I was a little disturbed by all that I had learned.

"I used to hear things in my room, you know," Jamie told me. "Like bumps and scrapes and-"

"Whoa!" I interrupted. "I was just thinking the same thing!"

An excited grin formed on Jamie's lovely face. "Really? So you don't think I'm being a little girl about all this?"

"No, I mean this stuff is sorta creepy."

She nodded. "Dad used to tell me that I was just reading into it too much. Like I was just creeping myself out with it. He thought I was a nut."

Jamie reached for her cell phone on the couch, looked at it, and tossed it down again with a laugh.

"Wow, that doesn't make me feel any better," she said. "No service at all now. What a classic setup for us to get murdered, now."

The two of us shared a laugh. I paused a moment before deciding to break a little more ground with her.

"You know, I never really knew that you were into all this kind of stuff," I told her.

"Really?" She bit her lip and thought for a moment. "Well, I guess we never really hung out much when we lived here. I kinda wish we had."

I glanced at her nervously. "R-really? I mean... I figured you thought I was... like, a loser or something."

Jamie laughed. "You were. I mean as far as anyone else was concerned. But that didn't really matter to me. I thought you were cool. I just figured you thought I was stuck up."

I smiled and rubbed the back of my neck. "Uh... I kinda did."

She laughed harder. The sound was so wonderful to my ears. I couldn't keep the muscles in my face from drawing up into a smile. I knew I must have been blushing as well.

"So that explains everything then," Jamie said still laughing. "We just thought we hated each other."

I laughed at the absurdity of it all as well. The two of us then shared an awkward silence for several seconds.

"So are you seeing anyone, Chris?"

I glanced over at her in shock. My mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. I wasn't even sure what I would say, though I knew the answer. Jamie saw the expression on my face and suddenly became aware of what implications her question must have carried. She put her hands up and her green eyes widened.

"Oh, shit, no! I didn't mean... wow, um...."

"It's... no, it's fine," I said sounding more skittish than I wanted.

"Gosh, I'm sorry," Jamie cringed. "I... that came out wrong. Sudden subject change. My bad."

We shared an awkward laugh as I shifted on the couch. I cleared my throat and blinked several times.

"Uh, no," I answered. "No, I'm not seeing anyone. Uh... are you?"

I immediately wanted to punch myself for asking her that.

"No," Jamie replied. "I guess I just...."

Her sentence trailed off as the entire house went dark and silent. For a few seconds we sat quietly in shock.

"You gotta be kidding," I muttered.

"Oh, man," I heard Jamie groan. "Oh, I do not like this."

"We're gonna freeze now," I pointed out grimly.

There was movement in the dark, and I realized that it was Jamie scooting closer to me. I felt her squeeze up beside my arm on the couch with her feet tucked under her. I almost recoiled from her wonderful touch, as though expecting to break her if we made contact.

"Shit, Chris, what are we gonna do?" She whispered.

I chuckled. "You don't have to talk like that because the lights went out."

Jamie nudged me playfully.

"Well," I thought aloud, "it's gonna get really freaking cold. We could find blankets upstairs to keep us warm."

"Sounds good. I'd like to try to sleep this storm away anyway."

Disappointment hit me like a knife in the chest. I had not tried to imply that I wanted to go to bed. In fact, I didn't care if Jamie and I stayed awake all night talking. It would seem a bit odd if I suggested we do so, however, especially if Jamie was actually tired.

"Yeah," I told her, "me, too."

****

I followed closely behind Chris as we made our way upstairs by the light provided by his cell phone. My hand was on his side as we navigated through the dark, and I knew it was probably driving him crazy. His waist was tight and slim, and I actually had to fight the urge to rub and grope his body. I grinned to myself in the dark. His face had practically melted when I mentioned going to sleep. During our conversation, he had tried to hide his hard on, but I could see it there the entire time. I had gotten so wrapped up talking to him that I'd slipped and asked him if he was single, like he was just another college flirt. Maybe it was for the better. He would undoubtedly squirm even more now whenever I spoke to him.

Chris dug in the hall closet for two old but thick comforters and offered one to me.

"Sweet," I said. "I can already feel it getting cold in here."

Chris nodded and shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah."

"Has your mom called you?"

He checked his phone. "If she has she's not getting through."

"That sucks," I said.

The two of us stood awkwardly in the hall for a second. I waited a bit longer to see if Chris would muster up the courage to say something. I distantly wondered if I had actually managed to scare him with my story. I had certainly spooked myself in trying, now that the power was out. After all, everything I'd told him was really true. When I first heard that a murder had occurred in the house that we were moving into, I thought it was awesome. However, knowing what had happened here made the house really eerie at night. I cursed myself silently for forgetting how uneasy I got when I was reminded of the story. I shouldn't have tried to scare Chris at all. I decided that maybe I should stop messing with him entirely.

"Well, I guess we should try to get some sleep then, huh?" I said finally.

"Yeah," Chris agreed. "Uh... if you need anything... just come get me, okay?"

I gave him a smile. "Sure."

Then, I moved in close to wrap my arm around him. He returned the hug in kind, and I could feel the tension in his body.

"It's good to see you again, bro," I told him.

"You, too," he said. His voice trailed off as if he was unsure whether or not to call me his sister.

As we broke our embrace, we said goodnight and headed to our rooms. My bedroom was very dark, and I couldn't help but notice the abysmal black void under my bed. My imagination immediately began trying to create a plethora of terrible horrors that could be hiding there in that shadowy space, but I thrust those thoughts aside. I was a grown woman now. I pulled my bags from the bed and peeled back the sheets. I tossed the comforter onto the bed and shivered. It would actually be nice to get some sleep. I had been flying and driving all day. I licked my teeth and felt a cookie crumb. I couldn't stand my mouth feeling dirty. I used the light from my phone to search in my bags for my toothbrush and toothpaste and headed for the door.

Just as I found my way into the hall, I heard a loud creaking sound. I stopped and glanced down the hall. I saw only shapes and silhouettes in the darkness. With my phone still in hand, I unlocked the screen and cast its light down the hall. Chris's door was closed tight, and I wondered to myself if he too had heard the loud creak. If he had, he didn't come out of his room to investigate. Turning the light to the extra room at the end of the hall, I saw nothing but more shadows within, dancing slowly from side to side as I moved the phone in my hand. The thought crossed my mind to enter the room and look around, but I decided against doing so.

I realized then that I was holding my breath against the deafening silence. I exhaled slowly, suddenly a bit uncomfortable in my own skin in the dark hall. I swallowed and cast my light in the direction of the bathroom. The sight that I saw startled me so badly that my phone slipped from my hand to the carpet.

A woman!

No, that was impossible! I scrambled to my knees, searching in the dark for my cell phone. It had landed face down, and blackness now enveloped me. My eyes hadn't adjusted from the bright light of my phone, and I swept my hands frantically across the carpet. I glanced nervously up toward the bathroom door. As my eyes slowly adjusted, I could make out the silhouette of a person standing before the mirror. The person appeared to be reaching for the mirror for some reason. I couldn't be sure.

Finally, I felt my phone a few feet away on the carpet and immediately cast it's light upon the bathroom door. I doubted the sight I beheld the very moment it happened before my eyes. It was only a glimpse, but I could make out the figure of a woman with long black hair before she disappeared behind the open door with a slow wobbling gait. I clapped my hand over my mouth to prevent a yelp from escaping. Shadows cast from the light of my phone twitched erratically in the bathroom as my hand trembled. I tried to discredit what I'd seen, but it was futile.

I stood for several long minutes in the hallway, deafened by the beating of my heart in my ears. The woman, or whatever it was, had walked deeper into the bathroom. This, I certainly knew, was an impossibility. The bathroom was small, with only a sink, a toilet, and a tub inside. There was nowhere to go, and yet the figure had disappeared behind the open door. I suddenly worried that she, or it, was still there. I was terrified, but still I had to be sure. Slowly, my feet inched forward, carrying me toward the bathroom. Nearing the threshold, I felt a hard lump grow in my throat. I swallowed it back and stepped inside.

In the light of my phone, I saw the sink and the toilet directly to my left. I peered into the tub past the open shower curtain, seeing no one within. My breath caught in my throat as my trembling hand reached for the doorknob. I pulled it back and cast my light behind, finding only the wall and a few dust bunnies on the floor. There was no person in the bathroom. I exhaled slowly, relieved but still shaking. I must have looked like an awful mess.

Shining the cell phone at the mirror, I examined the frightened blonde I saw there. I couldn't help but smile at how spooked I looked, even if I really had seen something or someone in the bathroom. My green eyes wandered across my smooth face, and then dropped to admire my breasts where they filled the thin fabric of my shirt. My hand came up to my left breast, and I shifted my toothbrush and paste so that I could rub two fingers across my nipple. It was drawn up stiff, and I could see my other nipple tip poking hard at the little white t-shirt. I could see why Chris couldn't control his hard on earlier.

I was about to decide against brushing my teeth in the dark bathroom when something in the mirror caught my eye. At first glance, I thought it was a reflection of something behind me. I shined the cell phone over the mirror and realized that there was something on the surface of the mirror itself. Peering closer and waving my phone from side to side, I made out the word drawn across the top; it read, "leave."

I turned and quickly retreated into my bedroom. I closed the door completely and hurried to the bed, tossing my toothbrush and paste aside. Still trembling, I pulled the covers up to my head, clutching them in my fingers tightly. I rolled onto my side so that my back was to the door. For quite some time I laid wide eyed, staring into the dark of my room and trying to erase the image of the figure in the bathroom from my mind, as well as the dark sludge that was drawn across the top of the mirror.