Curiosity Ch. 01

Just as you take my hand, Just as you write my number down, just as the drinks arrive, just as they play your favorite song. . .

"You know Kris, I think Radiohead might be the greatest band...*inhale*...ever..."

"Ha, yeah . . . *inhale* . . . don't I know it. They always make me feel better on shitty days. Just like . . . *inhale* . . . this . . ."

Finally, some calm in my hectic life. Nothing like weed and Radiohead to calm the mind. This almost perfect week had turned out to be a lie, just like everything else. I just needed to get away. So Lynne and I decided to drive away and be alone.

. . . Before the night owl, before the animal noises, closed circuit cameras, before you're comatose . . .

Like I said, my week was seemingly perfect. I brought in some kick-ass grades, my mom and I were finally getting along, and I was graduating soon...everything I worked hard for finally seemed to be coming together. But all of this didn't seem important after I was stabbed in the back by the person I least expected.

My best friend Ariel and her boyfriend of a year and a half had gotten into a huge argument that resulted in their breakup. It left her distraught, and I knew I had to console her somehow. Not one for drugs to remedy her sadness, I thought I'd treat her to a Girl's Day at the nearest outlet instead. That way, we could talk about her upsetting situation with Rob. There was a lot more shopping than talking, and I never found out what the basis of the argument was, and I knew I needed to know so I could help her. If Rob needed an ass kicking, I needed to know. Call it nosy. I don't care.

Later on, I spoke to Rob about it. He seemed reluctant to talk to me, but I assured him that it was okay, and that I wasn't going to curse him out. I didn't even have a reason to. I just wanted to know what the hell was going on with him and my best friend. Again, he seemed reluctant about sharing information with me. I didn't think it'd be that bad, so I told him not to beat around the bush. But the next words out of his mouth made me so sick to my stomach, that I seriously considered vomiting my lunch onto the ground.

For the past few months, my best friend had been fucking around with my current, well, not so current boyfriend, Carter, behind my back.

Carter and I had been going out for longer than Ariel and Rob. We met at the beginning of junior year at a football game. He was tall (about 6'2") and pretty built, had very short blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes of anyone I had ever met. He was very arrogant, yet I loved it. I couldn't help myself. "Bad boys" turned me on. We really didn't click at first, but over time we grew to like each other. I had never been as intimate with a guy until I was with Carter. He had even been the one to take my virginity. Everything felt so right with him. I never really thought he would leave me, and I never had a reason to leave him. I always thought I was more than enough woman for him, but I guess I was wrong.

How Rob found out, I don't know, but I knew that there was hell to pay. Rob wanted to find Carter and destroy him and, frankly, I wanted to as well. I wanted to drop that motherfucker while at the same time ripping each and every single strand of hair from Ariel's body. I wanted her to feel pain like no other. I was so pissed.

From then on, I had a rain cloud over my head. I felt so shitty about myself. I became extremely antisocial; I barely talked to my friends and family. I called in sick to work just to sulk in my room with my music drowning out my thoughts. I smoked like a forest on fire. Anything to keep me thinking about what had happened. I didn't even do anything to resolve the situation, except break up with Carter through Facebook. It was tacky, but he deserved it.

Word spread about my break up with Carter and why (probably due to Rob and his friends). All I got was pity from people, and it did nothing to lighten my mood. Ariel actually had the audacity to come up to me to talk about it. That got me even more upset. Not wanting to cause too much of a scene, I told her to back off and not speak to me again. Thankfully, she got the message immediately.

Carter was braver. He tried coming over to my house while I was out so he could ambush me in front of my mom and stepdad (they loved him). Unfortunately for him, his plan backfired. I had already told my parents (I'm not an idiot) and they threatened to unleash hell's fury on him if he didn't leave our property. That was actually pretty funny, I must admit.

My somber mood was making everyone miserable. Finally, Lynne, my next door neighbor, wouldn't allow me to sit in my room and sulk any longer. So, there we were, by the beach, smoking a bowl, listening to the soulful sound of Thom Yorke's voice as it slowly massages our minds. Truly relaxing.

. . . Jigsaw falling into place, There is nothing to explain, Regard each other as you pass, She looks back, you look back, Not just once, not just twice . . .

"So...what now Kristi? Have you planned on getting sweet revenge on the mother fuckers who hurt you?"

"Honestly, I don't fucking know anymore. I hadn't really thought about it. I mean, I just want to walk away from all of this crap. I don't even wanna think about it. Can we just not talk about it?"

"Alright . . ."

"Hey, let's go somewhere else. I don't feel like staying in this same spot all night. You know that really big meadow over by Eisenhower Park? I wouldn't mind lying down over by there. Star gazing . . ."

"Woah, wait, not that one over by that really big abandoned manor, right?"

"Yes, what's the prob-"

"No, Kris, no! Are you high?!"

"Haha . . . yea . . ."

"Oh, well, so am I, but that's beside the point. You do realize that manor is haunted? Like ghosts and demons and such? I don't know about you, but I don't feel comfortable going there."

"Ghosts and demons? Are you fucking serious?"

"Hell yes I am! Connor and Jake were telling me about it. Some little girl was attacked by her dad or something."

"I cannot believe you listened to those idiots."

"They aren't idiots, Kris. And I asked my aunt about it. She said the same thing they did."

"Jesus, Lynne…"

"We aren't going. I am not driving us there."

I should have taken my car, I thought. "Fine. I'll walk."

"No, you can't do that, Kris, it's too far away. And I'm not comfortable with you going there either...by yourself, no less. Geez, let's just stay here. What's wrong with the beach?"

I sighed heavily and hopped out of the car with iPod, somewhat frustrated. I was tired of arguing with people. I decided I'd just walk a couple miles and lay down for a few hours in meadow listening to music. I just needed more time to myself anyways.

***

"You've been eyeing me all night. You expecting something?"

He looked her up and down and looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I see. Well, d'you wanna dance cutie?"

He took a sip from his drink and set it down on the bar. "No."

"C'mon. You know you wanna." She let out a small drunken giggle.

She watched him and waited for an answer while he downed the rest of this drink and got down from the bar. "I'm leaving now. If you'd like to join me, you'd better hurry up." He walked away from the bar towards the exit. Drunk blondie grabbed her purse and hurried after him.

"Your place or mine?" she said with another drunken giggle.

"Yours."

"Okay. We'll take my car."

They arrived at her apartment and sat down on her couch. He pulled her close and started kissing and nibbling her neck. "Should we take this to my bedroom?" she whispered, loving the feeling of his warm mouth on her neck and his hands all over her body.

He continued to suckle the skin above her collarbone. His hands held onto her sides as he began to slide her shirt up towards her breasts. She started breathing heavily as his hand squeezed her breast gently over her lacy black bra, his thumb grazing over her sensitive nipple. His mouth moved higher up over her neck as his fangs elongated. He sank his teeth deep into her jugular and a wave of mind numbing pleasure rippled through her body. She didn't know what he was doing, but she loved the deep throbbing in her core. He continued to drink deeply from her and she let out a loud strangled moan and blacked out as her quickly approaching orgasm ripped through her body.

He licked over the bite marks in her neck and laid her gently on the couch. His fangs retracted as he straightened his clothes and ran his fingers through his hair. He left the apartment inconspicuously and ran off into the night…

***

Having more time to myself seemed to be exactly what I needed.

Why did everything bad have to happen at once? Was this karma? Was God upset with me because I made poor choices? Was this a sign telling me that I shouldn't have trusted those assholes? I just didn't get it. And nothing frustrated me more than not understanding.

I knew that eventually, things would get better. I'd get over the fact that my best friend (who was a whore to begin with) fucked my ex-boyfriend. I'd get over the fact that I would probably never breathe a word to her anymore. I was sort of okay with it. But that didn't stop the hurt from consuming my thoughts. I even thought about hooking up with Rob, but that was far too tacky for me, and I didn't feel like stooping to her level.

But then, I started feeling dowdy. Ariel was so desirable. Every guy wanted to hook up with her, and most did. She was a little taller than me, with a clear tanned complexion. Her dark brown hair was about shoulder length, and she had beautiful bright green eyes. She was pretty okay in the chest department (a B cup, maybe?), but lacked greatly in the ass department. Yet guys seemed to flock to her like ducks to bread.

I, on the other hand, am 5'4" with a milk chocolate complexion. I'm a C cup with a sizable ass, thick thighs and toned calves from working out occasionally. My hair is straight, black, and falls down below my shoulders. I guess I could be considered cute, but not smoking hot. Not "Ariel" hot. The only thing I lack in is confidence. I also have some pretty bad habits, like smoking weed and cigarettes and having an occasional drink. No wonder why my boyfriend cheated on me with her. He probably had his sights set on her from the beginning. Wow. Being used to get to your best friend. I never really understood what that felt like until just then. I started getting angry again.

"I need . . . fuck . . ." I checked my pockets for my cigarettes, but I didn't feel them or my phone. I realized I probably left them in Lynne's car. When I thought about her, I started to feel bad about the way I acted. I shouldn't have been so short with her. Damn, I'm such a bitch. I should go apologize to her tomorrow.

I thought about what she said about the manor being haunted. I never believed in any of that crap. All those shows about ghost whisperers and real haunted houses seemed silly to me. It didn't seem possible and made no sense whatsoever.

I bet if someone fixed that old house up, it'd be quite nice, I thought. It was a large, three-story, off-white (due to its dirtiness) 1840s Victorian styled manor big enough for a family of five or six, or possibly two small families. The large wraparound porch was made of rotting wood and the windows were so caked in dust and mold that no one would be able to see through them - not like they wanted to anyways. The meadow was essentially the backyard of the manor and was large and surrounded by trees. There was a dirt path opposite of the back porch that led to Eisenhower State Park, which was where I came in from. There was also a single large oak tree in the backyard with a long rope attached to one of the branches, most likely for a tire swing or something. The front yard had a U-shaped driveway with another tree (cherry blossom?) in the middle. From there, the driveway led to a large iron gate which was on a street across from more large houses. If someone made it into a restoration project, it would be a beautiful place to live.

I sighed heavily again and tried to guess the time. "It's probably really late. I need to get out of here soon before mom and Sir Douchebag call the cops on my dumb ass."

While struggling to get my fatigued body off the ground, I heard a rustle in the trees about 30 feet away from me. A shock of fear flowed through me, but it didn't last long. I waited a moment just in case there was another rustle. None came. God, I'm so far gone, hearin' shit. It was probably just some nocturnal animal or the wind or something. I walked towards to path back to the park, ready to head home and face the music, when I heard it.

"Leaving so soon?"

I whipped around quickly, eyes wide, scared shitless. I saw no one. What the fuck was that?! It spoke to me again.

"I believe I asked you a question, human . . ."

That voice. It was frightening, yet so soothing at the same time. The deep tenor was warm and sensuous, and sent chills down my spine.

Bitch, why aren't you moving!? Get the fuck outta there! My mind was telling me to move, but I couldn't. I wanted to find the body the voice came from, yet a part of me said I didn't want to find out. Then, panic started to set in.

"Wh- where are you? W-w-where's that voice coming from?!"

Silence.

"Hello? Anyone?! Who's there?"

More Silence.

I began to get hysterical. My blood pressure rose and my palms began to get clammy. Oh god, am I hearing things? Is it the drugs? Oh god, oh god, oh god...

At that moment, I saw a flashlight. My panic rose further. That could be the cops! Oh, am I so fucked! God help me…

It turned out to be Lynne coming to the meadow from the path; relief washed over me. She ran over when she saw me and started talking at a million miles a minute. "KRISTI! Oh Jesus. You forgot your phone and cigarettes in my car, and then I got worried, and th-"

"It's okay, Lynne, I'm alright, I was just about to leave."

"Good, then I got here just in time. I'm so sorry I didn't take you. I was just scared and I was being silly, and . . . geez Kris I'm just so relieved!"

"Well, I'm okay. I didn't see any ghosts or anything. Darn." I forced a laugh, just so she'd thing I was okay."

"Oh, well, that's good. Goodness knows . . ."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, uhm, did you happen to see anyone on your way over here?"

"…No, why?"

"Oh, uhm, never mind, it's nothing."

"Oh, okay then. Well, let's get you home. I'm glad I caught you in time. I felt bad for not taking you here, and I got worried that you mom and Rick would flip out on me if you and I didn't come home together. I tried to pretend I wasn't worried and stayed longer but . . ."

At that point, I stopped listening. She had a tendency of rambling when she was excited or anxious or high. It wasn't a huge deal, but now was not the time. But that voice wouldn't leave my head. One part of me desperately wanted to know who the voice came from. Another part of me didn't. Maybe the manor and the surrounding area were, indeed, haunted. My curiosity was beginning to get the best of me. I just had to find out.

***

"Kristina Anne Mancini, where the FUCK have you been?!"

Shit, not now . . . I had gotten home pretty late, and got in only a few hours of sleep. At that moment, the weight of everything decided to make itself cozy on my shoulders. A slow ache was creeping up in my head, and my body was heavy with exhaustion. Yet Sir Douchebag (aka Rick) decided to shout at me at 8 o' clock in the morning. Fuck my life . . .

"Geez, Rick, I am not even five feet away from you. There's no need to shout. Can we use our inside voices, please?" I rasped from underneath the covers.

"I am so sick and tired of you and your shenanigans . . ." Shenanigans? ". . . young lady. Your mother and I were worried sick last night! We had no idea where you were and even considered the cops looking for you! Answer me: Where have you been?! Kristi? Kristi! Wake the fuck UP!!" Rick stomped over to the bed and shook me.

"Woah woah woah! What the hell?! God, can we please just talk about this later? I'm just so . . . tired."

"In the name of all that is . . . *sigh * fine. But don't think this is over, Kristi Ann!" *slam*

"Jesus . . ."

Thankfully, I woke up a few hours later to an empty house. With it being Saturday, I assumed that Mom and Rick had gone to go run some errands. I fixed myself a bowl of Golden Grahams and thought about what had occurred the previous night. I debated on whether I should go back to the meadow. I decided that it wouldn't hurt to go there, although I didn't know what I would do. I'd just wing it.

So, not wanting to stay in the house all day with nothing to do, I ran upstairs after breakfast to take a quick shower and get dressed. I threw on a pair of dark jeans, blue t-shirt, dark gray vest, and my favorite pair of shoes -- my dirty blue and white checkered Vans. I walked over to my bureau to grab my car keys, wallet, cigarettes, and cell phone. I quickly checked my phone to see if I had any messages. My text message inbox was half full of texts from my ex-boyfriend and my ex-best friend. Carter was kind enough to leave me a few voicemail messages as well. I called my voicemail and listened to the first one he sent me.

"Hey baby, you gotta listen. I know what I did was messed up and . . ." *beep*

I pressed 7 to delete that message and the others as well. I had also taken the liberty of deleting all messages from my inbox. If I had wanted an explanation, I would have asked for one. I wasn't going to listen to him ramble on or whatever over the phone. That would have been stupid and a waste of time. Tossed my phone into my purse, grabbed a light cardigan just in case, and ran downstairs.

Seeing as how I didn't want to go out by myself, I decided to ask Lynne if she wanted to join me. I knew she wouldn't mind and I kind of owed her one for my childish behavior the previous night. I bounded up the porch steps and rang her door bell. While waiting for either her or her aunt to answer, I thought about a place we could go just to hang out for most of the day. She interrupted my thoughts when she opened the door in her pajamas, long black hair in disarray and her blue eyes tired looking. She rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly.

"Oh, geez, did I wake you Lynne? I'm sorry."

"Oh no, it's fine, I needed to wake up eventually. So, what's up?"

"Not much. I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me today."

"Are you asking me out on a date, Kristina?" She giggled.

"No, you dope. I don't want to stay home and I need someone to keep me company while we drive around aimlessly. You up for it?"

"Haha of course. Come in, I need to get ready."

"Alrighty. Don't take too long, princess. I'm giving you 15 minutes."

She laughed. "Oh shut up."

While she was getting dressed, we brainstormed on places we could go.

"Can we stop by the mall?" asked Lynne. "I have a few things to pick up. Then maybe we could walk around the green a bit. Or grab a cup of coffee. I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"Anything, really. I just need to keep occupied. We'll go to the mall first and then maybe we could stop at the café?"

"You work at the café! Why do you always insist on going there?"

"Oh hush, you. Let's just get out of here. You ready?"

"Mhm."

"Then let's go!"

Ten minutes later, we arrive at the mall. Contrary to what she previously stated about "picking up a few things," Lynne essentially bought at least one thing from almost every store we passed, making 2 hour trip turn into 3+ hour trip -- and she wasn't finished yet. I got so tired chasing after her and carrying half of her bags that I had to beg to take a break so I could catch my breath. I was also hungry as hell, so we stopped over by the food court to grab something to eat.