Wish Upon A Demon

9.

CHAPTER - NINE

I didn’t want to be here.

After the disaster of a date previously, Michael Kingston had finally managed to corner me the next week, asking me so many times, that I had no choice but to say yes. He hadn’t told me where we were going and showed up at my house, picking me up. I didn’t know where we were heading until we drove into the driveway of a huge house. Michael led me inside, and it was then that it clicked in my dumb brain, that he had brought me to his house, which was downright absurd.

Who brings a girl to their house on the second date?

What was he going to do next, propose?

And more absurd than the fact that Michael Kingston was introducing me to his family on the second date was the fact that his entire house was adorned animal fur, patterned walks, guns in showcases, stuff like that. From the moment I entered, to when I was forcefully served dinner, to when I sat on the couch after dinner, I felt uneasy. It was just the way I was looked at, the way I was observed, the way I was talked to, that made me feel out of place and even a bit fearful.

Michael’s mom was a little lady, with a kind face, who served us food and waited for us to finish before sitting down and having dinner. His father on the other hand – Rhon Kingston – was a bulky, tall, strict looking man who maintained his posture and stiff attitude throughout dinner. And Michael’s siblings were torture. Mia and Mason Kingston or the Kingston twins spent dinner giving me death stares and whispering about me. It didn’t help that every five seconds one of them would accidentally kick me from under the table and then apologize.

After dinner, when Michael took me to his room, I felt awkward. I shouldn’t have felt awkward though. The guy I had crushed on for the longest time was taking me out on dates and showing me his room, I had to be excited or jumping up in joy. But I wasn’t. I felt uneasy around Michael Kingston. So when he went down to attend the door, I leaned against his opened window, looking out. And then my eyes darted downwards.

What was Nolan Shaw doing here?

Nolan Shaw had his hands stuffed in his pockets, and I noticed Michael Kingston became guarded when he stepped outside to greet him. Michael looked upwards and I was careful enough to step away from the window at just that moment. I walked out of Michael’s room, which was painted in white and black and was very neat. I searched for the washroom on the second floor, when I came in front of a door that was closed. Opening it, I stepped into the dimly lit room.

There was no bathroom. I was about to walk back outside when I spotted something shining from underneath the bed. Carefully heading towards the bed, I crouched and bought out an open, khaki colored bag.

My mouth hung open.

What in the world? From crossbows to knives, all sorts of tools were filled inside this bag. I even spotted the silver arrows that had missed me on the day of Nolan’s party. My mouth became dry.

“Faye?”

Oh, god. Oh, god.

I pushed the bag inside and got up. At the moment, the fabric of my skirt got caught in the zipper. I all but ripped the cloth from the little metallic zip. Calming myself, so that I wouldn’t panic, I closed the door quietly and ran inside Michael Kingston’s room. I heard his footsteps before he walked inside. Pretending to be the phone when he walks in, I hide the edge of my skirt so that he wouldn’t notice. Getting up from his bed, I smile at him as he walks up to me. “Sorry Michael, my dad wants me home,” I say almost instantly.

“Oh.” Is his response. “Faye, are you okay?” He asks, placing a hand on my shoulder. No, I wasn’t okay. I was terrified. I shrugged off his hand, giving him a tight smile before rushing out of his room in fast steps.

“Wait, I’ll drop you.” He said, reaching for his coat. “No!” I held out a hand. “I mean, no, it’s only a few blocks away anyway,” I said, laughing a bit to shield my fear from him. I open the door to see Nolan and some other people standing by the light post opposite Michael Kingston’s house. “Are you going be okay?” Michael questions again. I smile tightly. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I say, nodding. Waving goodbye, my eyes catch Nolan Shaw’s, as I get ready to walk back home. Breaking eye contact, I push back my hair, walking away from the house. As I passed a corner, I saw Michael approaching Nolan and just then, Michael’s head turned in my direction.

I sped up.

It was cold. I thought that like last time, Michael would take me to a restaurant or something, which was why I chose to wear a skirt. If I knew I was going to find a bag full of killing tools inside the house of the boy that everyone loved in school and would be walking back home, maybe I would have worn jeans or something. It felt like I was being watched. So many eyes, watching me as I walked back home, alone. I wanted to go even faster. I could spot my little house further away, and I wanted to run towards it and lock the doors, protecting me from the dangers outside and by the people who seemed normal to the eyes of others.

As I was a bit away from my house, the street lamp lost its light. And soon, all the lights began flickering. I gulped. Terrified, I rushed towards my house, picking up my pace, running faster. I went up the steps of my porch and wanted to go inside when I found it was locked. Right, my dad was out and I’d forgotten to take the keys. Luckily, there was always a spare key underneath the little flowerpot on the side of the porch. I took out the key with shivering hands and tried to insert it into the keyhole. I failed because the key slipped from my hands so many times. Finally, I managed to unlock the damn door.

“Boo.”

I screamed.