The bed lowered as he sat down next to me, his weight pulling my body toward him. The bedsores on my backside smarted at the slight shift. Even with his face covered, I could feel him ogling me. One hand reached out, stroking my matted hair down, brushing errant strands from my face. I gritted my teeth, resisting the urge to bite his glove. He hadn’t actually hit me before, but I didn’t want to take my chances. Maybe I should bite him. Maybe it’ll end this misery.
The breathing halted as the ski mask cocked to one side.
His voice slurred. “What do I want?” I bit my lip to keep from gasping. He’d never responded before. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? I want you to fall in love with me.”
Holy freak! He’s more insane than I thought! I swallowed, forcing my dry tongue to moisten my mouth. “I’ll never love you!”
He chuckled, the sound like a horror movie. “Yes, you will. You see, I’ve always loved you, Samantha, or should I call you Sammy?”
He knows my name? Dark spots popped in my vision, and my body felt like it was floating several feet above my head. Crap, I’m going to pass out!
He touched my arm with his gloved hand.
“Don’t!” I hissed, and he instantly recoiled. Dumbstruck, I stared at the ski mask. Is he really listening to me? I didn’t want to faint or be drugged. Not if this was my one chance to talk to him. Pulse pounding in my ears, the adrenaline cleared my mind, giving me courage. “Please, I need water.”
He cocked his head to the side, as if considering, and then produced a small water bottle from his pant pocket. A gloved hand tugged my hairs out as he elevated my head, but this time, he didn’t shove the bottle against my lips. I drained it within seconds, not satiated, and wanting more.
I asked again, “What do you want? Why am I here?”
“I already told you. I want you to fall in love with me.”
“Then let me go! Untie me,” I begged as something wet tickled my lips. I licked the salty tear away.
He didn’t say anything, just sat next to me breathing.
“Who are you?” I persisted. Again, silence. “How long are you going to keep me here?”
“That depends on how long it takes.”
“For what?”
“For,” he paused, “you to love me.”
I resisted the hysterical laughter bubbling within me. He’s serious, completely psychotic, but serious.
“How can I,” I hesitated, “fall in love with someone I can’t see? Why don’t you take your mask off?”
“No!” he barked, jumping to his feet.
Relieved he was further away, I decided to push him. This might be my only chance.
“Can I know your name at least?”
“No.”
“Ok, well, how do you know me then?”
“I’ve known you a long time.”
I shuddered. “Do I know you personally?”
“Yes.” The voice modifier made it sound like a growl.
My body began shaking. “What do you want?” I whispered.
“Why do you keep asking the same question over and over? You’re smarter than this. That’s why you’re so unique, Sammy. You’re not only beautiful, you’re brilliant.”
Okay, maybe he doesn’t know me that well. I’m anything but brilliant. Stay calm. Keep him talking. “Why are you drugging me? Why can’t we just talk then?”
His sigh sounded more like a roar. “You ask too many questions, Samantha. You need to sleep now.”
“No!” But he grabbed my arm with one hand, while the other produced the all-too-familiar needle. “No,” I begged. “I can sleep without it! I don’t need it!”
“Yes, you do. I know what’s best for you. Trust me; this is for your own good. And this one is a special blend; I made it myself. You’ll sleep wonderful tonight.”
I thrashed against the ropes, but it was no use. The tip of the needle burned my skin.
He paused and then glanced down at me, his ski mask moving with his mouth. “Wait, I want to tell you something first.” I could no longer feel the point of the needle against my skin. “You are going to fall in love with me Samantha. It’s only a matter of time. You’ll be mine one day. One day you’ll lie in my arms and kiss my lips.” His gloved finger traced my lips.
I turned away and spat, “Never! I’ll never love you!”
“That’s where you’re wrong. We’re meant for each other, and no one can ever love you like I do. You were always my special girl.”
My head snapped back to glare at him. Special girl? Only one person said that to me. A sinking sensation flooded my body as I gasped, “Jeremy? Is that you?”
The needle inserted, but I no longer cared about the pinch and the burn it caused. All I knew was the scrambled voice that said, “I guess you’ll never know now, will you?”
I struggled to respond but the drug worked fast, seeping through my veins like ice-cold water hitting an empty stomach. My body welcomed it, drifting off into the black void it created.
If you enjoyed Aftermath, we recommend you check out Losing Logan by Sherry D. Ficklin. Read the first chapter here!
So what if Logan is dead? I mean, it’s not like he owes me money or anything. I pause at the top of the stairs, let my mom move around me, and walk inside. To my left, a group of girls are holding each other and ugly crying. I try to assure myself that the display is genuine and has nothing to do with the swarm of reporters behind me, their cameras clicking like insects.
“I bet not one of those girls even knew Logan,” I grumble.
“Firstly, everyone knew Logan. And secondly, quit being such a judgy-Mc- judge-sickle.”
To my right, Carlos holds out his hand, which I take and allow him to lead me inside and down the hall.
Leaning over, he whispers in my ear, “I can’t believe you wore that.”
I look down at my dark jeans, carefully tucked into tall, brown boots. My steel-grey scarf hangs over my light tan sweater. I’d even taken the time to throw my long, brown hair into a messy bun.
“We can’t all afford to look like movie stars,” I mumble back.
Carlos, with his rich, brown skin and dark hair, looks like he should be on a billboard somewhere. The dark, fitted suit he’s wearing only enhances the effect. He’s gorgeous. One of those genetically gifted boys who could bat his eyelashes and have any girl he wanted. You know… if he actually wanted girls. He weaves our arms together and pulls me up to a tall pedestal with an open book laying on it. A few people in front of us are signing in like they are registering for a giveaway at the mall. I shift uncomfortably.
“Relax, Zoe. It isn’t a funeral. Just a viewing.”
I shake my head. “That’s even worse.” I lower my voice so no one else can hear. “Who would want to look at a dead body? I mean, it’s just kinda twisted, right?”
He pats my hand. “Closure, darling. It’s a chance to say goodbye.”
“I said goodbye to Logan a long time ago,” I say while looking ahead at the room beyond the pedestal. Rows of neatly assembled chairs that are nearly filled with people from our quiet little town. Some talking, most crying. A few are just texting or playing on their phones. I feel my breathing pick up as a warmth spreads under my skin and wraps tightly around my chest. I shudder, and it slices down my spine like electricity.
“You guys were friends, right?”
I feel the frown on my face. Friends. Yeah, right.
“Our parents were friends when we were little,” I say dismissively. The truth is, once we hit middle school, everything had changed between us. He got popular, and I got weird. We went our separate ways and never spoke again.
Here we are, getting ready to start our senior year, and Logan would have been the reigning king of the school. I, however, am doomed to spending another year eating lunch in the drama department with Carlos while he updates his vlog, watching the school lacrosse games from under the bleachers, and spending my Friday nights reading in my bedroom. Not that there’
s anything wrong with any of that.
A shove from behind pushes me into the group in front of me. Kaylee Greely brushes past us. She and her entourage of well-dressed clones don’t bother to wait in line, they go straight to the front, and the crowd parts for them. Scribbling quickly like she’s signing an autograph, she strides into the main viewing room, not even bothering to remove her large sunglasses as she takes a seat in the front row. As Logan’s girlfriend, I feel a genuine twinge of sympathy for her. Right up until she pulls out her compact and reapplies her lip gloss with a loud smack of her lips.
Carlos tilts his head and sighs deeply. For a split second, I think he’s admiring her ass, and then I realize his eyes are laser fixed on her designer handbag, and I chuckle out loud. Everyone in line turns to stare at me. I can actually feel the blood rush to my face. Carlos turns, blocking me from view, and I can breathe again. He fiddles with my scarf, twisting it and tucking it until it’s sitting perfectly against my small chest.
“I really don’t want to do this.”
Carlos tugs on my earlobe. “Don’t worry, Zoe Bowie, I’m here.”
I shake my head. “Let me rephrase. I’m not doing this. I don’t even like half these people. Hell, I didn’t like Logan when he was alive, and I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I miss him now that he’s gone.” I swallow, imagining myself sitting in one of those black folding chairs, listening to crying girl after crying girl get up there and whine about what a great person he was and how he changed their lives. I throw up a little, just thinking about it. “If my mom asks where I went, tell her I had a nervous breakdown and had to go home.”
He smiles deviously. “I’ll tell her that you, being the delicate flower you are, were overcome with grief and had to excuse yourself to the fainting couch,” he says in a thick, southern accent.
“Why thank you, Miss Scarlett.”
I can’t help but grin. I know it’s been his dream to play the lead in the local theater company’s production of Gone with the Wind since he was five. My remark earns me a kissy face and a wave as he turns to go inside.
I’m ready to make a break for it when I get a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. As I turn to get a better look, I see a boy walking into the coat closet at the other end of the hall. I don’t know why I follow him, but my feet are moving before I can fully rationalize it to myself. My boot heels clack on the stone tile floors, sounding like a heartbeat, slow and steady. I run my fingertips along the beige walls as I pass by what I hope to God is the casket showroom and not some sort of demented waiting room for whoever’s next in line for viewing, then a room full of comfy looking floral chairs, and finally an office. At the very end of the hall, the door to the coatroom is ajar. As I reach out and push it open, an army of shivers marches up my back.
If this were a horror movie, this is the part where I would die.
As soon as I step inside the room, the boy turns and my heart sinks into my feet. For a minute, I just stand there, staring at him like an idiot. All I can feel is icy cold air from the vent in the ceiling blowing down on me, chilling me to my core. Then the anger flows in, replacing the cold shock with a flush of heat. I reach behind me and slam the door shut.
“What is your freaking damage, Logan?”
He stares at me, his green eyes wide. “Excuse me?”
My eyes narrow. I know what’s going on here. “I’m being punked, aren’t I? This is some stupid reality TV show or something, right?”
He just stands there, looking confused.
“Does your family know you’re alive? I mean, shit, if this is some dumb publicity stunt for the reporters out front…” I’m so angry that I don’t even know what to say. Logan has always been a bit of an attention whore, but this is a new low. My hands are balled into fists at my hips. “Say something, Logan. Please. Find the magic words to make this whole mess not be the most horrible thing a human being has ever done in their entire life, ever.”
“Zoe?” His voice is soft, and he has a dumb half grin on his face that I remember from when we were kids. I have a desperate urge to remove it with my fist. “What are you talking about?”
Oh, sure. Like I’m the crazy one. “You are a giant douche hammer, you know that? I mean, what is this? Some idiotic attempt to get extra credit in English class? Tom Sawyer 101? I mean, those people think you’re dead! We all thought…” I trail off again, the words jumbling in my brain before I can get them out. I’m so angry that I’m bordering on incoherent. My pulse is racing, and my whole face feels hot. I need to calm myself before I completely lose it. I take a deep breath, hold it for a second, and then release it slowly.
He takes a step toward me, tilting his head curiously. “You can see me?”
“Okay, that’s it. I’m not falling for this… whatever this is. I’m going to march in there and tell your mother right now.”
He straightens, a cocky grin spreading across his face. That’s a look I’m more used to seeing on him recently. “You’re going to go tell my mommy on me? What, are we five again?”
I grunt and flip him off, throwing the door open.
“Wait!” I hear him call behind me, but I keep going. Inside the main room, his parents have taken seats next to Kaylee in the front row. Ignoring the minister speaking from the pulpit, I stride up the center aisle, stomping angrily. I’m almost to the front when I realize something. The dark brown casket is open. My pace slows, and I see Logan’s face. His eyes are closed like he’s sleeping inside the white, satin-lined box. I spin, looking behind me, but he’s gone. I turn back around and take the final steps to the coffin, clutching the sides for support.
Up close, I’m not sure what I’m seeing. He looks kind of puffy and waxy. Maybe that’s how he’s doing it. Maybe it’s some kind of wax dummy. I reach out to touch his face when a sob from behind me snaps me out of it. Two pairs of arms grab me from either side, Carlos on my left and my mother on my right. They quickly usher me back down the aisle to a chorus of sobs and camera snaps. I’m shaking. Around me, there is a thick, white fog clouding the very edges of my vision.
“Mom?” I ask.
She’s soothing me, patting my hair and rubbing my back. Outside, they lead me to the car amidst more cameras clicking. I can barely walk. My knees are like Jell-O, and I feel like I’m breathing through a straw. I gasp, and the fog gets worse. I feel Carlos slip me into the passenger seat of Mom’s old Camry, and then he thrusts a bottle of cold, sweaty water in my hand.
“Are you okay, Zoe?” my mother asks, kneeling in front of me.
She has her nurse face on and I know if I say the wrong thing, I’m going to end up spending the night in the hospital.
“I think she’s in shock,” Carlos says, patting my hand gently. I pull it away.
“Not helping, Carlos.” I look over at my mother, who is clearly on the edge of panic. “I’m fine. Just overwhelmed. Can we just go home?” She nods, patting my knee before moving to the other side of the car. Carlos gently turns me in my seat, trying to help me buckle. Behind him, on the steps to the funeral home, Logan is standing in the sunlight. Only, the reporters are all ignoring him.
I grab Carlos by the lapel and jerk my head toward the stairs.
“Do you see that?”
He turns and looks over his shoulder. “What?”
“Do you see anyone on the steps?”
He frowns. “No. Why?”
I shake my head, squeezing my eyes shut. “Never mind. I think my breakfast grape juice fermented. I’m gonna go home and lay down for a bit.”
He shuts the door, and I lean out the window to give him a peck on the cheek.
“Take care, sweetie. Call me later when you are feeling better.”
I tug my hair out of the bun and let it fall around my shoulders. A familiar ache is growing inside my skull and I know if I leave it in, it’ll only make it worse. “I will.”
He steps back onto the curb, and we speed off. I don’t open my eyes all the way ho
me. I just let the cool wind blow knots into my hair and try not to think of the thousands of pictures of me freaking out that are hitting the web as we speak, or of Logan’s face in that coffin.
I fail on both counts.
By the time I open my eyes, the sun is shining full strength through my bedroom window. Somehow, I’ve made it out of my clothes and into my soft, blue pajama pants and grey tank top. I groan, rolling over and glancing at the alarm clock. The flashing red 4:13 makes me jerk up, toss off the warm, green comforter, and leap to my feet. I open my door, but the house is completely silent. A piece of paper is taped to my door.
Zoe-
Working a double shift. Call me if you aren’t feeling better soon. Don’t forget to pick up what you need for school!
Love,
Mom
I rip the paper off the door and wad it into a ball, tossing it over my shoulder as I step into the hallway. The first day of school is in less than a week, but I almost can’t bring myself to think of it. It’s not that I hate school, per se, but it’s tedious and boring. Not even my advanced classes really challenge me, and let’s face it, I’m probably going to spend the bulk of the year in the library anyway—which I’d rather do without a bunch of other people annoying me. I’m supposed to be there tomorrow since I volunteered to help set up for back-to-school night, but I’m actually debating blowing it off.
Then a pang of guilt sets in, and I think better of it.
Mrs. Jackson had been kind enough to let me spend most of my summer there, helping at times, or just devouring the new books. As I’m rummaging through nearly barren cabinets, my cell rings. Putting on the Ritz, Carlos’ ring tone, echoes through the house. I snatch it up.
“Hey Carlos. What’s up?”
“Not much. How are you feeling? I called earlier, but your mom answered. She said you were still sleeping.”
I stifle a yawn. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I don’t know what happened. Panic attack or something?”
Yesterday’s events seem so surreal; I can’t make sense of any of it. I suppose grief does weird things to the body.
“As long as you are feeling better now.” His voice is hesitant, like he’s waiting to gauge my reaction.