From Beyond The Grave

Her delicate face twists in sheer horror. I stare at her, puzzled why she was in the kitchen. The young girl's eyes roll to the back of her head and drops into an empty box. I'm too much in shock to move.The glass bowl smashes onto the floor. In my peripheral vision I see the red gelatin on my recently clean walls, floor and table. My eyes look down at the sculpted head I just finished painting. It's clean.

Oh shit.

Erik appears from the stairs leading from the basement. "What happened?" He demands, running to the girl's aid. Erik then picks her up from the box and rests his ear on her mouth. With a sigh from Erik, I knew I didn't kill her. I place the head down, and slowly walk up to her. "She's going to be alright." Erik says to me. He gave a disapproving look.

Its the girl from yesterday. Her long raven hair is up in a bun, the white shirt she wears is stained red. Even with that, she still looks beautiful. Her skin is flawless and pale, so much that her arms are translucent from lack of color. Every vein is in view; it's like looking down at a swarm of rivers.

"I know where she lives." Absentmindedly, I step down and kneel. "She lives up the road."

Erik nods, and gets a towel for her head. "We are lucky she fell in a box. Nothing but soft cardboard to stop her brain from looking like that gelatin." He places her head on the towel.

There was a soft groan. Erik and I backed up as she started to come to.

Her arms fall back to the floor, her head shaking. "What the...fuck?" Her eyes open, exposing two gorgeous sea blue irises. They flicker to Erik, then to me. They go wide, her arms bend trying to get the strength to move away. I pull my hands up, and smile innocently.

"Calm down." Erik says. "We are not going to hurt you. You fell down. Do you remember anything?"

She looks back at him, seeing the innocence in his eyes. "It was a fake head, wasn't it?" Erik smiles and nods. He reaches over, helping her pull herself up. She now sits on the kitchen floor, surrounded by red goo. "You scared the fuck out of me, Wolverine."

I chuckle at my new nickname. "My name is actually Curtis." Erik clears his throat. "That is Erik, the artist behind the head, actually. I was just painting the blood on." Her cheeks turn a delicate pink, looking shyly at the head. I guess Erik really is a master at what he is doing.

"I'm Jada-Rayne. You can just call me Jada though." I smile at her name. Jada just stared at me, cocking an eyebrow. I shake my head, along with the stupid grin. "Yeah, my mom is going to kill me when she finds out I dropped the gelatin. Can you, like, not tell her?"

Erik raises an eyebrow. "Is that all you are worried about?"

Jada nods. "My mom is crazy."

I reach out to Jada. "Come on, you need to lie down. I'll take you home."

"How do you know where I live?" Jada asks in a suspicious tone.

"I saw you pass by yesterday..." I can feel my face grow hot. I know I'm blushing like a buffoon. Jada laughs and then stands up with the help from Erik.

I take her arm, letting her weight drop on me. She isn't that heavy, so I easily help her out the door. Jada did not say anything about yesterday. There wasn't much that needed to be said. Erik follows behind, carrying the towel.

The few minutes I had her on my arm felt wonderful. It's refreshing to have someone else around me. It was always my mother or Erik. I love Erik like a brother, but it still felt nice. Jada had recovered, but she kept her arm locked in mine.

It felt weird outside; it was very calm and quiet. This town should be jumping with activity since it is a tourist town. I don't see a single person on the street. I pick up the pace and Jada automatically keeps up. It's as if she has the same feeling as well.

Before we find her apartment door we take turns with the towel to clean ourselves. When Jada opens the door she whispers something to another person. The door is opened to us. What I saw completely amazes me. It wasn't how nicely decorated the house was. Or how sweet and welcoming it felt; it was the other person.

The girl was an exact copy of Jada. The same shade of blue eyes, same color hair and even the same smile. There were a few noticeable differences. The twin sister's hair is short and curled. Her body is curved, but athletic and tight. On Jada her midsection is softer, a bit more round and she has more curves. Jada's figure was more pleasing than her sister's. I saw the twin's eyes glare at me.

"Mom?!" Jada left me to go search for her mom. They walk into the room and I notice that their mother looks just like them. This woman was older, her eyes showed age, but she had the same sweet smile. "Mom, meet the neighbors."

Their mother blushes, tucking her sandy blonde hair behind her ear. "I'm Eliza. Nice to meet you." She looks over us and with a sigh she places her hand on her hip. "Jada-Rayne, what did you do?!" She demands, looking at the beautiful daughter.

Quickly I step forward. "With all do respect, it was entirely my fault. I have extremely buttery fingers, so when Jada gave me the bowl it fell. I thank you very much though." It's a little white lie. The mother accepts it and meekly smiles.

Suddenly the phone rings. We all jump from the sudden noise. Eliza excuses her self to answer. Jada watches and waits until she is out of sight. "Thanks for covering me." She looks right at me and grins. We stand in the room awkwardly for a few minutes.

Eliza runs through the living room.

"I'll be home later. Nicole got some mutant strand of food poisoning. Her husband needs me over there. If you boys can please stay, I'll be back as soon as possible." Eliza stops, and looks at me. "Please babysit that one." She points towards Jada's twin, who yells at her as she quickly runs out the door.

"I am fucking twenty years old!" The sister grunts, storming off to the kitchen. Jada just giggles. She notices Erik and I, and sees how confused we look. I never heard of a mother asking strangers to watch her children; her adult children.

Jada jumps over to us, like a child. She covers her mouth, "Jasmine got caught having sex on the couch again. Our mother hates that. You don't have to stay. Our mother drinks so she doesn't know what she is saying half the time." Its a low whisper, but Erik and I hear. It explains everything.

Erik chuckles lightly. "We have to. I have work in a few minutes and Erik is in the middle of an art project."

"Well stop by some time then. I really appreciate what you did." Jada blushes again.