The Best Mistake

“I seriously hate you. Like, you have no idea how much I would love to punch you in your esophagus right now,” I said, glaring at Taylor.

“And after, I’m going to throw you in a field of starving wolves,” Kat added, glaring as well.

“Then I’ll record it and use it as porn, because I will be that excited to see you gone,” Jenn finished- yes, while glaring.

Tommy- Tay’s boyfriend- gave Jenn a strange look while Taylor just grinned. “C’mon guys, lighten up,” she said. “At least you all have amazing jobs.”

“All of our jobs suck!” Kat exclaimed.

I should probably explain why we were talking to Jenn like this. Summer break started a week and a half ago and a couple days after, Taylor, Kat, Jenn and I were trying to figure out what jobs we wanted. Then Taylor suggested that we all try to get shitty jobs, and whoever gets the worse job gets fifty dollars from everybody else. So we all went hunting for shitty jobs. All of us got one, too- me at Hollister, Kat at McDonald's, and Jenn at Isa’s Ice Cream Shop! - all of us except Taylor. Turns out, she never even started looking. So everybody but Taylor had excruciatingly horrible jobs and only fifty dollars because we couldn’t decide who had the shittiest job. I mean, mine wasn't exactly terrible, but I was already getting lightheaded from the smell- that I once loved- of that place. Plus, Susie Aikens works there- she makes it shitty enough.

“Is it eight already? Damn, I gotta go. ‘Family Fun Night- Hoorah!’” Jenn said, nonchalantly. I gave her a sympathetic look. I’d been over one night for Family Fun Night- Hoorah! and it had been an awful experience.

“Good luck!” we all chorused as she walked away, waving a hand at us lazily.

“I have work tomorrow morning at six.” Kat threw a glare at Taylor who just smiled innocently. “And I still have a load of shit to do tonight. So I’ll see you guys later, ta-ta!”

“Let me guess- you have to go too?” I asked Taylor.

She gave me an apologetic smile. “My parents anniversary, I’ve gotta babysit Leo. Sorry, Ashlyn.”

“But nobody’s going to be home tonight and I don’t like being at my house alone at night,” I semi-whined.

“I could see if you can stay at mine, but you know how Leo is…” she trailed.

I grimaced, thinking about last time I helped her babysit. I ended up with a sprained wrist and my left ankle had fourteen bite marks on it. “Devil child,” I muttered. “I’d rather take my chances at my house.” I’d ask Tommy to hang out for a little bit, but he hates everybody and is a complete asshole. Literally, he’s got maybe two friends, not including Taylor. But he hates any and everybody Taylor hangs out with. It's not like he's possessive or anything, he’s just hateful. And no matter how many times Taylor tries to convince me he’s a ‘real sweetheart when he wants to be’, I find it impossible to believe.

“Call me if you need anything, girly! Love ya!” she said, standing up. Tommy mumbled a goodbye before she dragged him away.



I locked the door and made sure all the downstairs windows were locked. Okay, so maybe watching a scary movie was a terrible idea. I practically ran upstairs to my room and slammed the door shut. I walked into the bathroom connected to my bedroom and closed the door, pulling my toothbrush out of its holder. I turned the water on and started brushing my teeth, slightly humming to myself.

I froze as I heard my window open. I dropped toothbrush in the sink and listened as I heard the floor creak, confirming that somebody was indeed in my room. It couldn’t be my parents; they left to go to dinner only an hour ago. Aaron was three hours away in college. Aurora was at a friend’s house. Alex was at his grandmas. And none of my friends were supposed to be com- Wait! Why am I even thinking this through?! Nobody I know would use my window to get in my house because it’s on the second floor!

I grabbed my toothbrush, gripping on it for dear life as I opened the door. The window was completely closed. My door was still closed. The colorfully lit lamp next in the corner of my room was on, and I didn’t see anybody. I sighed in relief, turning around and going back to finish brushing my teeth when an arm wrapped around my waist and a hand went over my mouth. My eyes widened at the metal that was in his hand. I’m going to die, I’m going to die. “Call the cops or make any wrong move and I won’t hesitate to slit your throat, got it?” Gulping, I nodded but froze again when I felt the cool metal touch the tip of my nose. “Are you fucking dumb? Stay still before you cut your own goddamn self.” The guy mumbled a few things. “Is anybody else home?” Slowly and only slightly, I shook my head no. “Okay, I’m going to take my hand off your mouth now. But if you scream, you should know that killing you would not bother my conscience the slightest bit.” He slowly removed his hand, before looking at it in disgust. “What the hell? Do you have rabies or something?”

I scoffed. “Of course I do,” I said, without thinking. Once I spoke, I froze. I don’t know how big this guy was or how old he was or how many murders he's committed in the past, and here I am making smart ass comments?!

I heard him chuckle and ignored how it sounded slightly sexy. “You’ve got balls, girl. I’ll give you that,” he said.

“I was brushing my teeth when I got interrupted,” I said.

“Alright, I’ll let you finish because quite frankly, it’s disgusting. But if you try to run-“ I cut him off, getting irritated with his stupid constant threats.

“You’ll kill me and not feel bad because you’re a psycho killer, yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it,” I said, and went in the bathroom and started washing my mouth out.

“I’m not a psycho killer,” he said suddenly. His voice was cold and harsh.

“Could’ve fooled me,” I mumbled, wiping my mouth on a towel. Before I knew it, I was pushed up against the bathroom wall, my head banging the cold tile. His hand was around my throat, but not tight. Just enough to keep me in place.

“You don’t know anything about me.” His voice was dangerously low and insanely threatening. “I need somewhere to hide out for maybe an hour, and then I’ll be gone. But I refuse to put up with your stupid ass mouth. So do yourself a favor, and shut the fuck up.”

I barely heard what he said though. I was too busy staring at his face. It was a shame that somebody so attractive was a psycho- because this guy was almost the definition of perfect. He had straight, soft-looking black hair that reached his shoulders. His blue gray eyes were beautiful- even though they showed obvious hatred for me and his left eye wore what looked like a black eye. His canine bites contrasted amazingly with his pale skin. He couldn’t have been over twenty years old.

“Okay,” I finally said in a small voice.

“Good,” he said, backing up a little. “While I’m here, the least you could do is offer your guest some food.”