My House is NOT Haunted

Brandon arrived at about seven.

Jason and I were watching TV in the living room when the doorbell rang. Apparently I was almost passed out, so Jason answered the door.

I startled awake when I heard Brandon bark at Jason. “What are you doing here?”

I looked toward where the voices were coming from, and saw Jason tilt his head to the side. “I live here.”

Brandon looked past Jason and at me. “Kel, what are you doing here if this is Jason’s house?”

I stretched and walked over to the boys. “I live next door. We’re staying here until they can get rid of the mold in my house.” I scrunched up my face at the thought of it.

Brandon nodded, and Jason scowled.

I raised an eyebrow. “Ok, then. You ready?”

Brandon nodded vigorously and held out a hand. I hesitated before taking it. When I did, I heard Jason scoff behind me. Ignoring this, I turned to him. “I’ll be home about ten. Can you tell my parents when they get home?”

He just nodded, and Brandon pulled me to his car. I got in and buckled up (safety first, kids). He hopped into the passenger seat, and it wasn’t until he had started driving that I realized what kind of car he had. Yes, I’m slow.

Although, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to me. But not that many people have BMW’s where I’m from.

Brandon and I chatted about school on our way to the beach. I was dressed for the occasion. I had a jean skirt over a bathing suit, in case anyone got me wet.

I was startled when Brandon asked, “So, what’s up with you and Ryder anyway?”

My jaw dropped. “Nothing. In fact, I think he hates me.”

He did a double take. “You’re kidding, right? He’s, like, in love with you. What?”

“J-Jason’s not in l-love with me!” I sputtered in between laughs.

Brandon just shook his head and stared ahead of him.

-----

“BRANDON!” some girl squealed. Ok, this had been going on all night. A cheerleader would come up to Brandon, hug him, then drag him off somewhere. Needless to say, I was NOT having a good time.

To make things worse, Whitney was here. Not that she actually acted like I was related to her, or anything. That would be social suicide.

So, I just sat quietly in one of the beach chairs and surveyed the party. Mostly, it was just a lot of drunken eighteen-year-olds. A few of the cheerleaders that I recognized from lunch the first day were dancing to the music. Or, rather, stumbling. Even in their current state, most of them had better rhythm than me. Not that I was surprised or anything.

All of the sudden, someone plopped down next to me. In the dim light, I recognized her as Brooke.

She turned to me. “Having fun yet?”

I snorted. “Sure. Let’s go with that.”

“So… who brought you here? Oh, come on, we all know you had to have been brought by a date. So who is it?”

I rolled my eyes. “Brandon Smith.”

Brooke just stared at me for a moment. “No. Way. Brandon Smith? Kelly, I’d get out while you can.”

I sighed. “Well, I don’t really have a say in the matter. He’s my ride.”

I heard her chuckle next to me. “I won’t make that mistake again. Well, see ya.”

She walked away while I stared after her. Maybe I should go find Bandon…

I stood up and began to weave my way through the crowd. So many people were close to me, and I swear someone grabbed my butt. I squealed, but kept moving until I found Brandon on the other edge of the party, yelling at some cheerleader. She was drunk, obviously, but I was surprised to note that Brandon wasn’t. Huh.

“…You’re obviously wasted, so there’s no way you’ll even remember this conversation in the first place! But for the love of- Oh, hi Kelly!” Brandon ran a hand through his hair. “So, are you about ready to go?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh, by all means, continue with your little conversation. Pretend I’m not here. You have been all night, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

I smirked slightly as I saw him begin to shake. I mean, really? What guy does that? “Kelly, seriously, let’s go,” he pleaded.

Wow. I never realized how confident I was with guys. It was almost… natural. “Fine with me.”

He hesitantly took my hand and led me to the car. I glanced over my shoulder to see her staring at us with her mouth hanging open. Just to taunt her, I gave her a little wave. She swayed as the music picked up, and I giggled.

The ride back was totally silent. Even the radio on the car was off, and neither of us bothered to turn it on. I was surprised when we got to Jason’s house and Brandon walked me up to the front door.

Standing about a foot away from me, he just stared into my eyes for a minute. I stared back, not wanting to be outdone. Slowly, he started to speak. “Kelly… Look, I’m sorry about what happened tonight. I didn’t know all those girls were…” He trailed off.

I looked him right in the eyes. At least he was telling the truth. I sighed. “I know, I know. I’m sorry for freaking out on you before.”

A crooked smile formed on his face. “Good night, Kelly.”

“Good ni-“

He cut me off again, but this time he crashed his lips on to mine.

Crashed is really the best word for it. It wasn’t soft and sweet, like all the first kisses in the movies. There weren’t any fireworks exploding in my head. I wasn’t weak in the knees. I was really… wet.

I turned unresponsive, begging him to stop. As long as I’ve wanted my first kiss, this was not what I had in mind. I moved the tiniest bit, and he thought I was kissing back, so he sped everything up. I was silently pleading for something to interrupt him.

And I got my wish. Jason threw open the door behind us, and yanked me by the shirt into the house, leaving a confused-looking Brandon out on the steps. Jason pulled me into him, in case Brandon tried anything, but soon I heard footsteps retreating from the door. I let out a deep breath I never knew I’d been holding.

Jason, who was still holding me tightly, looked down at me, seeing as he was about six inches taller. I looked up at him. Suddenly, he pushed me away from him and ran a hand through his hair. “Uh… are you ok?”

I nodded, and noticed for the first time that I was crying. I shook my head. “I… I don’t know.”

Before I knew it, I was sobbing. My shoulders shook with every breath, and tears were streaming down my face. I honestly didn’t know why I was crying. I guess I’d had it bottled up since Jeff died. I almost never cried then. And what with everything that had happened this past week with Jason and Brandon… I guess it just became too much.

I collapsed onto the floor, and curled myself into a ball. I felt someone wrap their arms around me, and lift me up. They carried me up some steps, to what I assumed was my room. This made me cry harder, because Jeff used to do the same thing for me when I was sad. The person carrying me set me down on my bed, and I grabbed my pillow and sobbed into it.

“It’s ok, Kelly,” Jason whispered in my ear and held me tightly to him while I cried.

~Flashback~

Our old school went from kindergarten to eighth grade. I was in fifth, Jeff was in eighth, and Whitney was in sixth, but she never paid any attention to me.

One day, a bunch of boys in my class cornered me. I shrunk into a ball, willing them to go away, but they relentlessly taunted me about my glasses and being smart. I eventually broke down crying. The boys started throwing things at me to get me to do stuff, but I stayed curled up.

The boys, fed up with the fact that I wasn’t responding to them, started hitting me. And kicking, and punching, and pinching, and anything else you can do to hurt another person, short of killing them.

After a few minutes of that, I was bruised, bloody, and scared out of my mind. And then suddenly, it stopped, and an even bigger boy was standing over me. “Please… please don’t hurt me…” I pleaded softly. I could barely hear myself, so I was surprised when the larger boy leaned down to me.

“Kelly, I won’t hurt you,” Jeff assured me softly. He stood up, and faced the other boys. “If you know what’s good for you, you better run. And don’t EVER come near my sister AGAIN!” he bellowed.

I lifted my head, with a little difficulty, and saw that the boys that had tortured me were running away, terrified. I would have laughed if my ribs weren’t broken.

Jeff stooped to my level again. “Kelly, we need to get you to the nurse.”

Carefully, so as not to hurt me again, he scooped me up and carried me into the building, and in to the nurse’s office. The nurse, seeing me in my condition, called 9-1-1 and I was sent to the hospital. Apparently, I had four broken ribs, a broken arm, and a deep gash in my forehead. Jeff was with me the whole time, and kept repeating, “It’s ok, Kelly. It’s fine.”

~End Flashback~

Whitney came into the room to find Jason and I curled up on the bed, with me sobbing into his chest while he made comforting noises. I heard her gasp, and stomp over to us.

“What are you two doing? Jason, what did you do to my baby sister?” she demanded.

Jason slowly laid me on the bed and stood up to Whitney. “I didn’t do anything. She came from her date with Brandon and just… collapsed.”

I heard Whitney sigh and whisper, “I’ll take it from here, Jason. Thanks.”

Jason left the room, and Whitney came over to my bed. It sank beneath her weight as she sat down. “You want to tell me what happened?” she asked softly.

I sat up slowly, and nodded. “H-he ignored me the entire night, a-and then he k-kissed me.” I scrunched up my nose. “It w-was gross.”

Whitney chuckled. “That’s it? Because I swear, if he tried anything…”

I shook my head. “No. I think j-just the whole J-Jason thing and now th-this… it’s t-too much.”

She nodded, knowingly. “Alright. I’ll talk to Jason. You get some sleep. Ok?”

I nodded this time. “Thanks, Whit.”

She stood up to leave. “Anytime, Kel.”

I slowly drifted off to sleep as soon as she shut the door behind her.