Page 18 of Sinister

Saskia rounds the car and links her arm through mine. “You know, you could always get a dildo to satisfy your needs.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Before I left to come pick you up, I opened a package from my crazed stalker. In it was a vibrator molded to the shape of his finger. His fucking finger!” A cold shiver rushes down my spine as I recall the feeling of it vibrating in my hand. I glance around making sure no one has followed us here.

“I’m grossed out but impressed with his creativity.” Saskia grips me tightly against her as her eyes dart around the woods on either side of the driveway. “I’m creeped out, let’s get inside.” She shudders as she drags me toward the staircase that leads up to the Georgian gothic mansion.

The bass of the music seeps through the walls and I can hear the party has already kicked off. As we approach the large carved door, it opens before we can knock and standing on the threshold is someone dressed as Frankenstein.

He steps aside and indicates with his green tinged hand for us to enter. We scurry past him into a room filled with hundreds of floating candles and a thick haze of smoke that makes it difficult to see. I grab Saskia’s hand as I lead her through the front foyer, down the long hallway to the back of the house where the main party is.

Searching the space for any familiar faces, I spot someone dressed as a shower, complete with a shower curtain decorated in rubber ducks. But that’s not the weirdest nightmare. Apparently, someone is afraid of a corn chip as I spot a human sized corn chip at the bar.

“This way,” I shout over the music and beeline for the bar with Saskia trailing behind me.

“What will it be, ladies?” The guy serving drinks winks at me. He’s dressed in a maid outfit that’s splattered in red paint to resemble blood. I want to ask him what his nightmare is but I don’t want to be intrusive.

“Two passionfruit Martini’s, please,” I half shout over the music.

I turn around to face the crowd of misfits dancing. It looks like a Halloween party gone wrong. There are people dressed in unimaginative costumes like mine but then there’s the ones who have obviously taken the nightmare request literally in the hopes to face their fears and tackle them in costume.

“What the hell is that supposed to be?” Saskia nudges me as she hands me my drink.

I look to where she’s pointing but I’m momentarily distracted. My eyes are playing tricks on me, because further back in the darkened room, I swear I see something move and disappear. Something that felt like it was watching me, following my movements and then hid when I looked in their direction.

Looking back to where Saskia pointed, I shrug, taking a sip of my drink. “I think it’s a breadstick.”

“What a fucking weird nightmare.” Saskia shakes her head unimpressed by the poor girl’s fear.

“Personally, I love bread. Give me all the panini and baguettes and I’ll die happy,” I giggle.

“We need to find you a baguette tonight.” She laughs at her own joke as I roll my eyes. “Let’s hunt.”

Saskia walks away from me into the crowd on the dance floor and quickly disappears in the writhing and grinding bodies. I stay seated at the bar enjoying my drink when a guy in a spider costume approaches the bar and takes the seat beside me.

“Hey.” His eyes land on my breasts.

“Up here.” I place my pointer finger under his chin and make him look up at me. “Hi.” I smile at him. His dark brown hair is longer in the front and sits lopsided over one of his eyes. I spot a tiny sliver of a tattoo peeking out from above the neckline of his costume. My mind immediately needs to know what is hiding beneath.

“Sorry, but damn.” He throws me the cheesiest, goofiest grin and it’s hard not to laugh.

“Keep those eyes up here, arachnophobia.” I take another sip of my drink and scan the crowd to see if I can spot Sass.

“I’m not actually afraid of spiders. It’s the only costume I had and figured spiders are a believable fear.” He reaches for the tumbler of amber liquid placed in front of him. “I’m Connor, host of the party.” He offers his hand for me to shake.

I take his hand and gently shake it. “You own this Addams Family house?” I glance around at the inside of the building, well, as much as I can see in the dim lighting.

“Yep. It’s been in my family for generations. Makes a good place to host Halloween.” He throws back his drink and slides it back to the bartender.

“It’s something else.”

“Sorry, I can’t hear you.” He leans into me and focuses on my lips, not daring to allow his eyes to roam further south.

I move so my mouth is near his cheek. “I said, it’s something else.” I know he can hear me perfectly clear but the thought of him being coy about wanting to get me closer is sweet.

No guy has come near me ever. Period. It’s like I’m a pariah or people fear that they will be hit with the famous Monroe curse and be murdered for being associated with me. It’s a lonely place here.

He shifts to face me and his lips are inches from mine. I see the crinkle in the corners of his eyes when he grins. “She certainly is.” Grabbing his freshly poured drink, and without taking his eyes off mine, he takes a sip and licks the remnants from his lips.

Shaking my head to get me out from under his spell, I move to face the crowd again and spot Saskia coming toward me with a guy dressed as Drop Dead Fred in her clutches. Her eyes dart from me to the guy seated next to me and back again.

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