Page 1 of Darkest Fantasies

Chapter 1

Catherine

Wrapping my hair in a towel, I step out of the bathroom, halting my steps when I see random clothes laid neatly out on my bed that I've never seen before. My eyes widen, nostrils flaring as I look at my still locked door meaning my stepmom hasn’t been inside my room. My eyes dart to the open window with a raised eyebrow, unsure if I left it open. Walking hesitantly towards it, I notice a black tulip resting on a folded piece of paper.

He was here.

Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I open the paper. As to be expected, there’s a small message from him and a quote written in neat cursive handwriting. My heart threatens to rip through my chest in the same manner as it has ever since I received my first letter fromhim. I’ve received hundreds of these notes,and I’m not sure why I still get this nervous when I get a new one.

For my tulip: In case you change your mind.

He was her dark fairytale, and she was his twisted fantasy. Together, they created magic.

—F. Scott Fitzgerald

The poetic quotes he leaves me vary, from Edgar Allan Poe to Jane Eyre to today's F. Scott Fitzgerald. I believe that the quote he picks is based on his moods. The prior Edgar Allen Poe quote, "We loved with a love that was more than love," dripped with yearning, and I couldn't help but feel connected to the dark figure I'd never met, yet feel I've known a lifetime. I lift the piece of paper and inhale a long breath with a goofy grin on my face. It smells likehim. Earthy with a hint of mystery. Placing my face on my hand, I sigh. I don’t even know who this man is, and I’ve been obsessed with him for years. Well, it’s more the idea of him since I’ve never seen his face, only his silhouette. My heart, body, and soul belong tohim, to a ghost. It’s hard not to fall for him. With the attention to detail, he leaves me in each note and gift as if he is sharing a piece of himself. He makes me feel seen and cared for; as crazy as this sounds he makes me feel safe.

I wasn’t born in this small town like everyone else. I moved here at thirteen and was thrilled to join the community. I quickly learned that people here prefer to be nice to your face and talk shit behind your back. Even if I stayed quiet and minded my own business, the bullies always found a reason to bully me. He has been the only piece this town has gifted me that doesn’t make me feel like an outsider looking in. He sees me, and even if I don’t know what he looks like, I see him too.

“Cat.” My stepmom knocks on my bedroom door. “Cat, there’s a package for you.” I roll my eyes. I wonder what creative idea my stepmother has conjured to make my life hell today.

“I’ll be right out. I’m getting dressed,” I say to her, staring at the gap between my door and the floor, waiting to see her shadow walk away. She takes a second, but she finally goes away. I walk to my closet, kneel on the floor, grab the metal box from under the floorboard, and open it with the key around my neck.

My family thinks it’s a fashion piece, but it’s not. It’s for this metal box thathegave me years ago with three special editionsof Edgar Allan Poe's complete collection. I pass my thumbs over the hand-painted tulips on the top of the box. Knowing he took the time to hand-paint these tulips makes this box even more special.

“Catherine, I’m waiting,” my stepmother yells again. I groan as her footsteps retreat once again. God, this woman can’t let me be. With a resigned sigh, I put the note inside the box and put it back under the floorboards. After putting on pajamas, I go down the stairs, through the hallway toward the living room.

“What’s the emergency?” I ask as I round the corner, stumbling when I see Matt sitting on my couch. My heart starts to feel like it’s going to explode in my chest, and my legs and knees become weak at the sight of him.

“Hey, pumpkin,” he says, his posture loose and relaxed, but the storm brewing in his blue eyes tells a different story. I’m not sure why he continues this facade of dating me when I know he doesn’t want to be with me. I know he hates me because of the actions he takes every day. So many times these past few months, I’ve wanted to end this. I’m not even sure we can call this a relationship. But whatever the hell it is, I want to be done with it. I don’t have feelings for him and he sure as hell doesn’t have feelings for me. My stepmother is forcing me to be with him. Saying it’s good for the family that I’m dating a member of the Agnelli family. They’re the wealthiest family in Golden Oaks County. We’re not the richest but we’re high on the scale, so I’m not sure why she is forcing this union.

She set me up for a blind date almost ten months ago. I was surprised when I got to the restaurant, and he was there. Matt is Mr. Popular, captain of the football team, and out of my league. The first couple of weeks were magical. I can’t deny that. He was sweet, charming, and perfect if I must say so. He was too perfect. He was a walking, talking, red flag, and I was blinded by his easy smiles and all the attention he gave me. Sometimes, I imaginemy dad didn’t spend more time out of town than at home and rescued me from experiencing Matt’s true colors.

He asked me to pick up a tux a few towns over and bring it to him at the country club. His father won an award, and Matt was presenting a speech for him. Unfortunately, there was a car accident on the only road into town, and I couldn’t make it back on time. When I finally arrived three hours after the event ended, he lost it, screaming profanities at me like a madman.

That was the first night of many he laid his hands on me for no reason. A few hours later, he showed up at my house with two dozen red roses and a velvet box containing a pearl necklace. Of course, my stepmom ate that shit up; she swept his abuse under the rug as if the black eye I had on my face didn’t matter - as if I didn’t matter. After he left, she turned to me with a venomous look and said make sure you use orange or green concealer before applying regular concealer to cover it up. I’ve gone through almost thirty little bottles of concealer since then. Turns out that when it’s a fresh bruise, the best to use is green.

“Catherine, why are you standing there? Your boyfriend went out of his way to come see you. The least you could do is say hello.”

“Hey, Matt,” I say, walking to the couch where he is sitting, and notice a pink box wrapped in a darker bow lying on his lap. I try not to show my annoyance. I’ve received plenty of pink boxes from him. He got it in his head one day a little bit over four months ago that I needed to dress more ladylike and less like an emo slut. My stepmother, who has been trying to change my style since we first met, agreed with him. No matter how hard I fought, one day while I was gone, she got rid of all my clothes and replaced them with those he approved. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel like a fish out of water whenever I wear an item they pick out for me - heels and puffy dresses will never grow on me.

“I thought we were meeting at your house later.”

“Plans changed. We’re going to meet my parents at Haunted Nights.” My shoulders slump as my heart sinks in my chest. My plans of spending the rest of the night watching movies are ruined. I was happy it was going to be quick, and I’d have time to spend the rest of my night eating candy and watching scary movies. This sucks.

“I thought they didn’t like going?”

“They normally don’t, but they want to see the new attraction.”

My eyebrows squish together. “New attraction?” They didn’t announce anything new for this year.

He taps his finger on the box lid, annoyed at my question. Everything I say or do upsets him. It’s exhausting having to constantly monitor what I say, do, and how I act. There’s been plenty of situations like tonight where I want to say fuck it and fight back, but I’m afraid my sentence will be extended. I only need to hold on a little bit longer. I can’t ruin my chances of finally being free. If I ruin anything for her she will figure out a way for the school to take back my full-ride scholarship, forcing me to stay home so she can continue to make my life a living hell.

He gives me a pinched expression as he sighs heavily. “Since they own a huge portion of the stock, they got an email announcing that they’re doing a new surprise attraction but they want to test the waters before officially making it a thing.”

“What’s the new attraction?” My stepmother asks as she steps into the room holding a tray full of chocolate chip cookies. I could kiss her right now. For the first time since meeting her, I’ve never been so happy for her nosiness. If I were the one to ask him, it wouldn’t have ended well for me. He would have gotten angry and shut down, not answering the question.

He turns his face to her, giving her his signature fake bright smile that makes my blood boil. It’s been a very long time sinceI last got any sort of smile from him. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or bad. Most of the time, it doesn’t bother me, but there are low moments throughout my day when the lost, starved-for-attention little girl inside me craves his smile.

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