Page 59 of Beyond The Break

I laugh and Kairi snorts. “Deal,” we say in unison, opening our face masks and putting them on.

We’rethirty minutes into the movie, our shoulders touching as we huddle together on the couch, fitting under one blanket. Our facemasks are still on, way past the amount oftime that they’re supposed to sit on our face for, as we stare at the TV in utter fear.

We watch as Lily’s possessed husband stands in a corner of their bedroom, watching her sleep with the most unsettling smile on his face. The blankets that cover her start to lower on their own until she lays in bed completely uncovered.

“Oh my god,” Maliah whispers, peaking at the TV between her fingers, “she's about to get her ass dragged to the basement.”

“She issodead,” Kairi says with an excited smile as she tosses popcorn into her mouth.

“Sodead,” a voice says from behind us.

All three of us shriek and the popcorn flies in all directions as we jump off the couch and whip around. Zale and Griffin scream in response, jumping backwards and grabbing on to each other.

“Holy fuck!” Zale shouts, pressing his palm to his chest as he stares at all of us with wide eyes, breathing heavily.

“Whatever is on your faces, is absolutely more terrifying than the movie,” Griffin says, letting go of Zale and dusting off his shirt.

A crash sounds from upstairs and Koa comes running down the stairs, bedside lamp in hand, practically jumping down the last few steps. He holds the lamp out in front of him like a weapon as he looks around, eyes round with fear.

“What the hell were you planning to do with that?” Zale exclaims, pointing at the lamp, “Electrocute us?”

“Are you okay?” Koa asks, his question directed to Maliah, ignoring Zale.

“Oh, yeah,” Zale says, sarcasm seeping into his voice, “I’m just peachy.”

Maliah’s cheeks turn a subtle shade of pink as she tears her eyes from Koa’s, staring at the couch instead. “I’m fine,” she whispers.

He slowly lowers the lamp, his eyes finding me and Kairi. “What the hell are you all wearing on your faces?”

“Face masks,” I reply, my breathing finally evening out.

Koa frowns, sniffing the air and looking around. “Is something on fire?”

The fire alarm goes off just as Maliah and I look at each other, lips parted.

The cookies.

We both rush to the oven, opening the door. A cloud of black smokes swallows us as I work to put on oven mitts. Pulling the flaming pan out of the oven, I toss it on top of the stove just as Griffin walks over with a fire extinguisher and puts out the fire.

Maliah groans as she stares down at the ruined cookies. “They’re inedible.”

Kairi opens all the nearby windows to help get the smoke out while the boys fan the alarm with kitchen towels until it stops ringing.

“Maybe we should take off these masks and call it a night, ladies.” Kairi says with her hands on her hips.

I nod. “Good idea.”

I grab the empty wine bottle, placing it on the kitchen island before putting our used wine glasses in the dishwasher. Maliah pushes past Koa, cheeks crimson now, and stomps up the stairs. I exchange confused looks with Kairi, who shrugs in response.

“We’ll clean up, you guys go take that crap off of your faces,” Zale says, ushering us toward the stairs.

We make our way upstairs and notice Maliah’s room door is closed with the lights off. When Kairi tries the door handle, it’s locked.

“I guess she’s not in the mood for a slumber party anymore,” Kairi whispers as we walk over to the bathroom that Griffin and I share.

We take off our face masks and rub in the excess moisture before saying goodnight and heading into our separate rooms for the night. I close my door and drop into bed, exhaustion taking over as my head hits the pillow. The heavy weight of sleep settles over me as I close my eyes.

The atmospherein the house is chaotic today. It’s a late Friday afternoon and the boys are filling Griffin’s jeep with bottles and cases of alcohol while the girls are in Mal’s room getting ready. I stare at the empty racks of clothing in my closet and the mounting pile of clothes on my bed.

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