The Haunted’s Kiss of Regret and Repentance

The knock on the door repeated again, and this time, it was a bit louder. Izzy was the only one brave enough to open it, and since I’ve been seeing the shadow all day, I had to hold on to Perry as the three of us went to the door.

As soon as Izzy opened the door, no one was there. I screamed as Katherine’s smiling face popped up from the left side of the door.

“Wow, you guys need to tone down your caffeine intake, you’re too jumpy today. You guys need to get a life and get out of this room. You will all turn into one of those hermits if you won’t leave this place.”

Katherine proceeded to go inside of the house while the three of us calmed ourselves down. She kept laughing, and only stopped a few seconds after we were seated on the sofa.

“What is wrong with you Kath? You nearly gave the three of us a heart attack! We could have all died on the spot if we had weak hearts, sheesh!”

“Calm down, Perry, don’t be overly dramatic. I came here because the two of you have been gone for the entire day, and I didn’t even know Izzy was visiting. As your best friend ms. Perry Bernardino, I have the right to wonder where you are.”

“Okay fine, Kath, but next time, you could have at least given me a call first before barging in here. We were in the middle of solving a mystery, and your insufferable knocking is ruining the moment of thrill.”

In the end, we told Katherine about my problem with Rian and his spells. She was terrified at first, but since she also goes to the same church and school as us, she helped me feel more calm when I heard her preachings. I was now beginning to go to church so I gradually accepted the fact that there is indeed truth inside it.

The following morning, Izzy went home, and we all decided that it would be the best if I was able to help myself heal. I wanted to visit Rian’s grave, but I knew the family would never allow me because of the lies that Rian told them about me. In the end, I decided to contact Sweet and let her monitor the situation of Rian’s widowed mother, and his remaining family members.

“Why don’t you write those scary dreams into a story and submit it to the school’s literary folio? People would go nuts if you made a story and put a note that said it was based on a true story.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

My friend Hazel was giving me ideas on how to maximize my time despite the situation I had with Rian. She was a close friend of mine, and she was helping me cope with my situation. Hazel and Pearl are my best friends in college, and we were now hanging out in the cafeteria as I explained to them my situation with Rian, the curse, and even the hallucinations and its effects.

“I know that what happened to you and Rian is hard, Shyne, but Hazel is right, your life shouldn’t stop. The curse that he made by offering his body is not enough reason for you to just give up. Your final decision and your mind will always be greater than some voodoo madness that anyone will try.”

“Pearl is right, I personally don’t believe in curses, and I know that there can be a way out of this terrible situation. You just have to first, focus on the positive side, and remember that you have an entire support system waiting for you and backing you up.”

“Thanks ladies, I really hope that we can find a way for my nightmares and hallucinations to stop. My insomnia is getting worse, and it’s affecting my studies and responsibilities.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Shyne, me and Pearl can help you get your grades up. You’re still the smart girl even with the voodoo madness trying to distract you.”

Pearl and Hazel left me alone in the publication office after a few hours of bonding and walking around the school’s quiet spots. As I sat there, tears fell from my eyes. I felt a presence with me, and it was suffocating me. The door suddenly opened, and I nearly hit my head by standing up too quickly.

“Relax! Hey, babe, it’s just me, Shyne. Sorry, I should have knocked before opening the door.”

Brixton Del Mundo was one of my best friends who was from another school. He was the editor-in-chief of their school’s publication, and it’s the reason he can come and go to our publication.

“You really need to learn how to knock, babe. Seriously Brixton, you’ll give me a heart attack. It’s still early, why are you visiting here today?”

“I wanted to have a meeting with your editor-in-chief. Wow, babe, do I look that bad for you to scream like that when I came in? I mean, I know you’re partially blind, but my face is the kind of beauty that can restore your eyesight.”

“Yeah, and my fist can restore your memory of how untrue that statement is.”

We both laughed at ourselves, and I felt the room lit up as we both talked while waiting for my editor-in-chief. I forgot about Rian and the whole curse that he gave me, and I forgot about the shadow that was about to take over a few seconds ago. It felt great talking with Brixton, and it felt great to just be around him.

“So, you have feelings for that guy, that’s the reason why you can’t bring yourself to accept me, Shyne?” Rian’s voice echoed around the black void that I was standing in.

The surrounding place was pitch black, and all that I could see were my own hands and body. I couldn’t see where Rian was, but I could feel his presence surrounding me, and his voice could be heard from multiple directions.

“My love, you know that you’re mine and no one else can have you. The love I have for you can never be matched by that bastard you have right now in your life.”

“Stop it Rian! Brixton and I are best friends, and he has nothing to do with you! Stop this torture you’re doing to me right now, please.”

A sob escaped my lips, and I fell on my knees begging him to stop as his laughter became louder. A black smoke surrounded my trembling body, and the smoke turned into arms as Rian materialized while hugging me from behind.

“This is the best feeling in the world, my love. Now, I have the freedom to embrace you and be with you for eternity. Soon, my love, you’ll understand that the boy you decide to love now needs to be gone for us to be together for all eternity.”

Rian proceeded to kiss my hair and embraced me tightly as I felt myself tremble with fear, anger, and frustration. His ice-cold lips and body moved as I sobbed once more.

All that was in my mind was Brixton’s face as he smiled. I will never forgive myself if Rian will do something to harm him or anyone that I loved. I found the strength to push Rian away and stand up on shaky legs.

“Get away from me, Rian! You are a sick and twisted bastard if you think I’m still that coward who’ll fall for your threats!”

Rian’s face morphed into a terrifying demon with red eyes and a bloody mouth. He was surrounded by a ring of fire as I backed away in fear of being burned. Suddenly, the fetus I saw before was clinging to Rian’s biceps. The fetus looked like a demon baby covered with blood and bluish veins.

“You can never escape me you little pathetic wench! We will be together for all eternity, and you will be mine, and mine alone! We’ll have a family, and I’ll make sure that I’ll put our baby in your womb whether you like it or not!”

Rian’s face was no longer his, and his voice sounded like a monster’s. There was no longer any love, remorse, or any kind of soft emotion in his voice, and it was more terrifying than ever. I took a step back, and Rian shifted his weight to prepare himself to pounce.

The fetus hugged his arms as Rian prepared himself to either hug or bite me, I have no idea. The emotion that he had was like a rabid dog on a hunt, and I felt my legs turn to jelly as fear consumed me.

Rian stood up and finally lunged in an attempt to crush me in his embrace, but a light behind me started to shine and I woke up. I gasped as I tried to catch my breath while looking at my bedroom’s ceiling.

A scream escaped my lips as I saw that I was no longer alone in my room. Someone was beside me under the covers.