Act 1 | Chapter 8

It was the sound of the shower running that woke me up a few hours later. The sun was just peeking through the window. Memories of the previous day hit me, and I let out a tired groan. Looking back at it, it was kind of fun. I don't think my body had ever felt that kind of adrenaline rush up to that point, and it was definitely a new and interesting feeling. I squinted my eyes and rubbed the crusts out of them before yawning and checking my surroundings. I could see Riley's mother standing over the stove in the kitchen. She was dressed in an all-white sleeping gown and humming a soft tune. Slowly, I climbed out of bed and stood up. My leg's still felt uneven. They even hurt to walk on, and I wasn't sure why exactly. I was probably still just on edge.

"Morning Miss Blackmar," I said in a raspy voice, as I sat at the kitchen table. She turned around to look at me.

"Good morning Zoey. How was your evening?" She asked me in a calm and singsong voice, though I was able to pick up a hint of stress in there.

"It was fine. Nothing big really happened."

"Are you sure? You don't sound fine."

"Damn it, she could tell." I thought to myself before responding. "I'm fine, really. Just a little shaken."

"With what sweetie?"

"I'm just a bit nervous I guess?" I wasn't sure how exactly to explain this to her. I knew Riley's mom, and she did care for me, more than my own mother ever has. However, I wasn't sure how she would react if I told her that I want to go see a horror movie with Riley. I didn't hesitate though. Hope Blackmar was a smart woman, and she could figure these things out on her own without us even telling her. "Might as well come out and say it." I thought. "We went to go see a movie yesterday."

"A movie? Did Riley take you out to watch a horror movie?" She asked worriedly.

"Um, n- no," I responded. Out of the corner of my eye, I was able to spot the two tickets purchased sitting on the counter. "So that's how she found out." I let out a sigh and reworded my response. "Maybe."

"Look, you can tell me, Zoey. I won't get mad. I'm just worried about your well being."

"Okay, w- we did. The one about..." I stopped, for a moment and tried to think of a way to explain the film, but the only parts I could remember where those when people died. "The new one that just came out," I responded shakily. Miss Blackmar sighed and nodded her head.

"Did you agree to this?" She asked.

"Yes. Riley asked me and I said yes."

"I see, and did Riley ever try to force you to stay?"

"N- No?"

After a moment of staring at me, Miss Blackmar nodded again and finished breakfast she was making.

"Good. I don't want my daughter hurting your heart with jump scares or any of that creepy stuff. How's school by the way?" She asked, passing me a plate of fresh eggs and cooked bacon.

"School's going okay. I don't have any homework this weekend so..."

"That's good. You can help look after my daughter when she's out doing... whatever it is that she does."

I chuckled a bit and smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so. What about you?"

Miss Blackmar sat down at the table with her own plate of food, giving me a smile.

"Not too bad. There've been one or two drunk car crashes, so my job hasn't been too bad." When Miss Blackmar mentioned this, I started remembering the scene in the movie. When the killer was run over by a car but got up anyway.

"What is it like?" I asked.

"A car crash?" She tilted her head at me.

"Yes."

"Well, it's not always as bad as how the movie depicts them. It's usually just a small hit. Some head bleeding, a large dent in your car. It's not super tragic. Stuff like this happened almost all the time. Usually by drunk or just tired drivers."

"Hm, still sounds scary to be in though."

"Well, it is scary. Often time people die from car crashes."

"I know that." I said smirking, "What are those crashes like?"

"Well, my team don't see it happen, but usually when my team and I are at the scene, the car is a little steamy, and there's a large dent where the car got hit. Some broken glass and blood as well."

Those images didn't settle well in my head. I shook the feeling off and looked back up at Miss Blackmar.

THUMP. I jumped with the sudden sound of Riley sitting down. I took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. Riley had just gotten out of the shower, wearing shorts and a simple black tank top.

"Morning mum, morning Zoe." She greeted us and looked to her mom to hand her a plate.

"M- Morning Riley," I said in a shaky tone.

"How are you dear?" Miss Blackmar asked.

"I'm doing fine, thank you. Can I have some food?" Riley's mother rolled her eyes and reached behind her for a plate. She served it to her and slid the plate over to her.

"Thank you." She smiled and started digging in.

"So Riley, you brought Zoey to a horror movie right?"

"Yeah, I thought she needed to get used to scary stuff. At least a little bit." Riley responded with her mouth half full.

"And what happened after? I saw some clothes in the wash that clearly weren't yours or mine. What happened?"

Riley looked over to me then back to her mother.

"Yeah, Zoey spilled her drink when we were watching. That's all. People eventually get used to being scared."

I sat there in silence, continuing to listen to the two of them.

"Not as easy as you, Riley." Miss Blackmar responded.

"I know."

"Look, just don't do it too often okay? I'm worried her heart can't take it."

"Am I really that fragile?" I thought.

"I- I know. Sorry, mum."

"It's an okay sweetheart. I know you're doing your best." She replied, before leaning forward to kiss Riley's forehead, and going back to eating her breakfast. Sitting there and listening to the two talks usually made me feel better. I like Miss Blackmar, she's a cool mom. She's a doctor, someone who cares about me, and actually like me. Soon after, Hope stood up and put her plate in the sink.

"Alright, I have to go change. My shift is gonna be starting soon. You two have fun, but don't do anything too dangerous, alright?" She said, walking out of the kitchen. "I don't want the police calling me because you broke someone's windows again, Riley."

Riley rolled her eyes. "Yes mom, it won't happen again." She replied sarcastically.

"We'll see about that." She called back to us as I heard her door close.

"You broke someone's window?" I finally asked, turning to look at Riley.

"It was an accident!"

"Mhm, sure it was." I teased her.

"I- It wasn't anything important."

"Come on, tell me what happened?"

"I got excited and I accidentally hit a window. That's it." Riley replied quickly, finishing her food. I giggled a bit and bumped her shoulder.

"Alright. So what are you thinking we can do today?"

"Oh, I was thinking of taking a drive along the outskirts of town. Find a nice dinner, and talk to the people, but that's too 'dangerous', so I was thinking of going to the pizzeria and playing the arcade games. Impress all the ten-year-olds with our 'skill'."

"Sounds like fun," I said, standing up, and putting my plate in the sink. Riley followed me from behind and did the same.

"Your clothes should be dried by now, and warm in the washing machine." She stated.

"Mhm. Thanks for that."