We were sitting in our local café, Cuppa Comfort, enjoying one of the holidays we had together. I had a steaming cup of maple flavoured coffee in my hands, comfortably warming my insides. Flo had just come back from the counter with a couple of gooey brownies, when Theo had a suggestion.
“Guys, why don’t we have a party for Halloween this year?”
“Oh my god, yeah,” replied Sara and George at the same time.
“Halloween’s only three days away, though,” I stated.
“Well, it’s not that hard to plan a party for only five people.” Theo pointed at everyone in turn. “Better get started then, shouldn’t we?”
We finished off, paid up and left the café with a slight bit of confidence in our strides, except me. I panicked in case my darkest secret will eventually let loose in this friend group. Consequently, I began to think that this party wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Our Halloween get-together was at Theo’s. The best I could do was whack on my best outfit and a bit of fake blood. Flo and Sara were coming to pick me up at 7. George was already at Theo’s helping him set up. That’s when I heard a knock at the door. Flo, I thought. Not good.
Our pizzas were delivered from our favourite takeaway, Red-Handed Pizza, later than I thought. The Halloween music coming through the speakers were making my head pound with pain. The rest of the group were talking, but every couple of minutes, a couple of them would glance over at me, as if they knew my deepest, darkest secret. I couldn’t take it anymore. I jumped out of my seat and burst out the front door. I subconsciously didn’t know where I was going, and after a few minutes, I ended up in a murky, dimly lit back alley. But something felt off. I sensed eyes piercing the back of my head. I whipped around to find Theo standing a few metres away from me. His face was washed over with frustration.
“We all know,” Theo stated, still glaring into my soul. Panic started to unfold within me. My darkest secret coming to life.
“I… um…,” I stuttered. I had nothing to say.
“I have no idea why would you want to do what you’ve done to us,” Theo said, his voice starting to raise. Then he started to make his way towards me, speeding up as he got closer. He pushed me and I started falling into a black abyss.
I jolted upright in the poorly lit room I was put in at the police station. The red dots of the cameras in every corner of the room were blinking at my every move. I couldn’t escape this nightmare. My actions will always haunt me, wherever I go or whatever I do.