PICS and IT DIDN'T HAPPEN

43. The Curse

Since we got the units together, we also decided to browse for the furnitures together as well.

I hold the hanging price tag to see the price, and swing it back. I hold the price tag of the next piece. Swing it back. I look at the third one and drop the tag instantly.

Why this much for a desk???

My parents gave me a budget to work with. And suddenly, all objects seem overpriced for me. Has everything have always been this expensive or I'm just realizing it now as part of phase one of adulthood?

I stare at the last desk. The price seems okay. I touch it and it leans sideways. I take my hand back. Let's not go this cheap.

Raylan appears next me. "You picked one?" He says.

"Everything's so expensive," I tell him.

"Your parents gave you allowance, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to spend it," I say.

He sighs, then says, "Which one should I take?"

My hand immediately springs and points at the very first one, also the most expensive. I reallly liked it. Solid oak. Soft closing drawers and plenty of leg room.

Without hesitation, Raylan takes a picture of it for the order.

I hate him.

We continue to look through each section. Tony and Raylan get all the expensive ones with no conscience while I feel my soul crack away each time I choose a mid-ranged furniture over the least expensive ones for the sake of safety.

We reach the couches. "Which one?" He says.

"Raylan, you're buying things for your place. How about you try and see which one you like?" I tell him.

"But I want the one you like," he says.

I want to ask him why but I've a feeling he'll say something inappropriate.

"After all you and I will be making out on it," he finishes.

I walk away with whatever little soul left in me that's threatening to leave.

After the exhaustive and expensive shopping we all head back home.

When I enter my parents' place, I realize how wonderfully furnished it is, thanks to my mom's excellent taste. Never realized how beautiful this home is. Hopefully, I'll make my place look at least half as good as this one.

---

In the final year of school whenever there's a break that's a cue for a short trip with friends.

"Where are you guys going?" Tony says as I hand him what I presume to be a one-inch wrench. We've been sent here by the fellowship of neighborhood mothers to help fix Mr. Finnigan's car.

Technically, Tony is fixing it. So I don't know why I'm here though.

"Djen Lake," I say, "A friend of dad's told him about it a few years ago. My parents and I went there at the time. It's good. You heard of it?"

"No," Tony says, tightening something deep into the engine that I can't see. "What's there?"

"A lake. There are cabins nearby for accommodation. A small town couple of miles away."

"What's there to do?"

"Stay in the cabin. Go swimming."

"That's all? No other outdoor activities?"

It's not like my friends and I are going there for camp survival, but now that he mentioned it I do remember a few things.

"I think there's a trek. There's also a cliff a mile west where people went rock climbing. Then just past the town, there's scuba diving into the caves to the east of the lake. But I don't think we will go for any of those," I say, taking back the wrench he has reached out.

Tony wipes his greasy hands into a cloth. "Start the engine," he says.

I put down the wrench on the table and get in the car and turn the key. The engine whirs to life. I nod. "Good job."

The following week my friends and I go on our trip as planned. I was worried about the weather, but it held on. I'd rented the same cabin my family did last time. The lake is just a few feet from the backyard.

After we reach the cabin in the evening, we decide to postpone the swimming until tomorrow. Tess and Becca unpack the car while I stretch my legs and back on the couch. The drive wasn't that harsh but it's the first time I've driven this long continuously. I wanted us to arrive before nightfall.

We spend the sunset at the backyard, looking over at the lake and the horizon. When it gets dark, we back get into the cabin.

There's a knock on the door.

The three of us look at each other. What are the chances a psycho killer has rented another cabin here on the same week as us?

I go open the door and am immediately blinded by light.

Then the light goes away and my vision adjusts to see the guy standing right in front of me. "Hey, neighbor," Raylan says, smiling.

I look behind him and see two cars whose headlights must've been the culprits that blocked my vision before. Raylan's friends come out of the cars.

"We're staying next door," Raylan says.

I wasn't sure before.

But I am now.

I've a next door neighbor hex on me.

End of chapter

A/N - Until tomorrow 💕