Pallid Wisteria

ANGELINA

“Angie, do you have my bracelet?”

I turned to face her, feigning innocence. “If it’s blue, then no.”

“Ha! You do have it!” she said as she closed her locker.

I stuck my tongue out at her. “No, I don’t.”

She raised an eyebrow in question. “And it’s not comfortably resting on your wrist right?”

“Ria, I think you need to get your eyes checked out,” I mocked concern.

“Bitch,” she mumbled as I giggled.

“My favourite girl in the whole entire world!”

I beamed when I saw Dane headed our way. “Hey!”

“Hey twit,” Ria smiled.

He rolled his eyes at her. “Oh sister, always lovely running into you.”

She smirked. “Don’t roll your eyes at me. They might get stuck in the other direction.”

He frowned. “That’s stupid Ria.”

“Eh, your frown is stupid,” she retorted as she shrugged. The twins’ banter is something I was used to by now.

“So, why aren’t you at practice?” I asked Dane. He looked down at me with his gorgeous gray eyes.

Dane stood tall and lean, with gray eyes and brown hair. He’s the captain of the football team and my boyfriend. Ria is the female clone of Dane. Her brown hair cascades down her back to reach her waist. Her eyes are a darker shade of gray in comparison to Dane.

She’s absolutely beautiful.

“I wanted to come and check if you’re ok. I know Ria is going to drag you to the mall,” he reminded.

“I’m fine Dane. I actually love shopping with Ria, unlike some people,” I teased.

He shrugged. “You would hate it if she tortured you the way she tortured me.”

“I’m standing right here,” Ria reminded.

“And the tree is out there,” I taunted, to which I received a lovely glare.

“Alright then! I’ll see you at my house tonight?” Dane asked.

“Yep!” I responded before turning to leave with Ria.

“Oh Angie?” he called after me, stopping me. I turned to look at him and stumbled when I found him right in front of me.

“Yes?” I said a little breathlessly with how close he was standing. He kissed me softly on the lips.

“Happy birthday,” he smiled before walking away, leaving me as red as a stop sign.

Ria let out what I’d come to know as her dramatic sigh. “As much as I enjoy seeing my brother eating my best friend’s face off, can we leave? We have a busy afternoon.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “We do?”

I thought we were only going to shop for a few stuff.

“Duh! We have to get everything for our sleepover,” Ria replied, but I knew she was hiding something.

“Well, alright,” I said, choosing not to question her.

We headed over to her Mercedes Benz. Ria’s family is crazy rich, and everyone around town knows who they are. We got into the car and headed over to the mall. She dragged me to the usual stores and bought anything she thought would look good on me.

Seriously, she was going crazy today.

“Ria Lewis, slow down,” I huffed.

“Hurry woman!” she called over her shoulder.

“My word,” I whined as I finally reached her. She had just entered a shoe store.

“Ria, why are you buying me so many things?” I questioned.

“It’s your birthday,” she said nonchalantly as she piled boxes of shoes onto her hands.

How is she able to carry all that?

“But it’s unnecessary,” I complained.

“Woman, just be grateful! We’re going to the salon from here,” she squealed.

“I hate you,” I sang.

“I love you too,” she sang in response.

We left the store, thankfully with only three boxes of shoes after a mini fight. We headed over to the salon and got our hair and nails done. I didn’t understand her fussing. When we were done at the mall, she drove us back to my house to check on my parents.

“Mom, dad, are you home?” I shouted.

“Kitchen,” my mom giggled.

I can bet you they were making out.

Ria laughed. “Is it safe?”

My dad coughed. “It’s safe.”

“Hello parents,” I smiled as we reached the kitchen. My mom was flushed to say the least.

“Hey baby girls,” my dad greeted.

“Nice lipstick stain dad,” Ria teased, making him blush. My parents are parents to Ria, just as hers are to me.

“How’s your birthday honey?” my mom asked me.

“It’s been awesome, but now I’m here to fetch my bag for the sleepover,” I informed.

“You guys have to see this really amazing outfit she bought. In fact, here go try it on now and come back down to show us,” Ria said as she handed me a bag and a box.

“But-”

“GO!” Ria demanded.

“Alright, sheesh!” I resigned before heading up to my room.

The white dress fit me to perfection and made feel like a princess. It’s short and sleeveless, with some plant detailing on it. With my hair in small curls, it made me look that much cuter. I paired it with a simple pair of black stilettos, feeling confident enough to reveal the final look to my parents and best friend.

“Wow!” my mom and little sister Greta cooed, making me blush. Greta’s only three years old, and she must’ve woken up from her nap while I was in my room.

Ria wiped her forehead dramatically, whistling lowly. “You look stunning Angie!”

“Indeed you do princess,” my dad agreed. I heard something snip behind me and turned to see Ria with a pair of scissors and the price tag in her hand.

“Well then, let’s go,” she said before dragging me out the door.

“Let me change first,” I requested.

“You look just fine,” she said as we got outside. My parents and Greta were behind us and they locked the house before going to my dad’s car.

I was confused by that. “Where are you guys going?”

“Out,” was all they said.

Ria shoved me into the car, ignoring my protests. The girl has some unbelievable strength on her. She drove to her house, and you could just feel the excitement rolling off of her. Why would she be so excited?

I was about to find out apparently.

“SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGELINA!” people jumped out from everywhere once we entered her house, or rather, mansion.

I jumped out of my skin, until I noticed that basically everyone from school was here, with my parents, Greta and Ria’s parents.

I stood stunned. “Oh my god! You planned a surprise party for me?”

“Of course we did,” Mrs Lewis smiled.

“I don’t know what to say,” I admitted, teary eyed.

“Thank you would be appropriate,” Dane’s voice reached my ears.

When I turned to face him, I gawked. He looked incredibly handsome in his black jeans and blue button up shirt. The shirt clung deliciously onto him and he just looked sinfully hot. I didn’t even notice everyone disperse around me. I only came back to reality when warm lips met mine, making me pull the person closer.

I knew who it was because, well, it’s Dane.

“Happy birthday baby,” he smiled, giving me a box. I opened it to find a locket. Inside, it was a picture of us kissing. I could remember that day very well. It was Valentine’s Day.

I leaned on my toes even further to kiss his cheek. “Thank you babe. I love it.”

“Let’s go and party before I change my mind and take you upstairs,” he whispered seductively.

Dane has this thing where he just leaves me speechless. He has an aura about him that demands respect, and most people give it to him. You’d swear he’s a king around here with the way people respect him. They watch what they say around him. The only person I’ve ever heard tell him off is Hayden, his best friend.

The guy hates me though, and I don’t know why.

“Happy birthday Angelina,” Unity said as she hugged me. She’s one of my other friends.

I hugged her back. “Thanks Uni.”

Soon the whole party was in full swing and the music was blasting everywhere. The elders had kept to themselves in the one side of the house, while us youngsters were on the other side. All my presents were sitting in Ria’s room. Ria’s room is massive, and yet the gifts filled more than half of the room.

Everyone was having a good time, which I was grateful for. It had been a while since we’d had anything to celebrate, which I found weird, but didn’t question. For the past year, I’d felt a weird vibe around, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell anyone about it.

I was dancing with Dane when I felt a chill run down my spine. I stopped dancing, looking around the room, but there was nothing. Not even Dane noticed that I’d stopped dancing. I left the room, only to bump into my parents. They and Greta were leaving, despite my protests, but made me promise to tell them if I was safe or not at the end of the party.

I ended up dancing with Dane for most of the night. He’s the perfect gentleman, and I love him, though I’ve never told him. We’ve been together for two years, but he’s never rushed me into anything. We’ve grown up together and I used to tell him I love him all the time before we dated, so I don’t know if the love is different now or not.

The party was beginning to die down around three in the morning, and the last people left at four. I headed up to Ria’s room after kissing Dane goodnight. I laughed to myself when I found my best friend passed out on her king sized bed. I’m pretty sure she was wasted. I changed out of my outfit and into my sleepwear, before getting her a glass of water and pills.

I knew she would need them in the morning.

I got into the bed and stared at the ceiling. I was tired, but something was nagging me. I tossed and turned, trying to get rid of the feeling. I couldn’t understand why my chest felt so heavy all of a sudden. It wasn’t until the chill ran up my spine again that concern really hit me.

I got up and had a glass of water, thinking it might help. I remembered that my parents had said to check in with them. I went over to my phone to call them, only to have no one reply. My parents always respond to my calls. Fear washed over me and I grabbed a jacket and Ria’s car keys before dashing out.

Something was wrong.

I don’t know how I knew it, but I just did.

I bumped into Dane on my way out and he was shirtless in just his pyjama bottoms. On any other day, I would’ve stood and stared, but I was still overcome with dread. He tried to stop me, but could see the determination in my eyes, so he took the keys from me and said he would drive instead. He stepped on the gas, which I was thankful for.

I was shaking as we reached my house. The house was dark when we reached the door. When I stepped in, I heard glass crunch beneath me, which was strange. Dane found the light switch and flipped it, before my life left me.

The whole house was trashed, but that’s not what made me so helpless.

In the middle of the turmoil, my parents lay in each other’s arms with Greta between them, blood surrounding them. It wasn’t that hard to figure out that they were dead. They had bite marks all over them, and chunks of their bodies were missing. I couldn’t even scream as the tears left my eyes.

I was defeated as I headed for the ground, only to be caught before I could fall.

“Angie, I’m so sorry,” Dane said as he held me. Only then did I cry like I’ve never cried before.

I held onto him as I mourned the death of my family.