7The November cold was nearly paralyzing Kasey as she walked through the streets of Washington, but she kept moving. She had to. She couldn't go back to her house and actually feel safe, knowing what Shane had done.
When Kasey finally reached Holly's doorstep, she knocked gingerly, her white knuckles clacking on the wooden door. The sound of a protective screen door opening was heard, followed by the jingling of keys. Kasey watched as the doorknob to the big heavy wooden door turned, and Holly emerged in the doorway.
It was times like this that her best friend Holly was there for her. The two girls had been best friends since they were toddlers, and they had been there for each other through thick and thin. Holly knew everything there was to know about Kasey - they both shared even their most intimate secrets with one another. Kasey smiled, thinking of all the times Holly had been there for her. There was the time when the dreaded "curse" had hit her; Holly had been there to buy her tampons when she was too embarrassed to by them herself. Holly had been there when Kasey almost couldn't handle the grief of her brother Kyle's death two years ago. She had been there for her first date - which had actually been a double date. Holly went with her then boyfriend James, and Kasey had been with Richard, a guy she really only dated casually. She had never really had a serious boyfriend until the day that Shane finally asked her out.
Ugh, Shane. The very mention of his name, even in her thoughts, was enough to make her vomit. Yet, as she thought of Shane, a gloomy cloud of sadness began to loom over her thoughts when she remembered that Shane had been one of her brother Kyle's best friends. Kyle.
A tear began to run down Kasey's face when she thought of her brother. He had only been fifteen - the same age as her - when he had passed. He had just gotten his driver's license, and he was driving home from work early because he said he had something very important to tell her - that was the last thing he ever said to her, because he did not make it home that night. In his rush to get home, he had gotten in a car accident. Automobile reports said that he crashed into two vehicles in front of him because his brakes suddenly faltered. It was such a horrible tragedy. Nobody understood why god had chosen to take the boy Kyle Garrett from the world. But, he's an angel now.
Holly, noticing the tears running down her best friend's face, hugged Kasey tightly.
"Aww, honey, come in and settle down. This whole Shane thing is really getting to you, huh?" She asked.
"It's not just that," Kasey responded, "I was thinking about Kyle." She finished, tears streaming down her face. "I know it was two years ago, but- I still cry when I think of him."
"Hey, it's ok Kasey." Holly assured her.
"Holly, I don't know what I would do without you - you're the best friend I've ever had." Kasey said.
Holly smiled warmly and hugged Kasey once more.
"Here", Holly started as she reached over and grabbed her backpack, "I know I don't like giving out my school pictures to anyone, but you are my best friend, Kasey, and I want you to have one."
Kasey sniffled, wiped her tears away with a tissue, and smiled slightly as Holly handed her an eight and a half by eleven photo of herself.
Kasey couldn't understand why Holly never liked getting her picture taken. She was a very pretty woman. She had comforting brown eyes that looked like pools of melted chocolate, great bone structure in her face, and dark auburn colored hair that had been permed for an extra bouncy touch.
"Thanks." Kasey said.
"I just can't believe that Shane would go to such lengths as to break into your house." Holly stated.
"You're not the only one." Kasey reassured her. "Look, it's getting pretty late, Holly. Mind if I turn in for the night?"
"No of course not, although eleven PM is normally not your time for sleep." Holly answered her.
"Well, with everything that happened tonight, I am so tired I could pass out and not wake up for days."
"Heh, Kasey. It's okay. Night night."
"Good night, Holly." Kasey said with a hug as she began to get up and ascend the staircase to Holly's bedroom.
"Ah, wait, I've got nothing better to do, I might as well hit the sack too. The more sleep I get tonight, the better condition I will be in for school tomorrow." Holly called. She trailed Kasey's steps up the staircase and entered her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
The hood of a black trench coat peered through the glass panes of a living room window.
Nobody in there.
Quickly, the figure in the black trench coat ran around the side of the house, and stared up at a different second story window, then moved its gaze down a bit, to the wooden ladder on the side of the house, leading directly up to that window. The figure moved forward with great striding pace, and then gripped the ladder, and with aggression, began climbing it, up toward the window. Once the mysterious person had reached their destination, they grabbed hold of the wooden panels on the outside of the window and pushed up. The window came up easily. As quietly as it could, the figure crawled through the open window.
The figure looked ahead at the digital clock on the nightstand behind Tony's bed. Three AM. Next to the digital clock was a cropped and framed photo of a beautiful young woman, with long straight dirty blonde hair and a smile that could knock any unsuspecting male off of his feet - the beautiful Kasey Garrett. The one that every guy wanted, but only one man - Tony - had. So young, and so pretty.
She won't be so damn pretty when I'm through with her, though the mystery person.
Slowly, the figure, with a black-gloved hand, reached into its coat and pulled out a long, wide gleaming knife. The edges of the blade gleamed as the moonlight that came in through the window cast a bright light over the scene. The serrated blade rose in the air, ever so slowly, only to come crashing down into the body of Tony Richards, the blanket that covered him providing very little protect against the furious non stop scraping and stabbing of the knife.
Tony's screams of agony once he awoke and the pain hit him were ear shattering. Fearing that Tony's screams would be heard by anyone else who happened to be in the house, the figure swiped up the framed photo of Kasey and smashed it over Tony's head, knocking him unconscious. Then, there was silence. Nobody had heard. What a lucky break. The figure pulled the knife from Tony's chest, which was still bleeding profusely, and then drove it down into him again. And again. And again. Making sure they had finished the job, the figure pulled the knife out slowly and set it on the nightstand beside the clock.
The gloved hands reached forward and picked the smashed picture of Kasey up. Tilting its head at it slightly, the figure pulled the picture out through the broken shards of glass that once held its beauty in place. Pocketing the picture, the figure through the broken frame down and turned to climb out of the window, its mission accomplished.