I Dare You

CHAPTER-FIFTEEN

Everything was dark, something was resonating on my body. I tried to search for the source but my hands weren't moving. Then I felt things getting slightly hot.

I opened my eyelids but was unable to see anything, the light was so bright that, it made me blind. Then I averted my face and after a few moments blurred things were getting clear. There was a figure lying beside me. As things started making sense, the realization hit me that, I was still in the house. And the figure who was lying beside me was, none other than Bethany, herself.

I slept here last night? But how? Guilt washed over me. I tried to sit, but my right arm pulled me back. I turned and saw that, my right hand was in Bethany's hand. And it seemed like I was the one who was holding it. I was emotionally petrified, didn't know what to think.

"What happened?" Bethany asked a small smile escaped passed her lips.

"Ah! I am-I am-h-holding your hand. And I have no idea, for how long have I been holding it? I slept here last night?" I uttered in disarray.

"Hahaha! There is nothing wrong in it. And it's been so long since I'd had a good company. All these years I've been trying to control the monster inside me. Now that I have control over it, I wanna do good things. And Jake! You presence means a lot to me." She said looking into my eyes.

I felt my face heating up. I was at lost of words. But what she said melted my heart. That incident itself unlocked something inside me.

"Bethany!" I called slowly.

"Hmm?" She replied.

"How did you sleep?" I asked. Huh! Face palm! What a stupid question, you dork. I cursed myself mentally. Maybe I wasn't habitual of conversing with a girl, especially like her.

"Hahaha! Jake! Are you sure that's your question?" She asked lifting an eyebrow.

"Ah! Um! No! It's just that my tongue slipped." I uttered dumbfounded.

"I'll answer anyway. Well! I didn't sleep. I can't. Last night! You drifted off to sleep while talking and I didn't wanna disturb you. So I sat there, then at some point you held my hand, in your sleep. So I had to lay down beside you, so that I won't wake you up." She replied.

I felt so embarrassed.

"Oh! You had to do all of that because of me? I feel so bad. Why didn't you wake me up? You should have." I replied feeling ashamed.

"Because I didn't want to." Was all she said. We didn't say anything. We were looking into each other's eyes. The distance between us was minimizing, we moved closer. She closed her eyes and so did I. My face could feel the cold yet gentle steam from her. I kept my hand on her shoulder and for the first time, I felt like something ignited inside me.

Ring, Ring!

I wanted to ignore everything, forget everything. I wanted to break all the walls standing between us.

"Jake!" Bethany whispered.

"Bethany!" I struggled.

"I think! Your cellphone is ringing." She said.

"What?" I asked unable to focus.

"Your phone!" She said a bit louder. And I was brought back into the reality.

I cursed under my breath. And took out cellphone from my pocket and looked at the screen. It was a call from Austin. I sighed and answered the phone.

"Hello?" Austin from the other side.

"Hey!" I replied.

"Where are you man?" He asked.

"Nowhere! I'll talk to you when, I'll get back." I replied.

"Don't tell me you are doing something stupid. You know that, you still are the officer's suspect, don't you?" He sounded worried.

"No! I am not doing anything stupid. And I am fine, be back." I said trying to make him calm.

"Okay! Then see you in a while." He said.

"Yeah!" I said. And then we hung up.

I stared at the screen of my cellphone for a while. Replaying images of thing that was about to happen. I was baffled, how can I do such a thing? What will Bethany think of me? And what about Kylie? Things weren't clear between me and Kylie. I had a crush on her but Kylie as my girlfriend... I didn't know what to think.

"What are you thinking?" Bethany asked.

"Just about some stuff. Things are so tangled, I looking for solutions." I replied.

"Are you concerned because of me?" She asked.

"I am but not in the way you are thinking. I wanna set you free from this curse. You didn't deserve all this. My heart yearns to see you like this." I said.

"Jake!" She mumbled.

"Yes! Bethany." I replied.

"I have no words to say. From all these years, I was dying everyday, knowing that I am stuck here. And the monster it made me do things that, I couldn't even have imagined in the wildest of my imaginations. And you want to help a monster like me?" She sobbed.

I turned to her and wrapped my arms around her. She started sobbing even harder, I pulled her even closer to me, I wanted to protect her and I wanted to comfort her. She sobbed and sobbed, I wanted all that distress, that she had in her for all those year to come out.

That made me think, of the day I got here. How terrified I was. How people used to talk about this house, Bethany's spirit. No one could have imagined, what she was suffering from. A spirit who used to kill so brutally was so fragile. The spirit had a life once. That spirit was tricked by monsters in human form.

We sat there for so long. I felt good, to help her. When she pulled away from me, wiping her eyes.

"I am so sorry! I've stained your T-shirt with my tears and you had to hold me for so long." She said as if, she was feeling guilty.

What happened after that was my sudden reaction. I cupped her face with my hands and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. That was shocking for her and me too. She stared at me for a while and then blushed. Yes! She blushed. This thing was new for me too. But I liked it.

"I think, you should go now. Your friends must be worried sick." Bethany said.

"I don't wanna go but you are right." I replied.

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On the way back to the dorms. I saw a car following me. It was a black Ford SUV, all of it's windows were tinted dark. So I sped up my bike. Then the SUV over took me and started decreasing it's speed. So I had to decrease my speed also. Until both of us stopped. I didn't get off my bike, just to be on the safe side. But then the door of the driver's side opened and a man got out of the SUV. And when the man, turned back. I froze when, I saw the figure standing in front of me. And that was the time, I knew, I was going to be in huge mess.

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Author's Note: Yay! The new chapter is finally up. I am so sorry that, I kept you waiting for so long. I really am. :-\
But I hope you will like this chapter. :-)
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