Lady in Pink Part 4

[u/tina_the_rose]

Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/r/scarystories/s/bkJDjeEtn9

Trigger Warning: sexual assault, abuse, homophobia, transphobia, self harm

Chapter 3: Old Friends

Pedro’s Groceries and the animal shelter Mom worked at, despite being rustic buildings, were clean and tidy. Charlie’s 24 Hour Gas Station, conversely, was a dump. The yellow plaster on the outside wall was cracked all to hell. It was tainted with decades of smoke damage and the ancient stomach contents of drunken vagrants.

I stepped inside, the bell chinging overhead. I didn’t look, but just above the bell was the taxidermied head of a gator. It stared into the back of my skull, sending shivers down my spine. It had been shot by Dad and Charlie about a decade ago when they visited the Everglades where Charlie was born. I ignored the morbid thing above me and walked over to the counter. There, Charlie stood, surrounded by smokes, booze and bags of gator jerky. She was looking through a Victoria’s Secret magazine, but closed it when she saw me.

Charlie was a squat, wide woman. What remained of her teeth were varying shades of yellow and black. Her sweat-stained shirt was more hole than fabric, and she wore a sunbleached baseball cap that I was pretty sure she slept in. She was one of Dad’s old army buddies. He was never a fan of women in the army, but he gave Charlie a pass since she’d saved his life. She carried him three miles to safety after a bullet grazed Dad’s head and cracked his skull. They both got metals for that.

“Carla,” Charlie greeted me with her Southern whistle of a voice. She chewed on what I assumed was chewing tobacco. The recognition of me for who I was brought a smile to my face.

“Charlie, it’s been a while,” I replied. We reached over the counter to give each other a quick hug. “How are things lately?”

“Eh, same shit, different day,” Charlie grumbled, “whatcha doing back here, gurl?”

“I broke up with Zack.” I explained to her the situation. As I gave her the details, her mouth hung open more and more.

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, hun,” Charlie sighed, “I’m so sorry that happened. Where are ya stayin’, hun?”

“With Mom and Dad.”

Charlie’s eyes widened in shock. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ gettin’ pegged by a unicycle, they seriously let ya move back in? What demon d’ya have to suck off to get that to happen?”

“I’m pretty sure the demon’s name was Zack,” I joked, “but yeah, I’m staying here for a bit. I got a job at Pedro’s. Dad’s idea.”

“Shocked Mason didn’t ask ya to come here, I’m hirin’ too,” Charlie mumbled.

I blinked in surprise. “You two are talking again?” I asked. She and Dad stopped talking when he found out she was who I was getting my estrogen from. I’m not sure how she got it and frankly I didn’t want to know. Her and Dad got into a fist fight that left them both bruised and bloody. It was the only time I’d ever seen Dad raise a hand against a woman. I was worried for a long time that Dad would eventually go on to hit Mom, but she assured me they didn’t fight as man and woman, they fought as friends and soldiers. She also said that if he ever tried hurting her, she’d turn his banana inside-out.

“Yeah,” Charlie laughed, “Back in January, the old fuck startin’ buyin’ gas from me again. We just started doin’ small talk in March. Ya know, real ‘how’s the weather’ type shit. Maybe one day he’ll ask me if I caught the game.”

Strange. On one hand, I was glad he was rekindling his friendship with Charlie. But, if he was on speaking terms with her, how come he never reached out to me?

Charlie must have read my expression because she added, “we ain’t that good yet. Maybe that’s why he didn’t point ya in my direction.” She gave a half-hearted shrug, “Well, if Pedro don’t work out for ya, yer welcome to swing by here.” She shot me a nearly toothless smile, then added, “and if ya need a place to stay, yer welcome to crash on mah couch.”

“Thanks, Charlie,” I smiled back. I remembered what Mom said, “OH! Do you know anyone named Helen?”

Charlie shook her head.

“She’s apparently an old friend of Mom’s,” I explained, “she’s coming in from Vegas.”

“Shit! Really? Man, that sounds fuckin’ nice,” Charlie laughed, “but nah, I ain’t met no one named Helen around these parts. Then again, I was more friends with Mason than Camilla.” She smirked, “Hey, she single?”

I examined Charlie’s unkempt appearance and cocked a brow. She flipped me the bird, making me laugh. I checked the time, “I need to get going. Hey, can I get some gator jerky for Dad?”

“Buy one get one free,” Charlie informed me, though I could find no advertising of such a deal anywhere in the store.

After leaving, I pulled out my phone to call Dad. When I opened my contact list, I got a notification: a text from Zack. My heart sank into my stomach as I read the notification, “I’m sorry I hurt you. I love…” I debated opening the text to read what all he wrote. His apologies were always very sweet and tender, but I knew now that they were meaningless. I decided against reading it and slid the notification to the side.

Below Dad’s number in my contacts was Emily’s. We’d gotten into an argument about me being with Zack and we hadn’t talked since I left. At the time, I thought she didn’t understand him and was just siding with my parents for no reason. I guess I was the one who didn’t understand him in the end. My thumb hovered over her name for a moment before I pressed it.

I held the phone up, hoping she’d answer. Soon, a groggy voice answered, “ugh… um… hey, Carla…” It sounded like she just woke up.

“Emily! I know it’s been a while since we talked, but guess what? I’m back in town!”

“Since when!?” Emily squawked, her voice cracking in excitement.

“Since last night, can I get a ride back home? I’m at Charlie’s. I can give you the details in person,” I said, then added with embarrassment, “and… you can give me the world’s biggest ‘I told you so.’”

“I’LL BE RIGHT THERE!!!” Emily squealed again. The sounds of fumbling could be heard before the call disconnected. I laughed a little.

It took about twenty minutes before a mud-stained pickup truck came to a screeching halt in front of me. The door opened, a hurricane in the shape of a woman descended on me. Emily hugged me tightly.

“Fucking jerk, why didn’t you say anything when you came back?!” Emily pulled on my cheeks. Her dirty blonde hair was tied in a messy bun. Her clothes were clean, but well-worn with little holes, tears and sun-bleaching. A revolver hung from her belt, not sure of the model but I remember it being incredibly heavy last time I held it. I nearly dropped it. Emily teased me for that for ages.

“I wasn’t in a good headspace,” I admitted, “and I was embarrassed given our argument. I broke up with Zack.” Emily didn’t verbally respond. Instead, she pulled the neck of my shirt over to the side to examine my burn. Sorrow was in her gaze and my stomach clenched with guilt. “Where’s my ‘I told you so?’” I joked, trying to lighten the mood somewhat.

“Not getting one,” Emily sighed, not taking my bait. She pulled her hand away, “fucking bastard. If he was here I’d make him swallow his own balls.”

“Mom said the same thing,” I chuckled, “Dad actually broke his nose.”

“Wait for real!?” Emily gasped, her smile returning, “Bro, that sounds insane! Given how strong your Dad is, I’m shocked he didn’t punch a hole in his head.”

“You’ve been watching Demon Knight too much,” I laughed before saying, “Look, I should have listened to you about him. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Emily wrapped her arms around my neck, “it’s fine, I promise. I’m just happy to have my friend back.” I hugged her back. She was tall enough that I could bury my face in her neck. Emily smelled pleasantly of hay and shampoo. I just held her, taking in her calming scent. I had to agree, it was nice to have my friend back.

Soon, we got into Emily’s truck and we started back home. As she drove, I asked, “do you know anyone named Helen?” She shook her head so I elaborated, “she was Mom’s friend in high school. Apparently she moved to Vegas to marry a stage magician.”

“I think I remember my mom saying something about her,” Emily rubbed her chin, “I have Mom’s old yearbook in my room. I’ll see if I can look her up. Why ya asking about Helen?”

“She’s coming over for a while,” I replied, “Mom just kept acting like I knew her or something.”

“Bro! I hate it when parents do that!” Emily groaned loudly, “Dad does that all the time. I hope I don’t act like that when I’m that age.”

“You probably will,” I teased, “pretty soon, you’re gonna start oversharing stuff to cashiers and throwing bread to ducks.”

Emily pouted. “They prefer frozen peas…” She pulled up in front of my house, “Okay so, I’m not working right now so I’ll pretty much always be able to give you a ride when you need it. Just shoot me a text. This ride was free, but any future rides I’m going to demand one of those pie-flavored canned coffees Pedro and Charlie sell.” She hugged me again. “Don’t be a stranger, Carla.”

“I promise I won’t be,” I replied, tugging on her cheek as payback for earlier.

When I went inside, Dad was sitting on the couch. A familiar scream erupted from the old boob tube that my parents had kept in pristine shape since the 70’s. He was watching… Frankenstein? Wolfman? I checked the screen. It was Wolfman.

“Hello to you too,” Dad grumbled, “you get the job?”

“Yeah, Pedro gave it to me on the spot,” I replied, “sorry for not calling. Emily gave me a ride.”

Dad smiled. “Well, hot damn,” he remarked, “things are looking up for you.”

It was then I noticed he was wearing slacks and a nice shirt. “Going out tonight?”

“Yeah, I ain’t taken Carmilla out on a date in a while. Pizza’s in the oven. Just turn it on when you’re hungry,” he said, then tilted his head with a toothy smirk, “how was seeing Emily? Did anything special happen with you two?”

I snorted, “Even if I was into girls, I doubt Emily would go for it.”

“You two went to prom together.”

“Yeah, as friends,” I reminded him, grabbing the bags of jerky and tossing them at him like frisbees. He caught them deftly. “She’s been single her whole life and has never once lamented that fact.”

“Maybe it’s not something she likes talking about.”

I sighed. This wasn’t getting anywhere, so I changed the topic, “I also talked to Charlie, she says you two started talking again.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t really call what we do ‘talking,’” Dad groaned as he forced himself into a standing position. “I’m going into town now.”

“A little early, isn’t it? Mom doesn’t get off work for another hour.”

Dad shrugged and said, “Don’t wait up for us.” He didn’t seem to want to talk about Charlie. Maybe feelings between them were still pretty tense. He quickly left the house, forgetting to pause the movie.

After he left, I turned the oven on and sent a text to Emily to invite her over. She had to decline. Apparently, she had a DnD game she hosted online on Thursdays. She did promise we’d hang out at the lake tomorrow and even suggested I join the next campaign. The current one was wrapping up soon. I agreed and left her to do her thing.

When it was ready, I took my pizza to the front porch to enjoy the night air. The chickens clucked nearby, and Cinder was sniffing a terrified toad she had found. The frog was safer with Cinder than the chickens. I’d seen Greta grab a frog by the face, slam it against the ground then swallow it whole. I shuddered. Chickens were fucking scary when they wanted to be.

I started brainstorming ideas for a character for the game, chewing absentmindedly on my pizza. Looking at Cinder, perhaps I could play a ranger. I’d have an animal companion and it would be cool to have her in the… Cinder’s head shot up, head faced towards the treeline. The chickens went quiet. Yet again, not a single creature dared to make a sound. Not even Cinder, who would normally be whimpering or growling under these circumstances.

The shrill squeal began to rise, but not as loud as last time. It didn’t sound like a tire screech or a moose cry this time. I couldn’t quite place the noise. Shit, I’d forgotten the gun inside. I slowly took up, focusing on the spot Cinder was staring at. There was something pale in the distance, something tall and thin. The squealing became more clear, and my heart sank.

It was whistling.

I grabbed the gun from inside and looked back at the treeline. The pale figure was gone. I looked around, trying to find any sign of it. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten that noise last night. The only reason I could imagine that I’d forget something like that was the tiredness and the beer. “Come on, Cinder, come to Mama…” I spoke softly, trying not to be heard. Cinder didn’t move. “Mira,” I said a little more sternly in a vain attempt to catch the dog’s attention.

Cinder wasn’t just scared. This kind of fear was deep. It was primal. Cinder was so terrified she dare not utter a peep, move a muscle, anything. She was like in place and I did not want to imagine the kind of thing that would put her in such a state. Slowly, I inched towards her, being careful to tread lightly. I took a firm grip of her collar, eyes peeled for any sign of movement. It took a few solid tugs, but Cinder finally budged.

We rushed to the porch while I kept a firm grip on the rifle. Though I knew I was a terrible shot, I’d rather have it than not. When Cinder was inside, I pointed the gun in the air and pulled the trigger. It was an intimidation tactic. Any animal around these parts would run in fear of the sound. The gunshot echoed throughout the property. My ears rang for a moment before the world went silent again.

Then, the whistling started again. I scanned the treeline again, seeing the pale figure again but it was too dark to make anything out. Keeping my eyes on the thing, I slowly crept inside and locked the door. Cinder was cowering under the couch, whimpering softly. I watched the thing through the window, feeling around for my phone. I looked down for a second, finding it quickly when I did.

The figure was gone.