The Haunted’s Kiss of Regret and Repentance

I looked at Brixton, and a look of realization came to his face when our eyes met. The awkward atmosphere made me forget that I was crying, and we were in a public place.

“You guys are always having drama. You should just hook up and get together and maybe true love’s kiss would make all of that go away.”

I slapped Karl’s arm and his daughter giggled at his father’s whining.

“Brixton and I have no drama whatsoever, Karl. Besides, we’re friends, and there is nothing going on between the two of us.”

Me and Brixton nodded as our gazes met for a moment.

“Besides, Perry has been telling me about that true love’s kiss thing multiple times. If this is a fairytale, I bet that it would work, but we’re in the real world. We need something more powerful than just a kiss to break this curse thing that he did to me.”

“Babe, tomorrow, Perry said that you guys would have a week-long break. Are you going to go home again?”

“Yeah. I promised my mom that I was going to stay there for a week or so. I also promised the woman that I was going to go to church more.”

“My daughter here is attending Sunday school in our church, and she prays like a pro. Why don’t you let her pray for you before we all leave? You could use as many prayers as possible.”

“Thanks Karl. I also thought about becoming more serious in church, because if that man made a deal with the devil, only God can undo what he did.”

“Wow, babe, I can’t believe that you’re getting more serious in your faith. I am so proud of you.”

“Yeah, Shyne, I can’t believe it only took a curse from an ex boyfriend to get you going.”

I slapped Karl again, but this time, his daughter also pinched his forearm.

“Ow! Baby, why did you pinch daddy like that?”

I laughed at his exaggerated reaction. He was such a drama king.

“Daddy. No bad. No no bad to Aunty Shyne.”

The toddler was so cute as she shook her head while talking. I picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheeks.

“Thanks, princess. Aunty Shyne is so lucky to have a princess like you.”

“No, daddy. Lucky, bad. Mimi Jolene said blessed.”

“Oh. I’m sorry princess. I mean, I’m blessed to have you protect me from your papi.”

All four of us laughed at the scene, and after a quick prayer from the little princess and a few goodbyes, we left.

Brixton insisted on driving me back to my boarding house, and we just had random talks throughout the entire ride. After fifteen minutes of driving and traffic, we reached my home.

“Brixton, you know how, I’ve always told you that I want to go on an adventure in the middle of the night without telling anyone?”

“I know that look. What adventure do you have in mind?”

“I’ll just get my things and get ready. Buy snacks and whatever. I wanna go to the beach tonight.”

“But what about those guys who have been following us all day? If I take you somewhere else aside from your house, those men might just pull us over and drag you back home.”

“I know. Just meet me at the cafe three blocks from here. I can just make a way to ditch them with Perry’s help.”

“You are such a crazy woman. I have no idea why I’m even letting you talk me into this.”

He was laughing and shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

“Well, for one, you love me too much to deny me my desired pleasure and thirst for adventure. Second, you also want to ditch these guys as much as I do. Come on!”

I took off my seatbelt at the same time that the car stopped in front of my place.

“Remember to meet me at the cafe, okay? Oh, and bring a few cans of soda and something sweet and salty. I’ll make sure to grab a few things too. I’m sure the beach near us has rooms where we can dump our stuff.”

“I still say that this is crazy, babe.”

I left him while he was laughing inside the car. He normally opens the door for me, but he was laughing too much and I was too excited. I went straight to my room.

“Excuse me, my dear cousin, but do you mind telling me why you’re packing clothes in the middle of the night?”

I stopped when I realized that Perry was awake and I needed to have a solid explanation for her. The look on her eyes told me that there was no lying that could save me from her.

“Okay, fine. I’m going to go to the beach with Brixton, and we’ll look at the sunrise. I was feeling really down and I just wanted to go on an adventure to somehow forget things for a while.”

“What are the guards that your father specifically assigned to guard you? They will be waiting outside of that gate.”

“Well, that’s where you can help me. I was planning on just going outside and wearing a disguise, but one of them would probably follow me and catch us escaping. However, if you got out first and went to a store nearby, that would definitely follow you, and their guards would be down. That way, I can escape with a disguise!”

“No. I won’t do it, Shyne. You are already in too many problems right now, and the last thing you should do is get in trouble again.”

“I won’t be gone for too long. I would go back home before school starts at ten thirty in the morning.”

“Shyne, there is a shadow man following you, and you only have Brixton.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“It’s not just me and Brixton.”

“Lie one more time and I won’t even consider helping you.”

“Okay, fine. It’s just me and Brixton. Bit, Perry, nothing bad will happen. I just want to forget about everything for one night. You know I can’t even sleep without Rian following me.”

I was about to cry as tears started to build up in my eyes. The loom on Perry’s face turned from stern to soft.

“I hate your nerve, you know that right? I don’t want to hear any problems when you get back here.”

“I love you so much!”

I hugged her then I continued to prepare my things and get ready to wear my disguise. Perry went out to begin the plan.

As I was changing my clothes, a pair of hands embraced me.

“Perry, I thought you said you’d get-”

I turned around and was face to face with a shadow that had horns. It was pitch black, and it had no features that resembled anything that was human.

“My love. Thank you for betraying me.”