He shuts the box and stares down at the ground. “Yeah, but I didn’t think you were serious.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “You knew I was serious. How could you try and make me go against everything I believe in?! Really, Kyle?”
He reaches out for her, but she moves away. Kyle clenches his jaw in frustration.
“Damnit, Beth! We’ve been together a year. Enough time has been put in for us to be intimate.”
She turns her back on him. “I don’t know what to tell you, but it’s not happening.”
Kyle clenches and unclenches his hands; his nostrils flare. Heat runs through his body as he slowly walks toward her. Then he puts his hand over her mouth, pulling her to the ground.
“I’m not waiting any longer to have you.”
Beth squirms and kicks while beating on his chest with her fists. He tries to grab her hands as she smacks him.
“Don’t do this! Please!”
Kyle yanks her hands up and over her head, pinning her down.
“Shut up! You’ve teased me for the last time.”
His free hand rubs between her legs as she continues to struggle. Finally, she manages to free one of her hands from his grip and slugs him in the face. Kyle’s anger boils over. Grabbing a nearby rock, he slams it into the side of her face. A feeling of euphoria takes over him, and the rock comes down again and again. He jumps up after noticing the massive amount of blood.
Breathing hard, Kyle frantically looks around at the mess while Beth lies motionless. He starts scrambling to put everything back in the picnic basket. The music box is lying on its side, open and playing angelic music.
Beth looks at the transparency of her arms and hands. She can see Kyle placing the things in the basket. She goes over to the music box and tries to pick it up, but her hands go right through it.
“Wait. Am I dead?”
She looks over at her form lying on the blanket; blood is everywhere. Anger floods her.
“Kyle, why did you do this to me?”
There is no response to her question.
Turning toward the music box, Kyle notices that some blood has gotten on it. She tries again to grab it before he does but is unsuccessful. Beth closes her eyes, her face scrunched and wanting to scream. She tries to kick him in the head, but her foot goes through his body’s frame. However, he does feel a cold chill run through him as he wipes off the music box. Beth’s anger pulls her toward the box; it’s like the mirror is calling her to it.
“What’s happening?” Beth wonders before a force causes her to float up and then down as the mirror consumes her.
A Year Later
CHAPTER TWO
Kyle is sitting on the couch watching television while waiting for Cassandra, his girlfriend, to get ready for her birthday dinner. He flicks through the channels, stopping on a news segment rehashing the cold case of his former girlfriend, Beth Ackerman. Despite Beth’s friend telling the police that he was the last person Beth was with the night she died, he was cleared as a suspect because there was no physical evidence. Kyle was tired of hearing about it and wanted to move on with his life. As Cassandra appears from out of the bedroom, he changes the channel.
“About time. What took you so long?” he asks.
She playfully pinches his arm. “You haven’t been waiting too long.”
Thirty minutes later, the two are having an Italian dinner of lasagna and garlic bread at Fazoli’s, her favorite restaurant.
“Do I get a present now?”
He smiles. “No, you have to wait.”
Once they finish having dinner, the two lovebirds head out to Holiday Park. After finding a private spot, Kyle backs the car under a tree. Then he gets out and returns with a gift bag from the trunk. Cassandra claps her hands together. She loves getting presents.
“Happy birthday, babe!” Kyle says, handing her the pink bag with red and white tissue paper stuffed inside. The tissue lands in the backseat as she pulls out an antique-looking box.
“I thought you would like something to hold your jewelry. Open it and take a look.”
Cassandra does, and music starts playing. It is the sweetest sound. She starts to sway with the music, losing herself in it.
“Thank you! I love it!” she says and hugs him.
He takes it from her, placing it in the middle of the backseat. She scoots toward him, waiting for his kiss. As the kiss turns passionate, Kyle pulls her down more into the seat, his body leaning over her. When he starts to unbutton her pants, Cassandra grabs his wrist, stopping him.
Slowing his breathing, he asks, “What’s wrong?”
She moves into a sitting position. “I’m not ready yet. It’s too early in our relationship.”
Kyle runs a hand over his head. “What’s with all this ‘I’m not ready’ and ‘I’m saving myself for marriage’ crap?”
She glares at him. “Excuse me? Take me home. Take me home right now!”
He moves back to the driver’s side while returning her glare.
“Whatever! I’m going to take a leak first,” he says, slamming the door once he exits, and then walks toward the back of the car.
She turns to look out the rear window and watches as he takes a left into the woods.
“I can’t believe him. The nerve of some guys,” she mumbles, hitting the touchscreen on her phone to check her messages. She types a response to a friend and then scrolls through her social media accounts, replying to a couple of tweets. Looking up from her phone, she realizes it has been a while, and Kyle isn’t back yet.
It doesn’t take that long to pee. She glances around but can’t see much in the darkness and dense fog. What is taking him so long?
A noise that sounds like creaking branches falling from the trees gets her attention. She tries to ignore it, but there seems to
