The clutter of the house was getting in the way. I hopped over a couple of presents sitting next the front door and tumbled to the ground when the heel of my boot caught one of the bows. I let the door slam behind me. As I walked through the living room I giggled hello to my roommates and raced into my room. It was the beginning of a long weekend and we had planned a road trip. We were headed down to my lake house in Austin. It would be the three of us, sunshine, a boat, a couple bottles of wine and no fiancés. All of the packing was done the night before. Outfits were selected, clothes thrown about all over the long hallway as we raced in and out of each other’s closets.
Since graduation, we each began a fast paced life. Lisa was writing for D Magazine. She found a job in the food and wine section and all her dreams were coming true. Her and Alex were engaged! She and I convinced Megg to stay out here one more year. Megg struck it big when her boyfriend, Adam, signed with the Dallas Cowboys. To everyone’s surprise, she signed with the organization as the team’s dietician the same day as he. Two days later, Adam proposed in the parking lot of the stadium while they entered for work. I got lucky when my internship in college turned into a job opportunity. Justin Boots hired me as the new visual merchandiser of Region 2. I was in control of all the retail stores that sold Justin products in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and surrounding cities. My fiancé and I were planning a wedding and looking for a new house. Three best friends, three dream jobs and now three weddings. Needless to say, our lives were hectic.
This trip was a final goodbye before the three of us went our separate ways. Sure we would still be neighbors but after 2 years of being roommates, it was going to be weird without them. The plans had been made for a month now. It was tough getting off a few extra days because each of us was so busy with work, wedding and life.
Giggles flowed through the hallway.
“Megg, don’t laugh at me. Just yesterday you spilt the whole bag of jellybeans while trying to sneak some into your room. Don’t pretend I didn’t see you…” I proclaimed as I dug out my bathing suits from the bottom of my closet.
“Ugh! How dare you!! Better sleep with one eye open. I may sabotage your wedding invitations you spent hours working on last week.” She shouted back.
Ever since she bought her wedding dress we’ve been keeping an eye on her diet. She made us swear that we would monitor her snacking so she would be able to fit into the dress come the big day. She threatened us to help her or she would ensue World War III on us and it would be an all out bride wars in our little 3-bedroom house.
Our bags were all packed and we loaded into my white Range Rover I had so graciously presented myself when I got the promotion and pay increase. We had so much luggage for a 4-day weekend and only 3 of us. Needless to say, we don’t pack light.
“Lisa, you’re in charge of the iPod and music.” I handed her our iPods and barked the orders at her. She graciously bowed her head to me.
“Yes master!”
“Let’s go!! Bridget, you drive so slow. We’re never going to get there!” Megg was the worst back seat driver. That was going to have to go if the three of us were going to last the entire drive.
About three hours till Austin and we were already yelling at each other. You’d think it was that time of the month. Megg’s phone rang… “Chicken Fried” played loudly as she fumbled through the bottom of her brown, oversized, Marc Jacobs bag.
Frustrated, I turned in my seat to glare at her. Hopefully she’d get the picture. “Someone answer it already!”
Megg ignored the phone call and the next 10 calls from her crazy wedding planner. She had hired this lady and boy, was she a loon. Isn’t the bride supposed to be the Bridezilla? Not in Megg’s case. She had a wedding planner from hell. Megg called the ditzy blonde yesterday to tell her that she would be out of town for the next four days and did not want anything to do with the wedding till she returned. Megg made herself clear she thought but obviously the planner had a different idea. From that moment on, all of our phones were on silent. Our fiancés had the number to the house in Austin and would call us there to say their I love you’s.
Lisa laughed quietly to herself as she scrolled through the play lists and landed on one we had specially created for the trip. She pressed play and turned the music up loud enough so we couldn’t hear each other’s thoughts.
I pulled into the driveway of my family’s lake house 2 hours and 43 minutes later. I allowed no bathroom breaks the entire trip. We drove straight through and finally we were here. My mom had graciously driven up the day before and stocked the kitchen with food and wine for us. She lives 30 minutes away from the lake house so she figured it was the least she could do. We raced to the door and tried to unlock it. Franticly I stuck my key into the whole, but it didn’t work. I’ve had the same key since my parents bought the house 3 years ago. It has always worked.
“Oh my gosh Bridget!! Open the door. I’m dieing here.” Lisa waddled back and forth. Because of my no stopping rule and all the diet cokes, we each had to get inside the house… now!
Why wasn’t it working? My mom had been here yesterday. She didn’t mention anything about new locks or keys. I raced to the back door… it was open. I ran in and unlocked the bolted front door. Weird, I thought to myself. My mom must have had the same problem yesterday. I bet she drove up this morning and propped the door open for us. The house stood alone at the end of the cul-de-sac so it was ok to leave the house open for short periods of time. We had never had any problems.
“You know where the bathrooms are. I called the master. Move it.” I shouted as my voice faded down the hallway. We each ran our separate ways.
A few minutes later I returned and went to fridge for a drink. Wine. Diet Coke. Chicken. Veggies. Ice cream. And so on. It was all there. Mom always knew what we liked. I looked through the pantry scoping out our options for dinner tonight.
“What is taking yall so long? Get down here. I’m about to open this bottle. I’m not going to drink it all by myself.” I looked around the corner. No answer. All of the sudden the house felt eerie. They’re probably playing a trick on me. Ready to jump out of the linen closet as I turned to corner or throw a blanket over my head as I passed under the stairs. Suddenly the phone rang but just as quickly as it began, it stopped. The ring jolted me and shook my nerves a little bit. Weird. The phone rang once and then nothing again. I picked it up but nothing, just a dial tone. I turned to go to the back door and then it rang again. I quickly rushed to the counter to pick it up. Silence on the other end. No voice. No dial tone. Nothing.
“Megg! Lisa! Stop messing with me. Now get down here and help me with the bags. I’m not your maid.” I shouted through the silent house. No response from either of them. What was going on? I thought quietly to myself as I searched through my Kate Spade bag for my phone. I filed through old receipts, gum wrappers, lip stick cases. Ah! Finally, there it was my blackberry, no service. Ok this was about to be a tragic horror story. Three friends travel to a lake house for a weekend getaway and a killed by a psychopath who has been stalking there every move.
I grabbed the butcher knife from the knife drawer. I slipped my useless $300, supposed to be my lifesaver, blackberry into the back pocket of my faded True Religions. Slowly, I tiptoed to the corner of the kitchen. I slid my silver Tory Burch flats off and shoved them under the cabinet. At this point, I was freaking out. The house was not that big. I knew they could here my screaming. They weren’t outside getting the bags from the car. Where could they be?
Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark figure dodge in and out of my sight. That figure was definitely not 5’5” Lisa walking about. Nor was it the slimming yet curvaceous body of Megg. It had to be a man. The shadow was far too tall to be anyone I had brought with me. Someone was in the house. That had to be why the back door was open and why we couldn’t get in the front door.
“Lisa! I’m going to start making some dinner. I need your help. Come on! We both know the dinner will not be edible if I get any where near it.” I tried to cover my fear by not revealing the fact that I knew someone was here. I thought that if I played dumb and snuck up on the person, who ever it was, that I’d have the advantage.
Sweat started to bubble on my forehead. It was official; I was scared to death and had no idea what the next 5 minutes were going to result in. I checked the house phone one more time. Still, silence on the other line. I pulled the blackberry out of my pocket. No bars. I stealthily moved from the corner of the kitchen to the edge of the hallway. I got down on my knees and crawled to the entryway. I peered out the window next to the front door. I could see my car in the distance. Still parked in the driveway. No one was there. Dang it. I should’ve grabbed my keys out of my purse just in case. Oh well, that would have been too much noise. Besides, I couldn’t imagine leaving my friends here alone when someone was in the house.
I didn’t have a plan as I crept up the stairs like ivy. Conforming to every jagged corner, raised step and slight curve. I thought that I should find the girls first to see if they were ok. Gripping the knife tighter and tighter in my hand, I could feel my palm start to sweat. My adrenalin began pumping. This was the strangest feeling I had ever experienced. If I screamed for help, would my neighbors hear me? Would they know something was wrong? I reached the top of the stairs and took a few deep breaths before I peered over the final step. A pair of Nike Shocks peeked out from under the curtain in the game room. I ducked back down. There was someone here. My deepest fears had come true. My hand clasped over my mouth as a few sobs came out. I tried to be silent. I wiped my eyes and peeked again. Now I could see the heel of Megg’s favorite vintage platforms sticking out from behind the bar. Was she hiding from the man in the Nike shoes? I couldn’t call 911. I couldn’t run down stairs and leave Megg all alone. Where was Lisa?
“SHHH!” An unknown voice echoed through the room. The noise stung my ears as the whispered word faded off. Someone knew I was here. I back peddled over a couple of the steps. I had to compose myself before I could do anything else. There was a pair of doors that closed off the game room from the hallway next to the stairs. I would slide up the edge of the stairway and crawl toward the left door. Once there, I could stand up and get a better view of the entire game room. It was now or never, I made my move.
There was no one in the hallway. The upstairs seemed untouched by either of the girls. Where was Lisa hiding? Did she know there was someone here? I looked out the window that stretched above the front door to the top of the second floor ceiling. Still, no one in the driveway. I peered around the solid wood door and into the game room. There was heavy breathing but no sign of Lisa. Megg’s feet had moved further behind the bar and out of site. I got down on my knees and crawled fast to the back of the couch that faced the entrance to the game room.
I whispered, “Megg, I’m here.” The bar was about 3 feet away from the edge of the couch, just enough room for a walkway. No response from Megg. I didn’t want to whisper again. I leaned my back up against the couch. This way I could see if someone was coming from the either side. I gripped the knife and placed my left hand by my neck so in case the man came at my from behind my couch I could prevent him from strangling me. It was now or never. I made my move.
“Come out!! I know you are in here. Show your face.” I screamed as I jumped up from behind the sturdy brown leather couch, pointing my knife toward the curtain that hid the Nike Shoes.
My fiancé pulled back the curtain with his hands held high.
“Surprise?” he said in a quiet tone, winking at me. The doors on the balcony opened, out came Lisa with a cake and a large grin on her face. Behind her followed some co-workers, my parents, and my soon to be in-laws. I let the knife tumble to the ground as Megg jumped to toward me.
“Surprise!!!!” She shouted into my left ear as she smiled at me with the biggest, most content smile ever.
Above the entrance into the room was a banner from corner to corner that read…
HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY BRIDGET
