AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She smiled as the memory washed over her. “It actually has nothing to do with the movie. It was just the first horror movie my mom let me watch. I was ten, and I begged her. After that horror movies kind of became our thing. Every Friday was movie night up until she died.” A rush of sadness slammed into her, making her waver, but she held strong. “I don’t even know if she even liked horror movies before that first Friday night. But she embraced them for me.”
“It’s nice to have something to share with the people you love.”
She nodded, biting back the sorrow that draped over her like a black cloud every time she thought about losing one of her favorite people. “The first Friday after she died, I watched Curse of Chucky. She had wanted to see it, but… she died before the release. I cried the entire movie. I have no idea what happened.”
“Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much.”
A laugh bubbled inside her. “Not a fan, I’m guessing?”
“Let’s just say there were much better Chucky movies.”
Depleted from allowing herself to be open with him, she needed a reprieve from her emotions. “Now your turn. What are your favorites, and you better not say something silly like Jaws.”
“While a great movie, I wouldn’t necessarily consider that horror.”
“Thank you! So many people tell me that’s their favorite horror movie, and it just confuses me.”
“Technically, it’s a monster horror, but sharks aren’t monsters. If anything, we’re the monsters.”
“How so?”
“They’re just living their life as nature intended. We’re the ones encroaching on their space.”
“Spoken like a true beach boy.”
“There’s nothing boy about me.” He winked, and she shifted at the unexpected tingle that coursed through her.
“My apologies. Beach man. So tell me. What’s your favorite?”
“My favorite has to be the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
“Oh, that’s a good one. I still remember the first time I saw that movie. I was fifteen, and I couldn’t sleep for a week. I kept thinking I was going to wake up on a meat hook.”
“Iconic scene.”
“Traumatizing is more like it.”
He laughed. “And you call yourself a horror fan.”
“I was only fifteen.”
“I was only twelve.”
“Twelve!”
“Tony and I decided to give it a shot, and I was hooked on horror movies ever since. Tony wasn’t the biggest fan—he’s a little too gentle at heart, I think—but he always came with me to the movies when a new one released.”
“I can see why you’re still friends. Friends like that you don’t let go of.”
“Never. He’s more than my friend. He’s my brother.”
“I always wondered what that would be like. I never really had any friends I was really close with.”
“Why so?”
“After my mom died, my dad moved us as far away from our hometown as he could. He said it was for a fresh start, but I just think he didn’t want to be reminded of my mom in any way. I said goodbye to all my friends, promised we’d keep in touch, and we never did. Then when I started the new school, I guess I didn’t want the disappointment in case Dad decided to uproot us again, so I never really let anyone in. I guess that’s why cosplay and social media became so important to me. For the first time in my life, I allowed myself to develop connections and be part of a community, even if I wasn’t ever my true self.”
“I’m your community now. Me and everyone else in Willow Cove. Even if you don’t want them to be, they will be. It’s pretty impossible to keep people out of your business here. But as annoying as it can be, it’s also comforting. In this town, you’re never alone.”
