NAPATSORN TREESAP

I wrote this psychological thriller short story to submit the writing task in the Creative Writing Class at Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, Thailand.

My boyfriend and I drove upstate to Ravendale to manage the house that my parents had left me. The town was still the same as when I was young. It was surrounded by mountains which were cloudy and foggy all the time. There were shopfronts on both sides of the main street. Not many people walked around town. My eyes suddenly saw a narrow alley besides a shop, and I thought about that night when I was just a normal seventeen-year-old girl. My body shook like the deer seeing a group of hunters when the flashback came into my head. My classmate, Lucas, did something unforgivable when I was going home that night. He used one of his hands to cover my mouth, and he dragged me to the dark narrow alley behind the shop. I squirmed and fought as much as I could to get out of his arms, but it did not work. He banged my head against the brick wall. My vision blurred. I was numb. I was not sure if it was my sweat or my blood that was dripping down to my white collar.
         “Do it again, and you’ll die,” said Lucas, using his hands to push my body to the
ground. “I gave you my love, but look what you’ve done to me, Lauren. You’re such a
whore.”
         “Please, help me,” I said, with a low and hoarse voice.
         “No one’s gonna help you,” said Lucas, moving his body on top of me. My clothes
were torn off. Tears covered my face. I turned my head away from this beast. After a
while, I saw two men out a distance. I used my last energies to scream, “Help!” I heard
footsteps approaching. From Lucas’s reaction, I was pretty sure that they had heard me.
         “Bitch!” As fled, his back was the last thing I saw. Then, all went black.

          “Lauren… Lauren! What’s wrong?” said Jake, after seeing me shaking and breath-
ing heavily.
          “I’m thinking about that night again,” I said, my eyes filled with tears.
          “Hey, I’m here. I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said. Jake had dark hair and eyes
that were blue like the ocean. He moved his left hand from the steering wheel to hold my
hands.

           Ten minutes later, we arrived at a brown two-storey detached house near the
woods. In front of the house, there was a floral garden filled with tall grasses. Obviously,
no one had taken care of it for a while. I got out of the black sedan car with the nostalgia of childhood.
           “I haven’t come here for almost ten years.”
           “It’s so peaceful,” said Jake, walking to the car boot to pick up the luggage.
            We walked along the cobblestone path to the house. I opened the door to the living
room. At the back, there was a stair in front of the kitchen.
           “We’re all tired. We can sleep in my parent’s bedroom upstairs. I’ll check the house
and I’ll follow you.”
           “Alright.”
           I took a good look at the house. The curtains that covered the living room window had different colour. I remembered they used to be white, but now they were red like the blood of a bird. I went to open the window to let the air in. It took a few hours for me to get used to the house again. Then, I heard the cracking of the branches outside. I turned my head to the window, but there was nothing.

           Weeks passed, Jake said it was the paradise being able to work from home during the Covid-19 situation, as he could breath the fresh air of the mountains. Unlike him, I felt strange. There was something I could not explain. A few nights before, I thought I saw one man at the back of the house. I felt like there was someone watching me all the time. Whatever I did, wherever I went, I felt those eyes on me. Maybe I was overthinking, I told myself, but I could not be sure.
             One day, Jake and I arranged to have dinner with my high school friends. I chose to wear a black dress, for I thought it enhanced my blood red lipstick. We drove to the restaurant in town. The dinner lasted around three hours. Then, we said farewell to my friends.
             “Lauren, just a moment. I think it’s going to rain in a minute and it’s quite cold. Here, I
bought you a scarf.” Jake wound the white scarf around my neck. Then, he gave me a warm smile and kissed me on the cheek.
             “That’s very nice of you.”

              We drove out of town on the way home. When we were almost passing the woods, the car broke down. We got off the car to check out the engine. I did not know the phone number of any auto mechanic around here, so I told Jake to call the local police for help. A few minutes later, I turned my head to check whether the police had arrived or not. Then, I saw a man. It was him. He was standing with his long blond hair and watchful eyes staring at our car at the opposite side of the road. I screamed loudly as if I was having a nightmare.
              “What happens?” asked Jake.
              “It’s Lucas. He knew I was coming back home. Oh, my! I should have known that he’s still here. What should I do?” I said, my heart racing so fast. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. “Call the police again, now!”
               I turned my head to the spot where I had seen Lucas standing, but he was gone. My fear increased, for I did not know where he was. I was freaking out. I ran as fast as I could deep into the woods. The sound of thunder unexpectedly echoed between the sound of the crickets and the creek water. I hid behind a tree and saw him. He was running after me. I had to finish this, I thought to myself. I had to fight him back. I would use my scarf as a weapon. I jumped behind his back to strangle him with my scarf. I hated him for ruining my life. He went down on his knees as if he was running out of breath. His face was pale. His hands scratched my arms. I did not give up. I picked up a stone and hit him as hard as he had hit me before. This time, it was his blood that was dropping on my white scarf.
               “Lauren.”
                I heard his last words, calling my name with a voice that was running out of energy. But his voice was very familiar. It reminded me of someone I had known for a long time. Someone I had come home with. I looked carefully at the face lying on the ground, out of breath. It was a pale face as if there was no blood in it anymore. It was a face I knew very well. It was Jake.

                “Jake!” I screamed with tears that dropped along with the rain. I was shocked. Then, I kneeled down and wished that this would not be happening.
                “I’m sorry. Please, talk to me!” I wished I had not done this to him. I wished I could go back in time and stop everything, but there was nothing I could do to change the fact that I had killed him. “No, please.” I repeated these words many times while I was crying. Then, I heard the sound of the police.
                “Stop. Don’t move,” said a police officer.
                “I… I didn’t expect it to be him. It’s Lucas Alden. He was trying to kill us.” 
                “Lucas was the talk of the town for many years. He committed suicide in these woods years ago.
                 “What?” I said in shock.
                 “You’re under arrest for committing murder,” the policeman came and manacled me. I did not resist.

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