Looks Can Be Deceiving

“Step away from the car,” Mollie yelled jokingly across the empty Andronico’s parking lot to the guy standing next to their car.  He looked at them but didn’t budge. He was a very handsome guy, probably in his early twenties wearing jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt and a beanie with strings coming down the side. As they got closer Mollie noticed he was talking to someone on the phone, probably why he didn’t hear her. When he noticed he was leaning on the car they were walking towards, he stepped away and walked in front of the car to get out of their way. They got into the car and opened their snacks for the car ride. As Emily turned the car on, she flirtingly flashed her brights at him. He hung up the phone and walked to the passenger window. Mollie rolled down the window and he smiled at them, bearing his pearly whites.

            “Did you just flash your lights at me?” he asked Emily.

            “Nope, that just happens when I turn the car on,” she responded jokingly.

            “Could I get some jelly beans?” he asked eyeing the bag of jellybeans on Mollie’s lap.

            “Yeah of course,” Mollie said, holding the bag outside the window for him to grab a handful.

            “So, you guys just making a late night stop at Andronico’s for some snacks?” he asked.

            “Yeah pretty much, “ Mollie answered. “What about you? What are you doing here at nine?”

            “I just saw a movie by myself and I’m on my way home now.”

            “By yourself?” Emily teased.

            “Don’t judge. I’m not from around here. I don’t have any friends. I’m just visiting my father at the moment,” he said, defending himself.

            “Where are you from?” Mollie asked holding out her bag of jellybeans, so he could get another handful.

            “Maryland. I’m a freshman in the Navy there,” he answered stuffing a couple jellybeans in his mouth. The girls looked at each other.  With all the facial hair, he looked a lot older than a freshman in college. He noticed their surprise at his age. “How old are you guys?”

            “We’re seniors in high school,” Mollie answered. He looked shocked too.

            “I totally thought you guys were in your twenties,” he said smiling. We smiled back.  “My name’s Grant by the way.”

            “I’m Mollie and this is Emily,” Mollie said pointing at her friend. They sat in the parking lot talking for twenty minutes. The girls found out his father lived in the hills, right next to Mollie and his mother lived in Moraga and that he was just visiting his father for two weeks before he had to go back to Maryland. After a while, he started shaking a little bit.

            “I’m getting pretty cold. Mind if I jump in the back seat?” he asked pointing at the empty seat in the back.  The girls looked at each other.

            “Sure,” Emily shrugged unlocking the backseat.

            “Where do you want to go?” Mollie asked, turning around in her chair.

            “I actually have to get home. I’m on probation so my probation officer is always on my tail. I actually have to be home by ten.”

“That’s fine,” Emily said, starting the car. We headed up the hill towards their houses.

            “How long has your dad lived in the hills?” Mollie asked.

            “He just moved here. I don’t know much about Berkeley yet,” he said.

            “We’ll if you ever need someone to show you around, you now have two people to ask,” Emily said, any excuse to see him again. 

            “Thanks for that,” he said as we pulled up in front of his house. “I’m gonna need one of your numbers though,”

            Emily and Grant exchanged numbers and Grant walked into his house, looking back a couple of times waving.

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            “He was so cute,” Mollie said taking the lemonade out of the fridge.

            “Tell me about it, “ Emily sighed holding up her glass for a refill. An hour or two had passed since they dropped Grant off at home but they couldn’t get him out of their heads. Not even watching Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty from One Tree Hill could get their minds off him.

            “It’s useless,” Mollie said sighing, turning off the TV. Just then the doorbell rang. Mollie’s parents had gone up to Tahoe with some friends for the weekend, leaving Mollie home alone.  “Who could be at the door?” she asked Emily, “It’s past midnight.”

            “I dunno. But you open it. It’s your house. I’m not trying to get kidnapped tonight,” Emily said shoving Mollie towards the door. 

            The doorbell rang again. Mollie rolled her eyes defeated and opened the door.         “Hey,” a man’s voice said quicker than Mollie had a chance to see who it was.

            “Hey, what’s up?” Emily said eagerly. Mollie looked at Emily confused. Obviously Grant’s beauty was blinding her from realizing the real question that needed to be asked.

            “How’d you find my house?” Mollie asked the obvious question.

            “Oh, you told me that you lived near me so I went for a walk and found Emily’s car parked outside,” Grant said, once again showing off his pearly whites. A smile he perfected for situations like this. Mollie was speechless. She didn’t know what to say back. Her knees went weak. She turned to Emily.

            “Come in,” Emily said, all too calmly. “Would you like anything to drink?”

            “Water would be great actually. I’m thirsty from all that walking,” he said looking around the kitchen. “So this is where you live? Nice.”

            “Thanks,” Mollie answered quietly.  Emily glared at Mollie as she handed Grant his water.

            “Could you excuse us for a second?” Emily asked and then pointed to the couch. “Make yourself at home, we’ll be right back.” She dragged Mollie to the living room. “Snap out of it, Mollie. You’re being awkward.”

            “Don’t you think it’s a little weird that he found my house?” Mollie asked.

            “It’s not exactly like we’re that far away from his house. And we practically told him where you lived earlier. So then he found my car outside. It’s really not that big of a deal,” Emily said, reassuringly.

            “Why would he go looking for my house in the middle of the night?” Mollie asked, unconvinced.

            “Look, Mollie, he’s only one year older than us. He’s not like some creepy middle aged man. And he’s obviously interested in us.  Please don’t blow this. I enjoy his company,” Emily said, nudging Mollie as she headed back towards the kitchen.

            “You’re right,” Mollie agreed, slowly following her back into the kitchen.

            “What are you doing?” Mollie heard Emily gasp around the corner in the kitchen. She ran into the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about. There she saw Grant holding up three large knives.

            “What the fuck?” Mollie asked, stepping backwards.

            “Have you ever seen anyone juggle knives before? I’m very good,” Grant said calmly. He didn’t seem to notice the fear on the girls’ faces.

            “I’d rather you didn’t,” Mollie said, trying to stay calm. It was a little comforting that he wasn’t trying to kill them with the knives, but she wasn’t exactly in the mood to see them flying around. 

            “Your house, your rules. I respect that,” he said putting the knives back on the counter. Mollie turned to Emily who was beaming from ear to ear. Mollie figured Emily was right. Grant was just a normal guy, trying to impress two girls.

            “Do you want us to give you a tour of the house?” Emily asked twirling her blond hair with her fingers.

            “Yeah sure, that would be awesome,” Grant said, following the girls out of the kitchen.  Halfway through the tour Mollie heard the teapot whistling in the kitchen. “My tea’s ready,” she said as she ran up the stairs to the kitchen.  She turned the stove off and reached for a mug. It was then that she noticed only two knives on the counter. She could have sworn there were three before.

            “Help!” she heard Emily scream downstairs.

            “Shit,” she said running down the stairs. “Emily, where are you?” she asked running into her own bedroom. There she saw a terrified Emily looking back at her. Mollie looked up at Grant who was holding his hands above his head, the knife in one hand.

            “I was just kidding,” he said, laughing.

            “It wasn’t funny,” Emily said, backing out of the room.

            “I think you should go now,” Mollie said, leading Grant towards the front door.

            “So I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” he said as he walked through the open door.

            “We’re busy, sorry,” Emily said as she started to close the front door.

            “I’ll squeeze myself into your schedule. Don’t you worry,” he said as he turned and walked away.

            Mollie and Emily hugged each other tight. “You’re right, he’s creepy,” Emily said. “What should we do now?”

            “It’s late, we should probably just go to sleep,” Mollie said wishing her parents weren’t so far away.  The girls locked almost all the doors, missing the sticky balcony door that hadn’t been locked in years and went downstairs to Mollie’s room to sleep.

            Mollie woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon coming from upstairs. She turned around and saw Emily still lying in bed. Where is that smell coming from? She thought to herself as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She shook Emily awake.

            “Good morning, girls,” she heard Grant’s voice say. “I made you guys some breakfast. I thought if I came early enough you guys wouldn’t be busy.” The girls looked at each other, frightened.  He gave each girl a plate and told them to eat.

            “I’m not really hungry,” Emily said, avoiding eye contact with the terrifying yet gorgeous man standing above her.

            “Eat,” he said pointing a knife at each girl. “I want your last meal to be your best ever.”

            “Why are you doing this?” Mollie asked scarffing down the food in front of her.

            “No one sends Grant away,” he said, his beautiful blues eyes looking scarier than ever. After the girls finished their last bite, he slit their throats, took the knives and the plates upstairs and did the dishes.

THE END