Gates Ferry

Chapter 2- The Guest

Chapter 2- The Guest

   


    Rushing towards the vehicle, Ryan had disregarded the fact that he left the front door open. This would surely attract attention to onlookers, but Ryan was so caught up in his own distorted existence that the cruel act he had just forced his parents to endure hadn’t fazed him in the slightest. As he made his way to the garage he dropped his bags and grabbed the handle. He threw the garage door up exposing the magnificent vehicle contained inside. Ryan quickly shoved the baggage into the trunk and hopped in the driver’s seat. The interior was decorated in elegant black leather, and as he turned the key the automated computer system engaged. “Good Afternoon Mr. Taylor,” The vehicle chanted optimistically. Ryan smiled, “Well, I am Mr. Taylor after all.” He put the car in reverse and shot out of the driveway.


      As Ryan drove down his road he remembered that he was heading to Julie’s house, so he opened his cell phone and began to dial her number. “Shit, what was her number again?” Ryan asked himself. He began to laugh at his own question and then scrolled through his phone book searching for his girlfriend’s number. Ryan rarely ever contacted Julie, and when he did he was either inebriated, bored to tears, or in need of a favor. Upon finding Julie’s number he jabbed at the dial button and it automatically connected to the Mercedes’ Bluetooth system. The phone rang loudly throughout the speakers. Ryan dropped his cell phone into the cup holder and slammed his foot onto the gas pedal, swerving around turns as the dial tone blared from the sound system. After the third ring Julie answered, “RYAN! I miss you so much. I was hoping that you’d call me soon.” With his eyes focused on the road, Ryan responded, “Hey baby, I’m coming over. I have got the best surprise and you are gonna love it!” Ryan blew through a stop sign almost hitting an elderly man on his daily walk. “Don’t joke around Ry, you know I hate when you tease me. Are you seriously coming over?” Julie was usually let down whenever Ryan promised her something. Occasionally he would claim he was on his way over, and then become somewhat sidetracked from the invitation to hang out with his friends or another pretty girl. “Yes Julie,” Ryan murmured obnoxiously, “I’m on my way right now. Meet me outside.” Ryan stabbed the end call button on the glamorous touch screen before Julie had the opportunity to celebrate via Mercedes Benz audio. Ryan began to increase his speed throughout the neighborhood, weaving in and out of traffic and pissing off most of the residents. He shot out of the neighborhood and made his way to the interstate. Julie lived one exit down from Ryan. She resided in a beautiful home inside of an even more luxurious neighborhood. Her parents were wealthy realtors. They kept money close, but religion closer. Allowing Ryan to stay with them would be a huge ordeal from her parents standpoint, but Julie always had the last say in the matter seeing as how she was an only child.


    As Ryan pulled into the neighborhood he peered up at the sun roof and noticed the sky was awfully black. “What a miserable day,” Ryan complained, not even remembering the fact that he had just left his parents mutilated back inside home. Before he could pull into the Alexander’s driveway Julie had already run out into the street. “RYAN!” She cried in excitement. He had to swerve out of the way to avoid hitting her. Ryan stomped on the brakes as she ran to the window. “I love you so much!” She said softly as her lips met his. He glanced into her eyes and the manipulation began to roll off his tongue. “I was doing a lot of thinking at home and I realized not a day goes by where I don’t miss you like crazy. All I do is think about you, and my parents realize that. I love you so much that I convinced them to let me move out and be with you from now on.” In the midst of Ryan’s tactical speech, Julie’s eyes glowed. “Now I know all of this is sudden, but…” Before he had a chance to finish his sentence Julie had interrupted. “Park your car and get your things out of the trunk, I’m gonna go talk to my parents right now.” Julie jolted inside of her home. Ryan smiled while having his eyes fixed on her backside. He put the car in drive and parked it on the side of the curb parallel to the Alexander’s driveway. The front door had been left wide open, similar to his parents, and as he waited he flipped through the photo album on his cell phone. The first picture was of his buddy Mark giving him the middle finger. Ryan laughed and scrolled to the next picture, it was Naomi in a bikini. Ryan smiled devilishly at the image and then switched to the next image. It was an picture of his mother. She had a baffled look on her face because he had taken a picture of her in the midst of her attempt on eating an oversized piece of food. It was halfway sticking out of her mouth, and it was clear in the image that she had laughed right after the picture was taken. A chill ran down his spine and he shut the phone.


    As he raised his head to view the front door again his heart jumped. Julie was standing right in front of the car, and he wasn’t expecting her to be back so soon. He peered around her body and saw both parents standing on the porch beaming smiles towards him. Ryan had always put on a nice guy act around her family. They bought into it better than he sold it. Julie motioned Ryan to exit the vehicle and he did so as prompted. “Hey Mr. and Mrs. Alexander! It’s great to see you! I hope I am not being too much of a burden.” Ryan said in charmingly cloaked accent. Mr. Alexander replied, “Of course not, we’d love to have you! Grab your things and make yourself at home. The guest room upstairs is all yours!” Julie hugged Ryan and then followed him to the trunk where his belongings were stored. Ryan attempted to insert key after key into the trunk lock, not knowing which one enabled access into the compartment. Julie began to ask, “So how did your dad ever let you take the Benz? That is quite the parting gift.” Ryan shot back defensively, “Don’t fuckin worry about it ok. It’s mine now.” This had frightened Julie, and she looked down at the ground like a puppy who was being scolded by its master. At last Ryan discovered the right key, and the trunk popped open. As Ryan rummaged around its contents he noticed a large blood stain on the side of the smaller duffel bag. Before Julie had a chance to grab it, Ryan moved her hand away and said sweetly, “I’ll get the bags baby. Would a gentleman ever let a lady carry his stuff?” This made Julie smile again, and she pranced back inside of the house.


    Upon entrance of the brilliantly decorated home, Ryan quickly shut the door behind him while taking in the extravagant surroundings. Julie came around the corner, “Hey the guest room is at the top of the stairs,” She pointed, “You can put all of your stuff in there and then come down, we are getting ready for dinner. I hope you’re hungry, my mom makes the best lasagna!” Julie skipped away while Ryan dragged his duffel bags up the stairs, careful not to let any blood drip onto the white carpeting. He entered the guest room and shut the door, locking it behind him. As he carefully examined the obvious blood stain he noticed that it was still wet and it needed to be cleaned before it could dry permanently. He left the larger bag in the guest room and cracked the bedroom door open, peering out into the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. After viewing the empty hallway he quickly made a run for the bathroom and locked himself inside. He turned the fan on to disguise any peculiar sounds and began to around for something to clean the bag. “Where the hell do they keep the toilet paper?” Ryan said to himself. There was absolutely no toilet paper or tissues in the bathroom. He looked up and saw a towel hanging on top of the shower curtain. It was white, so the stain would stand out greatly. Without hesitation he grabbed the only tool he could utilize for the job and scrubbed the bag generously. The blood came off easily, but to his dismay Ryan was now left with a bloody bath towel to deal with. He shut the light off and cracked the door, peering into the hallway once more. Mrs. Alexander walked right by him, but fortunately for him she didn’t pay any notice. Ryan’s heart rate had risen tremendously and after she was down the stairs he made his way back into the guestroom.


    “Where can I hide this thing?” Ryan asked himself. He rummaged through the room in hopes of finding an appropriate hiding spot. Eventually he came across a very large decorative vase on top of the dresser. It appeared to be a valuable antique, but this didn’t prevent Ryan from shoving the stained towel inside. “Ryan, are you coming down?” Julie called from the bottom of the stairs. He spun around and opened the door, “Yea I’ll be right there. I was just putting my clothes away.” He kicked his things underneath of the bed and exited the guest room. Julie met him halfway down the stairs, grabbed his hand, and said, “I’m so happy you’re here now. You mean the world to me and I love you more than anything.” Ryan could visually analyze the genuine truth in Julie’s words, and it made him feel a bit uneasy. The both of them made their way towards the kitchen where Mrs. Alexander was pulling the food out of the oven. “Julie, go call your father from the office,” She ordered. “I hope you like lasagna Ryan,” She said hopefully as she carefully placed the enticing dish on top of the stove. Ryan inhaled the home cooking and replied, “I absolutely love pasta, plus I hear you make the best!” He walked towards her to help distribute the silverware on the table. “My mother used to make lasagna…” Ryan said before he realized what had left his mouth. “Used to make lasagna? Is she tired of cooking it? I don’t blame her, hah. It can be quite a pain. How are your parents anyways? I haven’t seen them in quite a while. Is everything well?” Mrs. Alexander interrogated politely. “Oh everything is fine. They usually order in now.” Ryan said, efficiently correcting his prior mistake.


    Before Mrs. Alexander had a chance to continue speaking, both Mr. Alexander and Julie entered the kitchen. Mr. Alexander walked right over to the food platter and made an attempt to grab a piece of the lasagna with his hand. His wife batted his fingers away and beckoned him towards the table. “You can wait just like the rest of us,” She scorned. “Thanks for helping me set up Ryan. That was very sweet of you.” She smiled at Ryan and then began distributing portions of the lasagna on the dinner plates. The rest of the family and Ryan sat themselves around the table and waited for Mrs. Alexander to serve dinner.


      Before Ryan had a chance to dig into the scrumptious meal, Mr. Alexander began to speak. “Now Ryan, we are very grateful to have you in our home. Julie speaks very highly in regards to your character, and I am relieved that a person of your stature is dating my daughter. I want to let you know that you can stay however long you’d like to, and if you need help with anything please let me know. Now let us say grace.” Before Mr. Alexander was able to commence with the prayer Ryan jumped in, “Would you mind if I said grace tonight? There is a ton I am thankful for and I would love to express my gratitude towards your family with a very special prayer I had in mind.” Ryan’s words accrued like a perfectly rehearsed speech although his intentions were foul. He wasn’t religious by any means and he had no faith in God whatsoever. He merely wanted to make himself appear to be a man of faith in order to impress Julie’s parents, an extremely wretched act committed by an even more decrepit young man. Mr. Alexander was pleased with the inquiry Ryan had made and allowed him to say his prayer. “Lord, please bless this family. They have graciously opened their arms and have taken me in to their beautiful home. This demonstrates the most utter kindness, and I am extremely grateful and utterly fortunate to have such a wonderful group of people in my life. I thank God for Julie and the love that she has given me, and I thank you for Mr. and Mrs. Alexander who have shown me what it’s like to put aside themselves and put another first. I thank you for this meal and everything else you provide us with, Amen.” Ryan opened his eyes and the entire Alexander family was smiling at him as if he were the corny ending to a love movie. They were smitten.


    As the family began to eat Ryan felt something vibrate against his leg. His phone was alerting him to a message. At first he was worried that it had something to do with his parents, but as he looked down he saw the name Naomi in large letters appear on the display. Ryan smirked and flipped the phone open underneath the table displaying the text message. “Hey sweetie! I wanted to know what time you were getting here! Don’t be too late or you’ll miss out! ;).” Julie began to turn her head towards Ryan to ask him a question and he shut his phone before she could see. “What do you think about that, Ry?” She asked. Ryan hadn’t been paying attention to a word she had said, but to cover up his negligence he replied, “I think it’s a great idea!” She smiled back at him and then began speaking to her mother once again, “See mom, I told you we should get a puppy!” The family finished eating and Ryan assisted with the dishes.


    The illusion that he was the perfect guy for Julie was portrayed perfectly, and the parents couldn’t help but like the boy even more. Mrs. Alexander let out a yawn and covered her mouth as not to be rude. Ryan saw the opportunity in front of him and said, “Its okay. I can see that you are tired Mrs. Alexander. Why don’t you get some rest? I’ll finish the dishes and straighten up.” Mrs. Alexander shot a look of relief towards his kindness and replied, “That is so sweet Ryan! I do need to get some rest; I have to be up early for an important meeting. Do you need anything? There is toothpaste and a new toothbrush in the guest bathroom and there are fresh towels and toilet paper in the linen closet.” Mrs. Alexander had always been a woman of preparation. Ryan thought to himself, “Damn, I knew I should’ve looked in there for the toilet paper.” He glanced over at Mrs. Alexander and replied, “Thank you so much, and once again, I really appreciate your hospitality. It means the absolute world to me.” Mrs. Alexander left the room and Julie entered.


    She approached Ryan from behind and put her hands around his waist. “Thanks for doing the dishes, Ry.” She kissed his neck. Ryan turned around to put his arms around her. They began to kiss, and after a few seconds Ryan whispered to her, “I’m going to finish up here and then I’ll meet you upstairs to kiss you goodnight. “


    Julie ran up the stairs and entered the bathroom to take care of her pre-sleep preparation. This bought Ryan some time to make a phone call. He saw the basement door and thought to himself, “There is no way they could hear me down there.” He slowly shut the door behind him as to not make an alarming sound and made his way down the stairs. Ryan stood at the bottom of the steps and opened his cell phone. There was another text message from Naomi, but instead of opening it, he immediately hit the dial button. The phone rang and she picked up quickly. “Hey, so when are you coming?” She asked. “I’ll be there soon, I just have to get ready and head out. It’s not exactly a leisure drive. Your school is like five hours away.” Ryan’s tone seemed to be one of great annoyance. “Yea I know Ryan, but I told you I’m gonna make it up to you when you get here.”


      It was obvious that Naomi was just as foolish as Julie and she had no clue he had a girlfriend. “You better,” Ryan barked at her and then hung the phone up. He turned his cell phone off right after the conversation to save battery life. He remembered he had left his charger at home and he needed to preserve the little battery power he had left in order to call Naomi once he neared her school. Making his way back up the stairs, Ryan heard footsteps in the hallway. He could hear a muffled Mr. Alexander speaking on the phone while heading towards his bedroom. It sounded like a business call, but he could hardly hear the content of the conversation. The door of the master bedroom shut and Ryan quietly exited the basement to put his ear up to the parent’s bedroom. He could hear the Alexander’s saying their goodnights, and with that, he made his way to the guest room.


      Julie was still preparing for bed inside of the bathroom when Ryan passed by. He entered the guest room and took off his clothes leaving only his boxer shorts and t-shirt on. He stuck his cell phone inside one of the dresser drawers. The bathroom door opened and there was a quiet knock at the guest room. “Ry, can I come in?” Julie whispered. Ryan opened the bedroom door and Julie stood in front of him. She was dressed in a very revealing night gown. Ryan’s eyes had lit up with this image and he began to kiss her furiously. They embraced each other and Ryan began to feel her up and down, all over her body. The intensity began to increase and with that he had finally found the opening he needed. “Why don’t we sleep in your room tonight?” Ryan whispered softly in Julie’s ear. She looked up at him in approval and they both headed towards her bedroom. He locked the door behind them and he began to kiss her neck slowly. They slowly took articles of clothing off of one another until they were completely naked in the darkness. He laid Julie down on the bed and she became hesitant. “Ryan, I don’t think I’m ready. This is so sudden and I don’t want to regret it. I love you so much, don’t you think we should wait until everything is perfect.” This bothered Ryan incredibly, but he knew he had to put on one hell of an act to accomplish this feat. He began to say everything that Julie wanted to hear in order for her to give in. “I love you so much Julie. I will never feel the same way about another girl. I never thought I could truly love someone until I laid eyes on you, and nothing will ever change that. If we do this now I know that it will only make the love between us stronger.” He started to kiss her on the lips before she had a chance to rebuttal, and she collapsed into his narcissism. Ryan began to take her virginity. She cried in pain. He was not gentle or caring in any way. He had sex with her roughly and without remorse. The emotions between the two were completely different, but Julie was unaware of this and did it for Ryan because she thought he truly loved her, a gigantic mistake on her end.


      After Ryan was finished he didn’t say a single word to Julie. He simply rolled over and began to fall asleep. Julie was so confused and hurt by this. Tears had begun to form at the corners of her eyes. She lied in her bed silently. After a while she convinced herself that everything was ok, shortly falling asleep after Ryan. The two of them in the same bed lying on separate sides with separate intentions.


      Ryan awoke abruptly in the middle of the night lying in a pool of his own sweat. He looked over at Julie and she was staring at him. This frightened Ryan. “What are you doing up? It’s so late.” Julie sat up in bed and gestured Ryan to lie on his stomach. “I know you’re not sleeping well, I could hear you tossing and turning. Can I give you a massage?” This wasn’t something Ryan could argue with, so he lied face down with only the far wall in front of him visible which housed an assortment of framed pictures.


    She mounted his lower back and began to rub deep into his tissue. It felt amazing. All he could do was smile with his face buried in a pillow. After ten minutes with no words spoken and no sounds heard, the aura of the environment became awfully peculiar. All of a sudden a weird sound emerged. It came from Julie, and it resembled teeth grinding. “Julie, are you okay?” Ryan asked. He was slightly shaken up by this. After a long pause and no reply, Ryan rolled over. Julie was now mounted on top of his stomach. To his utter dismay Ryan saw Julie, her body completely burnt and her face one giant gaping hole. The only thing perceptible on her face was a pair of decayed teeth and he could hear them grinding against one other.


    Ryan forced her off of his body. He fell off of the bed onto the floor. Julie began to crawl backwards until she hit her back against the wall and then began to crawl up and into the far corner of the room. Julie’s body had formed into a contorted position near the ceiling and she began to kick and squirm as if she was tangled in a spider’s web. Ryan could only stare in horror and watch this unruly event occur. It was as if he too were stuck, unable to move from his position. Out of nowhere Julie stopped squirming and her face locked on to Ryan’s. Although she did not have a pair of eyes, it was still apparent that her gaze was focused on his. Ryan began to shake uncontrollably, sweating even harder than he had been in his sleep. The creature began to speak. “I love you Ryan,” It hissed, and then sprang towards his body. He let out a scream, and then woke up.


      It was only a dream. He quickly turned over and saw Julie fast asleep on her side of the bed. With a quick sigh of relief, Ryan crawled out of the bed making sure he prevented Julie’s awakening. With one last glance at the soon to be broken young girl, Ryan quietly made his way to the guest bedroom and began to collect his things. Nothing was unpacked, so it was a fairly fast venture. After placing both of his bags next to the bedroom door he grabbed a pen and a piece of paper that lied on top of the nightstand and began to write a letter to Julie. “Julie I know things seemed great, but I had to leave. I really appreciate you taking me in. I hope you have a great life. Thank your parents for me. Love, Ryan.” He finished writing the note and shoved it inside of his pocket. Remembering he left his phone in the room, Ryan walked over to the drawer and removed the contents. He powered the cell phone on and stuck it inside of his pocket. He headed to the exit of the guest bedroom and the door let out a loud creak as he opened it. Ryan listened to see if anyone had heard, and after a few moments of silence he made his way to Julie’s door and slipped the note underneath. Step by step, Ryan quietly made his way down the staircase, careful to avoid creaks in the foundation. His shoes were neatly placed perpendicular to the front door, and he slid them on making sure he stayed absolutely quiet in the process. Ryan was always used to walking out on problems and loved ones, so this instance wasn’t any different. He did, however, feel uneasy about this circumstance in particular. Julie had always shown the upmost love and genuine care towards Ryan, and he never had a reason to suspect otherwise. To completely betray her trust was an act of cruelty, but Ryan would leave her nonetheless. “On to better things,” Ryan muttered to himself as he shut the front door behind him. It was that all too familiar sound of the knob turning, the hinges cringing, and the vortex of the cool night breeze.


      Ryan jetted towards the Mercedes before he could be noticed by the Alexander family. He didn’t waste any time on opening the trunk so he simply threw his baggage into the passenger seat. It was very early in the morning therefore the sun had not yet risen. Before Ryan started the ignition he looked around to make sure he had everything, and then he popped open his cell phone. He began to send Naomi a text message that read, “I’m on my way babe,” and then shoved the key in the ignition. The welcome initiated once more, and Ryan began to type the directions to Naomi’s home into the navigation system. While Ryan was busy trying to input the address into the navigation the loud roar of the Mercedes engine had awoken Julie. Her bedroom window happened to be facing the front of the home, and Ryan was easily visible if she were to glance out the window. She turned in her bed and noticed that Ryan was gone. She noticed the engine idle sound and cracked the blinds in her window to get a view of her front yard. The Mercedes headlights weren’t on, but she could make out what seemed to be an illumination inside of the car which protruded from the GPS system. “Ryan?” She said to herself as her heart began to race. Julie jumped out of her bed and ran towards her bedroom door. As she scampered towards the hallway she didn’t notice the note below the door. She stepped on it and her foot shot it backwards and underneath her bed as she ran. She hurried down the stairs and to the front door, but as she opened it the Mercedes was nowhere to be seen. All she could hear was an engine in the distance, and her heart shattered.


    Ryan was driving well over the speed limit throughout the neighborhood, and the music that rang over the sound of the navigation commands was ear shattering. He could tell by the visual guide on the GPS where his turns were, so he felt he didn’t need the audible woman yapping at him over his favorite musical artist. Ryan’s cell phone was lying in his lap that way he could feel it vibrate if Naomi were too text him back. The navigation alerted Ryan to turn onto the interstate and head southbound. The town home to Naomi’s university was miniscule and outdated, but the student population brought in a steady revenue flow to small businesses.


    Ryan’s phone began to vibrate hysterically. He wasn’t expecting a text back from Naomi so soon, but he was very excited to read what desperate thing she had to say next. Without even looking at the external display Ryan flipped open the phone, and to his disappointment, saw Julie’s name on the message. “Ryan, please come back…I love you.” Ryan analyzed this message for a second, and then pressed the delete key. He dropped the phone back into his lap and cranked the music up even louder than it had been before, causing the car to shake as it sped into the morning. As if the torment of the young boy breaking Julie’s heart and leaving her wasn’t enough, he began to laugh. He laughed so hard and loud the sound of his evil drowned out the music that was causing the mirrors to vibrate. The sun began to rise over the trees in the distance. Ryan shut off his headlights and placed his sunglasses over his eyes. He looked at his face in the rearview mirror, nodded in approval, and kicked the pedal to the floor, leaving the people who cared about him the most behind in a trail of exhaust.