Redheads are Soulless (12 page)

After a few more minutes of talking, I left. I was mostly pleased with the visit, and was glad that she seemed genuinely happy. I hope
d
for her and Steve to have a long and happy life together. Even after everything she has put me through, she still deserves a shot at happiness – everybody doe
s… even me.

“I want to know everything about you,” Robbie said as soon as I got into the car.

“What do you mean?” I asked laughing. “How can you know
everything
?”

“Well, we’ve got eternity, right? So let’s start now…” He looked at me for a moment, then back at the road. “What is your favorite food?”

I laughed. “Ice cream.”

He shook his head. “No, your favorite
food
can’t be ice cream. If I asked you
what
your favorite dessert
is
, ice cream would be an appropriate
answer
.”

I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t know you were going to be so technical,” I paused, trying to think exactly what my favorite food is. “Am I allowed to say pickles?”

“Pickles are a great start, but it’s not exactly the answer I was looking for.”

“Fine – cheeseburgers, I love cheeseburgers,” I answered smiling. “With extra pickles.”

“Now we are getting somewhere,” he smiled.

“What’s with the 20 questions?”

He ignored me. “Do you like roller coasters?”

“I love them.”

“Awesome, you are going to love where I’m taking you today.”

I looked at him suspiciously. “Where are you taking me?”

“It’s a surprise, but I promise you will love it.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, and attempted to pout. “How do you know I will love it?”

“You’ll see,” he smiled, and my heart accelerated
right along with the car
.

Thirteen

Zombie Land

We talked the whole way there... Wherever
there
was… I was suspicious after we had been in the car for about an hour, but I didn’t ask. I would let Robbie surprise me. He continued asking me a ton of questions: favorite band, favorite movie, most embarrassing moment (which I eventually answered after he begged)... I began wondering how many questions one person could think of, but he never stopped asking.

About 2 hours into the trip, we crossed the state line into Florida. “Are you kidnapping me?” I finally asked.

He laughed. “I’m asking the questions.”

“Are we almost there?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“And where might there be?”

He again ignored the question, and continued asking me more questions. I played along with his game and answered them all.

Finally, after 2 and a half hours of being in the car, we pulled into a gas station. He reached behind my seat and handed me my purple converse and a pair of socks. “Put these on,” he instructed. “You won’t want to wear flip flops today.”

I did as he sa
id while he pumped gas into the car. I was starting
to get really anxious to see where we were going.

After I put on my shoes, I got out of the car to stretch my legs. I was amazed at the change in the temperature from Alabama to Florida. I pulled off my hoodie and put it in the car. I had the urge to put my flip flops back on –
this
is flip flop weather.

After paying for the gas, Robbie and I got back in the car and took off again.

“It’s so nice outside,” I commented.

“Yep, it’s eighty-
five degrees.”

“So why are we in Pensacola?”

He laughed. “You really don’t like surprises, do you?”

I shook my head. “Not really. I mean
surprises
are great, but when I know I’m getting a surprise the anticipation kills me.”

Finally, Robbie turned to the right. Once we pulled in, a huge sign said, “Zombie Land – home
of
the country’s tallest coaster.” The sign was surrounded by green grass and red and yellow tulips. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“A theme park,” I smiled. “So this is why you asked if I like roller coasters.”

After paying to park, we ended up going to parking lot 2 which was fairly close to the front. The park was pretty empty, but probably normal for a Sunday afternoon in January.

“What do you think?” Robbie asked as we walked in through the gates of the park.

I looked around before speaking. Everything looked old, and abandoned – like you would expect to see in a zombie movie. All the workers had on stage make up, and ratty clothes
to make them look like zombies
. “I love it,” I answered honestly.

The first thing we did was ride the
Zombinator
, which was a coaster. It shot us out at 70MPH; it was definitely a thrilling ride. As soon as we were done, we rode it 2 more times before we decided to move on.

Next, we rode the country’s tallest coaster,
Bite
. I have never been scared of heights before, but when I looked down from the top, I felt a little queasy. It was fun, none the less.

After riding a few more coasters, we decided it was time to eat. We ate at a place called
Brains.
Robbie assured me that there were no actual
brains
served. Once we ordered our food, I sat at a table while Robbie waited for our food. When I looked up, I noticed a pale blonde girl sitting at a nearby table. A feeling of absolute terror washed over me as I realized it was Adrianne.

Calm down
, I told myself.
She lives close to here too. She’s just here to have fun on a boring Sunday afternoon, that’s all
.

I took a deep breath, but I still couldn’t slow my ever quickening heart rate.

Her icy blue eyes met mine for a second, and she half waved at me. I forced a smile and waved back. I then looked down at the table. I was scared that if I looked up, I would meet her eyes again.

Robbie finally came back and sat down the tray
of food. I made small talk while
we ate, but I couldn’t get
my mind off of Adrianne. There wa
s something off about that girl.

Throughout the rest of the day, I saw her periodically. I didn’t know if it was because I was aware of her, but every time I looked up, she was always there looking back at me. Even though it was quite possibly one of the best days of my life, I couldn’t help the feeling of relief that washed over me when we finally left to go home.

We left about 7 o’clock that night, it was already dark. We stopped at a gas station and grabbed a couple energy drinks for the ride home.

“Did you have fun today?” Robbie asked.

“That was amazing,” I answered before taking a drink of my Nos. “I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun.”

“The park is a little cheesy, but it was the closest amusement park I could find open this time of the year,” he said. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“It wasn’t cheesy. It was a lot fun.” I hesitated before adding, “You’re a lot of fun.”

Robbie’s smile made my heart race. “So are you.”

On the ride home, we were just as talkative as we were that morning. We talked about some of the coasters at Zombie Land, he asked me more questions about myself, and I even asked a few questions
about him.
It was a very light conversation until we got about thirty minutes from the house.

“How was your childhood?” he asked.

“It was amazing. My mom and dad both loved me a lot. I feel very blessed that I had such loving parents.”

“I mean after your dad died.”

I sighed, not sure how to answer. “Well, to be honest, it sucked. Having to pick up my drunk, passed out mom from the bar at 10 year
s
old is not the best circumstance. But, it’s
the
past. There is nothing anybody can do about it now.”

“I’m really sorry about your father. If I could go back in time, I
would have done everything differently
.”

“Why did you do it?” I asked.

“I told you why… the curse.” I could tell there was a lot more to it than a curse. He was holding back a lot from me, and I didn’t like it.

“I’m serious Robbie. I know that there is
more to it than just a curse.
I know you wouldn’t have killed my father
for no reason
. Why did you kill my father?”

“I
had
t
o kill him.” His eyes were plead
ing with me. “
There was nothing that I could do about it
.
Just
please
don’t ask me
.
I
can’t
tell you.
”

I
half nodded. “I’ll let it go… for now.”
W
e both
knew that this
conversation was far from over
.

He sighed with relief. “I can’t tell you anymore,
and for that,
I’m sorry. You just have to trust me right now.”

“I
do
trust you,” I admitted. It was true. I trusted him with my life, or else I wouldn’t be here with him.

The conversation was dropped, and we rode the rest of the way in silence. I was so comfortable with Robbie. I truly didn’t feel the need to make conversation. I needed the time to process w
hat
he said to me. I silently wondered if it was the hortribue that made him kill my father, but I was too scared to ask out loud.

A part of me knew that the same p
erson who wanted my father dead
also wanted me dead. I was scared for not only myself, but for Jason and Robbie
,
too. I didn’t want either of them dying for me.

When we got home, Jason came and apologized to me for overreacting that morning. I told him it was fine. I shouldn’t have expected any other reaction from him. I hated that I was hurting him.

That night, I slept on the couch. I waited for both Robbie and Jason to go to bed b
efore I laid
down. I wasn’t being fair to them, and I didn’t want to hurt either of them.
In all reality, I knew I shouldn’t get involved with
either one of them, but f
or some reason, my heart just wouldn’t listen.

…

Monday morning, I woke up to Jason gently tapping my shoulder. “Sofie,” he said sweetly.

I opened my eyes. “Hey,” I greeted him groggily.

“It’s time to get ready for school,” he informed me.

“Why did you sleep on the couch?” I hear
d
Robbie’s voice. I looked up to see he was standing
beside
Jason.

“I just thought it was for the best,” I said, not meeting either of their gazes.

“I would have slept on the freaking couch!
You did
n’t have to!
” Robbie sounded angry.

“But it’s
your
house,” I insisted.

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t care. I am not having you sleep on the couch.”

“It was comfortable,” I joked trying to light
en
the mood. The look on Robbie’s face told me he wasn’t amused. “Sorry,” I finally said.

I got up off the couch and got ready in lightening speed. Would I ever remember to set my alarm clock?

I quickly ran the brush through my hair. I had straightened it yesterday, and it still looked good. Please
d
with my look, I walked out of the bathroom.

Jason, Robbie and I all drove together to school. It was awkward to say the least. Jason was being overly friendly, while Robbie was still mad at me for sleeping on the couch. I sat
in
the backseat alone and didn’t say a word the whole way there.

Once I got to school, I got out of the car as quickly as possible. I wanted a moment to myself to think. It seemed like an almost impossible task with the two of them, so I did what any girl would do – I went in the bathroom.

I leaned up against the bathroom sink for support. Frustrated, I ran my fingers through my hair just so I had something to do
with my hands
.

“Hey,” I heard a voice from behind me and jumped.

I looked up to see a pair of icy blue eyes staring at me. “Hello,” I said back. I was suddenly regretting my decision of coming in the bathroom.

“I’m Adrianne,”
s
he stuck out her hand. I accepted her shake to be polite. Her hand was as cold as ice.

“I’m Sofia.”

“Oh right, you’re the one with the alcoholic mom,” she said in an almost teasing tone. “Aren’t you like dating twins or something?”

“Umm, no, I’m not dating anybody.” I kept my voice at a calm level.

“Certainly looks like it. Those two are constantly by your side,” she laughed. “It doesn’t look like you mind much.”

I chose to ignore her comment.

“I’ve heard about your mom, though.
She’s the
town slut. L
ooks like you’re following in her footsteps.”

I couldn’t help feeling angry at what she said. The bathroom mirro
r in front of me shattered, glass
blew all around the room. I grabbed my bag and walked out the door quickly.
Thankfully,
Adrianne didn’t follow.

Of course, Robbie and Jason were both standing outside waiting for me.

“What happened in there?” Jason’s voice was full of concern, as usual.

“Nothing,” I lied. I walked fast, making sure they were always two steps behind me. There was no point in telling them what happened
. I didn’t want them
getting
involved. It was my fight.

“Sofie stop,” Robbie said as he stopped in front of me. “Tell me what’s wrong. You don’t just break things because
nothing is wrong
. What happened in there?”

“Nothing,” I told them both again. “A girl just was making fun of my mom, and I got mad. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t let it get to me, but I can’t help it.”

“Who was the girl?” Robbie pursued.

I sighed
in defeat
. “I don’t know her. She’s new, her name is Adrianne.”

Jason and Robbie both looked at each other, and then back at me. “What does she look like?”

“She has
super light colored
blonde hair, she’s really pale, her eyes are this really light color of blue – sometimes they almost look white
like ice
. Her skin is really cold.”