Chapter Text
Carmilla’s dark eyes gazed down at the small blonde laying on her stomach, deepening her high voice to imitate one of a male. The doll jumped up and down in her tiny grasp, as if he were speaking to the female doll. His girlfriend, Laura explained. Carmilla couldn’t care less, she was mesmerized by her best friend. She watched as Laura bent one of her boy doll’s legs, and tilted his head up. She then moved the girl doll’s hands to cover her mouth in surprise. Carmilla’s eyes remained on Laura’s face as she watched her eyes shine brightly, as they always did when she got deeply invested in play time. Carmilla didn’t pay much attention to what the dolls were saying. She thought about how pretty her best friend was.
Carmilla decided she was lucky to have a best friend so pretty as Laura. All the boys wanted her, and yet she chose to spend time, to play with Carmilla. Laura was friends with all the other girls, sure. But not like she was friends with Carmilla. Laura held Carmilla’s hand. Laura didn’t hold her other friends’ hands. She kissed Carmilla’s knees when she scraped them. She didn’t kiss her other friends’ knees. When Laura did things like that, it made Carmilla’s heart beat fast. Carmilla decided she liked the feeling her friend gave her.
Light eyes met dark, and pale cheeks turned red. “Were you staring at me?” the 10 year old blonde smiled. Carmilla looked away, and scoffed.
“No.” Carmilla rolled her eyes, and frowned at the blanket on the bed beside her. She slowly looked back down at her friend on the floor, who was still smiling. “What are you doing, anyways?”
“He’s proposing, duh.” Laura then deepened her voice. “Jordan, will you marry me?”
“Jordan is a boy’s name.” Carmilla pointed out, frowning. Laura continued to stare at her dolls. “It can be a girl’s name,” Laura said matter-of-factly. “Plus, boys can marry boys.” Laura mumbled, and they stayed silent for a while. Carmilla thought about Laura’s words. Boys can marry boys. Does that mean girls can marry girls? Can Carmilla marry Laura? Carmilla then blushed furiously at the thought, and tried to shake it out of her mind.
“I think I want to get married when I’m older.” Laura spoke up, placing her dolls on the floor. She looked up at Carmilla, who raised her eyebrow. “What happens if you don’t find a boy to marry you?” Carmilla asked, fidgeting with the corner of the blanket. Laura paused, looking at her hands. Her face scrunched up as she thought seriously about her best friend’s question. Carmilla anxiously waited for her answer, and finally, Laura looked up.
“Then I’ll marry you.” Laura said, as if it were the most obvious answer. Carmilla’s heart skipped a beat, and her cheeks heated up. She looked away with a scowl. “What if I don’t want to marry you?” Laura’s laughter rang in her ears. Laura’s laugh was Carmilla’s favourite.
“15 years.” Laura stated. Carmilla looked at her again, confused.
“15 years?” She echoed Laura. The blonde nodded. “My parents got married when they were 25. In 15 years, we’ll be 25.” Laura explained, crossing her legs in front of her. “If I don’t have a husband, and you don’t have a husband, we’ll get married, okay?” Laura asked. Carmilla nodded her agreement silently. Neither of them may have fully understood what was being promised, but Carmilla would have agreed to anything Laura said.
Later that fall, Carmilla moved. They never spoke again.
The texts started out innocently enough. Laura was in a huge rush, files and papers falling from her arms as she tried to nudge her jacket off of it’s hook, a paper cup of coffee in her mouth. A faint buzz sounded from her messenger bag, but she didn’t have the time (or arms) to look at it. Her boss was going to be angry. She was so horribly late, she wouldn’t be surprised if she got fired.
After she managed to shove the papers into her bag, and slip the jacket over her body, she clutched the cup tightly as she ran down the apartment building hallway. Furiously tapping at the elevator doors, she closed her eyes and crossed her fingers.
“Oh, please, please, please be empty.” Laura chanted quietly to herself, and her eyes snapped open as she heard the elevator door slide open. Fortunately, it was empty. Breathing a sigh of relief, she sprinted into the small room. She jabbed the button over and over again for the bottom floor, and shifted her weight between her feet anxiously. The ride seemed to last forever. I’m late. I’m late, and she’s gonna kill me.
Another buzz snapped Laura from her doomed thoughts, and she dug her cellphone out from her messy bag. A message glared at her, and her nerves calmed, only a little when she realized it wasn’t her boss.
Unknown Number (9:36 am): Hey
Laura sighed, shoving her phone back into her bag. She didn’t have the time to deal with prank texts or wrong numbers. The elevator doors opened, and she rushed out. Normally, she’d stop to chat to the florist that had a tiny outdoor shop set up outside the building, but she was in a rush. Hopefully, Perry would understand.
Laura pushed and shoved her way through groups of crowded people, trying to haul down a taxi. After a few minutes, a yellow cab slowly rolled up to Laura, and she flung the door open, throwing herself inside. An older man with a creepy mustache and a never-in-style hat glanced up in the mirror.
“Where to, darling?” he asked with a smirk. Laura shivered at the predatory look the man was giving her, but recited the address. When they arrived, she threw a twenty dollar bill up front, and slammed the door behind her. The coffee she had earlier had gotten cold. She was too distracted, too worried about being late that she forgot about it. Frowning, she threw it in the trash can and rushed through the doors. As soon as she entered, she was met by a disappointed voice.
“Hollis, you’re late.” Laura looked up to see her boss, the person she was trying so desperately to impress, looking down at her with a deep frown. “I expected you here 20 minutes ago.”
“I know, and I am so sorry.” Laura apologized desperately. Her boss shook her head.
“You know, Hollis. A lot of people want this job,” her boss stated, and Laura nodded her head, looking down. “You’re talented, Laura. I see great potential in you as a journalist, but don’t think that just because you’re Danny’s friend, you’ll get the job.” Mrs. Lawrence warned. “I need to know you want this job. You need to show me you want it, show me you’re dedicated. Being late show’s me the exact opposite.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Lawrence. It won’t happen again, I swear.” Laura promised weakly, her whole body shaking anxiously under her boss’s stare. Mrs. Lawrence nodded, choosing to believe Laura.
“Okay, well then. Get to work.” Mrs. Lawrence ordered softly, then walked away, her heels clicking against the tiled floor. Laura let out a deep sigh, and walked sluggishly up a flight of stairs to where she worked. Laura wasn’t a real journalist, but it was a job she was working hard to get. She was just an intern, and Kirsch’s personal assistant. Kirsch was a journalist, and Laura could only hope to end up where he was.
“Hey hottie,” Kirsch greeted Laura, who looked exhausted. He raised an eyebrow curiously.
“I was late and Mrs.Lawrence basically threatened to find someone else for the position I’m going for.” Laura explained grimly, flopping down on a small sofa that sat beside Kirsch’s desk. Kirsch, being the positive thinker than he was, just smiled a lopsided smile.
“At least, in a way, she basically confirmed that she’s leaning towards you as her decision.” he pointed out, and Laura shrugged. Her phone buzzed in her bag again.
Unknown Number (9:43 am): Not gonna answer, cutie?
Laura frowned at the number, and wrote back a text.
Laura (9:44 am): You’ve got the wrong number.
“Besides,” Kirsch continued. “you’re friends with Danny. I’m sure she can convince mommy to give you the job.” He winked, and Laura blushed.
“Danny and I are just friends, Kirsch. Don’t look at me like that.” she tried to make her glare as menacing as possible, but Laura came to realize that she’s not a very threatening person. Kirsch just nodded, a sly grin on his lips as he turned his attention to his computer screen. Laura turned hers to her phone.
Unknown Number (9:45 am): Oh, no. I’m sure I have the right number. This is Laura Hollis, right?
Unknown Number (9: 47 am): Come on, sweetheart. I promise, you know who I am. I’m not some creepy old man, I’ll tell you that much.
Laura read the texts, and her stomach dropped. She felt sick. Who the hell was texting her? Creeped out, she shoved her phone back into her bag, and never touched it for the rest of the day.
The sound of Laura’s keys hitting the table echoed throughout her quiet house. She slipped her shoes off her feet, rubbing at the soreness. She glanced at her clock, which read that it was almost eight. Danny should be over any minute. Laura wandered into the kitchen, flicking the lights on as she grabbed a pot from underneath the sink. She filled it with water and placed it on her stove top to boil, then dug around for some hot chocolate powder. From the corner of the kitchen, her phone vibrated in her bag.
Unknown Number (3) missed calls.
Unknown Number (6:39 pm): Sweetheart, I promise when you hear my voice, you’ll recognize me. We have something serious to talk about. You promised me.
Laura stared at the texts. She was getting creeped out, definitely, but she’d be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t a little curious. It could just be a harmless prank, right? Nothing more. Except, the more Laura thought about it, and the longer she stared at the text, the idea that this could be some crazy killer out to get her screamed in her mind, and she threw her phone on the counter like it burnt her. With a shiver, she made her way into the livingroom to find a movie to watch.
Half an hour later, Laura and Danny were curled up on the couch, watching a movie. Danny’s arm was wrapped tightly around Laura, her fingers dancing across her bare arms. Normally, Laura would find comfort and peace when Danny did this, but all she felt was uncomfortable. Her phone hadn’t stopped vibrating every 15 minutes, and finally, Laura had enough. She sat up, shaking out of Danny’s grasp, and Danny looked at her, confused.
“What’s wrong?” the ginger asked, concern written all over her face. Laura tried to make her smile as reassuring as possible.
“I’m just going to the bathroom. I’ll be back in a minute.” Laura promised, and got up from the couch. She grabbed her phone off the counter, and went straight for the bathroom. Once she got in, she locked the door behind her, and took a deep breath. Her dad taught her all about self-protection, so even if this was a crazy killer, Laura was at least prepared. At least, that’s what she tried to convince herself as she dialed the mystery number. As soon as she heard rustling on the other end of the line, anger suddenly boiled inside her.
“Look, I don’t know who you are, creepy old dude, but if you don’t stop calling me and texting me, I swear to god.” Laura tried to sound as threatening as possible, but coming from a very small, hardly intimidating girl made it nearly impossible.
“Well, I certainly hope that’s not how you start all your phone calls.” the voice on the other end purred. Laura’s breath caught in her throat. Definitely not old, and definitely not a man. The voice was low and raspy, and dare she say, sexy.
“Uh-”
“Cat got your tongue, cupcake?” the girl asked, and Laura could hear the smirk in her voice.
“Who is this?”
“Nearly 20 years ago, I remember when you and I went to the beach. We were about 5 years old at the time, and it was a sunny day, not a single cloud in the sky. I sat in the sand, while you stood in the shallow end of the water, watching the minnows swim. I was building a sand castle, and a quite impressive one, might I add,” the girl let out a breathy laugh, and it sent shivers down Laura’s spine. She couldn’t remember any of this, but let the stranger continue. “anyways, a few asshole boys came over, and stomped all over my castle. Just as tiny me was about to go and kick their ass, none other than Laura Hollis came over, stopped me, and promised to build a new one with me instead.”
“I- I don’t think I remember that.” Laura admitted, frowning as she slid down the bathroom door, onto the cold floor beneath her. The girl let out a hum.
“How about this one. My 7th birthday party, and 2 people of the 6 that I invited showed up, but only because their parents made them. They told me they didn’t want to be there, and soon after they left, I ran up to my room and cried my eyes out. You stayed, though, and you held my hand, and rubbed my back as I cried. And you promised me that you wanted to be there. You wanted to come to my party, and you wanted to spend time with me. So, after I stopped crying, we put a movie on and built a fort.” the girl on the other end finished. Once again, Laura didn’t remember. The girl must have realized, and tried one last time.
“How about when we were 10. We were in your room, which was a baby blue, and you had a bookcase instead of a T.V like any normal 10 year old did. You were playing with dolls as I watched from your bed. You were making the boy propose to the girl, don’t you remember?” the girl asked, and slowly, all these memories began to rush at Laura all at once. “You said you wanted to marry someone one day, and I asked what you would do if you didn’t find anyone to marry. You said 15 years. 15 years and if neither of us were married, we’d get married.”
“Carm?” Laura gasped, a hand flying up to her mouth. She hadn’t heard from her childhood best friend in, well, 15 years. Laura’s eyes began to burn as tears threatened to fall from her eyes.
“So, you married, cupcake?”