The summer where I died

The truth

TRIGGER WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGES AND MENTION OF BLOOD!

I knocked on the door and heard a few footsteps coming to the door. A woman around my dad's age opened the door. She was hiding behind it so that I could only see part of her face. Her face seemed quite familiar.

-What do you want, she asked. 

-Hi, my name is Tara Archer and I need to talk to you concerning this, I say showing her the picture.

She looks at me confused.

-You're Tara? Oh dear, you've grown so much since I last saw you. You look just like your mother. Come in quickly, before they see us, the woman says as she opens the door. 

I walk inside an old house, with a sinister look. There's a lot of dream catches and herbs hanging from the ceiling. She guides me to her kitchen, where she pulls out a chair for me to sit.

-Would you like some tea dear?

-No, thank you. Um, what's your name?

-Maria. 

-So, Maria, how do you know my mother Charlotte?

-We we're bestfriends since third grade. 

-And uhm, who's this man, I ask as I point to her the man holding my mom's hand in the first picture.

She analyzes the picture for a moment before speaking. Her eyes widen and she quickly sat down.

-You should not be asking about this. They're probably listening right now. 

-Who? Who's listening?

-You need to leave, she orders me as she grabs my arm to drag me to the door.

-I'm not leaving until I get answers!

- Why? Why do you wanna know? she yells at me.

-Because these people are after me! I've been followed for a week now and they've done horrible stuff!

She looks at me up and down and lets go of my arm. Maria quickly apologizes and takes my hand to guide me to her old living room. I sit down on an old, dirty sofa. She takes a few moments again before speaking, like she's searching for words.

-Are you sure you want to know? Because this information I'm about to tell you will change your life dear, and not for the better. 

-Yes, I'm sure, I need answers. 

-Alright, so when your mom and I we're teenagers, we both lived in Ohio. In high school, your mom met Justin, the man in the picture. They fell in love and started dating. One day, Justin invited me and your mom to some kind of "party". It wasn't really a party but some kind of satanic ritual. We thought it was fun so we came the other times too. At first is was all fun and games, but it started to become scarier and more serious with time. Justin would make us kill small animals first, like mouses and squirrels, then he wanted to sacrifice pigs and sheep. Then, your mom and I realized what was really happening. Justin was leading a satanic cult. When we realized how serious the situation was, we we're too far in. Then we graduated and went to college. Justin forced us to all go to the same one, so that we wouldn't drift apart. Charlotte wanted to leave Justin, but he had power over us. Then your mom met your father., who she fall hard for. Before your mom and your dad we're dating in secret, your mom found out she was pregnant, with you. When Justin found out, he claimed the baby to be a sacred child and needed to be sacrificed, in order to gain immortality. The whole cult agreed but me and your mom we're scared. Justin forced us to do rituals to prepare the "sacred" child. When your mom was 7 months pregnant, we ran away from Ohio with your dad. We moved to West Virginia and stayed there. I moved back here not long ago. When Justin found out that we ran away. He was furious, but he couldn't do anything. The thing is, Charlotte isn't really your mom's name and I'm not Maria. She lied to your father, cause she knew that she would runaway. When we got here, we changed our appearances and started over. I became a writer and your mom a detective. Then she had you, and then Melissa. She was happy. And then I think you know the rest.

I couldn't talk. All my life, I've been lied to. My mom isn't Charlotte Archer. My dad isn't William Archer. My mom wasn't a saint. And because of her mistake, all end up just like her, dead.

-Tara, are you alright?

-No. No, I'm not alright. 

I look to the window and I see a face watching us and running away. I sprint to the door and run into the woods, following the person who was watching us. I can hear Maria, or more like that woman yelling my name. My brain knew it was Justin, or more like my father. Once we're in the middle of the woods, I loose my breath and the person continues running away. I give up and slowly walk back to the woman's house. 

When I go back in, I couldn't hear the woman. I walked into the living room and let out a gasp. She was dead, they killed her. There she was, lying on the couch, blood dripping out of her slit throat. On the coffee table, I found a black box that wasn't there before. I open it and felt vomit coming up my throat. Her tongue, was in that box, next to a message saying:

You're next.