Disclaimer: I only own Sarah Chase and her friends. Everyone else, sadly, belongs to the BBC.
This is the story of how I found love and lost love. Isn't that what usually happens when you find something? You tend to lose it. That's something that has always happened to me ever since I was little.
You see, my parents died in a car crash when I was three years old. An animal had run into the middle of the road and, in order to not hit the animal, my dad swerved the car. He ended losing control of the car and crashing into a guard rail. My father died instantly and my mother died on the way to the hospital. I was at a family friend's house for the night. It was my parents' weekly date night, or so I was told. They dropped me off at 6 p.m. and that was the last time I ever saw them.
I barely remember that night.
My name is Sarah Chase and I'm an orphan. I spent all of my childhood in the Cambridge Girls Home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There was the odd foster home every few years, but I was always returned back to the home in the end for some reason or another. I always kept to myself at those places. I'm not too big on strangers. Never was. Over time, I became "old" by adoption standards. Nobody wanted a teenaged girl.
When I turned eighteen, I was booted out of the girls home. Had it not been for a friend from high school, I would've been completely homeless. My parents had left me money, but I couldn't access it until my 21st birthday. In the meantime, I had gotten a job to pay my part of the rent. I was a librarian at the Boston Public Library. There were some demanding hours, but they were completely necessary.
As for my roommates, that had graciously let me stay with them, there is Jackie, who is like my sister. She befriended my on the first day of my freshman year of high school. I was a shy, fourteen year old girl. I didn't know anybody, and I recognize that as being my fault since I never took the initiative. Jackie was a 15 year old sophomore. She gave me a brief tour before homeroom and sat with me at lunch every day. When she graduated, I was devastated. She was my only friend.
When I left the home, Jackie offered me a bed at her apartment with her friend, Kyle. Kyle is as flamboyant as a gay boy can be without being too stereotypical. Jackie and Kyle met their freshman year at Boston University. They worked together at the school's theatre box office to make rent. They'd spend hours together just goofing off. They had decided to get an apartment together their sophomore year and that's where I come in. They needed a third person to split the rent with. It has easily been one of the best decisions I've made as a legal adult.
With my job as a librarian and the two knuckleheads working the box office, we were able to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Allston, which is also known as party town to the college students that live in the area. There were several parties every weekend. Jackie and Kyle would try to make me go with them on occasion, but partying was never really my style. I had to be up early most days, including weekends, so I didn't bother to stay out late all that often. I was an adult now. I couldn't be slacking off.
However, by the time my 21st birthday rolled around, they made me swear to go out with them. I decided that it'd be a good idea. Dressed in some of our nicest party clothes, we headed out down the street in search of a decent party. While Jackie went for a sparkly blue dress, I went for some tight jeans and a nice purple silk blouse. Jackie went for some silver strappy heels and I went for my signature black converse sneakers.
A couple of blocks over, we finally found one. The apartment belonged to a few students from a neighboring university. It was in full swing when we arrived. As soon as we walked in, we made our way to the kitchen, in search of some drinks.
"Oh they have some of the good stuff here!" Jackie said. "I spy with my little eye some absinthe. You've got to try this, Sarah."
"Take a trip with a different kind of fairy" snickered Kyle.
I was unsure. I've only ever had some wine and champagne over the years. My knowledge of alcohol was severely limited. However, since I was with friends with whom I trusted, I didn't see why I should hesitate. I took the shot of absinthe that was handed to me and started to instantly feel the affects of alcohol burning down my throat. I gagged at the taste, but instantly enjoyed the warm sensation it left in my belly. We took another shot each and went to see if we knew anyone at the party.
Being the shy one, I knew I wouldn't know anyone. Kyle and Jackie separated when they saw people they knew and I instantly got lost in the crowded apartment. Some birthday, I thought. I was left all alone in a stranger's apartment.
"Hey, cutie! What's a girl like you doing all by her lonesome?" I turned to my left and saw a 6 foot tall frat guy leering at me. Nope! Not dealing with this right now. I thought.I wasn't in the mood to deal with drunken strangers who I had absolutely no desire to see again. I went back into the kitchen to get another drink and to try and find Jackie and Kyle. I grabbed a beer and resumed my search.
Jackie and I spot each other at the same moment and she makes her way over to me. "Hey, so I know its your birthday and I feel like such a crappy friend for doing this, but I ran into Mike and we're thinking about going back to his place and talk about us." "Oh great!" Mike is Jackie's latest ex. They were good together, for a while, then the fights started. Every couple fights, but these guys make an art of it. Kyle and I have had to team up to keep him away from Jackie quite a few times. Mike saw that Jackie was with me and gave me a small, hopeful smile.
I sighed. "I guess its okay. Have you seen Kyle? I'm thinking about heading home and I haven't seen him in a while."
"I think he went into one of the bedrooms. He was with a total cutie, if you ask me!" Jackie said.
I sighed again. Looks like I'm going home all by my lonesome.
"Alright. I guess I'm just going to head home now then. I'll see-" I stopped, noticing Jackie was already halfway dragging Mike out the door as a cab pulled up to the curb. "-you later."
Giving a final glance around the apartment, I left out the front door and started my trek home. I tried not to walk home alone at night all too often. I'm not naive. I know its dangerous, especially in this part of the city, especially after having a few drinks. Drunk college kids are always running rampant.
I get two blocks away when I heard a weird sound coming from an alley.
Now I just told you I'm not naive and I am most certainly not, so I recognize a bad situation when I see one. However, when I tried walking past it, I literally felt a strong pull towards it. Whatever was down there, was making a weird noise that peaked my interest. I very slowly made my way down the alley. I had my cellphone in my hand, preparing to call for help if needed. I had the police on speed dial. Call it paranoia.
Oh God. I'm going to die. I'm going to die on my birthday and my friends won't have a clue. I got to the middle of the alley when the noise became unbearably loud and I was suddenly enveloped into a bright light. I lost control of all my senses and blacked out.