In case anyone is interested, there is a Friday the 13 marathon on Syfy right now. Most of the good ones have already played but the original is on again at 9:00 I believe! :) Just FYI
Esme didn't know what to expect when she finally got to the lake. She wasn't sure if it would cause our flashbacks to get worse or be therapeutic for her. When she saw the sparkling water beneath the sun that hung high in the blue sky that was accompanied by a cool breeze there was no way she could feel anxiety.
Eleazar was playing horseshoes with another guy with shaggy hair who Esme assumed might be Garrett. Carmen looked as if she might be sleeping as she laid on a big, pink beach towel on the sand with a small radio playing beside her. Tanya and Kate were sitting on a deck overlooking the lake munching on chips and only jumped from their Adirondack chairs when they saw the two of them arrive.
"Hey!" Kate called with a wave. She hurried over to where Carlisle and Esme walked with a few bags and some food and drinks. Tanya followed closely behind with a smile, waving at the two of them.
Esme gave the girls a hug as they approached. "Is that Garrett?" Esme whispered, prompting a quick, "Mmm-hmm!" from Kate, who winked and smiled at her friend. "He's a total babe right?"
"Who Garrett?" Tanya asked. "To get this one to commit he must have a really big... heart." The hesitation in the sentence made the three girls laugh and Carlisle shook his head with a smile.
"Maybe after you two claim a room you should join the guys," Kate suggested, nudging Carlisle in the side with her elbow. "Give us girls some privacy and a chance to catch up."
"Anything you want," he said with a light laugh before exchanging a hug with both of them one after the other.
"Come on," Kate waved them toward the front door, "Come take your pick of the rooms left over and then we'll get Esme here a glass of Irina's famous sangria... Carlisle help yourself to whatever you want in the fridge. If I remembered correctly you always enjoyed a Corona or two, so we picked up a twelve pack of that with some fresh cut lime on the counter."
"Wow." He raised his eyebrows with a laugh as they entered the lake house and Kate motioned to the limes on the counter.
"First or second floor?" Tanya asked them, "We have a room on either."
"Upstairs has a balcony," Kate whispered, "Just saying."
"Upstairs is it," Esme said to her friends, and then looked at Carlisle for confirmation. He nodded and the girls led them upstairs to a nice carpeted room with a slightly a vaulted ceiling overlooking the water. "Whoa," she smiled, "This is great."
"Your home for as many days as you'd like," Tanya told them, putting a hand on her hip. "You can put your clothes in the drawers if you don't want to keep them in your bags."
"Great," Esme said, followed by a sincere, "Thank you," by Carlisle.
"No problem," the girls said at once.
"Hey where is Irina?" Esme asked, "Shouldn't she be joining us for her famous sangria?"
Kate and Tanya exchanged a glance and a smile. "Well..." Kate began, "We think she is involved in a little summer romance with a guy across the lake."
"I think this is my cue to head out with the guys," Carlisle told them with a grin. He tossed his bag near the foot of the bed and kissed Esme on the cheek. "Have fun."
"I don't blame you," Tanya told him with chuckle and then Kate pulled at Esme's arm. "Come down to the deck with us. We'll get comfortable and then I'll tell you about Irina."
...
Irina walked along the trails of Crystal Lake. She'd jogged around the lake what felt like a hundred times since the weather had gotten nice and she felt comfortable with the scenery. Back in March when she had just started going out there was an eerie feeling she couldn't shake, but now that the weather was nice and people were out waterskiing all of her fears had subsided. She knew about the legends that revolved around Crystal Lake, and she blamed the local stories for her wild imagination at first.
Still, she knew they weren't all stories. Kate had told her all about Esme's experience several years before. Irina didn't know if it was the real Jason Voorhees or someone who went crazy trying to make the legends a reality but the bottom line was that people had been murdered somewhere near Crystal Lake and the person hadn't been caught.
Irina put all ideas of danger out of her mind again and took the trail down toward the opposite side of the lake as the house she shared with her sisters and the others.
I can't wait to see Laurant, she thought with a smile. She pictured his handsome face and perfect smile waiting for her at the house he shared with a few friends. At first she assumed he was in a relationship with a beautiful, redheaded girl that shared the place with him but quickly she recognized he had an interest in her - that, and the redhead had a boyfriend named James who also lived with the two of them for the summer.
Irina had confided in her sisters but left out some of the more innocent details that she loved to relive; there were secret dates to the ice cream shop down the street, swimming together at midnight and strolling hand in hand around the lake for what she knew were hours but what felt like seconds. Irina heard Tanya's voice now, he's only here for the summer. Don't waste your time!
Irina didn't care. She felt butterflies every time she thought of Laurant. She wanted to call him her boyfriend but she didn't want to spoil the new nature of the romance that was brewing between them. He was a UCONN student, and she was enrolled at Quinnipiac. The distance was less than an hour, but still her sisters thought the relationship to be doomed from the start.
Have some fun and then get out of it, Kate instructed, Or else you'll get her. Do you know how many girls are at UCONN?
Irina knew her sisters had a way to make her feel jealous and even a bit insecure. Still, she didn't care. She decided to live in the moment with Laurant and hope for the best. Far in the distance she finally saw his house - a small, blue cottage with a deck attached the first floor. A long, thin dock outstretched before it onto the lake and a boat with tubes beside it sat attached by a collection of ropes.
He promised me we'd go tubing, Irina thought to herself. She smiled and continued walking along the trail anticipating the welcome her love would give her as she darted up to the front door.
Irina had the urge to run, but in the heat she didn't want to get sweaty and so she kept her pace. With each step her heart seemed to beat a little faster and when she finally found it in her to run the rest of the way she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her back into the forest. She screamed and was prepared to defend herself when she saw the familiar face of James just behind her. He smirked and then laughed.
"Looking for Laurant?" he asked.
Irina composed herself for a moment and then nodded. "Yes... what are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
James chuckled again in a mischievous way, like a child who had just pulled the prank on April Fools Day. He snapped a piece of gum in his mouth and pointed. "He's inside with Vic. Tell her to meet me out here, will ya? There's some stuff in the shed over here that I need her to help me with."
She nodded ."Sure."
James nodded back and hurried away toward the shed he was referring to.
Irina watched him disappear into the small storage area and then refocused on the house with a deep breath. "Thanks for scaring the shit out of me," she said to herself. Irina didn't care for James all that much. She found him shady and a bit of a bad influence in the few times they'd all hung out together. Still, she tried not to judge and knew he was one of Laurant's friends. She wasn't about to complain about the company he kept this early into the relationship.
She walked a little faster toward the house and felt annoyed when she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. Rather than screaming, she turned around with the intention of rolling her eyes at James but jumped back a step when she saw a tall, menacing figure beside her. Before she could even scream, a machete swooped down through the center of her face sending blood flying in all directions.
Irina's hands shot out in front of her before she slowly collapsed to the ground. The last image she saw was that of a dirty, old hockey mask atop of a massive man dressed in black.