Beth Walker had started dating Mark at the beginning of November. Mark Smith was a normal guy. He was a 23-year-old vet school student at NC State. That was how the two of them had met.
With it being the week of Christmas break and no family around, Beth had agreed to travel to the mountains with Mark to meet his family. The entire 4.5 hour drive Beth sang along to Christmas music in Mark’s Tacoma. They trucked along through the ice and snow along the highway, laughing at Mark’s hilarious family stories.
“One year, my Uncle Joe forgot the ham in the oven because he was too busy accusing my Dad of smoking in the house,” Mark laughed. Beth blinked her eyes across the truck at her boyfriend.
Maybe one day, Mark could be someone that I end up marrying, she girlishly thought to herself.
“What are your parents like?” Beth asked him, reaching down for his hand. Mark glanced down at her hand tickling the top of his and smiled. He cupped his hand around hers and looked in her eyes.
“Oh, Mike and Sher? They are your normal, loving parents. Should have gotten divorced years ago, but stuck it out for the past thirteen years,” Mark laughed. “What about yours? You mentioned not having any family nearby,” he asked after he’d finished laughing.
How did I fail to notice how much Mark laughs at everything he says, Beth thought. She realized she was starting to get annoyed with Mark. Her legs were
feeling restless and she felt herself fidgeting. Mark seemed to notice her shifting around in the seat because he cleared his throat and looked over at her. “Sorry if I’m talking too much. I’m a little nervous for you to meet my family,” he shyly told her. Beth couldn’t help but smile at her boyfriend. “Why would you be nervous?” she asked. Mark shrugged, looking back to the road.
“I don’t know. I guess because you’re the first girl I’ve ever brought home to meet them,” he answered. He stared ahead for a few seconds, then shifted his eyes toward the blue sign.
“I’ve gotta go #1. Mind if we stop at the rest area here?” he asked, gesturing to the ‘Next Exit’ sign. Beth shook her head no.
“That’s fine, I’ve gotta go pee, too,” she told him with a smile. The two of them parked and got out, holding hands until they parted ways toward each bathroom. Inside the women’s restroom, Beth continued telling herself she’d been mistaken. Mark wasn’t annoying, just nervous, like her. Their relationship was so new, but he seemed innocent enough to date.
Two minutes later, they were inside Mark’s truck making out. After that, it was back to singing Christmas songs on the highway for a few more hours. Beth got excited when Mark had told her they were getting close to the family cabin.
Every year, the Smith’s would meet at the family cabin in the NC mountains for the holiday. His Grandma Nancy would bring either ham or turkey, his parents would bring homemade mashed potatoes and his mom’s famous Chess pie for
dessert. His Aunt May and Uncle Joe would argue about how warm the cabin needed to be with all the bodies in the house. Beth listened to all of these stories Mark told on the way, eager to meet the Smith family.
About fifteen minutes later, Mark pulled the truck down a snow covered drive through the woods. The sky had gotten dark with their arrival and Beth pulled the mirror down to make sure she looked alright after the drive. Mark glanced over at her and smiled.
“Don’t worry, Beth! You look fantastic,” he told her. Beth watched Mark park his truck next to an old rusted Buick, buried beneath three feet of snow. He pointed out her window at the Buick.
“Uncle Joe’s piece of shit car,” he laughed. His laughter stretched out past the vehicles as they both got out into the snow. Beth carefully trudged through the snow covered driveway and followed Mark up to the cabin. Glancing down at her gray, fur boots, she paused on the front step to wipe them off as Mark opened the door to the cabin.
“Hello? Anyone home? Beth and I made it!” he shouted out. “Whew, it’s freezing in here,” Mark said loudly. He turned back to Beth who was sliding her boot across the edge of the snow filled step.
“I guess that means Aunt May won the temperature of the cabin argument that happens every year,” Mark loudly laughed out again. Something was off. Beth stopped before walking any further. She had a terrible feeling down in the
pit of her stomach. Unsure what the feeling was about, she stood frozen on the porch. Mark popped his head back out to see where she was.
“Oh come on in, Beth. I’ll get a fire going. This place will heat up in NO TIME,” he told her. He waved his hand at her, but Beth didn’t move. It was like her boots were stuck in the snow.
“I-I-I-” she began to mutter, but Mark grabbed her arm and yanked her inside the cabin. Beth wanted to turn and run, but she couldn’t. Mark flipped on the light in the family dining room where all five human skeletons were seated around the dining room table. A few of the skeletons still had old strands of hair still attached to them, but they all seemed to have been sitting inside this cabin alone for quite some time.
Before Beth could scream, Mark smiled at her, then turned to the Smith family of skeletons at each of the seats around the table.
“Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Beth Walker!” Mark said cheerfully around the table to the Smith family.
THE END
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About
I’m Jill, mom, wife, pet lover, and recently published murder mystery author. I am a very low-key person. I stay at home with my toddler and write when she’s asleep. I love reading other thriller/mystery books and doing yoga at home 2-3 times a day when I’m not playing with my daughter. Every morning we begin our day getting an energy tea, do our daily errands, and sometimes go to the library for story-time. Been happily married to my husband for going on 5 years now. We are truly meant for each other. We like to have date nights with each other, sometimes that’s just us staying up and playing Rummy together after the toddler is asleep or staying overnight with my brother.
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