I knew who Kevin Freeman was the first day of my freshman year of high school. Hell, it was hard not to know who he was. Kevin was a senior, with thick, wavy brown locks and an infectious smile. He was the quarterback on the football team and the school's top performing baseball player, too. He was popular amongst all the students, but especially the girls.
Kevin didn't have a girlfriend, which naturally meant the majority of the girls at school campaigned to be the one. My sister Rebekah, who was a sophomore at the time, longed to be Mrs. Freeman too, but she was incredibly shy and reserved. You can imagine her surprise and delight when Kevin, while being cheered on by his snickering group of friends, asked her to be his Valentine. This should have been a red flag, but we were teenagers; Rebekah and I both rejoiced and sang Glory Hallelujah. Pretty soon, all the girls in school would know who Rebekah was. This was great for her, both emotionally and socially.
Our parents were pretty strict, so Rebekah had to sneak out the night of Valentine's Day to hang out with Kevin. She told me that they were going to Lover's Lagoon, the most common place in town for teens to hook up. I don't think Rebekah realized this at the time, or else she wouldn't have gone. I remember waving at her as she climbed backwards out of her window. That was the last time I saw my sister alive.
When Rebekah didn't show up for school the next day, I told my parents about her Valentine's Day plans, and they immediately called the authorities. A large search party commenced, and Kevin was taken in for questioning. His alibi was solid: He had been hanging out with friends at the local pizza parlor at the time of night Rebekah had snuck out of the window. Every one of his buddies corroborated his story. After leaving the party, he went home and went to sleep. Because they could find no signs of foul play, the investigation into Kevin was dropped. A heavy search was conducted at Lover's Lagoon, but they were never able to find my sister.
I soon became as reclusive and withdrawn as Rebekah had been. My grades began to suffer, and I eventually ended up dropping out of school. I started drinking to smother the pain, and, six years after my sister's disappearance, I found myself a troublemaking alcoholic. I still lived with my parents, but I knew I was the bane of their existence. They wanted their sweet, kind, and well-behaved firstborn daughter back. Instead, they had to settle for the rebellious and combative alcoholic. The only reason they put up with me is because I was all they had left, and I knew it.
On Valentine's Day, the sixth anniversary of Rebekah's disappearance, I visited Lover's Lagoon, as I had done every other year prior. The place was not the same as it had been before Rebekah's disappearance. Teens no longer came here to have sex; No, the grass was overgrown, the water was murky, and Mother Nature herself seemed to have forgotten this damn place. I put my feet in the dirty water and began drinking straight from the bottle of vodka I had stolen from my father. You can imagine my shock when I felt a human hand, slimy and powerful, grab my foot. I was immediately in a trance, looking my sister in the face. In the vision, she looked just as she had the last time I had seen her; Only, she wasn't smiling.
"Isabella. You haven't forgotten me."
"Never," I replied, tears in my eyes.
"I want you to do something for me, sister. Go to Mike's Bar on 27th Street. Seduce Kevin. Bring him here to me."
"But I-"
"Do you love me, sister?"
I was bawling at this point, so I only nodded.
"Then do what I ask. Kevin raped me, so I did not die a virgin, but I still never got to experience my first kiss. He is the one I want to kiss."
Getting Kevin into my car was easy. He was piss drunk by the time I got to the bar. He had also gained about thirty pounds since high school, grew a scraggly beard, and smelled like ass. I'm sure he hadn't been laid in a while, and though I wasn't exactly a looker either, he must have been giddy.
"Where the hell are we going? I thought we were going to your place?" he asked, as I turned down the street that led to the lagoon.
"My parents are home. Besides, I never got the chance to hook up at Lover's Lagoon."
"I don't like that place," he said darkly, but he seemed to lighten up when I let one of my tank top straps slip from my shoulder. I parked and got out of the car, slowly approaching the water. My eyes scanned the murky surface. Where was she?
"Come on, let's get to it."
"Do you have a condom?" I asked, stalling, but Kevin seized me by the neck and forced me down to the ground.
"We're doing this without a condom, whether you like it or not, you stupid bitch," he slurred, and he quickly unzipped his pants. I panicked. I tried to kick and fight but Kevin was too strong. I had been a drunk fool. I had hallucinated about my sister on the anniversary of her death, and I was about to face the same fate that she had. This may have even been the same spot that she had died in.
Then we heard it. A sort of haunting, low, inhuman voice. "Kevin," it crooned, and Kevin whirled his head around.
"What? What's that?"
Mesmerized, the two of us watched as a human head, the dark hair completely drenched, began emerging from the lagoon. The girl was obviously young, having been no more than sixteen when she died, her skin gray and waterlogged. She wore no clothes, which made the sight even more horrifying. Kevin stared in absolute horror as she slowly floated out of the water towards us.
"Do you remember me, Kevin?"
Rebekah took him by the neck and leaned in close. Though I could not see it from behind Rebekah's hair, I could hear it. Kevin was screaming, and soon his muffled cries became distorted. Blood dripped down from the place where their mouths met, and his tongue landed on the dirt beside me. Rebekah pulled back, her face still hidden by her hair.
"Thank you, sister," she whispered, and then she shot backwards like a cannon, taking Kevin with her into the water.
It's been three years now, and I'm doing a lot better. I don't drink anymore. I've started attending the local community college and my relationship with my parents is great. I would have told the authorities to conduct a second search of the lagoon, but why would they believe that I had seen my long-dead sister? Besides, I know that Rebekah is at peace now. I still visit the lagoon every Valentine's Day, leaving flowers in the water for her. She was a beautiful soul.
