The Cursed Coat

A little girl named Susie Price had gotten a red coat from her best friend Peter Willis on her birthday, it had both of their initials on it S.P P.W.

The next day Susie found out Peter was leaving town, "I won't forget you", Susie told Peter as the two friends hugged each other one last time

"I will write to you every day," Peter replied and he got in the backseat of his van and drove away.

 Susie just stood there crying as she watched her childhood friend wave goodbye to her, she started running toward the van and yelled: "Wait!" the van stopped and Peter got out

"What is it?" He asked Susie who was now walking

"You forgot this," Susie replied putting a friendship bracelet around his wrist that matched the one she was wearing on herself.

"Where did you find it?" Peter asked admiring the bracelet that Susie had given him the first day they met in Kindergarten,

"I found it in our spot". Susie replied starting to cry

"I will be back," Peter told her and he kissed her cheek 

“Why do you have to leave?” Susie asked 

“I am leaving because of a Journalist school my mom wants me to go to,” Peter replied walking back to the van, 

“Why could you not go to one that is closer to here?” Susie asked still confused 

“My parents are also getting new jobs there as well so I have no choice in the matter,” Peter answered still walking back to his car. 

“Wait! Do you remember how in kindergarten we first met and how we became friends?” Susie asked holding onto Peter’s arm 

“Yes, why?” Peter asked trying to slip her hand off of his arm

“Well, I thought we made a plan that we would go to a school here and become journalists together, and now you are just leaving me?” Susie explained letting his arm go.   

"I will be back," Peter told her and he kissed her cheek and got back in the van

"I hope so," Susie whispered and she sadly walked back to her house where her mother called out:

"Susie, dinner time!"

Susie cried back "Coming!" She turned to look back at the spot Peter had kissed her then walked into her house. 

The rest of the evening was very gloomy it started pouring rain and Susie decided it was better to just stay inside, she did not feel like jumping in puddles anymore, she went into her room zipped up her coat from Peter and she walked over to her closet and shut herself in it and slid down a yellow slide all the way down into Peter's basement.

That was their secret spot they had discovered when they became friends, it was now really dark in the basement but that did not scare Susie, the fact that Peter would not be living there anymore scared her the most.

Susie turned on a lamp and carried it with her as she looked around the basement "I miss you already, Peter," she whispered all of a sudden the coat got super tight, it felt as if she was being pinned under a shelf, "OW!!!!" she screamed

She tried unzipping the coat but the zipper was stuck "Help!" she called as she fell to the floor, she was suffocating and she needed to act fast so she looked around for something useful she spotted a broken mirror on the floor.

She decided to crawl to it as she got closer to the glass the coat began squeezing tighter.

"HELP!!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs... no answer, so she continued to army crawl to the glass, but she stopped at a noise coming from upstairs,

"Susie, bedtime!"

 "Oh no," Susie thought to herself "MOM!!" she yelled but she still had not gotten an answer from anyone.

Thinking this is the end for herself she put her face down on the floor and rested for a few seconds then remembered Peter's words

"I will be back,"

she got up on her knees and started to crawl again but she stopped in her tracks as she felt a snap in her side and she fell face-first onto the floor, her coat had just broken one of her ribs and she had passed out.

 "Ow!" Susie cried as she had gain consciousness again, she looked around and saw that she was in the same spot as she was before she passed out, she decided to try to crawl again but soon realized that was a bad idea, the coat got angry and pulled her back into the wall where she hit her head.

"I can't keep this up," Susie said to herself and she got up off the floor using the wall to hold herself up she jumped and landed in the middle of the room with a hard snap, "That hurt less than what I was expecting," Susie said laughing to herself and she crawled over to the glass finally, although the coat was now getting ten times tighter she could barely breathe.

"Please... let... me... go..." Susie said to the coat in a hushed voice as she picked up a piece of glass to cut the coat off of herself, the coat only got tighter as she did this and Susie fell to the floor again dropping the piece of glass.

"No..." the coat whispered to Susie

"Why are you doing this to me?" Susie asked "I did nothing to you," Susie added yanking at the fabric that was against her throat for a breath of air, she barely got any.

All of a sudden Susie heard a noise coming from the main basement door, she turned to see what it was and she saw a figure standing a slight distance away from her and the coat,

"Help..." Susie said trying to catch her breath but was unable to do so, Suie looked down at the coat who was starting to loosen its grip from her neck, she tried to pull at the zipper only to get her finger pinched by it and she started to choke again.

The figure moved closer and realized it was Peter he had come back for something and decided to come to the basement to look for it,

 "Susie?" Peter asked getting closer into the light

"Peter... help...me..." Susie said trying to crawl but she felt another snap in her side and she fell onto her back.

"HELP!!!!" Peter screamed as he yanked at the coat that was squeezing harder as he pulled at it, "Someone please help my friend!!" Peter called out again, no one answered him, "I will be right back I promise, just stay awake!" Peter yelled at Susie and he stood up only to be pulled back down by the coat it had taken its arm and had grabbed him and started tightening around his leg.

"OW!!" Peter cried in pain trying to get the coat off, he looked at Susie who's head was now bleeding as well as her side she had also passed out because of the pain, "Susie wake up!" Peter shouted as he tried tearing the coat off of himself again, "Please let us go!" Peter cried to the coat who only just shook its another arm at him, he sat down on the floor next to Susie and said "Susie if this does not wake you up I don't know what will," and he kissed her on her forehead and waited for a response while tugging some more at the coat.

"Ow," Susie said rubbing her head and wiped the blood from her head on her jeans and she looked at Peter who was sitting beside her tugging with all his might at the coat, "I don't really understand what is happening right now," Susie said with a shrug then began crawling toward the glass pile again.

"Why, can't anyone hear us?!" Peter called out to the ceiling and started crawling beside Susie, "I did not expect to see you again so soon," Peter told Susie in a playful voice

"I did not either," Susie replied with a teasing grin as they reached the glass pile.

All of a sudden Susie was released by the coat and she unzipped it as fast as she could then she cut the arm of the coat off of Peter and she threw the coat in a box that was beside them and closed it,

"Finally free at last!" Susie gasped as she could finally breathe, she looked at Peter and pecked a kiss on his cheek,

"What was that for?" He asked looking at Susie with a grin on his face,

"You were my hero," Susie told him like it should have been obvious to him,

"Oh, wait but you just saved me," Peter looked confused as he helped Susie stand up and they walked happily out of the basement together hand in hand as they heard their names being called by their parents and they could hear sirens blaring in their neighborhood.

"Kids where have you been?!?!" both the moms shouted at their children and pulled them into tight hugs

"I am so used to this now," Peter said smirking at Susie

"Me too," Susie grinned at Peter as she pulled away from her mother

"We were trapped in the basement, also I think I need medical attention," Susie said and she sat down on the ground and Peter joined her

"I need medical attention too," Peter said holding onto Susie's hand as they sat by each other.

"Do you still have to leave?" Susie asked laying her head on Peter's shoulder as she started to cry,

"I think so," Peter answered wiping Susie's tears away and he added

"I will be back," and he got up as his parents called him back to their car and he gave her one last grin and he walked away.

Susie did not run after him this time, she knew there was no point in doing it and she knew she would just have to be patient on his return, "I hope so," she whispered and she walked back into the house.         

                                          12 years later...

"Is he here yet?!" Susie shouted from upstairs in her bedroom she was getting ready to see Peter for the first time in 7 years the last time she saw him was at her 13th birthday today was her 20th birthday and he had asked her out on a date.

"Not yet!" Susie's mother called back to her from the kitchen

"Sissy, when will he get here?" Susie's little sister Grace asked brushing her doll's hair

"I am not sure Gracie," Susie said extremely nervous at the moment and added, "Are you excited to meet him?"

"Yes!" Grace answered giggling happily and pointed out the window at a man who was throwing small rocks at the window "I think he is here!" Grace squealed and danced around the room in excitement.

Susie looked out the window and the man stopped throwing the rocks she waved at him and he waved back, Susie ran over to Grace and picked her up in her arms and then ran downstairs with her into the kitchen, Susie had now put Grace back on the floor and started for the door when Grace asked

"Susie, can I come to meet him with you?"

"Of course!" Susie said in excitement and took Grace by the hand and they walked out the front door together, the man was now leaning up against his car and turned at the sound of the two girls footsteps on the gravel road,

"Hi," Grace squealed at the man in excitement and she dropped Susie's hand ran up to the man and embraced him with a big warm hug, "You made Susie really happy," then she let him go and ran to her tire swing that was tied to a tree in the front yard.

"Hi," Susie said blushing at her sister

"Hi," the man said also blushing

"Are you Peter?" Susie asked coming up to shake his hand

"Yes, I am guessing you are Susie?" he took her hand and shook it with a grin

"Yes I am, How have you been Peter?" Susie said as they started walking to a big garden at the back of Susie's house, "It has been like what, seven years since we last saw each other?" Susie added taking a step back from Peter,

"Yes, but I know you must be upset, you have a good reason for it, I also tried coming back sooner for a visit but I couldn't, my grandmother got really sick". Peter explained himself and took her by the hand,

"Peter, I am so sorry if I had known sooner I would have visited you," Susie said as she got pulled into a hug by Peter, but soon parted with widening eyes,

"What is it?" Peter asked looking at Susie's expression she looked very terrified about something

"Look!" Susie shouted and pointed at a red coat Grace was now wearing

"How did she find that?!" Peter asked now letting go of Susie's hand and they calmly walked over to Grace

"I don't know!" Susie answered with a stern voice she was too scared to even find out how her sister even found it, "Grace take off that coat very slowly," Susie added trying to stay calm

"Why?" Grace asked looking concern for their face's

"Just do it!" Susie shouted impatiently and she tried yanking the coat off of her sister

"You are scaring her, Susie," Peter announced and picked up Grace in her arms as she started to cry.

"Sorry, Gracie but this coat is VERY DANGEROUS, understand?" Susie told Grace as she noticed the coat was starting to crawl itself up her arm,

Peter put Grace back on the ground "RUN!" Peter yelled at her as he started to yank the coat off of Susie

"Ow!" Susie called out as she felt a snap in her shoulder

"Peter hurry!" Grace yelled also trying to pull the coat off of her sister

"I told you to run!" Peter shouted and tried pushing Grace to safety

"I want to help her!" Grace yelled angrily at Peter and walked back to her sister to help

"Grace I mean it, you need to run, now!" Peter yelled

"Alright, just take care of her," Grace agreed as she ran back to her swing.

"Peter, why does this coat keep coming back to us?" Susie asked not trying to take the coat off anymore, "Oh, I know why now," Susie added starting to cry,

"Why are you crying, are you hurt?" Peter asked yanking as hard as he could on the coat, but it only got tighter

"I am crying because I found out its reason for attacking us," Susie said trying to pull the coat out of Peter's hands realizing that there is no way they can beat it unless…

"What is the reason?" Peter asked letting the coat go

"It only ever attacks when you are leaving me, like the first time you gave it to me and you were leaving the next day, and seven years ago when you were leaving the day after my birthday, and I guess today it knows you are leaving again after this birthday, it does not want us to be separated," Susie said pushing Peter away

"But I am not leaving without you, I was going to ask you to come with me this time," Peter explained but was still very confused "Susie if that is true then why is it attacking us now?" Peter added taking her by the hand and they stood up from the ground,

"Susie!" Grace cried to her sister as she ran over to Susie and Peter "Luke my best friend is leaving tomorrow!" Grace cried 

"That is why it is attacking us because today is Gracie's birthday and her best friend is also leaving," Susie announced figuring it all out 

“Grace, did Luke give you something today?" Peter asked he looked at Susie with a stern look they both were thinking the same thing

"Yes, he gave me a blue coat with are initials on it," Grace answered showing the coat in her arms, she had heard from Susie about how she got the original coat from Peter and he left the day after her birthday.  

"Oh no," both Peter and Susie said at the same time

"Not again," Susie said holding onto both Peter's and Grace's hands for comfort,  

"Well, here we go again," Grace said who was not actually around to see the first time Peter and Susie got attacked

"We will protect you, together," Susie and Peter said at the same time

"Well ask her the question already," Grace told Peter and she walked back to the house by herself

"Will you marry me?" Peter asked getting down on one knee

"OF COURSE!" Susie said with a teasing grin and Peter kissed her as he put the ring on her finger,

"Was that okay if I kissed you?" Peter asked pulling away

"Yes," Susie answered and kissed him back but then they realized the coat had pulled them both closer together

"It's okay," Susie said pulling him in for a hug Peter hugged back

"You finally did it!" Grace squealed hugging them both tightly, her coat and its arms wrapped itself around Susie and Peter as they all hugged each other. 

“I love you 3000,” Grace told Peter and Susie as they packed up Susie’s things to leave 

“We love you 3000,” Peter and Susie replied together 

“Well then, I love you 3000 more,” Grace added with a teasing grin 

“Aww,” Susie said hugging Grace 

Susie and Peter got married later that year and the cursed coat stayed in the family, they continued protecting Grace and Luke as well as other family and friends that need protecting.

   THE END