HAUNTED
three

3

Jacob stood by the door to the office, leaning against it with his arm. Breathing abnormally, “hey, where did you disappear to?” she asked. He turned and looked at her for a moment, heavily leaned against the wall with his back. “Are you okay,” he still did not say anything. “Jacob,” he was beginning to scare her.

“Lex, open the door,” he grunted out. She unlocked the door and she helped him in. He collapsed on the couch the hippie writing teacher had forced them to put in there because it was his ‘lunch time nap’ couch. He was sweaty and knocked out just as soon as he lay on the couch.

“Jacob?!” she called concerned, he was breathing, heavy like a sleeping baby. He turned to his side and his hair got into his face. She was more than tempted run her fingers through it and tuck it away, but she didn’t… society says its awkward, especially with a stranger… She stood up, placed water and food in the open… left the keys with a note that explained that she had to leave… she didn’t want to leave. She had to.

“Hey,” he woke up for a moment.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled back, “just tired,” he opened his eyes slightly.

“Okay, then. You can crash here if you want. Don’t steal anything and clean up whatever messes you make,” she reached for the door handle.

“Wait, where are you going?” he sat and she noticed an odd burn on his arm that he covered up quickly.

“Home,” she closed the door, “what’s wrong with your arm.”

“Nothing,” he lay back down.

“Bye, don’t forget to lock up,” she walked out, not willing to trouble herself with more than her mind could handle in one day. It was oddly dark, she hadn’t noticed in the lit office. It was so deserted, quiet… too quiet… instinct screaming at her to turn back so she did. Walked into the office and shut the door behind her.

“Back already,” he was downing a bottle of water.

“Forgot something,” she reached for a draw, her aunt thought it was silly that she feared the quiet and freaky dark. She checked the time. “Its four thirty,” she mumbled puzzled.

“Yep”

“But it’s so dark out,” why did today have to be so weird? Her aunt was going to kill her if she got home later than five thirty. She wasn’t late yet, but walking in the dark is not a clever plan especially on a particularly weird day. She opened the deep grey curtains. He stood up and walked towards her.

“Do you remember how we got to the front entrance?”

“Nope,” he sighed and walked away from the window and slouched into the couch, “it’s probably just a major storm on its way blocking out the light. Did you get what you forgot?”

“I have a bad feeling about this.” She ignored his statement not turning away from the window.

“Me too,” he sighed.

“I have to go,” she walked out, swallowing her fear. She got home, thirty minutes later, walking faster than she had ever walked. Crazy thoughts running through her mind every step of the way.

She saw the rugged porch and for the first time in never felt relieved to be there. It began to drizzle so she ran in. Her aunt was not yet back from her shift at the store she worked at. Something she was not allowed to mention, her aunts job. She walked in, no one was home yet. Got to her room and wouldn’t let herself collapse onto the bed for she feared she wouldn’t want to wake up. There are many days when the nightmares behind her eyes were relief to the real world. She heard the door slam and she knew. She dropped her bag on her bed and walked out.

“Alex!” a deep voice roared to her, as a chubby lady stomped through the rugged house, “I don’t smell food cooking. What has your lazy ass been up to all afternoon!? Still writing silly stories or wasting your mind on school. Look where school landed me this is the real life. Not the nonsense you waste your time on. Your uncle is on his way. Food better be ready in a few minutes or you will be for supper!”

She walked to the kitchen to start supper. “Your teachers finally cut your tongue out, you better show me some respect for taking care of you useless piece of crap since you killed my brother and his bitch wife. You don’t even look like my brother probably not even his kid. She sent you here to kill me too I’ll bet.”

“I’ll get right to it,” she meant supper.

“What did you say?”

“I meant supper,” she really did.

“How much I wish your petty little ass had died today in that school bombing of yours,” she didn’t care she never had. “You better not poison me with your bomb toxins,” said the stupid person in the room. “Never mind, I’ll order something in,” her cold dark eyes stared at her with a deathly glare. “You are lucky your parents made sure I got paid bit by bit for taking care of our useless ass.” She said ass a lot.

Her so called uncle walked in, tattooed along his whole arm, drunk muscle head, “aren’t you growing up fast,” he said as he stumbled in. She made her way to her room, avoiding him and his violent hands. Locked the door as her aunt yelled after her.

“I didn’t dismiss you come back here!” crying was useless. It had been years since her parents died in a crash. It was her fault… she crumpled up in a corner on the hard wood floor that creeks with every move she made, arms rapped round her legs. Trying to breathe. She thought of her mother’s warm hugs and her and her father’s sing-alongs though they both couldn’t sing. She needed to get out. Out of this hell.

She had nowhere else to go… leave and just vanish. Secretly hoping that someday her aunt would return to being the aunt she remembered. The aunt that laughed with her when she was five. Beginning to think that that aunt was the fiction of her imagination. That she had never existed and it was just her naive child eyes that tricked her. May be this was her punishment for killing her parents. If she hadn’t they would still be alive today…

Her aunt banged her door, “Alex!” she always dragged out the A and E in her name making her loathe her more. “Get out here now. Or else I am coming in there…” that was enough of a threat. She preferred the door closed.

Too much has happened today, too much was happening. The rain began to pour just like it did the night her parents died. A bitter pour like the endless cry of a child. And for a moment fear seized and anger rained. She stood up, grabbed a jacket, and stuffed her backpack with some stuff. Enough… the only family she had was outside that door. The only blood she had. Battered and bruised tired and hurting. It was enough. She wore the hoodie, looked back one last time and hopped out the window.