After Archer left, I quickly ejected the tape. I had the cursed object in my hands and thought of my options.
"Well," I said, hesitantly. "I could see if I could see the rest of the video with Archer and Jenna because if he got so mad then there must be something, right?"
I knew what was on the second video and if the first one was anything like the second video then I needed to see it. I needed to know what Archer did so I could begin to understand what this tape was; if the boy even was Archer.
"Okay, and then I have option two. I could hide you and never watch you ever again."
I looked down at the ugly excuse for a VHS tape and immediately knew what option I was going to pick. This tape had already started to ruin my life and I wasn't about to let it spill my darkest secret.
"Back in the attic, you go."
I quickly stepped up the stairs in fear that I would change my mind. Something about the tape drew me to it and I didn't want to wait and find out what it was. When it was in the attic it was complacent so maybe all of this would stop if it was there. Maybe there, nobody would find out what I did.
Getting to the top of the stairs, I decided to check on my mother. This whole adventure would be much easier if she was asleep. I didn't need her to have to worry about me again. Surely enough, her form was curled up under her thin comforter fast asleep. I would still have to be careful as she was a notoriously light sleeper. She said I forced it upon her when I was born, but regardless of the reason, I had to be as quiet as possible.
I padded down the hallway to where the small ring hung out of the ceiling.
"Time to put you back where you belong."
I stretched my body as far as I could and took hold of the small string. I yanked it as hard as I could, effectively bringing the staircase down in one grab.
"I'm not sure whether I should be happy or sad that I am getting better at this."
I clutched the tape tightly as I climbed up the ladder-like stairs. They swayed and creaked, unlike last time, making me very uncomfortable. It was like they were warning me of something. Like they didn't want me to put the tape back.
"Good thing I am not a good listener."
I stepped off of the ladder into the dark attic. I knew there was a pull-down light switch somewhere as I had seen it the last time I was up here. Walking forward, I felt a string hit my shoulder and I knew it was the light. I gently pulled down on the string and a dull light flooded the attic. The light just barely reached the edges of the room, making it appear to have a vignette.
I snaked through the many boxes and piles of junk back to the box full of old VHS tapes. I picked up the box and dumped it out, putting my tape at the very bottom. I then piled all of the other tapes back in as fast as I could. I sat down and looked at my handiwork.
"Yeah, that's not enough."
I pushed myself off of the floor and grabbed a box full of my old clothes and put it on top of the box of tapes. To be safe, I grabbed the last box full of photo albums and piled it on top as well. The pile now stacked up to my torso, so I was rather sure nobody would attempt to move it.
I sighed happily and turned around. My life was going to be back to normal again.
"Harper takes the win," I announce happily.
I took one step forward and a loud crash resonated through the large attic. I winced not want to turn around for fear of what I would find.
"Harper," I heard my mother call in confusion.
I closed my eyes in anxiety and fear.
"Now I have two monsters to deal with."
I felt my hand visibly shaking as I counted to the inside of my head. Maybe when I opened my eyes all of this would disappear. It didn't.
"Sorry mom," I said loudly. "I'm just...I was looking for a movie to watch. My friends left early."
My mother sighed, "Okay, just don't stay up too late. We'll talk about this in the morning."
I shuddered, "Okay mom."
I took a deep breath as I heard my mother walk back into her room and slam the door. Now because of my stupid lie, I had to get another tape. I mustered all of the confidence in my body and turned around. The two boxes I had piled on top of the first box were spilled all over the floor and the tape laid showcased in the middle.
I nodded my head, "Awesome."
I kept up my defensive sarcasm as I grabbed a random tape off of the ground and ran bolted to the ladder. I practically flew down the ladder as fear consumed my heart. Jumping off the last two steps, I shoved the ladder back into the ceiling, half debating cutting the string so nobody could open the stairs ever again. Using the small amount of impulse control I did have, I walked downstairs and into the living room.
I slumped onto the couch and sighed heavily. This tape wasn't normal. I had to find out what it was and why only Archer and I could see it. Were we special or something? The last thing I wanted to be was a hero. Although, from what I saw, the tape wasn't afraid to show Archer what I had done, and that was the last thing I needed. Once again, I had two options, and neither of them seemed good.
"Well, I guess there is one more option," I mumbled, thinking of the large yellow house next door.
I sighed as I knew I had made up my mind. Walking into the mudroom I thought of how I was going to talk to Archer. What if he didn't want to talk to me? I had kicked him out of my house just a little while ago. Not having a plan made me anxious, but I knew I didn't have much of a choice. I quickly slipped my feet into my slide on sneakers and pulled a random hoodie over my head. Taking a deep breath I walked over to the side door. That way I would have a straight shot right to Archer's house. Before walking out of the door I disarmed the alarm system and shut off the outdoor lights.
"Here goes literally everything."
I carefully opened the door as quietly as I possibly could and shut it just as carefully behind me. I was super lucky my mother had changed out the squeaky hinges just the other day.
It was lightly raining out, which I had failed to notice until now. The raindrops dusted my face with freckles as I stared into the darkness. I felt for my phone only to realize I had forgotten it inside. Going inside and getting it would be too risky, so I would just have to hope there were no tree roots in my path.
I braced myself and ran. The wind whipped through my hair as rain and sweat accumulated on my exposed skin. As Archer's house approached, I began to slow down. Luckily, I was quite fast, so I didn't have to worry about anybody seeing me running between houses. Now the only issue was finding out how to sneak in Archer's house.
"That made me sound like a total stalker," I said, wincing.
I mimicked the spy movies I had seen and dashed behind a bush around the back of the house. It was small so I crouched, but it would work. I squinted as I tried to glance into the windows of the house. It was a two-story house, but not a very tall one, so I could easily see into all of the windows. Well, I could see in the windows if most of them didn't have shades, I thought.
I tried to focus on one of the two windows that didn't have its shades drawn. There was a faint glow in the room, which I assumed must have been the product of a nightlight. All I could make out were bottles of shampoo and body wash. This gave me the idea that I was looking at a bathroom.
"Not helpful," I grumbled.
I turned my head slightly to the right to see the lights on fully in the other room. Somebody appeared to be walking back and forth like they were pacing. I couldn't quite make out who it was.
"Of course I need to move closer," I said, rolling my eyes. "Twenty-twenty vision is apparently a hoax."
As I got up the small branches of the bush stretched my skin but I ignored it as I sprinted to right below the window. I now could see the curtains framing each side of the window. As the person walked by again I could make out a halo of blond hair and the same dark shirt Archer had been wearing earlier. Holding in my celebration, I grabbed a few small rocks off the ground around me.
"How cliche," I scolded myself.
Throwing the rock with all of my strength, I felt my shoulder groan in protest. It had been years since I had thrown any type of ball, but to my surprise, the skill stayed with me as the small rock hit the window with a clank. Archer stopped pacing and promptly looked out the window. I waved and jumped and to my dismay, the motion-activated light turned on. I saw Archer's look of pure surprise before he bolted out of his room.
After a couple of seconds the lights turned off and Archer came outside with a flashlight. He shone the light directly in my eyes causing me to grimace.
"What's up, Romeo?"
I rolled my eyes at his sentence and grabbed his surprisingly firm forearm.
"We need to talk, Juliet," I said.
"I'd say," he mumbled under his breath.
I dragged, or more like, lead Archer into a small patch of woods that followed after the dead-end our neighborhood sported. He followed along while seeming to crunch every branch that made its way under his feet. This boy was not a sneaky person. I halted, nearly causing Archer to crash into me.
"First off, I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier. Second, off I need to talk to you about the-"
"The tape?" he asked.
"Yes, the tape," I said impatiently. "We both see it, nobody else does. I',m not really sure what any of it-"
"It's supposedly called a cursed object," Archer said, cutting me off again. "I looked it up and there are stories about things like it. Things that some people can see but others..."
Archer trailed off and aimed his beam of light up a tall oak tree.
"Can't," I finished for him.
"Yeah, but I don't believe it. I don't believe any of this."
I sighed, "It is hard to believe isn't it."
He nodded and began to pace again. It made me wonder if this is what he was thinking about in his room. As he set the flashlight down on a nearby tree stump and kept pacing I decided to assume it was.
"Did you find anything else? Like why only we can see it? Or how it's...made, I guess?"
Archer stopped walking and cleared his throat, "Uh, no. I can see if I can find more tomorrow though. My father is an IT guy so he had special internet access or something like that."
He seemed to be waiting for my reaction, but I wasn't sure what he wanted to see. If there I was sure of though, it was to tell when somebody was lying. The way Archer couldn't stop moving and fiddling with his shirt told me enough. And even if it didn't, the way he wouldn't make eye contact with me did. He knew something he wasn't telling me.
"What aren't you telling me, Archer?"
I could faintly see his jaw tense as he stepped into the light. His hands were still bunched in his shirt and his hair stuck to his forehead.
"Nothing."
"You couldn't lie if your life depended on it," I deadpanned.
He narrowed his eyes and took a step towards me. I mimicked his depression and crossed my arms over my chest. If he thought I was going to back down he was certainly mistaken.
"What I think is you are messing with me. I think you got that- that video and you plan to blackmail me or something."
I opened my mouth in surprise, "I don't even know what you are talking about! I just want to know what this tape is."
Archer ripped his hands through his hands, "Then how come 'nobody else can see it' then? Huh?"
I held my hands out, "You said why. It's a cursed object."
He gave a staccato chuckled, "You believe that crap?"
I didn't respond and he shook his head. Maybe this was some sort of blackmail. How else could the tape have a video of what I had done all those years ago?
"Look," Archer said. "If you show that video to anybody I will not hesitate to give you the same fate as Jenna."
With that Archer grabbed his flashlight and stalked off. I grabbed the roots of my hair in frustration and let out a small shriek-like sound.
"I hope you get lost," I yelled.
"See you tomorrow, lab partner," he retorted from the distance.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Walking over to the stump the flashlight was just on, I thought of what Archer had said. As I sat I grew concerned. What had he meant by, 'the same fate as Jenna?' I began to twirl my hair as I thought. How was I even sure this tape was real? Maybe I was crazy, but then that would mean Archer was crazy too. Maybe this was still some elaborate prank from parents. But they didn't even know Archer or his family. Everything flaw in my reasoning brought me right back to Archer, but he didn't believe any of what I said. He also didn't want to hear anything I wanted to say to him.
I definitely had some more planning, plotting, and thinking to do. Because no matter what Archer said, I knew this wasn't normal. This tape wasn't normal.
"This is such a mess, "I whined.
I wanted so badly to break down and cry, but I was much too tired. There was no way to tell exactly what time it was, but I knew it was late. I needed to get some sleep before school tomorrow.
"Okay, so the plan for tomorrow, is to lay low so I have more time to think," I said to myself.
"Mm, sounds like a good plan to me," I said back to myself.
"Well, thank you."
I shook my head and sighed, "I'm delusional."
With that, I started the trek back to my house. The journey back seemed to take much less time, although that could have been because there was so much on my mind.
I, once again, soundlessly opened the door to my house. I closed it behind me and walked to the mudroom. I took off my shoes and jacket and made sure to put them in the same spots they were in before. Now my mother would have no idea I ever snuck out.
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Hey all! How are you all doing? What do you think of this chapter? What do you think is going to happen? Is there maybe something Harper kind sorta forgot to do? Do you have any book suggestions for me?
Anyway, I'll update as soon as I can! Adios!