The steady sound of my alarm beeping brought me out of my sleep the next morning.
I could see bright sunlight pouring in through the sheer curtains of my windows as I slowly opened my eyes. I sat up and looked around, feeling exhausted from the terror of the night before. I'd been awake for a good portion of that night because of that horrible feeling of being watched and stalked.
After pushing my messy hair out of my face, I moved to the head of my bed and moved the sheer curtains aside to take a look at the window in the morning light, but as I suspected, there was nothing out there. I carefully opened the window and leaned out a little to take a better look, yet nothing looked out of place. There was no snow hanging on the outside, so I couldn't tell if that had been disturbed.
I let out a long breath, closing and window and sitting back. This had to be from stress. I'd let it get to me the night before and it had caused me to have a freak out. How pathetic was that?
I forced myself to get up and grabbed a pink sweater and pair of jeans from my dresser and went into the bathroom to get dressed. Turning on the cold water, I splashed some on my face to help me wake up. The last thing I wanted Michael to see was me being so upset over something like this. So I got dressed and made sure that I looked presentable, then made my way downstairs.
The house was bright from the sunlight as I came downstairs and into the kitchen. Michael was already in there, sitting at the bar with a cup of coffee and looking at the morning paper. He was dressed more for business today, in a nice blue shirt with a jacket and blue pants. I guessed that he must have had something important to do, although I kind of hoped that he wouldn't be home too late. I still mustered my best smile as I walked in there.
"Good morning, Dad." I greeted him, trying to sound cheerful.
Michael looked up and returned my smile, "Good morning. How was your night?" he replied. It was the usual morning greeting that he'd given me since I was a kid. Guess it was a dad thing.
"It was okay." I lied as I fixed myself some toast for breakfast, "Early morning today?"
"Yes. I have a few meetings in Easton today, so I'll have to leave shortly. I'm not sure of when I'll be back this evening. Will you be okay on your own for a while?" Michael asked me.
"I'll be fine. I think I can take care of myself until then. Besides, I can always call Raziel if anything happens." I reminded him, still trying to sound upbeat.
"That's true, and I know that you can take good care of yourself. Just make sure to keep the door locked when you're home alone."
"I will."
No, I really hoped he wouldn't be that late. Not after the night I'd had. But there was nothing more I could say without him getting suspicious.
I made sure to make a mental note about keeping the door locked. I even checked the back seat of my car when I went out like a scared moron, thanking God that Raziel wasn't there to see me. He never would've let me live it down.
Seeing that everything looked normal, I got into the car and started it up. But I still hit the automatic locks on the door before going. Note to self: make sure that car stays locked from now on.
The morning was a bit cloudy, but my drive to school was still nice and peaceful. I parked in my usual parking place at the school and looked around me. There weren't many out there, but it was still pretty early. The clock on my dash read 7:10.
I didn't mind too much. I certainly hadn't wanted to stay in that house with my dad being gone any longer than I had to.
I grabbed my backpack from the passenger's seat and got out, making sure the Mazda was locked before I headed into the school. The building was fairly quiet as I entered. There were maybe ten or fifteen other kids in the commons area, but they were all studying or working on homework.
I headed over to one of the far round tables near the glass windows that looked out into a small garden area for the school and pulled out one of the blue chairs to sit down, then took out my notes and Algebra book. This was a good time for me to do some catching up too. I'd never been too good at complex math, and starting this class a little later than the others had made me fall behind some.
I was in the middle of my tenth problem when I heard the click of heels coming up to me, followed by a familiar voice.
"Good morning, Mia." Anna chimed as she pulled out the chair beside me and sat down.
"Good morning." I replied, glancing over at her.
I'd always thought that Anna was so pretty. Dressed in a long red sweater and long skirt with boots, she looked like she'd stepped out of a fashion magazine. I wondered if that was what had attracted Raziel to her. I didn't doubt that he, like all other boys, really liked pretty girls. But Anna's personality was very attractive too. She was incredibly sweet, although she could be fiery at times when she needed to be too.
"So you're taking an early morning too? Can't blame you there." Anna continued, pulling out a book from her back pack.
"Cruel Intentions?" I noted as I caught sight of the book she was holding. She must have been studying the same English curriculum.
"Yes." Anna moaned, rolling her eyes, "I really hate this book. It's so boring."
I chuckled, "You sound like Raziel."
"Guess we're more alike than we thought." Anna giggled.
I sat there watching her as she opened her book. Now that it was just the two of us, I was debating on whether to ask her about what she knew about the tension between Raziel and Sean. After what Michael had said, I felt like she might have known something more about it. She was Raziel's girlfriend after all.
But I couldn't do it. A part of me feared getting her started and having Raziel walk up on it. No telling what that might bring. So I just left it alone.
As it turned out, Raziel was pretty late that day. We didn't even get to see him before our first class. But he was waiting at our usual table at lunch for us.
Anna smacked his shoulder as she came over to him.
"Ow! Cut it out!" Raziel complained, although he didn't bother looking up from where he was resting his head in his arms on the table.
"That's what you get for not showing up this morning and not even letting us know! You made us worry!" Anna declared, crossing her arms.
I chuckled quietly as I sat on the other side of him. Raziel must've really felt something deep for Anna. He wasn't the type to let just anyone get away with that stuff.
"We were surprised that we didn't see you. Did you sleep in this morning?" I asked him.
"Kind of. I was really tired last night." Raziel answered. He shot a slight glare at Anna, who just huffed in defiance.
"I'm going to guess that your dad went with Michael this morning. If not, you wouldn't have been allowed to do that." I continued.
"Yeah, but I still made it here by the end of first period, so it was okay." Raziel assured me. I noticed that he looked tired. I wondered if he wasn't feeling well.
"Bet you got a write up. You are in Mr. Jacob's class, aren't you? He just loves sending notes home." Anna chimed in.
"Wow. Two in one week." I added.
Raziel shrugged slightly, although I noticed that it looked like it hurt him some to do so, "It's not like it hasn't happened before. Dad knows what to expect sometimes."
Anna perked up a little, looking around us, "Hey, by the way Raziel, have you seen Sean today?" she asked.
I tensed up a little when she said that, but thankfully, neither of them seemed to notice.
Raziel let out a disgusted sigh, "How the hell should I know? He wasn't in class, so I guess he's sick today." he grumbled.
"Really? That's strange. Sean's never sick. Hope he's okay." Anna commented.
"Will you stop that? He's just another guy. Of course he gets sick sometimes." Raziel countered.
"Wow, you're in a rotten mood." Anna muttered.
"I guess you know Sean pretty well, huh?" I said, trying to act casual. Nothing like finding a good opening.
Anna immediately perked up, "Who doesn't know about Sean Morrison here? He's one of the hottest guys in this school. Not to mention he's a genius. He even beat out Raziel on our mid-terms a few months ago." she told me as she grinned as Raziel again.
"Oh shut up." Raziel muttered, putting his head down in his arms again, "I just slipped up on that, and you're the one who kept me up late the night before them."
"Hey, I did not ask you to stay out all night with me. That was your choice." Anna countered.
"Too much information." I interrupted, "Anyway, I was wondering about that after seeing him yesterday, and I didn't get the chance to ask you anymore about him."
"Oh yeah. You did say that he helped you out yesterday. I was pretty surprised too. I didn't think that Sean really liked helping others that much. He's always been more of a loner here, especially when it comes to new kids. It has to be because you're pretty. Maybe Sean really does like pretty girls after all." Anna mused.
I blushed, "I'm not that pretty." I managed.
"Are you kidding? You're the prettiest girl I've ever seen." Anna declared.
Those words cut like a knife, even if they shouldn't have. They were so familiar to me, making Zane's face flash in my mind. He'd always told me the same thing. So much for forgetting about my first love.
Raziel sat up again, "Cut it out. You're embarrassing her." he chided her.
Anna immediately backed down, finally noticing my discomfort, "Opps. I'm sorry." she apologized.
"It's... okay." I managed.
I was still working hard on at throwing Zane's memory to the back of my mind. But it was hard to do when I kept catching sight of the ring glittering slightly on my finger. Maybe I should try to get myself to take it off later.
"Anyhow," Raziel continued, "Sean's out and we're not worrying about it. We've got enough to worry about around here, so leave it all alone."
Just leave it all alone. At the time, I felt like that was good advice. After all, I'd told myself last night that I was going to guard my heart from now on. Calling up those memories of Zane hadn't been good for me, and being any kind of interested in Sean wasn't going to be either. I was sure of that much.
But even though I tried to convince myself of that, I still kind of hoped that I'd run into Sean between classes. I didn't get it myself. Why was I so interested in this boy who clearly may have had bad intentions for me?
Maybe I was just being a stupid teenage girl now, but at the same time, I was getting kind of worried that I might have been starting to lose it too. The experience I'd had the night before was definitely sticking out in my mind along with this contradiction I felt about this boy, and it was making me feel a bit paranoid, even in school. Even walking to my locker, I was looking around and making sure that no one was really watching me. It was pretty pathetic.
As I stood by my locker and opened it up to put my books inside, I couldn't help looking down and shaking my head in a vain effort to make it all go away. I knew that I really wasn't ready to go home yet, but at the same time, I had no idea of how to approach staying out longer with Raziel. Normally, I would've just asked him if he wanted to do something with me, but I knew now that he wasn't feeling well. He'd been in a rotten mood by the time our last class was over. Even now, I could see him shoving his stuff into his locker and slamming it shut.
I debated on what to do as I looked back at my own. I could avoid going home for a while. I had a little bit of money in my pocket, so maybe I could find something to do, even if it was my old hobby of window shopping.
"Hey, are you coming yet?" I suddenly heard Raziel ask me.
I looked over to see him standing beside me with his arms crossed, tapping his fingers impatiently.
"Okay, okay. Just hold on while I make sure I have everything." I told him.
"You can't have that much in there. These lockers are tiny!" Raziel complained.
I let out an exhausted sigh and closed my locker. No sense in arguing with him when I had nothing to back it up with.
"Okay. Let's go."
I tried my best to act normal. The last thing I needed right now was for him to suspect that there was anything wrong with me.
The two of us walked out to the parking lot together. A lot of the other kids had left by now, so things were slightly calmer out there.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" I had to ask him.
Thankfully, it wasn't that cold out there now. I hoped it was a sign of warmer weather to come, and not just a tease.
"I'm fine. Sorry, it's just been a long day." Raziel answered, "By the way, I've got to drop something off at Jameson real quick. You want to meet me there and go out for some dinner since our dads are gonna be running late? I'm not up to trying to cook anything for myself."
Thank you, I thought. There's the invitation I was waiting for. But I made sure to play it cool so that he didn't suspect anything.
"Sure. Sounds great. It gets kind of lonely in that big house when Michael isn't there." I agreed.
"I could get that. I feel that way in my house too. It's a lot of space for just one person. I wonder if Dad will keep it when I move out." Raziel continued.
We finally got to our cars. Raziel had been able to park right beside me, which was a little surprising since he'd come late. As I unlocked my car, he unlocked the doors to the Lexus and put his back pack in the back seat.
"So you just want me to meet you at Jameson then?" I asked him.
"Yeah. Just follow me there. It won't take me long." Raziel confirmed.
I walked back over to my car as he got into his. I took a quick glance in my backseat though as I unlocked my car. Good, still nothing there, and he didn't catch me.
But as I opened the door to my Mazda, I realized that Raziel's engine wasn't turning over. That wasn't a good sound. I saw him bang his fist on the steering wheel and cuss, then hop back out.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he fussed, slamming the door shut.
"Did your battery die?" I asked as I came over to him.
"Yeah. The damn interior light didn't go off this morning. I knew I should've made it stay off." Raziel responded, looking mad at himself now.
Well, I thought, I can't just leave him like this, especially since he's not feeling good.
"Hey, come on. I'll give you a ride. Maybe Raphael can have it towed later." I offered.
"Guess I don't have a choice huh?" Raziel grumbled. He opened the back door to his car and grabbed his stuff, muttering to himself, "A bad day just gone worse."
I was staring at him now. I'd never seen Raziel in such a terrible mood before. It made me wonder if something had happened that I didn't know about.
"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" I spoke up.
Raziel looked surprised when he heard that, but quickly pulled himself together.
"Sorry. It's just been a rotten day. Come on. Let's just go. We'll take care of my car later." he answered, taking in a long breath and walking to my car with me.
"I guess." I breathed, opening the driver's side door and sliding in.
Raziel got into the passenger's side. It was odd, but it looked like he was being very careful about his back when he leaned into the seat.
"Hey, do you want me to stop at Jameson?" I asked.
"Sure. I've got to give this to Sara. I did promise him that I'd do it." Raziel responded, pulling a folder out of his backpack. He flipped through it before closing it back up.
"What is it?" I asked as I put my car in drive.
"Just some paperwork that Dad said she needed, so I told him that I'd drop it off since I was in town and he had a lot of stuff to do today." Raziel explained. He glanced at my center console, playing with the volume on the radio, "This thing rides nice."
"Thanks. I told you I'd let you drive it sometime." I reminded him. But as I did, it dawned on me about where we were going and the name he'd just said. Sara and Jameson, "Hey, is this person Sara Morrison?"
"Yeah." Raziel replied begrudgingly, "Why couldn't she have just picked this up herself? She's got a damn car, and she doesn't live that far from us."
"Wow, you are in a rotten mood." I commented.
"Sorry. It was a really long night, and no, it had nothing to do with Anna."
"Did something happen?"
I glanced at him. He was turned sideways in the seat now, and looking in front of him. His eyes looked very tired.
"It's nothing worth talking about." Raziel answered, his voice sounding far away.
I wondered what had happened. Whenever Raziel talked like this, it usually meant that either he didn't want to, or couldn't, tell me about it. Maybe Raphael had laid into him about something, possibly even about his almost fight with Sean. It made me feel a little bit guilty.
But I decided not to say any more about it for now. He'd probably end up biting my head off if I kept questioning him with the mood he was in.
Jameson wasn't that far from the high school, just about three miles. The store was housed in an old warehouse off of a side street in town. I took in the sight of the building as I pulled into the gravel parking lot near it.
I had been to Jameson several times in the last few years since Michael had opened it. The building wasn't that incredibly impressive on the outside, say for the size of it. It was painted a rustic looking red, and there were double glass doors in the front for an entrance, along with one or two other doors here and there on the sides. The open sign was turned on, and glowed red in the left glass door.
Getting out of the car with Raziel, I hit the key to make sure it was locked and followed him up the five steps leading up to those double doors.
Inside was just as I remembered it from the first time I'd come to visit there. The smell of old antiques was all throughout the place, and I could see the display cases a few feet in front of us. The wooden floor squeaked a little as Raziel and I walked over to the display cases.
Raziel leaned on one and looked around.
"Hey Sara! Are you here?!" he called.
Needless to say, this was a very big place, so she could've been anywhere.
"I'll be right there!"
A female voice answered us from farther back in the shop. It was very light and airy. I was wondering about what I'd see with the person attached to that voice. This woman was Sean's mother. Would she be anything like him?
I studied some of the jewelry in the display case as I waited with Raziel. There were a lot of older pieces, and they ranged from rings and necklaces to old pocket watches.
But one in particular caught my eye. It was an old silver chain holding a pure blue pendant. It was very beautiful, and very expensive. I wondered where it had come from. I'd never seen a stone that looked like that before. In fact, it almost looked like the stone was slightly glowing deep inside.
I blinked a few times, and the glow was gone. Had I imagined that?
Raziel looked around us, "They've got some pretty cool stuff in here, huh?" he commented quietly.
"Yeah. I guess Michael's still got the touch in finding these kinds of things." I agreed as I looked at him. He seemed to be in a better mood.
"It's kind of funny, but I like coming here sometimes. It's always so quiet, and a good place to get away when you need to. But most of the people who come in here are quiet too. They're usually serious collectors looking for bargains or just people who are curious about what they can find." Raziel told me.
"So, what's Sara like?" I asked him.
I decided to take the chance now, considering the fact that he was acting like his mood was getting better.
Raziel shrugged, although he still seemed like he was in pain when he did it. I also noticed that his shoulders looked a little swollen from where the back of his shirt and coat was against them. I made a mental note to ask him about it later.
"She's a nice lady. She's been here for three months, and I've met her a couple of times since then. But I still stand by what I said about Sean." he answered.
It was at that time that we heard the click of heels coming from the back of the store. I looked forward to see a woman coming towards us. There could be no doubt that this was Sara Morrison. She had the same black hair and green eyes as Sean. Her hair was very long and in a braid that fell down past her waist, and she was dressed nicely in a gold sweater and light jeans with boots. She was also stunningly beautiful.
But she looked pretty young too. Maybe in her thirties, if that. Could she really be the mother of a sixteen year old boy?
"Sorry about that Raziel. I was trying to get that new display organized and I didn't hear you come in." she apologized as she came over to us. She stopped abruptly when she saw me, "Oh, I didn't realize that you had company with you."
"She's kind of helping me out today. It's a long story. Anyway, this is Mia, Michael's daughter." Raziel explained as he handed the folder to her. I noticed that he was being polite now. He must have had at least some respect for Sara.
Sara seemed a little surprised as she looked back at me. I saw it in her expression as he said who I was. I guessed that she wasn't expecting me to be around so soon.
"Oh. So you're Mia. I've heard so much about you." she said, flashing me a friendly smile.
I wanted to ask her if she'd been hearing things about me from Sean, but decided it was better not to. No telling if it would stir up trouble with Raziel. So I just nodded.
"I think everyone's been talking about me lately." I admitted.
"You know, you really look like your father too. I'm a bit surprised about that. Although it's a good thing. A lot of people can't really match Michael in looks, or the other Renaldis for that matter. It must be a gift." Sara went on.
"By the way, where was Sean today? I didn't see him in class." Raziel suddenly spoke up.
Sara looked surprised by his sudden question. She probably knew that her son and Raziel didn't get along, if what Michael had told me was true.
But she quickly shook it off, "Oh, he wasn't feeling well this morning, so he stayed home for the day. He's been doing a lot of late night studying, and I think it's finally caught up to him. It happens every once in a while. Was there something you needed to talk to him about?" she asked him.
"No. I was just curious. He doesn't miss a lot of time, so it was weird to me and a lot of the other guys. So I figured I'd ask while I was here. Besides, he usually mentions when he's going out of town for a while too, so we didn't think it was that." Raziel explained.
Sara nodded, "Yes, he tries to make sure that no one worries too much. He's always been considerate that way. But even he can get sick on occasion."
"Trust me, I don't think we're too worried." Raziel assured her.
Now he was starting to sound smug again. I almost told him that he was being rude, but decided against it. It wouldn't have done me any good. Raziel always did what he felt like doing. Nearly ten years around him had taught me that much.
So, instead of saying anything more to him, I turned my attention back to Sara, "Well, I hope he feels better. I didn't get to thank him for helping me yesterday. I really appreciated it." I said, giving her my best smile.
"Don't worry. I can tell him for you, and I'm sure that he'll be back tomorrow. Sean doesn't like missing a lot of time either, and he seems pretty fond of you. Maybe you two could be friends." Sara suggested, sounding a little bit hopeful now. It made me wonder if Sean didn't have a lot of friends and it concerned her.
Raziel stood up straight, "We'll see about that. But we've got to get moving now. We've got some other stuff to get done." he stated as he took my hand.
"I understand. It was really nice to meet you Mia. I hope I get to see you again soon." Sara agreed, shaking my free hand.
Raziel pulled me along as we turned and walked out. As we came out of the glass door and it closed behind us, I made him stop.
"What was that all about?"
"What? I just wanted to get out of there. I'm not sitting in there for another half an hour while she asks you all the questions under the sun and tries to make it so that you and Sean seem like friends." Raziel replied. He let me go and zipped up his beige coat, "Damn, it's gotten colder out here again."
"You were being rude in there, and why were you so interested in Sean? It couldn't have just been because everyone was talking about him not showing up." I went on, digging my keys out of my pocket to unlock the Mazda.
He was right about it being colder out there now. In that short time, the outside temperature had definitely dropped. But the clouds had moved back in too, and there was no sunlight to warm the earth now.
Raziel shrugged it off as we walked to the car.
"I wasn't being rude. She knows we don't have time to stand in there all afternoon. Besides, it doesn't hurt for me to find out what's going on with Sean. It's better to make sure of what he's up to, and I don't think she needs to be trying to make you be friends with him."
"She wasn't trying to make me be friends with him. I think she was just being nice and thought maybe he'd want to be friends because he helped me out. You need to lighten up a little bit about this. It's not like Sean was doing anything to hurt me." I informed him.
I was getting really tired of this argument now. It was getting stupid. Sean was just another boy. He had been nothing but polite to me the morning before, and even if his actions were suspicious later, it didn't mean that he was planning on hurting me. Raziel was being way too overprotective.
Raziel shot me a look, "You're seriously not listening to a word I say about him, are you? Is it that great that he looks good?"
"No. I never said that. Besides, looks aren't everything. But seriously, Sean hasn't done anything, and I'm not that interested in him, so can we please just leave it all alone?" I requested.
I was really hoping that he'd drop all of this. I didn't want to let it slip about Zane to him. I hadn't told any of my family about Zane, and never planned to if I could help it.
For a long moment, Raziel just watched me. Then he finally backed down.
"Okay. I get it. But just listen to me about things like this, okay? I'm not just saying it for my health, and I think you know that. But let's go ahead and get something to eat now. I'm getting hungry."
"Are you sure you're up to eating?" I asked, feeling concerned now. He still looked like he was hurting pretty badly. He even seemed a little paler.
"I'm good. I've just got a backache right now, but I took a couple Tylenol at the nurse's office at school, so it's a little better. Don't worry so much. I'm not dying or anything." Raziel promised, flashing me a mischievous smile.
"Wow, glad to know that." I joked, "So, where do you want to go?"
"Doesn't matter to me. Let's hit KFC. They've got good meal deals."
And so, we ended up going to KFC. I couldn't complain though. I actually did like their food more than some of the other fast food restaurants in town. Raziel seemed to be doing a little bit better too while we were there. He insisted on paying for our meal, and we sat in there for a good half an hour talking about anything and everything.
I was happy enough just to be there with him now. Truth be told, I really had missed my cousin when I was down in Miami. He was the best friend I'd ever had in my life, and like my twin most of the time. Even though Raziel could be ill tempered at times and be a troublemaker, he was a good guy at heart, and he was always there for me whenever I needed a shoulder to lean on or someone to talk to. We'd even spent hours talking on the phone when I was back with my mother. That was just how close we were.
After having our dinner, I finally went ahead and took Raziel home. He was really tired by then, and said that he wanted to get some rest. Dropping him off, I made him promise to give me a call later to let me know that he was okay. I was genuinely worried about him, and he knew it, although he still tried to play it off.
I was thinking about all of this as I rode home. Raziel's shoulder blades had definitely looked swollen to me while I was with him through that shirt and even his coat. What kind of illness causes that?
Michael's house was quiet as I parked my car in front of it. I could hear the normal sounds of the woods around it as I got out . As I stepped away from my car, I looked up at the one window on the side of my bedroom over my bed. It was the one closest to those woods, although the first trees were still a good seven or eight feet away. Looking over at the woods near it, I wondered if something could possibly look in that window from the tops of the trees.
But I shook the thought off. That was stupid. I was being paranoid again.
I continued on, unlocking the door and stepping into the house. Everything was like it always was in there, and silence greeted me. I hung up my coat and put my shoes away in the shoe rack near the door, then made my way up to my room with my backpack to start on some homework. I had to get some notes together for a report that was going to be due in two weeks, and I wanted to look up some information on my laptop.
I couldn't help but think to myself as I came into my room and sat down at my desk that these teachers were really tough here. They certainly didn't put things off like the ones at my old high school. The curriculum was quick and to the point in most of my classes.
Opening the lap top, I let it load, then turned on some music to help me relax. It had been a long day. First Raziel being sick, then us having to meet Sara. I thought about Sara Morrison as I typed in my search on Bing. She'd looked so young for having a teenage son. I was half tempted to ask Michael how old she was. Was it possible that she was just one of those people who aged extremely well?
Switching to a Lana Del Rey album, I began taking notes from a Wikipedia site. I needed to stop thinking about all of this now. I had a lot of work to do here.
But as I listened to the music and kept writing, I slowly became aware of a strange sound, like clicking and scratching. At first, I thought that maybe it was the music on my laptop. So I turned it down to see if I still heard it. Sitting very still, I listened closely.
Yep, the sound was still there. It wasn't coming from my lap top.
I slowly turned in my seat, hearing it squeak a little as I looked around my room. I could hear the sounds, but they were faint and sporadic.
Do we have mice? I wondered.
That seemed like a likely explanation, although the thought gave me shivers. Nothing like worrying about seeing a rodent run past you.
After another moment or so, I turned back to my laptop and tried to start working again. Glancing at the clock on the computer, I could see that it was nearly six thirty. Michael would be home very soon. I'd have to double check with him about maybe having the house checked for mice.
But after working for a few more minutes, I slowly became aware of that uncomfortable feeling settling over me again. I sat very still, feeling my heart beat a little bit harder. This couldn't have been happening.
I was being watched again.
I closed my eyes and drew in a long breath. I needed this to stop now. I had to face my fears and show myself that there was nothing there. If I turned now, I could see that nothing was there, and it would make this feeling go away.
The feeling of eyes on me was almost overwhelming now. Taking another deep breath, I forced my eyes open and slowly made myself turn to look. If anything, I just wanted to face my fears. Hopefully, I'd see nothing and be instantly relieved.
But to my shock, I did see something as I turned. There was something big and white looking in the window over my bed. The shape jumped down quickly as it noticed me. All I could really tell of it was the flash of white.
Without thinking twice, I bounded out of my chair and ran over to my bed, yanking my window open as fast as I could and leaning out to look. But the white shape was long gone. All I could see was the darkness that was quickly coming in and making the woods look like a void.
I stayed leaned out of that window, staring and feeling my heart pounding in my chest. What in the world had been looking at me? Was it some sort of animal? Was I being stalked by this animal?
I could see headlights coming up the driveway as I processed all of this. I closed my window and went back to my computer, sitting down to look at my web page again. At least it would look like I'd been working. I just hoped that if Michael asked me about what I was working on that I'd remember what it was.
I heard the car park outside, and a few minutes later, the front door opened. I tried to act like I was still working as I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and to my room. Then, there was a knock at my door.
"Yes?" I called, still not looking up.
Michael stepped in, "There you are. It looks like you're working hard." he commented as he walked over beside me.
"I was, but I was thinking about taking a break." I responded, finally sitting up, "I'm glad you're back. I was getting worried."
"Sorry. The last meeting ended up running later than I thought it would. Did you get yourself something for dinner?" Michael asked me.
"Yeah. I went to KFC with Raziel, but his car died in the school parking lot, so I ended up taking him to Jameson, then we hung out for a while. He wasn't feeling good today either." I explained.
I discreetly glanced at the window over my bed again as I spoke. What had that thing been? It was bugging the hell out of me now.
"The battery died in that Lexus already? How in the world did that happen?" Michael said in disbelief.
I watched as he walked over and clicked the lock on the window over my bed closed. Opps, forgot to do that.
But thankfully, he didn't say anything to it. I shook my head, standing up and hearing the chair squeak as I did.
"He said something about it being the interior light. I guess it didn't turn off this morning when he came to school. But he didn't notice because he was running late and not feeling well. He said that he was going to get some rest when I took him home, but he still looked like he was hurting pretty bad." I explained as I stepped over to Michael.
"Don't worry too much. Raphael did tell me that he wasn't feeling well, but it's nothing that won't pass." Michael reassured me, gently pushing my hair out of my face.
"I guess, if you say so." I reluctantly agreed.
"By the way sweetheart, be careful about your windows. Even though this is a fairly safe area, you just never know, and leaving one unlocked could invite trouble." Michael added.
"I know. Sorry, I forgot all about it. But while I'm thinking about it, I kept thinking that I heard scratching sounds earlier. We wouldn't have mice, would we?" I continued, looking at him hopefully.
Michael smiled like he was amused, "Well, I couldn't say that for certain. It's a common problem around here, especially in the colder months. But I can have it checked, just to be safe. I should warn you though, we do have the little pests from time to time, and last spring, I did find a black snake in the foyer. It was a bit unpleasant."
"Dad, that's really not funny. I will freak out if I see a snake in here." I told him flatly.
Michael laughed, "Don't worry so much Mia. That's the only time it's happened, so I don't look for it to be a repeat thing." he assured me.
I really hoped that he was telling the truth about that one. I'd already had enough with the giant roaches down in Miami at times.
But looking at the window near us, I decided to see if maybe I could ask him in a roundabout way about the animal I could've seen.
"Hey Dad, are there a lot of animals around Madison?"
"There's a decent amount. It is more of a country town, so we get a little bit of everything. Why ask?" Michael replied.
"Just curious. I've seen different things in the woods here and there, and I thought that I'd ask. I guess I'm just not used to it here yet." I explained.
Michael nodded, "I see. You shouldn't worry too much about it. There have always been a lot of animals around here, and you'll get used to everything soon enough."
I took his words to heart and tried my hardest to put the strange encounter to the back of my mind. In fact, I was kind of concerned deep inside that maybe I'd just imagined it. Maybe I was unconsciously trying to give an image to the frightening feelings I had been developing.
Looking back, I probably should've told him more about it then, but I couldn't make myself. Instead, I was trying to go with it and believe that everything would be okay.
But, in the end, that would turn out to be the biggest mistake of my life.