A Darker Beginning

Trevor and Allie resided to the bedroom, and I could hear them lock the door. Alex snorted, making me giggle. He took all of our plates into the kitchen and I heard the sink running and dishes clanking. I walked into his room and cracked the door. I haven't moved in yet, but I might as well have been; most of my closet was in his, my laptop has been sitting on his bedside table for weeks, and all the pictures of us and our friends that used to decorate my room were now sprinkled about Alex's. I laid on his bed, my legs dangling off the edge and stared at the ceiling. Glow in the dark sticky stars were all over, and the child in me couldn't wait until I was ready for bed so I could watch them glow. Silence fell in the living room, and I heard footsteps approaching the room. Alex walked in.

"I'm just grabbing a blanket and pillow, i'm full and tired," he said, sounding exhausted. I watched him grab what he needed from the closet and start to walk out.

"Wait!" He stopped and turned to me. "Why don't you just sleep in here tonight? It can be like a sleepover," I snickered. A toothy smile crept on his face.

"Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want to scare you, i'm quite the cuddle monster," he said between laughs. I burst into laughter myself.

"I don't think either of us would mind that!"

He smiled widely and shut the door, undressing to his boxers. He had a great body, sexy tattoos, and his skin glowed against the light. I crawled under the covers, as I usually did, and he turned off the light, filling the spot next to me. He turned to my back and awkwardly wrapped his arm around my stomach, but once I pushed myself into him, he relaxed and pulled me closer. I looked at the walls and ceiling, watching the stars and moons sparkle pretty neon blues and greens. I could feel myself drifting to sleep when Alex broke the silence.

"Cate?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

I broke his grip and turned around to face him. He rested his hand on my side. "Well it's not really a question...but I really think you need to just suck it up and move in. Just get away from that house. You know you need to. And you know i'm going to protect you no matter what."

I shivered. My house was not like the Tanner family home you see on television. My mom is an alcoholic, and my dad pushes drugs, along with being addicted to heroin. My dad's a professor at a local community college, and my mom is a teacher at my old high school. She got fired from her job as a kindergarten teacher in Wyoming for showing up to class reeking of whiskey and gin at 7:30 in the morning, slurring her curriculum for that day. So we moved to Savannah, Georgia when I was 8. My dad has never been caught on the job, but he was in and out of jail a lot when I was a kid. My house was that of a haunted attraction: full of crazy people that chase you around with knives if you just look at them.

"I think you're right. Maybe i'll just leave all my shit there and just stay. I've been wanting to do that for a long time. Alex, you have no idea what I've tried to do to save them...but I just can't." He wiped a tear from my eye.

"Cate, i'm not going to let anything happen to you. I know Trevor says things, but if you really knew how I felt about you-"

A tapping on the window interrupted. We flew up, terrified. We've never had something like that happen before. A shadow moved past the window slowly. Alex got out of the bed and grabbed a bat he kept in his closet. Someone knocked on our door, scaring the hell out of us. Alex opened it, bat ready to swing. Allie screamed behind Trevor. We both sighed in relief.

"Hey, did you guys hear that tapping?"

"Yeah, it was on our window. How did you hear it?"

"Wasn't just yours, someone's hitting ours, too," Allie exclaimed. Trevor disappeared into the darkness, returning with a barbell. We all made our way into the living room, Allie and I staying behind as the boys moved towards the front door. Alex peered through the peephole.

"Nobody. What the hell is going on?"

All of a sudden, a blood curdling scream came from across the hall. Allie, terrified, ran to the bathroom and locked herself in. I tried to get her out, but she just cried.

"Dude, she's not going to come out," I said to Trevor. He nodded and turned to Alex. He looked through the hole again.

"What the fuck is that?"

"What are you talking about? Let me see," I said, nudging him out of the way. A young boy began to walk out of the neighboring apartment. That could be her son, I thought. The shadow casted on the door from the dim light made it hard to see. Until he was visible.

The little boy was stumbling, falling to his knees, but getting up immediately. I looked closer.

"Oh my god."

The boy had blood all over him. Did someone attack him and his mom? I locked the chain on the door and watched. Only, he came to our door and looked up at the peephole.

He had blood all over his clothes...and his mouth. And something unknown hung from his teeth as he chewed and chomped, staring at me through the door.