Chapter Three:

Kyla yanked the curtains shut. Oh god.. Oh god… what am I going to do? She wondered what would happen if Kevin found her in his house. Would he call the police? Oh god, she was going to die here! Well maybe not, but still.. She peered back out the window. She couldn't see him anymore. Where did he go? She walked around to the other window of the room, the one on the front side of the house. Kevin was standing in front of the door, leaning on it. He was slightly turned towards Kyla, and she could see that he was fiddling with a keychain. Oh no he's going to come in and find me! Kyla needed to find a place to hide. She first looked around Noah's room. While trying to hide, she had to make sure that she left no traces behind.

*Slam* That was the front door, he must be inside. Tiptoeing across the grey carpet in Noah's room, she walked over to the underwear that had been previously flicked against the wall. Picking it up, she folded it neatly and put it back inside the drawer. No trace. Kyla glanced back out the window, the storm appeared to be getting more intense. A shadow was cast into the room as the sun was covered by the blanket of clouds. The cat had returned to the doorway, once again staring at her with its unforgiving eyes. Kyla glared at it. Please don't meow, please, please.. She crept over to try and scare the cat away, but it was too late. The cat emitted a painfully loud "Meow," possibly even audible from downstairs. Kyla hoped Kevin had not heard the noise, and shooed the cat into another room. She was now in the circular hallway that she had glanced at before. It was far larger than she had originally thought, and doors to other rooms circled around her. She snuck around the hallway, checking each room and its possible places to hide. First there was Noah's room. Under the bed maybe? No. The closet? Darn, it has no doors. The next room around the hallway was another bedroom.

Kyla wandered inside for a quick peek. This bedroom was similar in size and shape to Noah's room. The color scheme was a lot brighter, however. The bed, in the opposite corner as door, was striped orange and yellow. Various cute hats littered the floor, hanging from spots on the wall as well. The curtains were the same shade of black as all the other ones in the house. The walls were painted a light pink, and the gentle ceiling fan above was the only source of illumination. Kyla dared not turn on the fan, lest she attract attention to her presence. The only clue she had to whom the room belonged was the picture of Kevin located in the center of a long table. The table was pressed in between the bed and the bordering wall, and held up many different pictures. One was of Kevin, wearing an adorable cat-hat, next to another odd boy dressed in a rainbow of colors. Another was of Kevin with his hand on Noah's shoulder, they were standing in front of one of the trees in the backyard. That picture was apparently taken in the spring, because the tree's pink flowers had bloomed and were falling through the air while it was taken. There was a picture of their parents embraced in front of the house, as well as a picture of Noah that had been knocked over. She placed the picture upright and took another look around the room. Was there any good place to hide in here? The only place she could think of would be under the long table. Kyla had to be careful not to get too distracted, Kevin could walk up the stairs and surprise her any moment. Unfortunately for her, she spotted the most adorable hat lying on the ground in the center of the room. She picked it up and put it on, even though it was a little big on her. The thought of someone else bigger having worn this made Kyla *giggle,* she wasn't sure why. Strings hung down from the hat, which was shaped like some fluffy, rounded, pink monster. They tickled the back of her neck. The hat was fairly warm and comfortable, she was so enveloped in it that she didn't hear Kevin coming up the stairs. She looked out the door and saw Kevin approaching from the stairs, staring at his phone. Kyla dove under the table, taking a few hats with her to try to disguise herself. Kyla crawled over to the junction where the table met with both bordering walls, and curled up into a ball at it. She covered her now compact body with hats in an effort to hide. She was able to view the outside through a small hole in one of the more worn-out hats.

Kevin walked into the room, and turned on the fan light. He was hopping over his piles of hats with ease, without even looking. He's probably used to the mess, it's his mess after all. Kevin walked up to the far end of the table, the only end that wasn't being bordered by something. Kyla heard a thud from above, and stared up at the underside of the table. It didn't appear to be held up well, as it was only supported by one long shaft of splintery wood running the length in the center. Kevin's signature was scrawled on the underside of the table, and the year next to it dated it at nine years prior. Kevin set his phone on the table, Kyla thought to herself. Then Kevin started to mumble. Her mind went completely blank, her body motionless, and she stopped breathing. To her, his voice sounded as gentle and soft as a thousand pillows hitting the ground after being dropped from a skyscraper.

"Hat… hat… hat... " He was looking for a certain hat. Kyla's eyes narrowed as she saw him bend down to turn a few hats over. "No… not that one." He squatted down, looking around in a circle for his hat. Kyla sank back as far as she could into the corner.

"Ugh… where is my pink snowball hat? I'm not going out without it." Kyla glanced upward at the hat he was looking for, the one perched on her head. She had to think of a plan fast or he was going to see it from his position on the other side of the room. Then he would come over, pull that hat out of the "pile," and find an unwanted guest. Aha! I know what to do! When Kevin turned around to search under an extremely long dresser on the opposite wall as the bed, slowly removed the hat from her head. Then Kyla rolled the hat underneath the bed to the other side of the room, out in the open. Her bait worked, because Kevin stood up and walked over to it.

"How did I not see this earlier?" Kevin picked up the pink hat, fastened it on his head, and proceeded to walk back over to the table. It fit snugly. He picked up his phone and walked in the direction of the bathroom. At least that's what Kyla thought, since she could only see his feet. She heard a door slam from across the hallway. Now's my chance! Kyla got out from under the table and crept to the doorway of the bedroom. She peered out of the room, checking to see which door Kevin shut. There was a door on the other side of Noah's room (2 doors away), that was shut with the light turned on. Kyla heard several *plunks* as something dense kept splashing in water. Ew, he's taking a shit… gross! Kyla darted across the circular hallway to the stairs, which were slightly to her right. She crept silently down them, thankfully none of them squeaked. They were probably new. A rail lined one edge of the stairway, separating two sets of stairs going opposite directions. Kyla let her hand slide along the smooth surface of the railing, while keeping a firm grip to make sure she didn't slip. The walls were decorated with a nice shade of tan. There was a flat area that connected the two opposite stair sections, which also had a window above it. She walked down the stairs that led to the hallway, walked along the flat section, and walked down the other set of stairs. Kyla was now in a long hallway. Looking left, she could see a rather large family room, complete with a huge red couch and a gigantic television. Looking to the right, Kyla saw a fancy kitchen on the right side of the hallway, and a tiled bathroom on the left. She also saw the front door straight ahead, but much farther away. The hallway had yellow walls, with white wood panels lining the top and bottom. Then she heard Kevin coming down the stairs again.

No, No, she thought, and ran for the nearest place to hide. There was no way she could make it to the door in time. Kyla skid across the hardwood floor and dove into the kitchen. She slid across the kitchen tiles, nearly hitting the granite countertop on the opposite side. She scoped the room quickly to find where she could hide. The walls were grey, made up of many small grey squares. The squares differed slightly in shade, providing a cool wavy appearance. There were white cabinet doors everywhere, most likely containing hundreds of bowls, cups, and utensils. She was facing the door through which she entered. There was a large fridge connected to an equally sized freezer to her left. It was made of stainless steel, covered in magnets from different countries. There were ABC magnets on one side, spelling out the names of everyone in the family. Next to the fridge was a pantry, on the side closer to the door. However some boxes were blocking the door, so there was no chance of getting in there in time. A white oven bordered a stove on the opposite side, and something appeared to be cooking in it. The stove was extremely clean, nothing burnt was around the edges of the burners. The countertops, the fridge, yeesh, everything is spotless! Kyla heard a stomp from nearby, which only she could assume was Kevin's shoes stepping down on the hardwood floored hallway. Without thinking, she ran over to the refrigerator-freezer. She pulled open the door on the right. No! The fridge was full of shelves, there was not nearly enough space to fit in. She closed it quickly and opened the freezer door. It was a large open space with a few boxes of food at the bottom. Why… WHY Kyla thought as she climbed into the frozen, metal box. Kyla spotted a BrinkCo. brand ice cream sandwich at the bottom and picked it up. Kyla put it in her pocket for later. She nestled herself into the bottom of the freezer, listening for footsteps. There was no way to see him without opening the door and exposing herself. The freezer was rather cramped and uncomfortable, mainly because the boxes at the bottom were digging painfully into her. She heard a squeaky cabinet open, and some tinkering around. Glass clinked on glass as Kevin grabbed something. Kyla then felt the freezer start to move from side to side. The freezer kept shaking, and she heard a few noises coming from her left. Oh god, he's rummaging through the fridge. Kyla heard Kevin walk away, pour something into a glass, then return the drink and slam the door.

"Dang, forgot the ice." Those four words chilled Kyla to the bone, far worse than any freezer could do. Don't open the door, don't open the door, PLEASE, please… She heard footsteps getting closer to the freezer. She would even be relieved to be found at this point, just to escape the cold. It wouldn't be good, but it would be something. The freezer door moved slightly as Kevin grabbed the handle. How would she be able to explain what she was doing in Luckily for Kyla, Kevin's phone rang from another part of the house just at that moment.

"Forgot my phone too!" Kevin sped noisily down the hallway. Kyla heard his footsteps getting quieter, and slowly opened the freezer door. Yes, he's gone! I can get away! Kyla slowly exited the freezer, enjoying the warmth the rest of the kitchen provided. She snuck along the wall in case he came back or passed by the room. Then she looked out the doorway in the direction she heard the footsteps going. Kevin was nowhere to be seen. Eager to escape, Kyla ran for the front door. There was a small room that the door was located in, she thought of it as a welcome room. It contained coats on a rack, shoes of varying sizes and colors, a welcome mat, and a drain. Maybe the drain is for water that gets through the door? The large windows on either side of the door were covered in rain. The sky was pitch-black, the storm had definitely not gotten better. Kyla swung open the screen door. It made a painful noise as a rusty hinge attempted to move. With the screen door ajar, Kyla pushed the wood door open as quickly as she could. She stepped outside and was instantly pounded by rain.

Loud thunder cracked as Kyla ran across the muddy front yard to find her bike. Puddles splashed up, getting her back covered with brown water droplets. She nearly slid on the short grass, and found her bike soaked on the left side of the house where she had left it. The seat looked like a soggy bean bag, and felt like one too. Kyla started peddling but the back tire was stuck in deep mud. She peddled faster and faster, panicking, until the mud released its grip. Kyla was unprepared for this, and the bike shot off in the direction of the driveway. The driveway was slightly higher than the surrounding ground, creating a small bump. As soon as Kyla hit the bump, moving as fast as she was, she was flung off the bike over the handlebars. She landed hard in the dark green yard, and slid a few feet on the muddy ground. The ice cream sandwich she had stolen was now a mushy mess in her pocket. Picking herself up, she noticed the state of despair that her jeans were in. Aw, these were my favorite pair! This blows! Kyla turned around, and walked back toward her bike. There were tears in her eyes, or maybe just rain. It felt like she had twisted the wrist that took most of the impact of her fall. As Kyla walked, she also noticed she now had a small limp. She began to pick up her bike, when lightning struck. She heard the front door open. It was too late to find any cover, and over the roar of thunder, she could hear a voice that was soft and gentle addressing her.

"Kyla? What are you doing here?" Kevin stood on the front porch, getting drenched by the rain as he waited for Kyla to answer him. She stood staring, mouth agape for a few seconds. She gathered herself together, and attempted to provide him a story that wouldn't incriminate her of being in the house.

"Oh, well I was stopping by to see if Noah was around! He texted me yesterday, asking me to come over today. But when I got here on my bike, I fell off it." They stood staring at each other until Kevin pointed at one of the flaws in her story.

"Then, why is your bike facing the other direction? It was like you were leaving, but you said you had just gotten here." Kyla began to panic again, her plan to cover her tracks was failing.

"Well, um, I had gotten up and left my bike on the ground and knocked. I was waiting for about three minutes, then decided to leave. I picked my bike up and turned it around after that." Kevin had a look on his face that was a mixture of skepticism and confusion.

"Alright," he said, scratching his head. "That makes sense, I was upstairs a few minutes ago. I must not have heard you." Kyla would have said "bye" and rode off then, but there was still something she wanted to know.

"Kevin, where is Noah? I assume you know where, and he said he would be here today." Kevin's face turned from confusion to a sad one. His eyes dropped, and he put one of his hands on the side of his face. She didn't notice before, but she could see now that Kevin had been crying. He wouldn't make eye contact, but she saw the redness around his eyes. Actually, now that I think about it, he looks pretty tired. She almost pitied him. He still hadn't answered her.

"Well? Kevin, where is Noah?" He looked back up at her, now looking as angry as sad.

"Kyla. Noah is in the hospital. He was hit by a car late yesterday. He's barely making it." The words made Kyla's own eyes dropped. There could be no question that the water dripping down her face was her own tears. She dropped to her knees on the muddy ground, not even caring about the jeans now. The dark clouds sent rain pouring harder than before. Kevin walked over to Kyla and put his hand on her shoulder, looking at the sky. Kyla put her hands over her face. Her shoulders began to move rapidly up and down as she sobbed uncontrollably, thinking about her friend.