Chapter 4

"Truly, if there is evil in this world, it lies in the heart of mankind," Kelly spoke in flawless Japanese before looking up from her text to seek approval from her professor.

"Perfect," he cooed before allowing Kelly to sit back down and moving onto the next student.

She released a sigh and she slid into her seat where she stared uncomfortably at the quote she had just read. It had been spoken by Edward D. Morrison and she didn't think that the man could have been anymore right. After reading what she had of her mother's diary she had started to notice things about the people around her that hadn't struck her before. She began to see the sneers pretty girls would flash to the backs of more academically inclined girls as they passed by each other in the halls. She began to witness the bullying that occurred in every corner of the school. How had she missed it before? It was like she had been blind her whole life and had only just now opened her eyes to see.

She knew exactly what her mother would have told her about that. Evelyn would have said, "It's because you live such a blessed life. You are beautiful but modest. Smart but not arrogant. You are kind but you are no one's fool. The friends you have are good and true, and the family you have loves you so very much. Your life is very blessed. But many of those kids are not as lucky as you to have all that. Not all of the beautiful people can be smart as well, and this is why they hold such resentment towards those smarter than them. It is the same for the smart people, not all of them can be beautiful. Not every child has a loving home to return to everyday. Some of them get things handed to them while others worked hard for everything they have and still have hardly anything. You're lucky that you'll never have to be a part of those worlds."

It was true; until she had read her mother's diary she hadn't been quite sure that people like that truly existed. It was like watching your first horror movie and suddenly every shadow hides a psycho and every dream hides a nightmare. You begin to see things you had never believed in at every turn.

Kelly stayed consumed by her thoughts until her classes ended for the day. She seemed to come to her senses just in time to respond to her teacher before her mind started up right where she had left it. Walking back through the hallways she did her best to ignore the evils she knew were teeming around her. It was probably the hardest task that she had ever attempted. But as she walked her steps began to slow at the whispering sounds of protest that one of the engineer students cried as a couple of the basketball jocks pushed him around. She was no better than any of these people...not if she kept of walking. Sure ignoring the problems would have been the easiest thing to do but then she would have been just as bad as everyone else who ignored them. She finally pulled herself to a halt and looked over to the scene that she had been trying so hard to take no notice of only moments ago.

She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. What could she say? What could she do? She closed her mouth and sadness coated her face and her lips knit themselves together. Maybe this was why no one ever did anything. Life was just easier if you didn't get involved.

She wavered as she attempted to walk away from the scene; it felt like something was holding her feet in place. Suddenly all she could think of was her mother and how things might have been different if someone had stood up for her. How thousands of situations across the world would have been different.

"Hey!"

She pulled out her cell phone as fast as she could and used the small camera on it to take a picture as soon as they all looked her way.

"Back off," she warned. "Or this picture goes right to the Dean and you'll never see the inside of this school again much less play basketball anywhere."

The jocks glared over at her and for a moment threatened to come after her but settled for shoving her to the side as they walked past her. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief that she wasn't going to get her face rearranged anytime today.

"You okay?" She went over and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder causing him to snap out of whatever daze he had fallen into.

"Yeah...I am now. Thanks." He offered her the biggest smile she'd ever seen as he pushed his abnormally large round glasses up the bridge of his nose.

She couldn't help but return the smile. "I'm glad I could help. I can't believe there are people like that out there. Why didn't any of your friends help you out?"

His chuckle shook the soft blonde locks that framed his face and he shifted his hold on his textbooks. "Well maybe if I had any here they would have. All my friends went to different schools; I haven't made any new ones here."

Kelly offered her hand to him and watched as his green eyes darted between her gesture and her face. "Well, I'd be honored if you would let me be the first. I'm Kelly Black."

His features lit up and he eagerly took her hand. "Luke Quinlin."

They walked back to the dorms together where they said goodbye and she found he lived only two floors below her. She quickly made her way to her room where she discarded her homework to the side and snatched the diary from its hiding place.

She wished that her mother was still alive so that she could call her and tell her about helping Luke today; she knew her mother would have been unbelievably proud of her. She only hoped Evelyn would have been as lucky. Though Evelyn had not died like she had feared she would there were plenty of worse things that could have happened to her.

I have been sneaking around the dorm all day. I'm not even sure that Damian has arrived yet but I don't really want to find out. It is sad that I can't even be comfortable in my own home...not that I really have been comfortable before but at least I could walk around without fear. I think I might ask Briellen if she'll stay in my room with me or if I can stay in hers. I'm too afraid to be by myself...

Evelyn's breathing was heavy and rapid as she wedged her desk chair underneath the already locked doorknob. She wasn't taking any chances; Damian had had no issues with striking her before and she doubted he'd care now. Her chest heaved with each breath below her oversized navy sweater and she slid to her knees on the floor. Before locking herself in her room she had prepared for the night; her dinner was already cooked and sitting on a plate on her desk along with three glasses of water. She had also made sure to retrieve anything she had in the kitchen or bathroom so she could pack it into one of the shelves in her room in case he would take his anger out on her things. Luckily she didn't have a lot of stuff so it fit easily in into her small bedroom. A sudden knocking at her door brought Evelyn to her feet again.

"Briellen," she called out hopefully.

"No, it's Kristina. Why is your door locked hun? Can I come in?"

Evelyn nearly vomited flames at that moment. She had forgotten; she hadn't spoken to that wretched blonde since her conversations with Briellen and the eavesdropping that ensued. Hissing angrily it also reminded her that she hadn't even called Alfred about the whole situation. She'd have to remember to do that later but right now she had to deal with the problem at her door.

"No you can't," Evelyn spat back.

"Hunny, why not? What's wrong? You sound stressed." The door knob clicked to both ways as Kristina attempted to turn it. "Let me come in."

"Never!" Evelyn found herself screaming in return unable to hold back her rage. "I'm never letting you into my life again you backstabbing bitch! Stop pretending you're such a fucking saint! You're not! You're worse than anyone else in world because you keep pretending to be something you're not! So you just stay the fuck out of my life! You've done more than enough you pathetic bitchy little coward!"

The area went silent and Evelyn fell to the group once again as she just couldn't find the energy to hold herself up anymore. It had felt amazing to get all of her feelings for Kristina out into the open even though it hadn't quite been to her face. It was some kind of closure. Evelyn only hoped that it didn't come back to bite her in the ass.

She double checked the security of her lock and chair before picking up the phone and pulling it as far as the cord would stretch so she could crawl into the closet. She hoped that if she were far enough away from the wall and door Kristina wouldn't be able to eavesdrop on her.

The old hand-me-down phone rang dulling in her ear a few times while she curled into a tighter ball.

"Hello?"

Dammit, it was Mother. "Hello Mother. Can I please speak to Alfred?"

"That's it? You don't even have the manners to ask how your own mother is?"

"I'm very sorry Mom, I do I was just in a hurry I wasn't thinking. How have you guys been?"

"Well apparently you don't really care so I will just call Alfred down." Evelyn rolled her eyes during the silence though she was still thankful that the conversation with her mother hadn't dragged on as long as she had expected it would. There was a slight crackle from the earpiece as the phone was passed from one hand to the next. "Hello? Evelyn?"

"Yeah Alfred it's me," she said her voice barely above a whisper as she glanced back towards the door for a second.

"Oh thank God! I hadn't heard from you in so long I feared the worst! Are you doing well? Are you eating enough? What's happening over there? You know I can ask my boyfriend for the car to drive out and get you."

The genuine concern in her brother's voice brought a small smile to her ghostly pale face. "No you don't need to do that but thanks Alfred. And besides you know what Mom and Dad would be like if I came home from school without finishing the year first."

"Of course, you're right. I'm just worried is all. Why haven't you called me lately? I tried calling a couple of time but you never answered!"

Evelyn vaguely remembered the phone ringing at her occasionally but recently her mind had been too consumed with its own thoughts to really comprehend things like that.

"I'm sorry Alfred. You know I wouldn't do that on purpose."

Her face fell into a sorrowful expression as she pulled her jean clad knees to her chest and stared at the floor. If she continued on with this conversation like she had intended to she would only worry Alfred. She had needed to speak to him; she was terrified and knew he was the only thing that could calm her right now. But she could no longer bring herself to tell him why they hadn't spoken in so long. She loved him too much to put him through that. It didn't matter that he wasn't her real brother. She wondered if they had been born siblings if they would have been as close as they were. She knew that if she told him about the things happening right now it would destroy him inside to be unable to help her. So she lied.

"I was just really busy with my school before so I made sure I would call you tonight." She cracked a small smile; it was very unfortunate that Alfred couldn't see it. "Guess what Alfie, I made a friend."

"Oh Evelyn really? I'm so happy for you! What's their name, what are they like?"

"It's Briellen, my other roommate. We finally spoke the each other and it turns out she's really nice. We've been spending a lot of time together. We like all the same books and a lot of the same movies. I'm very happy here now. It's getting a lot better for me Alfred."

"Her? Really? Oh that's wonderful to hear, no wonder you haven't called me at all! You two must have been busy getting to know each other."

"Yes, that's right." Her voice held steady at the sound of his happiness though large tears caressed their way down her cheeks. "Well I think Brie wants to start our movie now so I should probably go. I just really wanted to touch base with you Alfie. I miss you so much." She knew that if she didn't get off the phone soon she'd start sob and then he would be able to tell she wasn't okay. She only hoped that he never found out what she had been hiding from him while she was alive. She would never forgive herself if he ever knew.

"Awe I miss you too Lyn. Take care. Promise if I call you tomorrow night you'll answer?"

"I promise the phone won't ever leave my side," she agreed. "...I love you Alfie."

"Love you too Sis."

She hung up the phone first unable to hold back any longer. The tears flowed relentlessly down her cheeks as she sobbed into her knees in the hopes that no one would hear her. She wasn't sure how long she sat there curled into herself in fear and shame. It was dark outside when the sudden banging on her door startled her to her feet.

"What're you doin' hiding in there?"

"Leave me alone," Evelyn screamed at the door. "I didn't do anything!"

"Bullshit!" The door shook again as Damian slammed his shoulder against it from the outside. "I heard what you said to Kris! Sounds like psycho talk to me!"

"It takes one to know one," she called back before she could stop her words.

The banging stopped and she knew that her words had not gone unheeded. She ran towards the door and managed to throw herself against it just as he did in a foolish attempt to keep him at bay. But the lock shattered and the chair propped against the door crashed against her stomach. The wind flew out of her lungs as she fell to the ground.

"What did you say you little shit?"

She looked up as she coughed desperately for breath to find him looming over her enjoying his little feeling of power. His wicked black framed glasses were perched at the end of his fat nose so that he could peer down at her. She cowered away from him but his hand launched out to grab a fistful of her sweatshirt and he yanked her to her feet. Evelyn could only cringe away from him as his face pressed furiously towards hers. No words would come to her; she couldn't even manage one last defensive remark to him. He took her silence as his defiant answer and threw her body out into the hall where her spine dented the pale beige wall. She crumpled to the ground and couldn't even find the strength to cry.

If only she hadn't fought back that one time then perhaps right now his intended beating wouldn't be so fierce. He was seeking revenge for her defiance; Kristina was simply his excuse. That's right; this was all Kristina's fault. Evelyn's eyes fell to Kristina's room as she hadn't thought to shut her door before this and drank in the look on the blonde's face. There was nothing written there; no sorrow, no fear, no arrogance, no happiness. It was a blank unfeeling slate and Evelyn surmised that her heart would been looked she same.

Damian pulled her up buy the front of her shirt again until her feet dangled above the floor and her head lolled to the side so that she wouldn't have to look at him. Instead she found Leslie standing at the end of the hall in front of her door. Their eyes met and for a moment Leslie almost looked afraid before she jerked her head away from the sight.

"Not going to say anything," Damian demanded as he slammed her against the wall in a show of superiority. He scoffed. "You think you're so much better than everyone else. Well guess what you're not."

Her eyes finally began to water as the pain and anticipation finally sank in but she refused to cry just yet. Instead she looked up at him. She didn't know what would happen to her after this but she wanted to say something that they would all surely remember.

However the only words she could find stayed frozen to her tongue as she stared up at him. In that silence he struck her. His fist came across the side of her face as he let go of her and she flew to the ground. The noise around her dulled as her blood pumped loudly in her ears. She never saw his foot coming until it connected wrathfully with her stomach. Evelyn's eyes went wide and she coughed out furiously until he kicked her again and forced all her breath from her. He picked her up so that he could punch her properly before letting her drop to the ground once more. Pain seared through her body and she couldn't help but let out a scream when his foot crashed down on her wrist. Her vision began to black at the corners when she laid eyes on her now shattered wrist and saw a small bone poking through the top surrounded by gently oozing blood. She didn't fight the darkness. If she could be asleep for whatever remained of her punishment that would truly be heaven. Her senses dulled even more with another kick so she never heard Briellen's cry of fury as she opened the door. And by the time Brie's feet were anywhere near her vision her eyes had already closed.

Evelyn slowly blinked back to life and found herself standing in the all too familiar forest. She glanced down at her wrist in worry to find it was perfectly fine. Of course it would be, she thought to herself, this is only a dream. Which meant she had definitely blacked out. Only this time she feared that meant she would never wake up and that she would be stuck in this dream world forever. There was, of course, only one way to find out. She looked around until a familiar tune graced her ears and she followed it deep into the heart of the woods. She moved faster than usual and soon found herself blessed with the sight of the old run down house and the children in its yard. Only this time when they saw her they stopped spinning their rope and the one little girl in the middle ran towards Evelyn eagerly.

"We've missed you," she cried. "Why would you go away for so long?"

The child's words reminded her very much of Alfred's and before Evelyn could stop herself large tears rolled their way down her cheeks as she stared helplessly at the children.

"Is big sister hurting inside?" The child tilted her head in curiosity and her large golden curls bounced down her shoulders and against her rosy cheeks. She held out her hand and smiled. "If you come with us he can make the hurt go away."

He. This Freddy. Was this his house then? "Is this...'his' house?" The question fell from Evelyn's lips. Maybe this was just a dream but there was something memorable about that house even though she had never known a Freddy.

All three of the girls shook their heads. "This is Nancy's house. It was always his favourite house."

Evelyn gasped as she finally recognized it. Nancy had lived a couple blocks down from her; Evelyn had passed it quite a few times when her and Alfred would go for jogs. Nancy...she vaguely remembered that only a little while ago there had been a big commotion involving her. Her parents had never spoken much of it saying that the situation was too disgraceful to speak of. So why would Nancy's house be in her dream?

The little girl tugged on the sleeve of Evelyn's sweatshirt and pulled her from her mind. "You never answered me. Will you come play with us? Freddy will make your hurt go away."

Evelyn stared at the girl. She wasn't sure she wanted to wake up this time. Would she sleep forever if she finally said yes? Perhaps she had been answering wrong this entire time.

"Alright," she replied as she used the back of her sleeve to wipe away the tears. She sniffed and offered the girl a weak smile before she followed them back to where they had dropped their rope.

"You have to sing for us," the little girl ordered as she turned to face Evelyn. "My voice is tired and you're too tall. We can't swing high enough." Evelyn hesitated for a moment before the girl took her hands and smiled at her again. "I promise Freddy won't let you down. If you sing his song and help us jump he'll make all your hurt go away."

Evelyn nodded as she sat on the grass a little ways away so the girls could swing the jump rope properly. What did she have to lose? For all she knew this all meant that she was dead and perhaps if she did this she would never wake up again. Then she would never know if Alfie found out about her lies or what damage had been done. Even though she was scared about sleeping forever she also knew that waking up would mean she would have to go back to that terrible dorm and see those people who ignored her agony. And so she sang as softly as she could.

"One,Two, Freddy's coming for you.

Three, Four, Better lock your door.

Five, Six, Grab your crucifix.

Seven, Eight, Better stay awake.

Nine, Ten, Never sleep again."

The wind howled and curled around the house as it spun away from the clearing and into the trees that shivered away from it. "I won't disappoint you," the wind growled in return.