Chapter 10
I shifted around as the blaring sound of the alarm rang out in the room. I moaned as I reached my arm over to the desk to click the alarm off my phone. I moaned again and sat up on the futon mattress. Placing my hand on my head as it was pounding a bit. My eyes slowly opened and the surroundings became clear soon enough. I was once again in the guest room of my sisters' house on the futon in bed formation. Now I was sure it was all a dream at this point. I plopped back down on the mattress, my eyes staring at the ceiling as my head was cushioned by the pillow. I closed my lids for a moment, trying to recall all that happened in my dream. Brief glimpses and small summaries came to mind but the whole picture was faded. "What is wrong with me?" I asked myself outloud as half lidded eyes were staring at the ceiling specks. What exactly were these dreams that I was having? There's no way that this can be a coincidence, me having the same dream in two nights in a row and a continuation at that. These dreams have to mean something. But what though, I wasn't aware at the time.
Grabbing my phone, I checked to see the time. It was almost eight in the morning, meaning that Kris and Kay were probably going to get up soon. Tossing the duvet off my being and placing my feet on the cold wooden floor, I got out of bed and made my way out of my room and down the hallway to head to the kitchen. My stomach demanded food and it would not be denied its' request. I gathered a bowl, milk, spoon and a box of Cocoa Puffs. I wasn't too sure how much my stomach can handle at this point but I'd rather get some food in me now than have to suffer the consequences later. Once I used the ingredients to make the cereal, I took my bowl and sat down at the small table to eat. The silence in the room was unpleasant but bliss. Between the dreams I've been having and the work I've been putting into the benefit party for the non-profit, it was nice to take a moment and relax my mind. I ate a few spoonfuls of my cereal, trying to enjoy the moment I was in. But my mind kept wandering back to those dreams. While I didn't want to deal with those strange visions anymore, part of me questioned if maybe I should start taking this seriously and just go along with it. It might be the only way to know what these dreams mean and if I can interpret the origin, then maybe I can cut it at its' roots and end this madness in my mind. Honestly, I wasn't sure what I was going to do, it was far too early in the morning for me to come to a logical deduction.
When my ears picked up footsteps, I turned my head to see Kay in her pajamas coming into the kitchen with Oliver by her feet. "Hey kiddo, up already?" though she sounded tired, her voice had that sisterly love to it.
Swallowing what was left in my mouth, I replied. "I figured I would get up early so we can get ready to go get the dresses. The party is tomorrow night and we still have a lot to do. So I figured Kris would want us to get up early to get everything done."
Kay shrugged. "She's the only one out of all of us that isn't up yet. She went to bed pretty late last night so I'm gonna let her get some rest before we head off." She made her way over to the table and took a seat across from me. "Besides," she continued, "we're only just going to be looking at dresses and shopping for tomorrow. Everything else, aside from the check up at the place tomorrow, is done."
"But it's Kris, meaning that an hour of shopping will take another five." The two of us laughed at my joke, knowing how well that was true. Me and Kay weren't really ones on shopping, unless it was food related. My mom and sister usually loved to go shopping for clothes and furniture. Personal, I don't understand how anyone can find shopping for clothes fun. It just seemed like a hassle to be walking around all those asiles, checking out which styles were in, which ones you like. Then you had to try on the clothes to make sure they fit and save yourself the embarrassing trip of returning them. But they always end up looking better on the racks or mannequins than on you. I never really liked shopping, even when I was a kid. I didn't want to be all dressed up, unless for an event. I'd prefer to have an outfit that is more comfortable to wear than flashy or fashiony. Maybe that was another thing that separates me from the rest of the girls my age. But Kay didn't seem to mind, she was on my side for that argument.
"Are we going to some fancy store like David's Bridals?"
"Have you seen the prices of those dresses!?" Kay joked. "We'll probably go to the mall around here. More store options."
"Meaning more running around." I pointed out.
"Hey, I'd rather do all my shopping in one place than have to travel around the whole city just to find a store with my color."
"I think I would rather worry about my size than the color."
"You act like you think you're fat."
"I am fat."
"You're a bit overweight than most girls, that's not bad. Everyone has a different body type, and you weigh five pounds less since I last saw you. At least you're trying to lose some weight, do you know what I have to do to trick Kris into going to the gym?"
"Well it would help if you had a small gym in your room." I remarked.
"Do you have a problem with movie theaters?" It wasn't a threat, more like a sarcastic remark.
"That is not what I said." I raised my hands up in defense. Once again, we joined in a unison of laughter. It died down quickly though as Kay became more serious.
"So… once the benefit is done and over with, are you still going to stay here?"
I raised my brow while shoving another spoonful of my cereal in my mouth as she asked that question. After swallowing what was in my mouth, I just stared at her confused. "Well, spring break just started. And I do want to spend more time with you two. But I also want to work more on my projects before I get back to the campus. Especially that animation project that's going to be due right when I get back. But I'm sure I can finish that here. So long as there isn't that much we have to do once the party is over."
Kay nodded, a bit solmely. "You know, you're more than welcome to come stay here with us."
Ah, so that's what the question was about. I placed my spoon back in the bowl and looked at her. Not sternly or disappointed, just with a blank expression. "You promised that you would let me try to live my own life."
"And we did!" Kay jumped to her defense. "I think you're doing well on your own, taking care of yourself and Oliver. But… we're worried you might be overworking yourself is all."
"And you don't think that's normal? Between my classes, my career path and the jobs you two give me for the nonprofit, not to mention taking care of Oliver. Of course I'd be swamped, but it's not like I complain about it. If it was that difficult, then I would ask for help. Have I ever asked anything from you two since mom and dad left? All I asked was I needed my own space and to be in the place I was raised."
"Kate…"
"I know Kris is worried about me. And I know you know I can handle myself, so why are you taking her side when you know there's no need to worry?"
"I'm not on her side! If anything, I disagree with her. But you know how she gets, over worrying. She takes up more traits from your mother than you do. I've been telling her not to worry, but she's been wanting to call David about the matter. We both know he'll say that you should live your life how you want."
"And you think she'll listen?"
Kay sighed as she rubbed her temple. "Look, the more you fight this the more you're going to make this worse. Nothing is set in stone, but I don't plan to keep you here against your will." I wanted to say more, but shut my mouth. She had a point, the last thing I wanted was to make this a bigger deal than it needed to be. The more I feed into this argument before it even got started, it would make me seem like I actually needed this! I didn't want to stay here with my sisters, not because I don't love them, but because I had to start learning how to live a life of my own. My sisters weren't always going to be there for me when I needed them most, so I had to start learning to fend for myself. Besides, with these dreams I've been having here alone, I didn't want to stay here too much longer.
?
It wasn't long until the three of us were driving off to go to the mall. Once I had finished breakfast, I rinsed out my dishes and got ready for the day. Kris soon got up once I headed back to my room to put on some clothes. I didn't want to talk with her that morning, it was too early and a lot was already on my mind. Mostly about the living situation she was trying to set up. I just walked into my room and shut the door, taking out my bag and dug in to take out an outfit. I slipped on a blue shirt with a kitty cat barfing out rainbows and place on some leggings that looked like skinny jeans. Since we would be clothes shopping today, I wanted to wear something both comfortable and something to get out of easily. I straightened out my clothes and smiled at my outfit. Sure, maybe my shirts were more nerdy than stylish, but they were warm and soft so I didn't care. I reached back into the bag to feel for some socks. My hand rummaged through the soft fabric of clothes until it hit something with a cold and hard surface. I blinked and grabbed ahold of the item, pulling it out and opening my palm to reveal what it was. My eyes went wide immediately as the silver banded ring was nestled in my palm. The red stone was gleaming though there was no light for it to reflect off of. I was immediately reminded of the man I had saved in the woods a few days ago. It had seemed like more than that at the time, because of how easily I had forgotten about him. Regret filled me as I looked back at the ring. I wondered if he was looking for it now. Was he even aware that it was gone? Would he care? It seemed like an expensive ring so that must have meant it held some value if not for money, then perhaps for a memento of a person or event.
All I knew was, I didn't want to leave it in my room by itself anymore. I knew it was stupid at the time, and it only made my situation far worse. But when we were all ready and hopped into the car to go to the mall, the ring was on my right index finger. It was a very large ring, so it didn't exactly fit. But it made it easier for me to twirl it around and contemplate about it. I still had no idea what this stone was that the ring had or why I had taken it. Why did I get this strange feeling whenever I looked at it? I leaned back in the seat and sighed, placing the ring and my hands in my lap. I stared out the window as the scenery went by. I wouldn't be able to figure it out at this rate and worrying about it wouldn't get me any further. I don't know why I was making such a big deal about this. Clearly the man wasn't too upset about the ring, if he was he would have gone through my house to find it himself and that didn't happen. I was overthinking this whole situation. I figured I had been stressed out due to working on my own animation project and the work of the party that it's causing me to lose focus. I made a mental promise to myself that that day I would only focus on shopping, even if that meant it might be boring.
The three of us pulled into the parking lot of the mall and walked inside to take a look around the stores that could be where we would find our dresses. We passed by a few stores, but didn't find any at first where what we were looking for our needs. The first store we went to was a JCPenney's. Not really a fancy store, but we didn't need a dress fit for a ball. And we weren't too picky with the design and the color, especially considering our body types.
"I wish we could have gone to Davids Bridals," Kris wined while pushing dresses from one side of the rack to the other. "Then we could get better dresses."
"Kris, if we had the money for that kind of store, we could live in Florida." Kay glanced at her.
"Besides, finding dresses in our size is a treasure hunt at that store." I added.
"Exactly." Kay agreed. Kris rolled her eyes as she went back to dress hunting. Also like my mom, my sister had expensive taste. Another reason why I didn't value shopping for fun. Sure, once in a while I'll buy something that does interest me like a game or some programs for my computer. But I'll also just want what I need like food or clothes that I want to eat and clothes I feel comfortable in. That was me though, I knew not everyone felt that way. We looked around the place for about a half an hour, looking for at least one dress for one of us. To our luck, Kay was able to find a dress in her size. It wasn't too fancy, but it was a pretty cute dress. A blue A-Line dress with cap sleeves, princess seams and sheer lace inserted around the hem of the dress.
"Is looks really pretty." I commented as Kay held up the dress towards her body, trying to imagine herself in it.
"It doesn't seem too dressy though." Kris noted as she looked at the dress.
"I'd rather buy a dress I know I can wear again, than have to buy one for one event and never put it on afterwards." Kay argued. "Besides, I like the style. I'm gonna go try it on and see if it fits. You wanna come to the changing room with me Kate?"
I nodded, following my sister-in-law to the dressing rooms on the far side of the store, leaving Kris to keep finding a dress for herself. The dress room had a bunch of small cubicles that had a black curtain drawn to give the people some privacy. Not only were there mirrors in the cubicle, there was also a large mirror wall at the end of the room. We found a spot close to the mirror wall, I sat down at one of the chairs and watched Kay entered the small room. "I'll try out this dress real quick. Fingers cross to see if it fits." She stepped in and closed the curtain behind her. I patiently waited in the semi-comfortable chair for her to return. I took this time to look back at the ring on my finger. The stone itself was strange, at times it appears dull like a normal rock that was just painted red. But as I looked at it so closely, there could be a small glow in the center. I wasn't too sure if it was just my eyes playing tricks on me or if maybe I was looking so closely into it, that I was seeing something that was obscured by the physical material. I shook my head slightly, thinking how deeply I was thinking over something that didn't matter.
'Why am I pondering over a simple ring?' I asked myself, though it was a question that held more of a deep meaning. I wanted to know what kind of stone this ring had. I've never seen such a strange rock, and learning about new things was always exciting to me. Then again, it mostly depended on what I was learning.
"Do you understand me?" I peeked my head up at the sound of that deep voice. I looked around but saw no one nearby.
'Did… someone say something?' I asked myself, but since there was no one in the waiting room with me, I began to doubt it. I knew it wasn't Kays' voice, because it sounded too deep. 'Maybe I was just imagining it.' I shrugged it off and leaned back in the chair. Soon enough, Kay opened up the curtains and before me was she wearing her dress. She twirled around as she walked up to me, like a runway model trying to sell a brand. I clapped as I saw the dress that not only fitted her well, but it looked really good on her. "It looks beautiful!" I complimented as a wide smile spread across my face.
"I'm not too into the color, but the style itself will suffice." Kay nodded to her dressy figure. Raising her head back up at me, she added. "I think this is the lucky winner!"
"Well, one outfit down!" I gave a thumbs up. "Progress is being made."
Kay turned around and headed back into the dressing room to get changed back into her regular clothes. I again waited for her to come back out, hoping it wouldn't take too long. Now that she had found her dress, it was just me and my other sister that needed to find our outfits. I just hope we wouldn't have to literally run around the whole mall just to find what we're looking for. Then again, I didn't want to spend the rest of the day back at home either. Other than to work on my animation project, I didn't want to stay at the house where the presences of those strange dreams still roamed in the air. It was so strange, I only knew a little about dreams and their meanings, but I had always thought that when one wakes up from such a deep sleep dream, they forget what their mind came up with that night. And if they can remember, it's usually vague or little details. Too be honest, I didn't really want to remember those dreams. They were horrible on more than one level. Eventually, Kay came back out in her comfortable clothes, causing me to look up due to the sound of the moving curtains. The dress was in her arm and she walked out of the cubicle. "Sorry that took so long, it seems it's easier for me to get into this dress than it is for me to get out of it."
"That always happens to me with fancy outfits." I assured her. "Don't worry, the more you wear it the more stretched out it will be."
"Well, I'm done with my shopping. We better go find your sister and see how her search is going."
I nodded in response. But before I could get up out of my chair, Kris came running into the dressing room with a huge grin on her face. "Guess who just found her perfect outfit?!" Her voice was high pitched, meaning that she was very pleased at the moment.
"The one who sounds like a chipmunk?" Kay cracked a laugh at her joke.
"I went through the clearance aisle, and they had this cute two piece outfit both in my size!" She held up her outfit for us to see. In one hand, she had a gorgeous and sassy 1940s style blouse in the color of a warm ivory. It had long ties around the neck, and my immediate thought was that this blouse was known as a"Pussy Bow" blouse, because the tie around the neck could be made into an ascot. I never really knew why they named the bow after that, but I never wore one so it didn't matter to me. Though the brand was probably overdue for a rename. In the other hand, it was a dark blue Grace Karin women's 50's Vintage petticoat crinoline tutu underskirt. I could tell by the ruffles alone. I realized that I was spending way to much time with Kris if I knew the brands of each outfit I saw. "Not really a dress, but I figured it would look professional with the blouse and a bit party like with the skirt."
"Only you can make professionalism and partying go together so well." Kay smiled, though not in a mocking tone, rather a very humorous one.
"Can you help me with the bow? I always suck at tying these fabrics."
"Alright, step right into cubicle number one." Kay gestured the booth and Kris went in. Kay followed behind her and closed the curtain. I sat back down in my chair and sighed. Looks like we were having some good luck today with finding out dresses. At this rate, we would be back home before noon. Though that was something I was dreading, being reminded once again of heading back there, falling asleep and going back to those dreams again. I shuddered just thinking about it. Maybe I should stay up a bit late tonight. I leaned back against the chair and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. It was hard to believe that spring break had barely started, and yet so much had happened. I try not to think about every detail too much, to block out certain moments. Some I haven't even told my sisters about, but it wasn't like telling them about it now would help the situation.
"...back…" I jumped at the sudden voice I heard earlier as it came back.
"Huh?" I looked around, but once again saw no one else that could have uttered those words. 'Oh god, not again. Why am I hearing this voice?'
"Give… it… back…"
I turned my head to stare at the mirror wall. I blinked and stared at it for a moment. Getting up from where I was, I headed over to the reflection and titled my head, pondering what drew me so close to this mirror.
"Give it back." The voice rang out, clearer and more louder this time as I was close to the reflective glass. I subconsciously raised my hand, placing the palm to the cool surface and looked at my reflection. For a moment, all I saw was a confused, young girl who thought she was going crazy. Until she was caught off guard by blood stained words that appeared in the mirror. I fell on my butt and looked back at the mirror, the red words had spelt out THIEF. I gasped as the letters formed the word right on the reflective surface. I forced myself back up and and took a few steps from the mirror wall, not taking my eyes off of it and the word.
"What… the… hell?" I stammered as I looked at the blood stained words sprawled out across the wall. Oh god, what is going on?!
"Kate?" I whipped around, seeing Kay peeking out of the curtain of the cubicle. "Are you okay? We heard something out here." I turned back to the mirror and to my surprise, and relief, the crimson letters were gone. I turned back to Kay and breathed a sigh.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just fell off my chair… must have been slippery." I tried to laugh it off, but by the raspiness of my voice, Kay could tell that something was amiss. To my luck, she shrugged it off and opened the curtain to reveal Kris in her outfit she picked out. The ties around the neck really helped make the blouse pop out. I wasn't too sure if the skirt fit well with the upper half, but it did match with the color scheme of the nonprofit.
"How does it look?" Kris asked, stepping out of the small cubicle.
"I can't tell if you're trying out for a teacher role or trying to go to a party." I admitted. She went over to the mirror wall and looked at every angle on her body.
"Will you stop judging yourself so much, you look fine." Kay assured her as she walked up from behind and placed her hands on either of her shoulder.
"I just want to make sure I make a good impression tomorrow. It'll be a big night for everyone and I'm in charge of it all."
"I think people are going to be more worried about how the event will go rather than what you're wearing." Kay pointed out, giving Kris a kiss on the cheek. Kris turned to her lover and smiled gently. I watched them making googly eyes at each other. I felt a bit uncomfortable how they would show their affection towards each other in public, like how my mom and dad did when I went shopping with them. But it made me see how happy they were when they were together. It made me wish that I had someone I could share moments like that with. Though who would want some dorky, puffy girl like myself as their girlfriend? Though I'm still pretty young, I doubted I would get anyone to love me that way soon.
I looked at my two sisters closely and my eyes soon caught their reflection in the mirror. But I was distracted by a strange figure that looked like he was standing right behind us. A man in a dark suit with very pale skin and black hair stood there. His hands behind his back as his bangs covered his eyes. I whipped my head quickly to see who he was but as soon as I turned myself away from the mirror and my sisters, he was gone. He wasn't behind me at all, and when I looked back in the mirror he was no longer there either. I thought I was over-imagining things due to the dreams I've been having these past few nights. But I wasn't too sure anymore.
Kris decided to buy the outfit for the fundraiser tomorrow and Kay was able to get her dress. All that was left was for us to find my outfit for tomorrow and we would call it a day. We headed out of JCPenney's since there wasn't any dresses or outfits that interested me there or fit me. We ended up walking around the mall for a while, getting sidetracked as we went on searching for another store where I could find a dress. We stopped by the food court and had lunch there, talking about the outfits we bought and Kris wondering if we should buy some jewelry and hair pins to go with our outfits for tomorrow. Kay tried to argue with her that buying those things were pointless because we didn't want to spend more money than we needed to, especially when we had lots of jewels and pins back at home. But Kris was determined to make sure we looked our best for the event. In the end, once we were done eating, we headed over to some jewelry stores and Kris spend about an hour trying to find the right gems to match her outfit as well as Kay's outfit. For Kay, she got sapphire earrings and a golden thin bracelet. Kris herself bought a pearl necklace and a large golden band of silver for each arm. Both Kay and I agreed that she was going overboard with this shopping experience. But we were powerless to stop her.
At least with that out of the way, we were back on track to finding my dress for tomorrow. As we walked through the mall, we passed by a Victoria's Secret. I looked inside and bit my lip, watching those models on the poster posing in their undergarments while many young women that could have been their twins paraded around the store, checking out the products they were advertising. I shoved my hands in my pocket and turned away from the store. Just seeing those women and being reminded of their commercials made me hate my body. Usually I don't let those kinds of things and people get to me, but lately it feels like those ads have been shoved down my throat more than I normally see. Maybe I should consider bumping up my workout time to an hour and a half every two days.
"Something troubling you?" I looked up and just noticed that Kay was walking right alongside me. I frowned and looked down at the ground. She must have seen the store I was looking at because I glanced up to see her looking straight ahead of me and smiled. Her hand reached out towards my hair and it ruffled my locks. I stared back up at her and she gave me a goofy grin. "You and me both, but there isn't much we can do kiddo. Everyone had their own body types, and we got stuck with the worst kinds. But those that only love you for your body is as shallow as a kiddie pool." That made me laugh, and we kept walking. One of the reasons I liked Kay was that no matter how down I was, she always somehow found a way to cheer me up. Mostly through her drawings and images she would make of me having a joyful time in an eccentric setting. She was the reason I wanted to get into drawing and animation in the first place. I knew my skills couldn't live up to hers, but knowing she supported my career choice and help give me tips made me want to try my hardest.
We went to a few more stores, but none of them had what I was looking for. After two hours of endless searching, we had finally found something. We went to The GAP and checked around at the clearance bins and asiles. It was Kris, shocker, who picked out a royal blue Seraphina polka dot prom dress from one of the racks. It looked like a 1950's dress with a polka dot fabric overlay. She handed it to me and I got a better examination of it. It had a fitted and lined bodice with a sweetheart neckline, a sash waistband with bow details, a flared skirt with pleats, the sleeve lengths were ¾ long and there were concealed zippers on the side. Meaning easier access for me to fit into this dress.
"So, what do you think?" Kris asked me, shining eyes waiting for a response. "I know it's a bit outdated, but I think it will look cute on you."
"I think it looks cute." Kay agreed. I looked back at the two, they clearly wanted me to chose this one. Not like they were giving me much of a choice anyways. I gave them a small smile and nodded.
"I'll go try this on in the dressing room. If it fits, we'll take it."
"Do you want us to come with you?" Kris asked.
I gave her an immediate answer. "No, I'll be fine. It won't take me that long to get dressed." I quickly dashed away before she could have said something else. I didn't look back, I just went straight to the corner of the store where the changing station was. I didn't want her to be with me at the moment for more than one reason. I just wanted to get out of this mall and go back to the house. That seemed to be the only place I felt safe at the time. As I walked into the fitting room, I looked around cautiously. Aside from myself, there was no one else here. I didn't see any strange figures dressed in black either. I was relieved to know that it was just me at the moment. All I had to do was go in, try on the dress and get out. It was as simple as that. I walked over to a random cubicle and closed the curtains of the booth, giving me some privacy. There was a large mirror hanging up on the wall of this small space, but I dare not look into it for fear I would see something else. Quickly, I undressed my own clothes and tossed them to a corner of the small space. Until I was only in my bra and underwear, I reached for the dress and began to put it on my skin. It felt comfortable as I slipped my arms through the sleeves, the fabric was loose but silky. Zipping up the dress on the side, I smoothed out the ruffles and turned to look into the mirror to take in my new dress. I had to admit, despite it being outdated, it looked fairly well on me. Even made me look skinny. Though the polka dots may not have been my first choice for a pattern design, the color and the style seemed to suit me. I was pleased to have finally found a dress that not only fit me, but also made me look presentable. I was sure that would be the dress I would wear for the event.
I made an effort to unzip the zippers on the dress, so I could take it off and head back to my sisters. As I reached for the metal piece, a soft whisper rang in my ear. "...Don't blink…" I paused and let go of what I was doing. 'Huh?' I scratched my head, was I hearing things again? "Don't… move…" I jumped upon hearing that voice again.
"W-who's there?!" I sounded scared and though I tried to be brave, it was clear I failed. With a shaky hand, I reached for the curtain and pulled it back. Peeking my head out and looking in the dressing area, I saw no one. I slowly pulled the curtains back and stepped back into the small space. "Okay Cosmo, calm down… it's just your imagination." I tried to assure myself. But it failed as the voice kept talking.
"The New Ending… So Many Jumpscares… Relax…" I began to panic as the voice didn't ceased. I covered my ears, trying to block out the voice as best as possible.
"I-It's just in your head… you're hearing things!" I was getting louder the more I tried, but failed to calm myself. "S-stop it! Stop doing this!" I attempted to fight it back. Thinking that if I showed it I was standing my ground, then perhaps it would see I wasn't a victim and would wander off. Whether it was my sanity breaking or someone playing a trick on me, I had to do something to get them off my back. I huddled in a corner of the cubicle, sinking down to my rear end and pressed my hands to my ears as hard as I could. Doing my best to block out the sounds, I waited for what seemed like minutes. I opened one eye and looked around, slowly, and moved my hands away from my head. I no longer heard that echoey voice anymore. I picked myself back up and sighed. I knew it had to have been my mind playing tricks on me. Or at the very least, whoever it was that was pranking me had saw I was no longer interested in their schemes. For a brief moment, I was filled with bliss at the sudden silence that surrounded me. I gently took off my dress and put on my regular clothes. For a moment, I thought it was all over. "Maybe I should take some medicine when I get back to the house." I told myself. I picked up the dress and reached for the curtain. When I opened it to head out, I yelped and fell back on my butt. Before my eyes, there was a floating box that had slanted eyes and jagged teeth. It was very small, but the way it appeared right behind the curtain freaked me out. "W-What?!"
The voice came back, louder this time. "Error #53… Raspy Hill... Jumpscares and Blood… Monsters in the Deep… Do you have Scopophobia… The Live Stream has ENDED!" I backed up further into the small cubicle. Covering my ears with my hands, closing my eyes, doing anything to stop this living nightmare I was facing. My breathing became shallow, my heart pounding in my chest, ready to burst. I wanted it to end! Why wouldn't it end?! My back pressed against the cool surface of the mirror. I turned around, opening my eyes to look at my reflection on the wall. Perhaps I wanted to look at my face, to see if I had any signs of insanity. Or maybe it was to see that it was all in my head. I didn't know why I turned towards the mirror, but I had hoped to find some comfort in the reflective image. I was wrong. Around me, everything was pitch black yet I could still see my hands in front of me. I stared into the mirror, waiting for what it would show. At first, my reflection, a young girl that was scared, confused, and alone. The wind in my lungs were nearly knocked out as letters started to from on the surface. Once again covered in the crimson that resemble blood. B. L. A. M. E.
I fell on my rear once again. my eyes glued to the word the mirror spelt out. What did it mean? What was the meaning of any of this?! "All he needs is the darkness!" The voice screamed out. I shook my head slowly in response. I didn't want this anymore. I wanted to get out. But the voice yelled at me one last time. "All he needs is me!" It was a fight or flight response, and my instincts told me to flee. So I did. I stood up, turned from the blood-stained mirror and dashed out. I opened my eyes as I was once again in the changing room station. I looked around me frantically, trying to calm down as my surroundings were familiar to me. I was back in The GAP. I was back in the real world. I looked at my right arm for a moment, wanting to make sure. I pitched the skin on my forearm, it hurt but it proved I wasn't dreaming. I waited and listened to see if that damned voice would speak again. Yet not a peep could be heard. The silence was welcoming to me. But the damage had already been done. My hands went immediately towards my eyes, wet streaks had been formed on my cheeks. When had I begun to cry, I didn't know. All I knew was that I didn't want to be here anymore. Quickly reaching into the station I was in, I grabbed my dress and walked away from the cubicles. My only goal was to get as far away from that place as possible.
?
It was nearly seven in the evening when we had returned home. When I had found my sisters checking out some more accessories for their outfits, I had told them the dress fit me and I liked it. They wanted me to go back so they could see me wear it, but I told them I didn't want to. I didn't want to go back to that terrible place. But I couldn't tell them the real reason why. I told them that I wasn't feeling well and wanted to go back home. Kris seemed a bit skeptical, but Kay stated that she noticed how pale I was looking. That was all it took to convince my sister to drive us home. Just walking through the door made me feel better. We had unpacked everything we bought and I had promised them that I would let them see me in the dress when we got back. I changed outfits, and they were pleased with the style.
For the next few hours, I helped out with making dinner and we ended up watching a movie. I wanted to do anything to get the events of today out of my mind. I tried not to think about them, but the more I pushed them aside, the stronger they would resurface. I did my best to put on a facade in front of my two sisters. The last thing I wanted was for them to worry about me and my hallucinations. With this event tomorrow, I would only be a hinder to them. Besides, I didn't want them to get involved in something not even I knew about. Once the movie was done, I told them I would retire early so I could be well rested for tomorrow. Kris agreed that that was a good idea, since tomorrow we'll have to go make sure the room for the party is ready and we would get ourselves all dolled up. I headed upstairs, Oliver by my feet. I walked into the kitchen and looked through the cabinet. Taking a few sleeping pills for myself and a bottle of water, hoping that alone would help me get some decent sleep and maybe protect me from those strange dreams. At least nothing bad happened when I was home. No voices, no vision's, just a normal, dull house.
I went to my room, changing into some nightwear and getting the bed ready. I glanced over at my work desk, where my animation project was. I didn't feel like doing any work on it. I was lacking motivation and I just wanted some sleep for a change. As I was getting into my pajamas, I looked at my hand and noticed the ring. I took it off, and shoved it back in my bag. I didn't know why I was getting upset over it. It was a piece of jewelry, what did it do to make me so mad at it? If only I had known back then. I set my alarm on my phone, making sure I would wake up early tomorrow since we would most likely head over there early to get everything set up. As I placed my phone on the table next to the bed, my eyes caught my journal resting there with my pen. I knew that writing it down wouldn't exactly solve my problem, but I had to vent to something!
April 20th, 2018:
I think I'm going mental, more than usual. All day today I've been hearing voices and seeing hallucinations. I'm worried I might be becoming schizophrenic, as if autism wasn't bad enough. I know it's not real, but part of me is still suspecting that something strange is going on. I don't know what, and I wish I did. I know keeping this a secret from my sisters will only make things worse but I don't want them to worry. They have enough on their hands with the fundraiser tomorrow and I don't want to give them a reason for me to have to stay here with them. I've been doing fine on my own for a long while now, and I will not let it stop because of my overactive imagination. At least, I hope that's the cause of what is going on. I'm going to take some pills to help me sleep better, hopefully that might calm my dreams for a night so I can get some decent sleep. Now that I think about it, I'm beginning to wonder if my strange dreams might be connected with the strange visions and voices I've been hearing as of late. If that is true, then I wish I knew what these dreams were telling me. Maybe they could be the answer to stopping whatever is going on in my head. Now I regret not paying attention to the dream unit we had in Psychology. Either way, tomorrow I need to be on my best game for the fundraiser. If I can at least go the whole night without being interrupted by the strangeness, I won't ask for anything else.
I set my journal aside on the bed stand after finishing. I reached over and took the pills, swallowing them down with some water. They tasted nasty, but with any luck they would do the trick. I set the half empty bottle down and went to turn out the lights. Then I laid back down on my bed as Oliver cuddled into me. I looked up at the ceiling, emptying my mind. Soon enough, sleep overcame me.