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We made it to his house where he had some water in a vial that he claimed was 'holy'. I asked him how it was holy and he said it had been blessed by a priest. I pretended I cared.

He grabbed a mortar and pestle with a sage leaf and I watched him ground it up. I wondered how these rituals would even work because it wasn't even logical. But I let Roxas do whatever to make him happy. He grabbed a lighter and we headed back to my house. I held the materials the entire time so that they wouldn't spill. All the while I was freaking out about leaving Roger all by himself. The trip to my house seemed longer than usual and I urged him to drive faster. He was already going five over the speed limit.

We finally made it back to my place and I rushed inside to find that all the windows had been opened. The back door which I had locked after letting Roger out this morning was also wide open. Roxas was eager to start the ritual but I was eager to call the police. I grabbed Roxas and dragged him outside. Roger was also outside and was busy playing with some falling leaves.

I called the police on my cell phone and they arrived within minutes. They searched my house for at least an hour; looking through all the possible places that someone could hide in. There were four officers in total and three were inside searching while the other asked me questions. I had told him that I was at Roxas' house for a few seconds and then when we came back everything was opened.

They even called other officers who came and dusted for fingerprints on every door handle and window. They said I should have the results back in a few days. I called my mother again, knowing that she'd be upset but this time the officer spoke to her. After he hung up with my mum, he assured me that she was now taking this seriously and told me to stay at a friend's house until she could get home.

One of the officers said that they'll do a drive by every hour and call my mother whenever something strange happens to notify her that they'd be taking care of things. Roxas reluctantly took me and Roger to his house. As we were driving, I told him to pull over. He obeyed and asked if I was okay.

"I need to go back."

He gave me a puzzling stare.

"Xion, we can't do that. I don't want your mom upset." He arched his eyebrows in a way that showed concern. I knew what I should do but that was different from what I wanted to do. I needed to go back and see for myself where that bitch could be hiding. I bet there's cameras placed around the entire house.

"If we go back we could do that cleansing ritual."

He bit his lip, thinking about it. I smiled and he sighed, turning the car around and heading back to my place.

He parked down the street and we walked the rest of the way with the vial of holy water and the mortar of sage. I left Roger in the car because we'd only be a few minutes. I unlocked the front door and stepped inside. Everything looked the same but it didn't feel the same. The house had a creepy vibe to it. Roxas could feel it too; he was more timid than usual.

He grabbed his lighter and lit the sage, letting the smoke leave trails throughout all the rooms downstairs. I followed him as he mumbled things that involved some gods and spirits. He sprinkled holy water in the corners of all the rooms downstairs.

We both looked at each other nervously as we stood in front of the staircase. I let him lead and we continued the ritual upstairs. We were both relieved to find nobody in sight. Once the sage had finished burning, he used the rest of the water in the vial and sprinkled it around upstairs in various places.

He smiled and I did too. Maybe if I believed in this shit I'd feel better or something. But I just couldn't.

We made it back to his red punch buggy and off we went to his house. He assured me that whatever evil spirits that were intruding in my home were gone but I had this large amount of doubt. There was somebody in my house. An actual human being; not some demon or spirit.

We crashed onto his couch as his grandfather clock chimed 2:00. He suggested calling Axel and getting him to make things seem normal but I wasn't feeling it. He turned on the TV and Roger lay down under the coffee table.

My phone vibrated. It was my mother.

"Hello?" I answered. She sounded pissed.

"Why are you calling me from the house phone? I'm trying to concentrate at work. I know you're scared and-"

I was confused and Roxas stared at me.

"Mom, I'm at Roxas'. I never even picked up the house phone once."

She went silent and Roxas and I exchanged glances. Someone was using our phone. That means that had to have been there while we were doing the ritual. They were probably laughing their ass off when they saw us wandering through the house with sage and holy water. I felt like a complete idiot.

"I want you to stay the night at his house. Don't you come back to our house tonight, understand? I need you to stay safe." I nodded and said that I would. "I'm trying my best to leave as soon as possible but my boss is being a bitch because I left so early yesterday. I love you, bye." I ended the call and slowly sank down into the couch.

"What?" Roxas questioned.

"They're calling my mom from the house phone." His face became pale and I felt like admitting myself into a mental hospital. None of this made sense. I dialed the police station and told them to send a cop down to check on our house. They said they would in a few minutes and they would call back to let me know if they found anything.

Surely the cops would be able to catch him.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm sleeping over." Roxas grinned excitedly.

"That means we can eat ice cream and play video games all night!" He exclaimed, leaning forward on the couch. He ran up to his room and I rolled my eyes.

It was then that I wished I was Roxas; he didn't have to deal with this intruder bullshit. He felt safe in his own home and didn't worry about somebody watching him all the time. I missed that feeling.

I let out a sigh and covered myself with a blanket that was draped over the back of the couch. No matter how much I huddled under this blanket, I still didn't feel safe. Roger whimpered and came over and rested his chin on my knee. I scratched behind his ears and Roxas came running back into the living room with his arms full of games.

"I got tons of video games!" He said as he dumped the pile onto the floor. I heard a vibrating noise and thought it was my phone. Roxas reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone and smiled.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Naminé."

I have never once felt so many emotions at once.

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