Finally her long day was over. Between school, work, cheerleading practice and that jock she loosely called her boyfriend, she barely had any time to herself anymore. Deciding to forgo the cold leftovers of pot roast and carrots, she grabbed a bottle of water and a few Oreos and quickly headed up the stairs of their 2 story ranch home. Her mother was probably out partying, again, with God knows who tonight. Ah, well, not like she was going to listen to her 18 year old daughter anyway. After her dad ran out on them she didn't listen to anyone.
"Ugh, Algebra" she groaned aloud as she entered her room and turned on the lights. Grabbing her book bag, she curled up on the bed and pulled out her Algebra book. She leaned back against the pillows and attempted to study but the harder she tried the more the numbers began to swirl, more than likely a sign that she needed more sleep than the 3 or 4 hours she'd been getting lately. It wasn't like she didn't try to sleep…it was these dreams she kept having. The same guy, same dream, every night. He was in a tattered striped sweater…blades on his fingers…dirty brown fedora…piercing blue eyes. He stalked her through every one of her dreams. If she was at the beach with her friends, he was there. That date she had with Brad Pitt last week, he was a few rows back in the movie theater. Those eyes watched her…his gaze was feral, like an animal stalking its prey. She always woke up before she was able to talk to him, though, before she was able to find out what he wanted. With a frustrated sigh she shook her head and put the book down.
Hopefully a shower would wake her up long enough to study for that stupid Algebra test she had first period the next day before she attempted to go back to sleep. With that, she climbed off her bed and quickly undressed, tossing her clothes in the black hamper by the door. Then she made her way to her expansive bathroom where she started a hot shower, watching the steam cloud the mirror. She stepped in, pulled the glass door closed, and instantly the hot water began to loosen the tension in her muscles from practice and her job as a waitress at the local Hooters . The further she relaxed the harder it was for her to keep her eyes open...