Don't Text Back

Chapter 6

The rest of the day was slow and tedious. All the girls were gone, working or at school. I really needed to busy myself in something before I perished from boredom. I went into the living room and sat down, looking around for something to do. There was nothing to do. No TV watching. No one to chat with on the phone who wasn't busy.  I got up quickly and headed outside. Immediately, and out of curiosity, I walked over to that creepy place that was a house over away from us.  

The wind picked up on speed suddenly, sending the hairs on my arms up. I shivered for a quick second while looking at the house. People were outside on their porch, but no one looked over here or walked in this direction. One girl that was heading my way looked at the house then turned around. I will admit, that sort of spooked me out, just like the place. Studying the windows, I saw the sharp glass that was broken. It stuck out, ready to cut someone. If a homeless person walked past this place, I doubted they would go in. It was just so threatening. So sinister.

Walking back towards the house, I took my cell phone out of my hand. I was bored and standing around doing nothing wasn't fun. This wasn't like home, and it wasn't going to be. This was a new life, and I had to try new things. With my cell in my hand, I made a call.

"TJ? Want to hang out?"

***

TJ met me outside of the girl's house. I figured he lived close since he walked. "What is up!" He flashed a peace sign and walked up to me.

"Hey," I said. "Nothing's up. Just bored and a little creeped out."

"Am I creepy?" He flashed a smile.

He made me so nervous. I had never done anything like this with a guy. "No," I smiled back. "That house over there bothers my mind."

"The abandoned one?"

"Yeah," I said. "Know about it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "No one told you?"

"I asked my roommate, but she doesn't like for me to mention it."

He and I walked towards it then stopped in front of the abandoned house. He buried his hands in his pockets, and I ended up doing the same because the wind was picking up again. It only seemed to blow more in this area.

"Griselda Henson," he sighed. "Died when she was only 15. They say her father was a psychopath, so she didn't have friends. The father did stuff to animals. Some say he had a huge Rottweiler dog named Rodger, took off the head and replaced it with the head of a horse. Yup. Sewed it on and gouged out the eyes. Replaced the paws with hooves. The tongue was removed and superseded by the dog's tail, sewed inside of his mouth."

I shivered. "That is definitely some deranged stuff."

He nodded. "There's more," he said. "Griselda made friends one day, and they snuck in while the father was asleep. She wasn't supposed to have friends over, and the dad caught her. Instead of helping Griselda or even calling the cops when they heard her being beat, the friends left. Griselda died, and her cell phone was recovered. All of them saying two words over and over. 'Help me. Help me,' and no texts back. She died for having friends over."

I bit the inside of my cheek. "That's why people are afraid to come to this place?"

"No," he said a little too quickly. "In the morning people have claimed to hear her cell phone ringing inside of the house. At night, people have claimed to see his dog, Rodger standing on two legs like a man. They say he's tall and towers over you.  That you HAVE to look up to see him. No eyes in Rodger's skull, just dark holes and a tail for a tongue."

"That's enough," I said.

We started walking away. "Yeah, it's just some myth. Nothing to worry about."

"I guess," I said.

He stopped me. "Hey, there's a party. A small party tonight at my cousin's house. It's probably not your thing and if you say no I understand."

"You're inviting me to a party?" I asked.

"It'll be fun," he said. TJ then slapped his hand against his forehead. "Nevermind. Forgot about the movie night with your friends."

I chuckled. "I almost forgot about that too."

"Well, we have some time on her hands. I'll show you the Brook Ben's park," he pointed up the street.

"Okay," I followed him. I couldn't shake this feeling. This feeling of being guilty of being with this guy. My parents would have had a cat and a dog if they had found out. Freedom was supposed to feel good, but why did it feel so wrong? So dangerous. I felt like I wasn't meant to be doing this and that trouble was awaiting me somewhere. Somewhere soon.

A/n: What I think Tj looks like