Riley's Box

Part 22

After the flash, there was nothing else to see, so I promptly went to bed with a very apparent question on my mind: what the hell had just happened? 

I was going to have to attempt to answer that question the following day, because I knew that I needed to get some shut-eye before it was time to head out of the house to school again. 

"Riley Ruby!" a voice called from outside of my room, one that I could tell was my mother's. "We need to go grocery shopping! Are you coming?" she asked me. 

I groaned into my pillow and then rolled out of bed.

Rapidly getting changed into a more presentable outfit of a white long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans, I made my way out of my room to meet my mother in the hallway. 

"Hey Riles," my dad said, rubbing at his eyes. 

Something told me that my mother had made him get out of bed, earlier than he had wanted, too. 

"Mom- do I have to come grocery shopping?" I asked her. 

She tilted her head to the side, as she thought about the question. 

"I don't know, Riley. You are sixteen, now. I suppose you would be alright to stay here by yourself, while we're out," she said. 

Good. Thank goodness. I didn't want to leave my bed in the first place. Now, hopefully, it wouldn't be too long before I was able to return to it again. 

Glancing at the clock momentarily, I realised that statement may have been a little too hopeful. If I didn't join them on the family shopping trip, I was going to have to get ready for school soon, anyway. 

Unless...

I started coughing. 

My mother's eyebrows crinkled together, as she watched me with some concern reflected in her gaze. 

"Are you okay, Riles?" my father asked me. 

Well, apart from being shorter than most girls my age and not being head girl, yeah, I was fine. They didn't need to know that, though. 

Giving a shake of my head, I answered my father's question. 

My mother exchanged eye contact with him and seemed to ask a silent question. 

"Hm. If you're sick, I suppose that you're going to have to stay at home for the day," she said. 

Results! 

"Just as long as you get some work done," my father said, with a small smile in my direction. 

My mother nodded in agreement with him. 

"Alright. I will. I promise," I said, with a convincing smile, before I wandered to the front door with them. 

"Riles, you should probably return to your bed so you can get some rest," my dad said. 

I loved him, but he could be so gullible at times. 

"Alright, then," I said with a kind tone. "I will," I said. 

My mom walked over to me to give me a quick hug, before she made her way out of the house with my dad. 

After that, it was time to return to my room. 

I was in the midst of operation find out what on earth is in that box, after all. I had no time to spare. 

I pressed the creases of my shirt down over my slim figure and then wandered back into my room. I was thankful for the small yet useful muscles that I had, which allowed me to move the box into my bedroom cupboard.

Once that was done, I made my way into the bathroom and pulled the brush through my browning hair. I was going to have to re-dye it blonde at some point, or maybe it was time for a change...

Either way, I knew that it wasn't the time to think about that! 

I quickly brushed my teeth, curled my hair and placed my contact lenses into my cocoa-brown eyes, fringed with long lashes that cast shadows in the circles under my eyes. I really hadn't slept very well. It was probably a good thing that I wouldn't be going to school. I really wanted to avoid falling asleep in my mathematics class again. That was definitely down as one of my most unfortunate high school experiences so far. 

There was so much to do and I honestly didn't feel as though there was enough time in the world to get it all sorted before my parents returned. 

Nevertheless, I knew that I needed to try. 

As I stood in the cupboard, a leak from the ceiling caused a drip of water to fall upon my button nose. I really was going to need to do something about that, sooner or later, before the entire house flooded. 

As I went to open the box, I caught my reflection in a mirror nearby and noticed that my eyes, which ordinarily enough were my most prominent feature, looked somewhat tired. My ivory skin appeared paler than usual and my waist had shrunk slightly, probably caused by the fact that I hadn't eaten much other than birthday cake over the past few days. That was something that I really couldn't recommend. Not the eating cake thing, but the only eating cake thing. It wasn't what I would consider a balanced diet, that much was for sure. 

A scatter of freckles fell upon my cheeks, making me look somewhat less like an actual zombie, but I still felt moderately exhausted. 

I rubbed my smooth, slender hands together for a second and then went to open the box. 

I had every idea in my head to go to my grandmother and ask her what was going on and why there had been a huge flash of light the moment that I had opened it. 

Perhaps if I arrived with a friendly smile, I would be able to get some answers out of her. 

Sooner than I could think more on the subject, or even attempt to open the box again, my phone buzzed with a text from April. She had seen another one of the shadow figures, which was weird enough. However, then I opened the box and a small eruption took place in my cupboard.