Victim

Chapter 7 - Good night

Marley's POV (Some hours earlier):

She sat up quickly and blinked the sleep from her eyes. She rubbed them with the back of her hand and turned on the lamp on her nightstand, alarm flashing in her.

"W..who's there?" She whispered, and the two eyes disappeared.

Marley checked the time, it was 2:45 am. It was way too late for a friend to be here. They would have messaged or called her first too.

Fear built up in her, and she slowly got up. The room was completely dark, only the faint dim of her light from the lamp allowed her to see. There wasn't anyone in her room. She must have been seeing things.

She was about to go back to bed when a sound made her stop right in her tracks.  A thud from downstairs caught her attention, and Marley's senses sharpened. She heard faint footsteps, they seemed to echo all over the house. The sound sent chills down her spine, raising the fine hairs on her neck.

There was someone in the house.

Her father had gone to a meeting to another town for the night, and she was home alone. He wouldn't be back until the end of the weekend.

She was scared, but she had to know who was down there. Determination filled her mind, and she grabbed a bat from her closet. Just in case.

I'm not a coward, I'm brave. I'm strong. I can show the world I'm better than what they think I am.

But she knew she was only saying those things to make her feel better. She wasn't any of those things. She was just plain old Marley, a loser. A coward. A person who didn't have to guts to defend herself. Someone who always stayed to herself, and never got out of her grief.

Maybe its dad and he's back early.

She held the bat tightly, her palms filled with nervous sweat and her arms were shaky. Irritated with herself, she forced her hands to stop shaking and squinted her eyes. She walked up to the bedroom door and opened it, trying her best to not make a noise.

She walked down the hallway, holding her breath. Her feet felt heavy underneath her, and the bat felt 4 times heavier as she gripped it, feeling the prickly wood against her sweaty palms. She saw a light quickly pass her, and she flipped her head around.

Nothing.

Fear became a tangible, living force that crept over her like some hungry beast, immobilizing her; her brain. Her pulse beat into her ears, blocking out any sound. Marley took a gulp and silently walked down the stairs. All her instincts screamed at her to run back inside but it was too late, she had made her mind.

A cold wind greeted her at the bottom, and goosebumps ran up her spine. Pushing her fear to the pit of her stomach she checked through the peephole in the main door, no one was there.

Was I imagining things?

Still clutching the bat in her hands, she walked to the living room, and she saw the window was open. Relief filled her and she felt stupid, how had she thought someone was in her house. The wind must had been blowing the curtains and that must have made the noise. But while she consoled herself, she felt as though she were being watched.

Putting the bat down to the side, she walked to the window and closed it. A shadow caught her eye. Something, no someone was standing on her front yard. She couldn't see well, but it looked to be a girl, with long coal-black hair. The girl looked her way, and Marley gasped. It was just standing in the distance...watching her. Just the sight of her made Marley want to gag, and just something about her seemed familiar as well. She quickly closed the curtains and turned around, ready to call the police. She wasn't taking any chances.