A New Life [PaulxOc]

[Chapter Four] Home alone

This chapter is a bit shorter than my others, I did that more or less on purpose. It's kind of a more calm filler chapter. To help set up chapter five. None the less, I hope you enjoy

The next day Lillie found herself sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt had told her this morning that she was going to tell Uncle Matt about the trip, so Lillie was just waiting for when she was gonna do it. When her aunt finally told him, Lillie could not help but smile at how excited he got. He rushes to pack his suitcase for the airport later after dinner. Her aunt had been worried about Lillie driving in the dark but Lillie made sure to ease her aunt's worries. She was going to be driving her uncle's SUV anyway, which is more reliable than her own car.

The drive to the airport after they finished dinner was smooth sailing. They talked about what they were going to do while they were visiting in Florida. Lillie was a little sad that they were going to be gone for so long, but she knew they really deserved it. So she was just sucking up all her sadness and keeping up the good energy before the trip. When they were at the airport it was her uncle's turn to worry about her. ¨If you need us at all Lilly-bug we will hope on the next flight home okay?¨ She laughs and gives him a hug ¨I will be fine Uncle Matt, no need to worry, now go you guys are gonna be late.¨ He looked at his watch and looked at her in shock. They made their quick byes and set off.

The drive home was slow, she was also driving slower, being more careful now that she was by herself and it was night time. It was almost midnight and Lillie was almost ready to crash, she was so exhausted from the driving. She was glad to do it though, being able to help out her aunt and uncle was something she was glad to do. They helped her more than she could ever make up for, all because they loved her. They aren't obligated at all to do any of the things they do, but that's just who they are. Her Aunt and Uncle are her role models for sure. She was hoping she would not end up missing them too much while they were gone on their vacation. But she would have to suck it up.

By the time she got home her eyes were starting to feel the weight of being awake for so long. She decided to sit on the couch for a bit before getting ready for bed. She was leaning back on it looking up at the ceiling when she started remembering something.

Lillie was sitting on her bed, papers spread all around her. They were college applications. She had been spending the last forty minutes working on them. She was applying to as many as she could, wanting to know her options instead of only applying to the ones she really wanted. She knew she did not want to go somewhere too far from her dad. She was limiting her parameters to the west side of the country. Her top choice though was The University of California. She wanted to be able to go to the beach and enjoy the warm weather. Then again who didn't want to live in California these days. Her dad was super excited about her going to college. Although he was not very good at acting like he was not going to miss her.

Her phone began to ring as she was adding the one she had just finished to her done pile. She picked it up and answered with a smile, she did not recognize the number but it may be one of the colleges she had already sent applications to. "Hello? This is Lillie Holland speaking." She could hear sounds of a busy place on the other side of the call before someone cleared their throat. "Hello Ms.Holland, this is Dr. Miran at the Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles. I am calling about your father David Holland. I am afraid I have some sad news, I'm sorry to tell you that Mr. Holland died this morning in his sleep." The doctor cleared his throat again before speaking again. "Do you want to come in and see him? We could keep him here on the unit if you would like to bring an adult family member with you? We will be in touch and I can have our social worker call you to help assist you with arrangements if you like."

Lillie's mind went completely blank. She could not think clearly, they had to be mistaken. Yeah that's what it was. She gripped her phone as she spoke to the doctor frantically. "Are you sure it is my father, you have to be mistaken. It can't be him." Her voice was starting to get shaky as she could feel herself start to panic, this was not happening, it could not be.

"I am sorry Ms.Holland for your loss, we all adored him and send you our prayers, is there an adult there I could possibly speak with please? We need to make some arrangements." The doctor had kept speaking to her but Lillie had frozen. Her father was gone? He wasn't coming home? The entire world goes numb to her and she drops the phone.

Lillie shakes herself out of the memory. To this day it was the worst day of her entire life. Her uncle ended up having to go to the hospital to make arrangements for her father because she was unable to function without the help of her aunt. Those days were the worst. She remembers the fright she gave her aunt and uncle when they had gotten to her house to check on her. She was sitting on the floor in a ball, her room around her destroyed. In a moment of lunacy she had wrecked it. That's why she tries to be as helpful as she can now to them. She really wouldn't know what to do if she was in their place. They handled it amazingly.

Getting up from the couch she makes her way to her little studio to get ready for bed and finally sleep. She was ready for the day to end, and to spend less time surrounded by the quiet of an empty house. At least when she was asleep she wouldn't notice it. Once she was in bed she could feel her body sink into the mattress. With what felt like a single blink she was out and asleep.

It was dark. Not the type of dark you get at night but the dark where there is absolutely no light. The type of dark that makes your eyes make shapes out of anything it possibly could. Lillie turned around in a circle, she could not see any way out of the dark that surrounded her. She could feel herself start to freak out, her breathing picking up and her heart racing. She was getting more and more terrified with each second she spent in the darkness. She could not help the weird feeling that was creeping up her spine, making her skin break out in goosebumps. It was the kind of feeling you get when you watch horror movies, the kind where you think something is going to happen to the main character. Lillie felt like something was going to happen to her.

Her legs started to give out beneath her, the fear she felt making her body lose the strength that was keeping her standing up. She wanted to leave, to go home. Wanted out of the dark and the feeling that was still running through her. A sound pierced the area, such a stark contrast from the silence that it actually hurt her head to heare. It sounded like nails being dragged on a chalkboard. Lillie could not place where the sound was coming from, it sounded as if to be coming from everywhere. She covers her ears, hoping to help with the pain. The sound kept getting louder and louder as each second went by.

A cold breath on the back of her neck sent Lillie flying forward, wanting to get away. She half crawled as fast as she could. She had no direction she was going, just wanted away from whatever was there. She could feel the tears running down her face, she didn't want to die. She wanted to live, she knew that if she stayed she would die. A cold hand gripped her ankle and with a sharp tug brought her back to where she was before. Lillie screamed, the force of it making her ears ring and throat hurt. She didn't care.

The cold hand still had a grip on her ankle, and Lillie looked back. There was nothing there, she could not see anything beyond her knee, it was too dark. She felt the cold breath again, and she rolled onto her back. It felt awkward, her leg was being kept at an awkward ankle. She heard a dry laugh coming from the darkness before red eyes popped up a couple feet from her. In the direction of where the hand was, still gripping her. She screamed again before the eyes came closer and all she saw was the red of the eyes before it was over.

Lillie sat up, now safe in her bed. It had just been a nightmare. Her room was dark, but nothing compared to the dark of the nightmare. She could see the moonlight coming in from her windows giving a slight glow to her room. She had to sit up against her headboard for a bit to catch her breath, the nightmare had taken the wind out of her. Not to mention the cold sweat she had broken out into. She reaches to her nightstand for a drink from the water bottle that she liked to keep there.

Laying her head back on her pillow, she tried not to think of the haunting nightmare. A night of good rest is what she wanted, and what her body craved. She knew she had a nightmare from the anxiety of being home alone. That's all it was. Ten minutes of counting sheep and trying to keep her mind calm she was able to fall back asleep. Lillie had no other dreams for the rest of the night, not even a good one, but that was better than another nightmare.