Beware Of The Dark

Chapter Two

     Beep-beep-beep-beep, I heard as I rolled over. Six o'clock came too quickly. I didn't sleep much after my dream. Mainly tossed and turned for the last four hours. Then started to drift to sleep as the alarm went off.

      The room was dimly lit by the sun slowly coming out of its slumber. "I'm glad someone got some sleep," I muttered as I snapped on the bedside lamp.

     There were sounds of movement from the hallway. Dakota and Landon were up, getting ready for school. Just a normal morning. Or so I thought. There was a light tapping sound on my door, followed by, "Mom, are you awake?"

     It was Dakota, making sure that I was awake. He was the only one that was woken up by my screams early this morning. "I'm awake," I said as I tossed back the blanket.

     As I stepped into the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of myself. Damn, my long hair looked like Medusa's snakes took a vacation in my hair. After using the bathroom, I sprayed a detangler into my hair and slowly started to make my hair manageable.

     Once presentable, I made my way to the small kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Dakota looked up from his bowl of Lucky Charms as I came into the kitchen. I knew that he was worried about me. He must have told Landon not to pester me with questions because he didn't say anything as I made a pot of coffee.

     As the coffee brewed, I went back to my room to get dressed. After I dropped the boys off at school, I would have a few hours before I had to be at work. My boyfriend was off today from his job and we were planning on meeting up before I go to work at two.

     The town was slowly waking up and I could hear some traffic on the highway not far from us. People were on their way to work. A loud waaaahhhhh pierced the air, causing us to jump. "Damn it," I said with a laugh. We lived pretty close to the Colorado Territorial Prison. That was their siren signaling the end of a shift or something.

      The school didn't start until eight and we didn't have to rush out the door. There was no traffic congestion to deal with like living in the city. Sometimes, if the weather permits, the boys would walk to school. Canon City was a safe town to live in.

      Today, the boys asked me to drive them to school. Dakota had his football equipment for a game tonight. Landon had his laptop bag because he had a story deadline to meet.

    The mad rush to get out the door started around seven-forty-five. "Do you have everything?" I asked the boys as we were walking down the walkway to the van.

     "Yes ma'am," they chimed in together.

     "Dakota, cleats, pads, and uniform?" I asked as the door slid open slowly.

     "I have everything for tonight's game," when I looked into his eyes, I saw that he was upset that I wasn't coming to his game.

      I realized that I was becoming the parent that wished they would have been to every event. "Let me think of something," his ice blue eyes lit up. "And I'll be at your game."

      He hugged me tightly before getting into the van. I didn't realize that the excuse would come as a telephone call from home.