Mommy

Chapter 5: Supper Time

I hadn't even bothered to fathom how terrible this place was yet.

I had only been here for an hour, and already, terrible, horrifying things have happened. Neither Alex or Carson spoke for the time being. They sat silently, watching the walls and twiddling with their fingers. Alex has his glasses in his hands, pressing his fingers against the glass. It was as though they were both mourning in advance for what would happen.

What would happen to Anna

At every creak or scuff that came from outside the door, I would jump, my heart pounding in my chest. I half expected Mommy to come back, to come get me. But the more I watched Alex and Carson's expressions-I could see that they knew whether it was mommy or not.

I hugged myself to my knees, hoping it would bring some sort of comfort.

I didn't want to be here.

It seemed as though it had become as silent as it was when I first arrived. So silent, in fact, that I held my breath in the fear of breathing too loud. That's why it was noticeable when I began to hear slight shuffles in the hall.

I jumped to my feet, my skin going cold. My heart raced violently in my chest. Both Alex and Carson looked towards the door, although I noticed they didn't seem afraid. If anything, they seemed annoyed.

The shuffling came closer, and once I saw the doorknob turn, I stumbled over to the bed, quickly sliding under it. I was aware that neither Carson or Alex reacted, but just in case—I wanted to hide. I didn't want to take the chance of it actually being Mommy.

I turned and looked back at Carson from under the bed, silently pleading with him to hide too. If anything, I wanted to make sure the guy who saved me earlier was safe as well. He saw my reaction, but all he did was softly chuckle, pointing at the door.

I quickly became aware that they weren't afraid—and whatever was at the door wasn't a threat. My heart-rate slowed. Instead of a deranged woman entering, two young children entered, seeming to look around for something.

"Where's the girl?" one of them asked, locking my attention. I realized they were talking about me, and I hid further under the bed.

Carson half-smiled—although not excited to see them, shrugging his shoulders. "Hmm...I'm not sure. Maybe she's downstairs. Maybe she's...with Mommy. Maybe, she's in another room. But she's not here, so don't bother, Jen."

One of them looked down, rolling her eyes once she saw me under the bed.

"Liar. One day, this is going to get you in trouble, you know. Lying."

Carson rolled his eyes, but he didn't answer. Almost immediately, I saw two pairs of bare feet tip-toe towards me. I shrugged back further in the shadows. For some reason, the was Alex and Carson were acting make me feel weird.

Whoever they were got on their stomach and shoved their heads under the bed, looking at me. I jumped, letting out a gasp. I swallowed, anxious as they stared at me.

"Hello there," one of them greeted nicely, cocking her head to the side and smiling. I stared at her with wide eyes.

Both of the girls seemed around eleven to thirteen, but the one on the left—Jen, caught my attention first. She was a redhead, with long, frizzy hair and more freckles on her dirty face than I could count. She had long blond eyelashes that framed her grey eyes. Her eyes that were locked on me. Even though Carson didn't seem to enjoy her, she seemed nice.

She stuck her hand under the bed, waving it around. "I'm Jen," she said. I reluctantly shook her hand, flinching away when the other girl stuck her hand under there too.