Jennifer's Nightmare (unfinished)

Chapter 2

It was a six hour drive from where I was staying to where my uncle lived. My uncle refused to pay for a plane ticket or to even come and pick me up, so I was forced to ride a bus. The ride there seemed like forever. All I could think about is if my uncle even wanted me to stay with him. Does he have a room for me? Is as soon as I get there, will he kick me out on the street? I only met him a couple times in my life, but I was too little to remember how he was or even how he looked. Was he cool? Was he strict? These were all the questions that were flowing through my head.

I decided about two hours into the ride there, that I was just not going to even think about it. The only luggage I had with me was an old school bag with a sketchbook, a small bag with worn down pencils, a week's worth of clothes, and the book Misery by Stephen King. I pulled out my sketchbook and one of my worn down grade 2b sketching pencils. I looked out the bus window hoping for an idea. I started to gaze off onto the thought of my mother. She was then all I could focus on. My pencil touched my paper and I started to draw her beautiful blonde hair. Her gorgeous brown eyes were flawless in shape and size. The drawing was so life-like it felt like she was sitting in the empty bus seat next to me. I closed my eyes and I could just feel her there with me.

I woke up to an old man shaking me to wake up. His voice scared me and I jumped out of my seat. His voice was scratchy and his hair was thin. He was a pretty big man and I was wondering why this man would wake me in the middle of my comfortable sleep. It started to sink in that this was my bus stop. I grabbed my stuff and walked off the bus into the cold rain. It was about 9:00 PM when I got there, and I didn't really put in any time into putting my stuff away. My book bag was still unzipped and I was still holding my sketchbook and pencil in my cold hands. I looked around as the bus closed its doors and drove off. I didn't exactly know what I was looking for, but I did know it was going to be a grown man in his thirties or forties.

I heard a man say my name as if he wasn't sure if I was her or not. I hesitated to turn around, not knowing what to expect. I turned to see a man about 40 years old, about 6 feet and 5 inches tall, short black hair and a short beard. When we made eye contact he nodded for me to come under his umbrella. He then said, "I am your Uncle Ford." I followed him to his dark blue Chevy Silverado pickup truck. It had a V-6 engine from 2001. He walked to the passenger side and opened the door for me. I thought to myself it was kinda ironic that my uncle's name is Ford, but he drove a Chevy. By this time I still never put my sketchbook away. My uncle looked over at the picture I drew of my mother on the way to his apartment and asked, "You drew that?" I nodded slowly as I put my hair behind my ear. He then said, "You are quite talented, Jennifer. Is that supposed to be your mother in this picture? It looks just like her. She was beautiful and elegant until she started getting into the drugs and alcohol." Tears started coming to my eyes as he mentioned her. It hurt to know she was gone, but I didn't let him see me cry.

Once we pulled up into the parking lot of his apartment building, 15 minutes later, it had stopped raining. I grabbed my stuff and hopped out of his truck. He locked the doors and we walked toward the entrance of the building. We walked straight toward the elevator up to the third floor and he lived in apartment C-14.

My uncle walked in first and tossed his keys on a small table next to the door. He walked forward and I followed. "For now, this is where you will sleep," he said as he pointed to the couch. I made a small sigh to myself. I looked up at him with a tiny fake smile. He turned with his back facing me and walked towards his bedroom. He closed the door slowly behind him. I sat my bag down on the floor in front of the couch. He had set up a pillow and a blanket for me to sleep on. I laid down on his stiff couch and proceeded to fall asleep.

The next morning he woke me up with a few pats to my back. I rolled over and opened my eyes up and saw him dressed in a navy blue jumpsuit. on the corner of his jumpsuit said in a cursive font, Ford. He tossed a $10 bill on stomach along with a small piece of paper with some writing on it. "Here's if you want to order pizza. The number to Dominos is on the paper along with a small list of chores I'd like you to do. It's nothing hard, but I need some things done before I get home." He stated.

With a confused look on my face I asked, "Where are you going?"

He replied with, "I have work, I'll be back around 6:00 PM."

"What time is it now?"

He rolled up his sleeve a little and looked at his watch. "Oh my, I'm going to be late. It's 7:30 AM. My number is also on that paper if you need anything." My uncle worked as a car and ATV mechanic at the local Horizon Auto Repair Shop and he made about $35,000 a year.

As he ate a slice of toast, he rushed out the front door. Once he closed the door behind him and locked it, I tried to fall back asleep. Something just wouldn't let me go back to sleep. I picked up the paper and it read in a slightly messy handwriting, "Dominos Number, my cellphone, my work phone(only for emergencies), dishes, and sweep kitchen floor. Under the sink is the dishwasher soap in a big blue container. The broom is on the right side of the refrigerator."

I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled the covers off of me. I stood up while wiping my eyes and looked around the room for the bathroom. I found it next to my uncle's bedroom and I slowly opened the door. I walked in and turned on the light switch. I jumped when I saw a cockroach run behind the bathroom sink. I slammed the door shut and took a minute to breathe. I then decided to be strong and hurry up and take a shower. I hopped out and then brushed my teeth in the kitchen sink.

Afterward, I did my chores like my uncle asked and I used the house phone next to the sofa to call and order Pizza. I ordered a small pepperoni pizza and some breadsticks. The pizza man was there within 5 minutes and I still had my bath towel in my hair. I hurried to pay him the money and ate my pizza while I read some of my Stephen King book.

Once my uncle got home, he took me to some local stores and bought me clothes and other things I may need, like deodorant, hair brush, conditioner, a blow dryer, and other things.

It took about two weeks before I was comfortable with calling him Uncle Ford. It also took that long for me to get comfortable in his house and knowing where mostly everything was. I ate pizza almost everyday and I became known by the delivery guys. They always knew exactly what I wanted.