OCTOBER - A Spooky Month AU

CHAPTER 2: A Familiar Face.

The woman looked puzzled for a moment, arching her brow as she stared at Skid. Yes.. it must have been her! That familiar angry gaze of hers pierced into the reflections of the shards that remained within his very memory. Recollections of her voice scolding him and Pump for whatever they had done that particular day he had been at the house. A memorabilla of the thousands of words she had spoken to him the few times they interacted remained pinned up in his mind.

Susie—the daughter of two people working for a business.

Susie—the neglected teenage daughter who always looked after both he and Pump.

Susie—the elder sister of Pump.

Truthfully, it felt as if Skid was peering into a memoir.

The woman's lips curled back into a frown, her bottom lip trembling a little as she still peered into the window. With her eyes widened, she spoke in a flat tone that had an edgy shakiness to it. "How.. how do you know my name?"

Skid blinked. Had she forgotten him? Of course, he wouldn't exactly blame her if she had done so. He didn't exactly look how he used to after all. He wasn't even wearing that skeleton costume he used to wear always before he left the town. Then again, he was a nineteen year old, so he was bound to grow out of the habits his eight year old self displayed in the past.

Even so, Skids hands pulled him toward the window, and with his head now peering out, he spoke in a louder tone—now sounding desperate. "I—Its me! It's me, Skid!".

The woman—no, Susie.. her eyes seemed to widen a little more now, and the shock within them faded into absolute paralysis as she just stared at him for a moment. Her mouth remained open for a few seconds, before she herself finally uttered his name. "Sk—Skid? The.. the kid who used to play with my little brother all the time?"

"Ye—Yeah! Its.. it's me. Heh.." Skid gave a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head. He had to admit, he hadn't exactly come back as soon as he should have. Certainly, the thought of coming back made him dreadfully nervous. Indeed, it did! But..

Susie's gaze softened. She looked almost as if she were about to burst into tears for a moment. The silence between them deepened into a thick tension within the air, so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Susie then finally raised her voice, yelling in that same scolding tone she always used to. "Skid! Why—what the hell are you doing back here?! Why did you almost run into a tree?! You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Skid flinched back, wincing a little. Truly, he wasnt exactly expecting to be yelled at, but he remained lowered, feeling a little as if he deserved to be screamed at after almost running her over. "I know! I know! I'm sorry! I—I was told to come back here by my therapist, and—"

"Why weren't you looking where you were going?! You're supposed to focus when you're driving!" Susie scolded again, raising her tone as she took a step foward. Her voice sounded a bit shaky though, as if a thousand emotions were writhing within her, eager to get out one by one.

"I know—I'm sorry.. I—" Skid hid his pale face into his palm. The sun was still lowering, and by now, the area around them was beginning to grow dark. He had expected to be at his new house by now. And yet here he was—being yelled at by a face he hadn't expected to see so soon. He let out a trembling sigh. "Look, I'll try and focus when I start driving again. But—but I'm sorry that I almost got you killed. Are.. are you okay?"

Susie groaned. "Yeah, I'm fine. But look where you're going next time, dumbass.. geez.." While her tone sounded angry, Skid could at least tell her anger came from a place of worry. He really should have been looking where he was going. Guilt yelled at him a thousand times internally for almost running her over and possibly getting her injured or killed. His breathing quickened at the thought of that scenario having even happened.