Darkness That Dwells Within The Magnolias

Chapter 3

I gasp awake grasping the sheets that entangle my body, and frantically tear them off me as if they're the very fingers that claw at me in my nightmares. I whip my head around the small room, slowly cataloging my belongings, the colorful pour paint canvases, the white wicker furniture, and the large dark wooden dresser against the furthest wall. I slow my breaths, and glance over at the clock on my bedside table, taking a deep breath when it's only eleven o'clock. I blink away my mothers face, banishing her loving smile, and thick dark wavy hair that mirror my own.

"Aster honey, can you help your father with making a fresh batch of tea?" Her soothing voice echoes in my skull, the last remnants of my nightmare trying to linger.

I launch out of my bed and meander to the shower, quickly cutting it on, and stripping out of my clammy, silk night clothes. I quickly shower and brush my teeth before galloping to my dresser and begin shuffling through the wads of blacks. I pick out a pair of black leggings and a simple black off shoulder t-shirt that crops around my stomach. My phone buzzes loudly on the bedside table behind me, and I whirl around to snatch it up. I quirk a brow up as curiosity fills me, I haven't gotten a text message from a soul in months. I haven't exchanged a phone number with another person for who knows how long. I swipe up my screen and notice the bubble reads 'UNKNOWN NUMBER', but nothing else to accompany it. No area code, not a single series of digits. I click open the message bubble,

"Should wear that royal blue top, I think that would be lovely against your skin." The phone falls from my hands, and clatters loudly against the vinyl floor. My mouth instantly dries and my heart ramps up so high I can hardly formulate a thought. I stare down at the phone in horror, and slowly spin around in my room, making sure every movement is quiet and controlled.

No one.

Not a soul present, but my own.

I wheeze in a breath of air, slowly bending over to retrieve the foreign device. I stare at the message that glares back at me, red flags wave in my face and alarm bells sound off in my head. I lift my thumb to respond, but I'm utterly frozen in fear. My eyes slowly drift over to my dresser, zeroing in on the second to last drawer that houses the one and only dark blue shirt mentioned in the text. This is utterly insane, it has to be some kind of joke, or an old girlfriend trying to play tricks on me for a weird way to start a conversation. I take a slow breath in and respond back,

"Haha, so funny. Who is this?" My finger trembles over the send button, but I close my eyes and smash the paper airplane, and toss my phone onto the bed like spikes protruded from the device from that very action. I bolt to the single window by my bed, and push up a blind and peer out into the sunny apartment parking lot. Life bustles on like normal though, children riding bikes and parents walking their dogs. Not a person standing outside my window, or even a single human to look up at my room.

I retreat from the window and dart into the small living room, wiggling the door knob that leads outside, but it's locked and secured. I check the windows and blinds in the living room, but everything is exactly as I last left it, deadbolted shut. It truly just has to be an old friend, one who miraculously remembered one of the few articles of colorful clothing that I own. I cautiously walk back to my bedroom, and eye the phone lying face down on the bed like it's going to grow fangs and inject life-threatening venom within my nervous system. Dread swells in my gut and I slowly inch closer, and click the screen back on. My heart slams to an abrupt stop when the message icon lights up on the screen. I click on it, and carefully read the next response.

"Why end the game so soon, little stargazer? Have fun with your friends tonight."-UNKNOWN

I open my mouth to scream, to call for help, anything, but only horrified silence escapes my throat. Bile rises in my mouth and burns every centimeter of its way up, making my organs feel like they're melting into scalding tar. Help, help, HELP!