Why Me?

Chapter 2: Meeting Shauntelle

Week 3, Monday

We start school in less then an hour. Well that's if the electricity comes back on. It's been out all night. I have been doing my best to get ready but, I can't really do my makeup in the dark. My dad already left for work so my mom is taking us to school. Church wrecked another chair and has been hissing at nothing more than before. I'm starting to get worried about him. Well off to hel- I mean school.

After school I lay on my bed, cautiously- I don't want to set off Church. I met some new friends at school and they are coming over for a sleep-over on Friday. I hope nothing goes wrong. There are two girls coming over, Lizzy and Maggie.

Right now I'm in my room texting Maggie. She sent me a strange message:

Her: I just need someone to play with.

Me: What are you talking about?

Her: What? I haven't replied to your last message yet.

Me: Yeah you did. You said you just need someone to play with.

Her: Umm I didn't say that.

Me: Ok whatever.

That's really strange. That sounds a lot like what I saw written on my wall the other day.

Week 3, Wednesday.

The past few days nothing has been unusual. The screaming stopped. I'm home alone all night tonight. Well hopefully on Friday the screaming won't come so I don't scare off my new friends.

Later that night I was eating a slice of left over pizza when the chair next to me slide out then back in, just like if someone sat down in it. I was really creeped out, especially since I was home alone so I quickly finished my pizza and went up to my room. Nothing else happened all night and luckily I fell asleep before the screaming came so I didn't have to find out if it actually came or not.

Week 3, Thursday.

School was great! Maggie and Lizzy seem really excited for our sleep-over. Tonight I'm babysitting Jonah and right now he is upstairs playing with his cars. Damn, the cable went out again. Well I guess I can go play with Jonah for awhile.

"Hey Jonah! Can I play with you?"

"Ok but you need to sit right there. Shauntelle is sitting right here," he said pointing to where his imaginary friend was sitting.

"Oh ok! So what are you playing?"

"Nothing. I'm just talking to Shauntelle."

"Oh what is she saying?"

"She telling me how she started her house on fire. Everyone in her family died including her." My eyes were as big as dinner plates. I did not think he would say anything like that when I asked. I wonder where such an innocent boy could've gotten something like that.

"Jonah, have you been watching things on TV that you are supposed to?"

"No, why?"

"Just checking." Well that wasn't how he came up with the idea. "What about scary books?"

"Still no." I wonder where he go the idea if not from TV or books.

"Well tell Shauntelle goodnight. It's time for bed."

"But she was telling me stories about when she was alive."

"Well she can tell you more stories when you get back from school tomorrow. Now go get ready for bed." Jonah is kinda creeping me out. I'll talk to my parents about it when they get home.

Week 3, Friday.

My friends are already at my house even though they weren't supposed to come for another hour. I guess the excitement got to all of us. We are eating at the table but our power went out for the millionth time this week. This sucks. My first sleep over in this town is a disaster. Maybe we can play ghost in the graveyard or kick the can since the whole house is dark.

"Hey guys want to play ghost in the graveyard?" I asked when we finished eating.

"Sure that sounds fun," Maggie replied as she finished the last bite of her ice cream.

Ten minutes later we were done arguing about who goes first and started playing. I checked the time on my phone. 10:27. Ok I need to calm down. There hasn't been screaming all week. What would make me think it would happen now? But it was too good to be true. My clock on my phone changed and screaming started. But it didn't sound like normal. It almost sounded like... Maggie! I ran as fast as I could and when I found her she was laying in the middle of the floor, covered in blood..

"Mom, get down here! Call an ambulance!" I screamed.

She wasn't dead. But by the time the ambulance got here she was almost gone. Something happened but I don't know what. Lizzy and I sat in the hospital waiting room with Maddie's and my parents. Lizzy was crying so hard she could barely breathe. I was trying to calm her down when the doctor came out.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ride, may I speak to you?" he said, gravely.

Maggie's parents left to talk to the doctor. My mom started asking us an abundance of questions.

"What happened? Did you guys hurt her on purpose? Did she fall? What were you guys doing?"

My mom questioned us for ten minutes but most of our answers were "I don't know!". Maggie's parents came back sobbing.

"She's going to be ok but the doctors have never seen this before and she looks terrible," her dad said as he sat down and put is head in his hands, crying. "My sweet little baby girl," he murmured under his breath.

Once I got home, Lizzy called her parents to have them pick her up. She told them the whole story on the phone but, could barely talk through the sobs.

Week 3, Saturday.

Last night I got no sleep. Every time I fell asleep I had terrible nightmares about her on the ground bleeding. I would wake up screaming and crying. I'm super tired- like so tired I can't move. The spot she fell is still bloody. I can even go near the spot without balling my eyes out. Once we got home everything was really upsetting. Even little things made me cry, like when Jonah dropped his book, I started crying. I don't know why but I couldn't keep my self from crying at everything that happened.

Week 3, Sunday.

I was sitting in the same room as Jonah. He told me not to worry, everything will be alright. Then the conversation went something like this:

"I know bud but, it really frightened me and she was one of my only friends I've made since we got here."

"I know but Shauntelle said that the same thing happened to her but she was the one who stabbed her friend and she's not sad about it."

"Jonah please don't say things like that. They scare me."

"I'm just telling you what Shauntelle told me."

I was really creeped out so I went upstairs to my room and took a nap. However, that didn't really happen because I just had more nightmares.