The Boy Next Door Is Not What He Seems

Chapter Three: You Can't Break Now.

Chapter Three: You Can't Break Now.

•.⌯.•River's POV•.⌯.•
"...The baby powder is in the cabinet, you are welcome to get anything from the fridge, and you can sleep here if you'd like, I have the guest room already prepared for you. Have fun with Charlotte, Riv." Ms. Matthews explained as she walked to the open door with her suitcase in hand.

Today went a lot slower than I had expected and although it was our first weekend of the school year, I was not in the best mood. Everything was going fine today up until Annette had pushed me down at snack and "accidentally" bump into me at lunch, making me drop the lunch Ma had packed me and break the container it was in. Not only that, the collision had caused my food to get all over my shirt and pants, which left me to change into the old gym shorts I had in my locker and Ryan's sweater for the rest of the day.

In short, Annette is an absolute bitch who ruined my mood.

Normally I wouldn't let her ruin my day; I would shrug off her remarks and tell her to leave me be, but today, I felt exhausted.

Pulling myself together, I respond to Ms. Matthews "Okay, Ms. Matthews. I'll see you on Sunday!" I said, waving goodbye to her, giving her the brightest smile I could give.

Smiling back at me, she waved and wished me luck on taking care of Charlie and bid me goodbye. Upon hearing Charlie's name, I smiled as I gave her a confused look.

"Don't you mean, Charlotte?"

"No I mean, Charlie." She denied, jokingly, "Anyways, see you River! Got to catch my flight."

Finally, I was left alone to my own devices. My mother and I had already parted ways thirty minutes prior to my arrival at the Matthews house and I was left to fend for myself with Ms. Matthews leaving five minutes after my appearance.

Sighing, I picked up my backpack that had the necessities I needed for the weekend before placing them in the guest room of the house that Ms. Matthews had showed me when I entered upon the home.

As I was getting settled in the guest room, I hear Charlotte's crying in the other room. Quickly making my way to her bedroom, I head straight for her crib before picking her up, cradling her in my arms.

"Charlotte, what's wrong? Do you want your bottle?" I cooed, patting her back.

"I'll get you your bottle." I muttered to myself as I carried her to the kitchen. Giving her her milk bottle, I allowed her to finish before patting her back comfortingly as I carried her back up to her room.

Finally getting her to burp, I clean her up as I quietly hum a soft lullaby to her in hopes to calm her down from her previous tantrum. Her amber eyes were wide open, staring up at me in awe and it amazed me how one child could lift my mood up by a ton. Giving the child a soft smile, I hear the front door downstairs slam shut.

Looking at the clock, it already about 9 o'clock. It was only a little bit more than an hour ago that Ms. Matthews had left the house, meaning it could not have been her who slammed the door shut and it couldn't have been Charlie; Ryan said that they were hanging out until later tonight and that they were possibly sleeping over at his. So who that could be is nothing, but a mystery to me.

Fear was flushing through my system and I tried to keep a level head. I rationalize my thoughts, telling myself it was probably just my imagination and that were safe. However, with the loud shuffling downstairs confirming that there was indeed a person downstairs, it only amplified the uneasiness I was feeling already. Finally deciding to take action, I place Charlotte down in her crib and begin to stalk silently downstairs. Finding a Febreeze air freshener can along the way, I decide I could use it as a weapon with emergency services on dial as I make my way down. As quietly as I could, I creeped down and make out two male voices coming from the living room.