Oblivious

Chapter 25: Decisions

I grab the railing and dart up the stairs, mentally counting down the seconds. I almost slip on the carpet as I scramble to the top. Places I could hide were processing in my brain as I began tip-toeing.

The bathroom? Nah. Under my bed? That's so cliche. In my closet? I guess.

I cut to the left and swiftly enter my room, heading towards my closet. I quietly open the right door because the left one squeaks and step into my pile of clothes. As I sit on top, like a hen sitting on her eggs, I shut the door with my flat hands since there was no doorknob on the inside.

I slowed my breathing from when I was previously running and focus on listening. The timer in my head was almost at 15 seconds, anytime now.

I hear yelling from downstairs, and then a door slams. My heart speeds up. He got Chris.

I knew I was soon.

I close my eyes and wait for the familiar squeak of my bedroom door moving.

Next door, I hear the bathroom shower curtain being slid open. Good thing I didn't hide in the bathroom.

Then I hear my bedroom door squeak. I cover my mouth with my hand, making the least noise possible. I could feel the presence of them. So close that I could hear their breathing. Being in the dark of my closet made me feel vulnerable.

All at once, the door burst open and I was blinded by my window opposite the closet.

I scream and am tagged by Liam and Chris.

"I WIN!" Liam screams.

"You know what that means," I say as I crawl out of the closet, clothes spilling out onto the floor behind me.

"What?" Chris smiles and bites his nail.

"That means you win..." I raise my arms like a T-Rex, "THE TICKLE MONSTER!"

Liam screams and runs out of the room and I chase him, Chris hot on my trail.

He dashes downstairs and I slow down on purpose.

I turn the corner at the bottom of the stairs towards the kitchen and spot Liam behind my mom.

"Hey Mom," I walk towards her. She was cutting up carrots for dinner and watching the news.

"Hey Jordan," She says as she grabs a new carrot to chop.

"Have you seen Liam anywhere?" I pop a sliced carrot in my mouth. I could hear Liam giggling behind my mom.

She smiles. "Nope, I haven't seen him anywhere."

"Huh, that's weird, because I thought he was right..." I move around my mom, "HERE!" I grab him and tickle his sides. He giggles and tries to fight it.

"Stop! Stop!" He says between giggles.

"I'll stop if you eat all your carrots at dinner!" I negotiate.

"I will!" He stops fighting.

"Okay..." I let him go with a grin on both of our faces. "Now why don't you go play with Chris?"

"Okay!" He runs to the stairs where Chris was sitting, not wanting to get tickled too. I make eye contact with him and do my T-Rex arms. He giggles.

I return to my mom. "That, my mother, is how you get kids to eat their vegetables."

She smirks as she uses the knife to scrape the carrots off the cutting board and into a pot.

"If only I had known that when you were a child." She shakes her head.