Spooks and Shadows

2) 'Tis Near Halloween

A million things ran in my head. As I have mentioned before, Heather was a quiet person and this was the longest speech I have ever heard from her. I remained dumbstruck—still trying to comprehend what she could possibly mean. It's like she spoke French, I only understood bits and pieces but not the whole thing. Heather flushed as if she just spouted her deepest, darkest secret. My only response to her outburst was that I looked at the empty space beside me—which she was still pointing at—and though I had an inkling about who she might have meant, I forced myself to believe otherwise.

"I don't see anything." I said flatly.

She bit her lip and dropped her hand. Now she looked extremely red as an apple. "Forget it!" she yelled and marched off.

I usually don't let things get to me, especially if it's not worth believing. Spending a lot of time with a psychiatrist, I learned a lot of mantras to keep myself grounded in reality—but the way she spoke and how she seemed to see this 'phantom' that was supposedly beside me wouldn't leave my mind.

I might've remained in my spot, frozen, if Coleen's voice did not snap me back.

"Em? What are you doing?"

I whipped and saw her looking at me curiously. Her eyes were narrowed, her face stained with paint.

"How long have you been there?" I asked.

"Long enough to see you staring in space. What were you thinking? You look faraway." she strode closer to me, looking worried.

"Nothing." I replied quickly. I wrapped my arms around hers and dragged her out of the auditorium, ignoring her protests. I said goodbye to her before she managed to ask any more questions. She was the only friend I had—I don't want to risk losing her by proving to her I am completely insane.

I headed straight to the parking lot when I heard my phone chime. It was my mother. Her text said I seemed to be running late.

When I saw her familiar face, I felt a sense of security wash over me. Just like how she fended off the boogie monsters when I was a kid, I knew I was safe in her presence. I ran towards our car, flung the door open and tossed my stuff.

"You seem to be in a hurry." mom commented as I slid on the passenger's seat.

I am in a hurry to reach my psychiatrist. I feel like I am slowly losing my grip on my sanity.

I didn't say it out loud.

Mom drove me to Melanie's office and when the small, white building came to view, I felt a cold chill creep up in my spine. The sun was still hot and blistering but somehow, something made me shiver. My eyes darted to the backseat to check if something that shouldn't be there was there and to my utter relief it was empty. It was absurd to feel that way—this isn't some horror movie.

"I'll pick up your sisters and take them home first. I'll come back for you later, honey." mom kissed me on the cheek and when she pulled away, I almost clung onto her—begged her to come with me like I did years ago.