One Winter Night (on Hold)

Chapter 4

Anger. Hatred. Fear is all I feel right now, I wanted to get away from everything. Run away from my problems because facing them right now is eating me alive, everyone thinking I’ve gone crazy that I’m being haunted by my dead friend.

I was walking out of the school full of fury and not looking where I was going until I bumped into someone and landed on the floor. I looked up to see the one and only Sean. I picked up my bag and mumbled under my breath

“Watch where you’re going”

“Excuse me?” I turned around to see Sean staring at me in amusement.

“What?”

“What did you say” he asked with challenge in his voice.

“I said watch where you’re going” I mustered up the courage turned on my heels and started walking off when I heard him say again

“You’re the Jessica girl’s friend” I turned around and glared at him as I spoke

“Yeah you got s problem with that?”

“Angry doesn’t suit you, you look like a kitten” I gave him my best glare before turning around and walking off while saying

“And you’re a jerk now back off!” I was full of fury and anger; my cheeks went scarlet with anger. I felt someone grab my arm and turn me around.

“Feisty now are we?”

“Rebellious now are we?” He knew exactly what I was talking about; his bruises on his face. I felt his grip on my hand tightened but I pulled it out of this reach before he could do more damage to it.

I walked out of school into the cold day’s air; the wind was as if it were a soul of its own, it would touch my cheeks making my cheeks go a misty shade. 

I walked around the park which looked beautiful right now. The pond was frozen, the grass and trees were covered in snow and the swings had small icicles frozen on them. The view is just breathe taking.

I placed myself on one of the benches my head in my hands as I thought about earlier today. What is going on with me? Have I really taken my Friend’s death so hard on myself? I was awakening by my thoughts when a little boy not older than three came running towards me with one hand behind his back.

“Hey there little guy” I put a small smile on my face.

“Hello” he beamed at me with happiness

“What you got behind your back?” He brought his hand to the front and there was a small tulip in his hand. He put the tulip in my hand and his cheeks went scarlet.

“A tulip, for me?” He nodded as he looked to the ground. I gave him a small kiss on the cheek and said

“Thank you sweetheart” He turned around to see his mom calling him, he waved at me as he went running back to his mother.

I didn’t know how the little things in life could make one so happy, I guess it’s us who keeps thinking of the painful memories and that is what stops us from making new but better ones.

I walked my way back home when I passed this alley, it looked awfully familiar; it had red brick walls with snow covering every inch of the ground. I took a keep breathe and made my way into the dark alley. I could hear water dripping from old pipes, the dustbins moving as cats jumped in and out. I unlocked my phone and pressed the torch light on to get a better look.

The alley was deep it was as if it were a tunnel, I made a turn and there I saw something, something horrible. This wasn’t just ordinarily alley, it was the alley where Jessica died, where I was found with blood all over me and I was seeing it happen. It was as if I were watching a movie the scenes playing out in real life. I watched as the man grabbed his knife and cut my arm as Jessica tried to put up a fight. He pulled out a gun and shot Jessica as I screamed in pain and terror, then the sirens could be heard from a faint distance.

I took a step back as I fell to the ground in shear horror of what I was seeing. The killer turned around it was as if he could see me, He was wearing a clown mask and his knife already covered in blood was pointing at me. I started to scream and kick the person but he grabbed hold of me but there was no-one knife, just hands.

“Madeline stop it’s me! MADELINE STOP KICKING ITS ONLY ME!!” I opened my eyes which were full of tears to see Sean grabbing both my arms trying to stop me.

“What are you doing here?!” was all I could say.

“I think that’s what I was thinking about you”

“Why are you here” he sighed and looked at me with his green eyes.

“I heard screaming from the alley, I came in here and saw you screaming and crying and then you fell and started kicking at someone who wasn’t even there, now tell me why you were here?”

“This alley looked familiar”

“How did it look familiar?” he asked puzzled and confused.

“This is the alley where Jessica died” I said in a low whisper crying again, my head in my hand shaking as the memory came back to me. Sean hugged me and rubbed my back but something was helping.

“Come on let’s get you home” we got up, my feet still shaking from what I experienced, he lead us out of the alley and into the busy roads. He opened his car door; I got in and took a seat feeling dazed at the moment.

He started the engine and started driving, the strange thing was he didn’t know where my house was and right now I would go anywhere but home where everything things I’m a lunatic.

He pulled up at starbucks and opened my side of the door; I walked out keeping my head fixed on the snow under my shoes not wanting to look up so everyone could see the tear stains on my cheeks.

“Go in and freshen up, I’ll meet you inside” I walked my way into starbucks and into the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror, I looked horrible. My hair was fizzy, my cheeks had tear stains from all the crying and my shirt had dirt on them.

I watched my face, fixed my shirt, tied my hair in a pony and kept my beanie in my bag. I walked out of the bathroom, looking for Sean. He was sitting at one of the tables near the window with two mugs of what looked like coffee in them. I made my way and sat down in one of the empty seats. He pushed one mug towards me.

“Here” I took the mug and took a few sips from it, the hot chocolate coffee was very overwhelming but I kept it down and looked at Sean who was now smiling.

“What?”

“You’ve got a coffee foam moustache” I grabbed a napkin and wiped it off before someone else saw it and would laugh.

“Not funny”

“It was”

“Wasn’t”

“Was”

“Wasn’t”

“Ugh, fine you win” I took another sip of my coffee and he smiled as I gave up. I looked around the shop looking at different people smiling and chatting about god knows what.

“So um what you were doing in that alley” My smile vanished and I looked down at my mug. What was I doing there? I can’t just tell him I was seeing that night playing out in front of me.

“I don’t know” my eyes trailed outside of the window and back to my mug. He sighed and the next few moments went in silence, I’m used to silence, it’s like I was raised by it. My house being silent, the people in the house silent and then there is me, I guess I never really was fit out for silence but it forced me and swallowed me up.

He drove me back home; I got out of the car and went straight into my room. I lay in my bed looking at the colourless ceiling. I looked at the time, it was twelve pm. I jumped out of bed, grabbed the keys to dad’s old, old timer ford; it’s time to give a early visit to my therapist.