The trek home that before had been so easy was now nearly a death sentence as Evie struggled to keep standing. She prayed to God that her parents wouldn't see her as she made her way into the barnyard and then into the house. She drug herself up the stairs to her room and collapsed on her bed letting the burning tears run down her face. She was so exhausted mentally and physically and her broken body hurt with every movement. After a few moments she wiped the tears off her face and grabbed some clean tights and a sweater and made her way to the shower. Her mom walked by the door stopping outside. "Brad?"
"It's me mom." Evie said hoping her voice didn't tremble.
"Evie... oh thank god..." her mothers voice broke and Evie knew she was crying. She wanted to go out of the bathroom and hug her but she had to clean up first.
"I'm just getting a shower and I'll be out." She said quietly. Her mom left and Evie slowly and painfully took all her clothes off examining herself in the mirror. Her body was completely covered in black and purple bruises. She would have to wear sweaters and long pants for a while. She got into the shower, turning the hot water all the way up. The water was dirty as it washed down the drain and Evie cringed wondering how it had been since she'd showered last. She washed her hair and shaved her legs before climbing out and drying off.
She looked slightly better now that the deceiving dirt was washed away but there were still a lot of bruises. She wanted to go to bed and sleep for days but she had to see her mom first. She pulled the sleeves of her sweater over herself and covered as many of her bruises as possible before going downstairs. Her mom was standing at the sink in the kitchen staring out the window. "Hey." Evie whispered. Her mom turned and put her arms around her. Evie tried to keep more tears from running down her face. It hurt even to be hugged.
"How have you been?" Her mom asked. Evie felt bad that her mother even had to ask that.
"Good." She lied. She didn't really even know what to say. She couldn't say anything without giving Marilyn away. After her mom left Evie made a cup of coffee and took it upstairs to her room. She looked out her bedroom window at the rain pouring down outside. Her breath fogged the glass and she softly wiped it off, looking up towards the hill wondering if Marilyn was okay. Her chest pained thinking about him all alone. She crawled into her bed, pulling the covers over her head. As exhausted as she was she found it too hard to sleep with the millions of thoughts that went through her mind. She couldn't help thinking about all the people that she'd practically killed. She also thought about Marilyn, alone, still mourning his best friends death, thinking that Evie had deserted him. She felt an overpowering need to go back and see him but she knew she couldn't. Finally after a few hours she fell into a deep sleep.
*
"Evie wake up." She opened her eyes slowly, seeing her mother standing over her bed. "Evie you've been asleep for almost two days are you okay?" Her mom asked.
"What?! Two days! Why didn't you wake me up?" Evie asked as she climbed out of bed.
"You didn't seem to feel very good so I thought you could use some rest." Her mom replied.
"Please don't go running back to the woods. There's some coffee in the kitchen if you want any."
"Oh I'm not going back to the woods. I've had my fill." Evie sighed.
"Good." Her mom left the kitchen and Evie grabbed a cup of coffee and went out to the porch. She was thankful the porch was covered since the rain still fell heavily. She grabbed her phone and a blanket from the living room couch and made her way back to her room. Wrapping the blanket around her tightly she began going through all of the messages and missed calls that she'd received over the last few weeks. Her best friend Jerry had called her and left multiple messages asking where she was. She decided to call her and try to explain what had happened. The phone rang a few times before Jerry picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hey Jerry..."
"Good God Evie I haven't heard from you in weeks! I thought you were dead or something!" She sighed into the phone. Evie laughed a little.
"No I'm... I'm okay."
"So what's been going on?"
"Oh not much just... well I assume you've heard about all the disappearances that have been going on here." Evie said quietly.
"Yeah that's really terrible. What's gonna happen?" Jerry asked.
"Well I wish I knew. A bunch of cops and dogs have gone missing and even more people, this time adults have gone missing too." Evie lied.
"You know Evie, there's going to be more cops and probably military involved by the time this is over." Jerry said.
"Yeah don't remind me. This place used to be so quiet, now it's just... a death trap." Evie felt a lump grow in her throat.
"You'll get through it. Everything will work out in the end." Jerry assured her. Evie prayed that she was right.
"I'll talk to you later Jerry thanks for talking to me." Evie said before hanging up. She checked the weather on her phone which called for rain and sleet for the next week. She stood up and walked to the window, watching the woods as she sipped her coffee. She thought she saw a black figure moving through the woods but she couldn't be sure. Finally she went back to bed and drifted off into another deep sleep.
*
Evie's eyes popped open suddenly at the sound of commotion downstairs. "Evie! Evie! Come down here!" Her mom yelled. Evie quickly got out of her bed and ran down the stairs. "Evie guess what!" Her mom yelled, smiling. Evie felt really confused as to why she would be smiling. "Evie a woman has been found who confessed everything!" Evie felt her mouth drop open and her heart beat speed up. "She says she can take the cops right to where the man is that's been doing this! The bad thing is, she said he was on the hill in a cave, right where you go everyday."
Evie felt light headed and swayed a little, steadying herself on the counter. "They're getting a group of cops together to go to the cave, they're taking the woman with them and hoping they can find the man." Evie sank to the floor slowly, holding her face in her hands. "Evie are you okay? It's alright it's all over now." Her mom sat down beside her and rubbed her back.
"Oh... oh God..." Evie choked out. They were going to find him and kill him. She had to get back to the cave before they did. She quickly stood up, wiping the tears from her face. "I have to... I have to go." She sobbed before running out of the house.
"EVIE! EVIE NO!" Her mom screamed from behind her. The rain clouded Evie's vision as she slipped and stumbled her way back to the cave. Back to the nightmare that she thought she'd left forever. She didn't even stop when she noticed her cat, lying injured under some brambles, the little bird perched above it in obvious sadness.
* * *
So as you can see things are starting to happen now, hopefully you'll like how it's going. I might have the next chapter up by tomorrow night I'm going to try! Please vote or comment!
YOU ARE READING
Neglect (COMPLETED)
Fanfiction"The woods are lovely, dark and deep." A quote that Evie found to be most true. Her getaway, the most peaceful place and one she called home. What she didn't know was that she wasn't the only one. But she would soon find out. (A Marilyn Manson fanf...
