Phantom's Fears

Chapter 1: Part 3

The wind was chillingly cold on the walk back to my house. Alex and I always bundled up in winter gear with tight scarves, fluffy mittens, and cotton hats during this time of year. We're like the Winter knights of Michigan - since it can get so cold here. As we stride along the sidewalk, Alex begins to bicker on and on about how 'hard' the Algebra homework is. I just roll my eyes a give a soft chuckle because, to Alex, everything's either 'hard' or 'irritating'.

"So about Mrs. Flouren. I mean, 20 math problems in one night!? And each one of the problems takes like 15 minutes to do! I think I might die!" He complains, putting his hand gingerly on his forehead with a irritated frown. "I swear. That teacher is evil!"

"Evil? Like as in 'destroy the world' evil?" I ask teasingly with a smirk.

"Exactly! She's secretly planning to kill us all!" We both exchange a laugh as we enter the house, dropping our backpacks down onto the floor and beginning to strip off our Winter coats and gear.

"Amy?" A smooth voice calls from the kitchen - my Dad. "You home??"

"No dad. It's a magical being here to destroy you all." I tease sarcastically, giggling to myself, "Yes it's me!" I finish.

"Is Alex with you??"

"Hi Mr. Winters!" Alex squeaks, rubbing his neck with a smile. He was always too formal around my dad, which is not like him at all when he's around me. The kitchen is down the hall from the main entrance, where there are three doors located on both sides. The first door was my dad's room, with his cleanly smoothed white carpet, darkly shaded grey bed that was still ruffled from the night before, and large collection of old baseball cards - most being dedicated to the Detroit Tigers. The second room was for your's truly. My light green room with a bright white tint plasters the walls, along with my highly decorative bed sheet, made of the colors red, white, green, pink and so on. I had always loved the idea of collecting cards like my father, so I had a shelf lined with Pokemon cards, organized from rare to ordinary - though I never really like to tell people about my collections. And lastly, we enter the 3rd room - the kitchen.

 "Ah Alex! Nice to see you again!" The familiar soft but yet sharp eyes blink at us with a gleam of happiness. My father's dark brown hair turns even lighter towards the lighting. He gives us welcoming smile as we walk into the dimly lit room. The kitchen looked like most kitchens. A light grey stone-tiled floor along with plain white walls, and there in the middle of the kitchen, stands my father. The aroma of cooked ground-beef fills the air, making me take a whiff of the scent and sigh with content, smiling widely as I hear Alex do the same. "Hey honey, can you take a few plates from the cabinet and set the table? Alex, are you eating here tonight? We've got spaghetti in the pot." I could already see Alex's mouth begin to drool as I begin to slide out the plates and cups.

"I-If it's not a burden to you, sir! Though I might need to call my mom. I-I'll be right back!" He stutters a bit as he slips out of the room, leaving me with my dad.

"So, Amy. How was school?" He asks while stirring the pot of the steaming crimson paste, standing calmly before the stove.

"School? Oh it was..." I pause. Should I tell him about missing the Social Studies quiz? "it was good! Swell, if someone might say." I finally finish, not wanting to take the chance of a scolding. "A-Anyway!" My mind quickly diverts from the subject, "How about you, sir Jeremy?"

"Well my day went 'swell' as well." He chuckles with an amused smile. "The office was quiet today. Not many calls came in - unless you call a 'prank-call' from an 8-year-old kid, an emergency." His deep but yet tender voice bounces through the kitchen. Sometimes, it could be a bit overwhelming.

"Is it... Scary? Being a cop?" I ask with a tilt of my curious head, beginning to place down each plate and cup onto the table.

"Scary? Well, it can be sometimes. It depends on how severe the situation is." He swings a rag over his bold shoulder before striding over to the sink and straining the noodles, watching as the steam wildly rises.

"Right..." I swallow and begin to pour water into the glasses after dropping a few ice cubes into the mixture. "Tonight, do you think we could stop by to see mom's grave?" I blink over towards my father, watching as he freezes at the words. I always knew he hated talking about her death.

"Uh... W-Well..." He struggles with his words before sighing and finally finishing, "Alright. We can go see mom." Dumping the noodles into a pot, he walks over to the table, setting it down. It was then when Alex finally bolts back into the room, squeaking,

"Yep! She said it was alright." He smiles widely, quickly adding, "S-Sir!"

"Great!" My dad's dimples appear as he gives a toothy smile, "Dinner's already ready."

"R-Right! Thank you, sir!" He manages a nervous smile before looking back over at me, "Oh! And Amy, someone tried to call your phone. It was ringing when I walked in." He reaches out with my phone in his hand, placing it on my hands that I had held out. "It was an unknown number."

"Unknown?" My Dad steals the words from my mouth as he raises an eyebrow, sitting down, "Could it be a telemarketer?"

"Probably." I respond, placing my phone back in my pocket and beginning to sit down as well. "Ugh... I'm famished!" I smile a bit as I take a spoonful of the noodles, taking a bite while Alex does the same. Nothing to worry about. Besides, it's just a phone call.