The Uninvited [major editing]

Chapter 2: Situations

"Hurry Jane!"

"Yeah, Dad, I'll be down in a minute!" Ashley... Doesn't ring a bell. Hm, Ashley. I don't quite remember someone named Ashley. Ashley. Ashley. A-sh-ley. It sounds weird now, but I never met anyone named Ashley.

Nevertheless, I went downstairs. I might as well find out. My feet padded through the stairs without a hurry. I took my time in fixing myself to look presentable and parted my hair on both sides of my shoulders, using it as a scarf.

As the fireplace came into view, Dad had made his way to the kitchen with his hands on his hips in impatience. Never minding him, I kept my pace slow. I hope he noticed by now that I had no interest of leaving my room.

I saw a blonde girl sitting on our love seat by the fireplace. Her back was turned to me so I couldn't recognize the stranger. And why would dad bring her into our house?! It could've been a robber or anyone with violent intentions. I don't know, we can't trust society today. And to say the truth, I don't know anyone blonde aside from Mum and Mr. Wallow (bipolar widowed neighbor. I'm certain it's not him because my dad wouldn't have let him in and he isn't a teenage girl).

"Hello?" I say doubtfully. I am nervous. "Heeey." And immediately I flinch back like a squirrel the moment her head snapped in my direction. She kept a neutral resting-bitch face that made her intimidating.

Then, I recognized her as the girl I'd given the match box to. Ah, I don't want to get involved but her eyes reminded me of something. Or someone's. I recognized them as mine.

Oh goddammit. In all seriousness, I don't want to encounter her again as rude as it sounds. She seems like bad news to me.

"H-hi. What are you doing here, uh..?"

"Ashley. My name is Ashley." My dad has mentioned it to me. I wanted to tell her I knew but I didn't want to be rude by cutting her off.

"Hi A-ashley, I'm Cleo Jane, but you can call me CJ." I stuttered but quickly regained confidence as she seemed harmless.

"I know, you've told me." I have? I don't recall saying my name...

"S-sorry. I-I, I just thought you needed s-something to, y'know..." I'm sure I only told pretty much this.

"Oh." I respond, dumbfounded.

Silence pierces throughout the room and felt uneasy seeing an acquaintance (not stranger since I already knew her name) in front of me. And in that moment, it was too silent for me to hear the simple things like the ticking of the clock, the cracks of burning wood in the fireplace, mum's boiling rage--kidding, it was beef stew--, and the steps from maybe 30 yards away.

"I'm sorry for 'following' you." Ashley apologized all of a sudden and my eyebrows crunched together in thought. She sighed and broke eye contact from me. "When I...I..." She was loss for words, trying to keep what she's perhaps guilty about or anything. "No one took notice of me ever since, and I hid away."

"From where or whom exactly?"

"Never mind it. It's nothing important." I was so confused of her. One moment she was ready to give out information I probably don't need to know, but then the next when I'm actually interested in knowing she then would lock it away. I honestly think she's an attention seeker. But who isn't these days? I was one.

"Well, how about the idea of friendship. Does that sound good? Let open up to each other and confess something, yeah?" I suggested. Curiosity reels me in this situation.

...

She told me only one of her guilts. She ran away from home. But besides that, I had asked her basic questions and all her answers were intense shady lines that I had to avoid. In truth, she wasn't a role model, not the type that you'd typically be friends with but I shouldn't really judge early. I barely know her.