Stolen Souls

chapter one

You must go on
adventures to
find out where
you truly belong.
- Sue Fitzmaurice

chapter one

It was almost like I was left home alone every single night.

I know most people would love it. Parties every night? Sneaking out without worrying? When your parents aren't home, the possibilities are endless!

At least they are when your friends answer your text messages.

The lights started flickering in my room. Whenever it rained, even just a little, the electricity's performance goes completely haywire.

"Severe thunderstorms will be arriving into the area around 11 p.m. tonight. Take shelter now," The exhausted weatherman warned in a monotone voice on the TV.

I turned to my phone once more. The message was unopened. Even though I hated having messages left on delivered, I hated having messages left on read even more.

I sighed and fell back onto the mountain of pillows on my bed. It was like this every night. I try to start a conversation, and he ignores my messages until an hour later.

Why do I even try?

We weren't a couple, just friends. Yet, I felt the butterflies grow in my stomach each time his name popped up on my screen. Does he feel the same way?

Thunder cracked outside and lightning lit up my bedroom walls. My handy-dandy lights went out, so I got up to turn off the switch.

There was no better way of waiting for a reply than to sit in the dark and stare at a bright screen. I refreshed the page, and the wording switched to sent 56 minutes ago.

I threw my phone at the floor. I didn't care if it cracked. Every night I did this to myself. Sometimes he'd answer right away, and I would feel like I was walking on air. Then, the next night he would leave me on read. Those were the times when I felt like utter trash.

I cared and he didn't.

I tore myself up waiting for a response.

He didn't.

I walked over to my phone, which, thankfully, wasn't cracked, and refreshed the page once more. However, the bright screen only illuminated my disappointment.

Read 2 minutes ago.

That was it. I was done caring.

Until tomorrow night, of course.

I checked to see if the power was still out, and of course, it was. I didn't know how to work a breaker box, so I decided to not try. Calling my parents would have been useless since they were at a 'super important' event.

Somehow, there was a super important event every night. Quality family time didn't make the cut; their schedules were just too busy.

I had no idea how to work the fifty-year-old radio in the kitchen. But, to be fair, my parents probably didn't either.

I decided to check the weather on my phone instead. It was almost eleven, and I wasn't about to die while being home alone and stuck in the dark. My life isn't a horror story.