Haunted

Chapter Eight

Well I'm boned.

I sit in class, looking down the many rows to where the teacher stands at the front of the room. He's gesturing at the white board behind him, numbers mixing themselves up with lines and shapes. I'm having a hard time following, I'm so tired.

I'd left that stupid house behind Friday night, and I'd had the weekend to recover, at least. My dorm doesn't face the quad, or the woods, but I know I wasn't bothered all weekend. Still, I'd had a hard time sleeping, mulling over everything that had happened.

I'm surprised I even woke up in time this morning! I'd agreed to help Kole and his stupid "crew," as he keeps calling them. I don't see where I have much of a choice. I figure he'd make it impossible to be normal if I hadn't.

Besides, that thing is just going to keep coming after me, every night. It's coming on this campus now, which means it's not just stuck in the old buildings. It's going to come after me, and without the help of those jerks, I don't stand much of a chance.

It's just --- well, I don't feel threatened by it. It doesn't scare me, not like it should. Maybe that's just what it does, how it feeds off the energy of humans, I don't know. Makes them not feel afraid of it so it doesn't have any resistance.

My head raises as I hear a bell, and I blink, realizing class is already over. I hesitate, looking down at my notebook, seeing I haven't written one thing down the entire time. I sigh, closing it. I should have known I wouldn't be able to focus anyway.

Had Kole been serious? Did he have that much cash to throw around that he could pay all my bills? It would be nice, I guess, not having to worry about it. I had an extreme amount after my week stay in the hospital, one I'd figured I'd just be paying on for the next fifty years, on top of my school loans.

No one knows about my mother, I haven't even told Laura --- I mean, I didn't tell her. I didn't want anyone to know my history, to think that I could be like her, end up crazy. She hadn't meant to kill my father, or at least, I figure not. She'd committed suicide when she realized what she'd done, and I'd been left alone.

That's what I've been told.

I would never know what really happened, if that's the truth or not, and I don't want too. I want to make my own life, I don't want to be held back by someone else's decisions. 

I stand, slipping my bag over my shoulder after I shove all my things inside. I shuffle out with everyone else, slipping my sunglasses on my face to shield my eyes from the sun. This is my only class, Mondays are always my easy days.

I have the rest of the day all to myself, but I don't know what I want to do with it. Obviously I don't have a boyfriend now, or really any other friends to hang out with. I don't want to go back to my dorm and sit there, staring at the other side of the room anymore, nervous that Laura might change her mind and appear back on the bed, staring right back at me.

So, I hesitate as I reach the sidewalk, unsure where to go. It's still so warm, the pools are open, but I can't go swimming with my wrist broken. I'm a little tan from being in the sun, but not much. Plus, I'd scraped the shit out of my knee the other night and it definitely doesn't like any type of water.

So I don't know what to do with myself.

"Amelia!"

Hmm?

My head turns, and I hesitate. Sadie is prancing towards me, her skin sunburned from her recent sailing trip with her sugar daddy. She's grinning at me, her eyes bright and she looks just as happy as she always does. Her blonde hair is in a bun atop her head, her makeup is spot on, and she's wearing her normal short shorts that show off her long legs.