Haunted

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I wake with a start, my heart suddenly pumping hard against my chest. Something's wrong, I can tell it immediately. I'm not sure what, or where, but something is.

I open my eyes, tensing, although I'm not sure why. I know where I am, that's not the problem, I'm used to sleeping in unfamiliar places.

No, it's something else.

I can hear Kole's steady breathing, he's sound asleep beside me --- I think I've actually rolled over onto his side, using his arm as a makeshift pillow at some point. My eyes are adjusting to the darkness, I can make out some of the shapes in the room.

Huh.

Maybe I'm just paranoid, I'm not sure when I even fell asleep, I thought I never would. I glance at the clock on Kole's side, seeing the red letters glowing in the darkness, telling me it's around three a.m.

Of course it is.

I sigh, rolling over onto my back, pressing my hands against my face wearily. Great, now I have to pee, and that means I have to get up. I don't want too, Kole's right, his bed is absolutely fabulous. I could stay forever.

I open my eyes again, although I keep my hands against my face. Something is just --- what the hell? It's just this, this weird niggling feeling, the way my chest is squeezing --- I can't explain it. I've never felt this before, it's --- weird.

So weird.

It's not like what I felt earlier, when I stepped up to the door of the House and, well, I guess I sensed the extra demons hanging around. This vibe is different, it makes me uneasy, it makes me scared.

Which is -- unsettling.

Why?

What am I afraid of?

I'm perfectly safe right now.

In fact, I'm safer now then I've ever been, I reason, especially with Kole at my side.

I shouldn't feel threatened, or watched.

Watched.

That's... that fits this feeling perfectly.

Someone is watching me.

Now I know I'm being paranoid.

I drop my hands in irritation, sitting up with a huff. I rub my eyes, feeling ridiculous, and Kole shuffles at my side. I'm bothering him, he's probably not used to... someone sharing his bed, yeah, actually I'm fairly sure he probably is.

I look over at him, seeing he's on his back, his head rolled towards the other side. His arm is outstretched to my side, his fingers curled in his sleep. His chest is rising and falling steadily, so I figure he's sleeping pretty deeply.

How?

How can he possibly sleep at all?

Maybe he's just... used to it all, after all this time.

I don't think I ever will be.

I let my eyes rove the room wearily, my heart starting to slow down. There's nothing here, nothing to freak out over. Maybe it's just because I'm in a new place then, that ---.

I stop, my eyes zeroing in on her. I see her plainly, standing at the foot of the bed, as if she's just materialized. My eyes widen in horror, and I suck in a deep, frightened breath, my entire body going rigid.

Oh no.

No, no, no!

She's gone, she's dead --- she's ---.

Laura gazes at me, but she's --- she's not Laura at all. She looks the same as before, black hollow tunnels for eyes, her skin giving off that sickening, unearthly paper look. She's flat again, not herself, and she raises one, taloned finger to her lips, as if beckoning me to  be quiet.