atelophobia ↠ e. kaspbrak | ✓

Chapter Three

     "come see! Tyler, it was the weirdest thing! I think someone's outside my window or something! I was just working on that summer packet Mrs. Ryland gave me and I heard a voice and I saw this red balloon in my closet!" I exclaimed, panicking. I had already decided to leave out the part where I was having an anxiety attack earlier.

     "Shut up, Rose! I don't wanna hear your bull, go finish your work." He mumbled, not even sparing a glance away from the show playing on the TV.

     I opened my mouth to protest, but quickly shut it. Is he not even gonna check for me?

     Tyler had always checked stuff for me. He was just like that, especially after mom and dad died.

     I slowly walked back upstairs, hesitant to reemerge into an area where a voice by the name of Pennywise was telling me I could float... whatever that meant.

     I made my way back into my bedroom and peaked into my closet where I had left the door ajar. What I saw scared the living daylights out of me.

     The red balloon was gone.

     I have to be going insane. Maybe it flew into the hallway or something? But I didn't see it in the hallway while coming up... I thought to myself, shaking my head lightly in confusion. There's no way... I have to be hallucinating...

     Suddenly, the voice's giggling echoed throughout my ears once again. I tensed up at the sound, squeezing my eyes shut as it began to repeat over and over. What's wrong with me? Why am I hearing this? I've always heard voices, but that was anxiety, this is- well, I don't know what this is...

     My body had gone completely numb at the voice's chilling laughs, but I forced myself to walk over to the window and look out.

     Nothing.

     No creepy dude yelling up at my window, nowhere a voice could be coming from at all.

     Do you want a balloon, Rosie? I saw yours floated away....

     "What? No. And that's not my balloon, I don't know where that came from..." I trailed off.

     Why don't you want a balloon? They float... they all float... just like you...

     "What do you mean?! I'm not gonna float!" I exclaimed, a whimper escaping my throat.

     Oh, you will, Rosie... you will... you'll float down here... take a balloon, Rosie... take it...

     I was beginning to get frantic. In one swift movement, I whipped around. The sight in front of me made my eyes go wide in terror. It wasn't the body to the voice, it wasn't the balloon that had magically disappeared from my closet, it wasn't Tyler coming to scold me for yelling at the walls.

     It was my room,

     Filled to every last possible space,

     With red balloons.