RAPTURE ! ( it )

three.

RAPTURE !

003. ' eddie and his staring problem '

THE NEXT MORNING

AMELIA DISCREETLY PLACED A FLASHLIGHT INTO HER DUFFEL BAG with slightly trembling hands, as her eyes flicked to the clock suspended over her bed's headboard: 8:39 am.

Hurriedly, she arranged the remainder of the supplies she may need that morning and afternoon, hoping that every move she made wouldn't creak the wood beneath her feet. If her parents were aware that she was rushing off to the barrens with four boys for the entire day, they'd bolt her away in her bedroom for the whole summer. So, she made certain that with every lowering of her foot, no noise was produced.

Once the bag was completely arranged in the way she needed it, Amelia gradually slung it over her shoulder and slunk her way over to the door. The silence that greeted her on the other side of the door, lay on her skin like a poison. It was too quiet for her desire and she wished that some noise could mask her light footsteps as she wandered towards the spiral of the staircase.

With her eyes fixated on the shut door of her parent's bedroom and a slight tremor in her hands, Amelia plodded down the wooden stairs. Her tense limbs nearly caused her to topple over her own feet and she cussed under her breath at how uneasy she was becoming over an insignificant event. She had already placed a note on the table within the breakfast nook with a full explanation of her location that day and encouraging them not to phone all of her friends' parents - so she felt some assurance.

Hastily, Amelia hurried down the corridor in direction of the back door and as she skidded up to the locked gate, she reached down to tie her black Converse. Once she had finished, she cautiously twisted the lock and braced open the door, the humid morning air racing over her and a thick silence reached her ears.

She clumsily hastened over the grass with crunches of fallen branches and missteps. An 'oof' slipped from her parted lips as her heel rolled on a branch and nearly resulted with her toppling onto the ground. Balancing herself again, Amelia rounded the corner of the house and barreled towards the garage to retrieve her bicycle that she left inclined against the side of it.

Retrieving it from against the blue side paneled garage, she balanced herself on the elongated seat and fastened her book bag securely against her back. Her braids began to lash against her back as she pedaled down the pavement and onto the car-lined street. Her bicycle was nothing special, it was just the cheapest one the thrift store offered, but it served its purpose of carding her around the small town at the sides of her friends.

She was rushing down the hill at a speed that showed its value even more to her. The sound of loose mud resounded from the tires as she rode over the aftermath of the previous night's rainstorm. Fortunately, Eddie's home wasn't too far from her own, so she wouldn't have to be cycling down the rain-washed road for too long.

With a slight tilt of her handlebars, she veered onto the notorious Neibolt Street, the morning air rushing past her ashen cheeks even more as she rode against it. The wind swirled into the trees, fabricating a wood-chime effect that only unnerved her more and grew her despise of the street. Slowly, she pedaled herself forward down the barely occupied street, the grasp on the bars white-knuckled now as she impended on 29 Neibolt Street.

Her wide, horrific eyes wandered over to the disheveled house that was placed at the end of the street, as she drifted by it. Her feet tremored where they were planted on the pedals and she took a sudden intake of breath, her eyes wavering on the disordered yard and structure. Abruptly, her eyes caught an emerging figure on the far left of the grass and she absentmindedly slowed on her bicycle in interest, no fear of consequences now.