Chapter One

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This is a rough draft, so I might be deleting the story if things dont turn out right :)))

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"Hey, Sadie, can I call you back in the morning?" I asked her. The call had lasted five hours, starting at seven. Now it's almost one in the morning. I was so exhausted. No offense to Sadie, but she can be a talker.

My room was pretty dark. I had only a small lamp on, which didn't even glow to the other side of the room. My laptop was shining brightly, but I knew as soon as I shut it, the darkness would finally seep into the room entirely.

"Sure. Just call me right away. I can't stand being here with my brother," She turned around and pointed to his limp body. He was sleeping with a bag of chips in his hand and a half eaten Twinkie in the other. His drool landed on his worn T-shirt, and his tongue stuck out as if he was playing dead.

"I wouldn't be able to stand it either," I told her, laughing. She smiled, then ended the Skype call. The lit laptop screen slowly began to fade as I shut it down. I would usually lie to Sadie, telling her I was going to bed. Honestly, like everyone else in the entire world, I was on Twitter or Tumblr. At this time of night, though, I got a little tired.

I slipped on my pajamas whilst climbing into bed. Turning my head, I listened for any signs of my parents opening the front door. I always hoped that maybe they would come home early from a party or work because they missed me. Like every weekend, my parents were gone, so it was just me. It was always like that, wasn't it? It seemed cheesy enough. All parents were probably just like mine. I sighed, closing my eyes, and instantly it brought sleep.

***

I woke up, hoping that it would be morning.

It wasn't. Even worse, my throat felt sore and irritatingly dry. I tried breathing from my nose, but instantly I sniffled. Congested? How fast does the flu get around? The last person I knew that was sick was... was my mom.

Of course.

I got out of bed, feeling the cold pressed against my body. A shiver went up my spine as I forcibly pushed my legs forward. I definitely needed a drink of water, and some NyQuil for the cough that suddenly rose to my mouth. I let out quick, dry coughs before getting enough force to open the door.

The stairs to my first floor seemed steep in the middle of the night. Stepping down each one of them felt scary, like I would fall. I looked down at the end, only seeing black. My eyes played tricks with me through the dark as it showed movement on the steps below me. Ignoring it, I continued. Even though I claimed it to be fake, deep down it still spooked me just a little.

After the last step I walked into the kitchen.

I left the faucet on from earlier.
"Crap," I whispered. That probably didn't save any money. Sighing I went to turn it off, seeing that the water rose up halfway in the sink. I had my hand on the knob, but hesitated. I watched the water drip slowly from the sink. It created a pattern, almost.

Tap, tap, tap.

I heard a bang from the basement. Turning towards the door, it seemed like an illusion. Sounds in the night were always tricks, I told myself. It was always tricks when I was alone.

All the lights were off in my house except for one, which lit dimly over the sink. It let off just enough light to guide me through the kitchen. I instantly twisted the faucet off and the tapping sound of the water had stopped.

But sometimes, when you feel scared, noises help you. In a way, it did for me. Now that it was turned off, the silence had terrified me more. I tip toed towards the living room. The clock read four in the morning. That's all I needed to know. I was relieved then, because there was only about two more hours until sunlight, in which I could handle.

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