I swing backwards and land on my back on the ground. Dirt floats around me as I scramble to my feet.
The boys jump down from the tree and Carson grabs my arm as he runs by me.
I start running down the path and have to carefully watch each step I make.
The end of the path meets the sidewalk and I stop and turn to see if anyone was following.
"What the... What the heck?" Carson breathes.
"Did you guys not see that?" I ask, a little shocked.
Daniel walks up and puts his hand on my shoulder. "I was listening for whatever you heard."
I exhale deeply. "Okay. I heard that and then I looked down into the trees and these green eyes were staring back at me! It was a person, though."
"Are you sure? There are animals back there, too." Daniel says.
I grab his shoulders. "Yes, I'm sure. Let's just walk back home, okay?"
I remove my hands and he just smiles.
We step down the sidewalk, watching the bugs starting to come out.
"It's 4:48. What can we do?" Carson asks.
"Hmm," Daniel thinks. "What else is left?"
"Well, we were gonna play BioShock and Call of Duty: Ghosts, watch scary movies, have a Nerf war, jump on the trampoline, and stay up ALL NIGHT!" I exclaim, imitating him from Wednesday.
"I wanna jump on the trampoline!" Carson says.
"We will." I laugh a little.
"...Take me to your bestfriend's house, goin' 'round this roundabout, ohhh yeaaah..." Carson sings with a huge smile on his face.
"Take me to your bestfriend's house, I loved you then and I love you now, ohhh yeaaah..." I sing, grinning.
He laughs and wraps his arm around me.
I look up at him and he's blushing a little, and his hair is kinda messy, just to where it's perfect.
"You're too cute." I tell him.
He flips his hair slightly and looks at me. "I know."
"Haha, whatever." I look down at my feet as we walk.
The air is still and the sky is a little less sunny, but I like it. I like it a lot.
I suddenly think back to that text I got earlier; the one from that number I didn't recognize.
Worry sets in and I don't know what to do about it. Like, I wanna tell someone, but I don't want to make a big deal about it.
"Okay, the trampoline is in the back, but I need to go inside first, so I'll meet you there." Daniel runs up the front steps and enters the front door.
"Come on." I smile at Carson. I take his arm and lead him to the backyard.
I push open the waist-level wrought iron gate. After Carson comes in, I close it behind me.
He walks over to the corner of the yard where the big trampoline is, and hoists his self on.
"Wait for me!" I say, sprinting over.
I climb up and sit down while Carson jumps.
I'm staring at the white, fluffy clouds, and how they're slowly but surely moving through the sky.
"Jump, Jada!" Carson exclaims, jumping closer and closer to me.
When he finally bounces me out of my sitting position, I stand up and cross my arms.
