The Forest

Chapter 7

I laid in my bed for what felt like hours. I didn't know what to do. No one, and by no one I mean my mother, believes me and the one person that even had the slightest idea that something was wrong with Sammy doesn't want me to ever come back again. Everyone in this town seemed strange and appeared to have some hidden motive. I don't think I can trust anyone and I don't think that's ever going to change. I will be stick in this mind set forever.

After we visited Caroline I came home and went to sleep. I slept to escape reality, it was just too much for me. That night when I went to sleep I had the same dream from before. The dream where my window won't close no matter how much I try to close it and the air gets thinner. I can hardly breathe and the light disappears again leaving me in a pain induced darkness. Everything remained the same from the dream before except.. there was someone else standing outside my window. Instead of the man that I assume to be Jasper standing outside my window in the dream, it was Sammy. His eyes were red and his face was covered in scratches and blood that covered his face and clothes. In his hands lay the body of the jogger, her body limp and lifeless. I instantly pulled myself up, trying to fight the images away. Sadly, the images consumed my thoughts.

I pulled myself up off the bed and glanced out my window. For the first time in a while Sammy stood outside. It was probably another show for my mother to make her believe that he was "fine". He wasn't doing anything, but standing there. He was staring at the forest very intently. I instantly had an image of my dream enter my head. I tried to pull my window down without being noticed and without making a sound. I was in a mental panic. I couldn't picture him as himself anymore, any moment he could lash out on me.. or my mother. It was like waiting for a bomb to explode and you didn't know where it was coming from.

He must've heard me because when I looked up he was staring at the window. He was staring at me. I felt very uncomfortable, he smiled at me most likely noticing my discomfort. I tried to remember what Caroline said and I tried to convince myself of what I already knew was right this whole time. That's not Sammy and I had to stay away from him if I wanted to survive. I want to find my brother, but I feel like he's already lost.

I closed the curtains and walked down stairs to the living room. I've always been so focused on what was outside, but even the inside of this house seemed very off putting. The wood the house was made of was old and the color was dull. The furniture, although somewhat new, seemed to begin to blend in with it's dull surroundings. The floor had the habit of creaking and the floor boards lifted in certain places and made you trip if you weren't paying attention. The walls had our pictures on it. The pictures were family portraits we took together. They used to be very new, nice, and clean but now they had torn edges and one picture had an entire left side torn off.

The photo was of me when I was fourteen years old, Sammy when he was eight years old, my mother, and my father Derek. It was taken three years. Although, we were a four person family, after the tear it was only three. My father was clipped out of the photo. His absence, however sad, did not bother me much. My father abandoned us. We used to live in Seattle last year together. My mother and father had their issues, but they always put on a brave face for us when we were very little kids.

Around the beginning of last year my father cheated on my mother. He said that he couldn't live being unhappy anymore. After he filed for divorce he took the house and my mother, Sammy, and I were forced to move. My father happily took all the money, leaving my mother penny less. She had a job that didn't pay much and my father worked as a successful lawyer. My mother never had a chance.

He said that he never really wanted children and that we, my brother and I, after we were born, were the reason their relationship started falling apart. What a complete jerk, blaming his children for his selfishness and cheating. He was low and what he did was low and in my mind he was nothing better than the dirt under my shoe. I'd like to say I didn't cut him out of the photo, but... that would be a lie. A big, fat lie.

As I stood there staring at the photos I heard a knock at the door. That's funny, we usually don't have very many visitors. I open the door to see a familiar face. Sheriff.

"Good mornin' " he said in a moderately happy voice.

"Good morning sir" I continue, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, mind if I come in?" he asks, I respond with a sure and let him into the door way. I had begun to notice an accent of his I didn't realize he had. He sounded like he was from the south.

"Is your mother home?"

"uh no, she's out right now" I respond, pulling out a chair from underneath the living room table and took a seat.

"Oh" he said, "Well I just wanted to inform you of a missing teenager" he continued, taking out a seat as well next to mine.

"Missing teenager?" I ask, "What happened?"

"We don't really know" he answered with a sigh that seemed rehearsed. It felt like he's told many people this story.

"It's a girl. Her name is Suzie White, or Suzanne. She was last seen about two days ago in her families backyard." he said, holding a photo of a girl who appeared to be about seventeen years old . She had hazel eyes and light brown hair that curled down to her shoulders. She was mixed and had freckles under and around her eyes and nose. She looked like an American Girl doll fresh out the box. She was beautiful.

"Have you seen her before son?" he asked, snapping my attention away from the picture.

"No...no. I haven't seen her before" I answered.

"Well, if you see her... let me know okay? keep the photo too, I know you wouldn't lie to me." he said like there was some hidden message behind it. What secrets does he think I have to tell? What does he think I've seen?

"I will kindly let you know if I see her" I answer.

He took the top of his hat and tipped it in my direction as a sign of an okay.

We both got up from our chairs and I opened the door for him as he walked through the entrance way.

"Have a great day" he said,opening his police car door with that same smirk he gave me the first time he came here. It was like a smirk of a snake, has he caught his prey yet?

"Will do sir" I answered and shut the door slowly to keep from looking afraid and in a rush.

"Who was that?" I heard a voice behind me say. It was my mother. I lied to sheriff. I didn't want her down stairs to hear anything he had to say in fear that it would be forest related and she'd knock down the subject altogether. I needed as much information as I could and as far as anyone else was concerned... the missing of that girl had to do with the forest.

"Uh... no one" I respond with a shakey voice, "just someone asking for directions". I stuff the girls photo into my pocket.

"Oh" she responded and nodded her head in acceptance to my lie. I stand and wonder how many lies I've told and how many I'd have to tell to save my brother.