Mind Or Matter

Chapter Fifteen

William

Monday.

I hated Monday.

They were all boring.

Except for this one.

"Candi, I'm leaving for the student psychiatry classes!" I shouted from the kitchen, shoving a piece of toast in my mouth. I ran across the apartment to the living/dining room that Candi slept in.

But the couch was empty.

"Candi?" I called, checking every corner of the apartment.

Looking outside the window, I saw someone with straight pink hair grab a bike leaning against a building and started riding it down the sidewalk.

Candi! I thought, zipping straight to the door. Running past my keys, I stopped in my tracks, turned around, yanked them off the kitchen counter, and headed out the door, running straight to my car.

Getting into the driver's seat, I sped off the side of the road into the busy street, eyeing the speedometer.

God, what if Chase got her? I wondered, speeding through a yellow light. No, there wasn't a break-in. But what if she got a text from him? What if she's meeting him somewhere? No, William, you're talking crazy.

Sitting at a red light, annoyed, I looked around. Something doesn't feel right, I thought, staring at the empty streets around me.

The horizontal streets didn't have any cars crossing in front of me, yet the light remained red.

Looking at all four stoplights, I froze. They were all red, yet mine was the only car in sight.

Checking to see if anyone was crossing the street, I observed that the sidewalks were bare, too.

When the light remained red, even after countless minutes of waiting, I decided to go. It's not dangerous, I thought, to run a red light if there's no cars on the road.

Going down the road, I took a left onto Country Lane. When I reached the dead end of the street, where Chase's house was, I saw the white bicycle on its side by the curb, the wheels still.

She's inside, I thought, bolting out of the car to the door. Swearing again and again in my head, I twisted the doorknob. To no one's surprise, it was locked. I ran around the side of the house, annoyed to see nothing but brick wall. Switching around to the left side of the house, I saw an open door. Rushing through, I found myself standing in the garage. At the opening of the dark room, I saw light shining through an open door. Crossing over the threshold, I stood in the middle of a hallway. Spotting a carpeted staircase with footprints in the fabric, I followed them up the stairs.

The footprints stopped right under the string that opened the door to the attic. Dangling right above me, I yanked the cord, ducking down.

A ladder came shooting down. Jumping, I almost ran down the stairs to get away, but stopped when I realized that the ladder wasn't going to hit me after all.

Climbing up, I got out my phone, turning on the flashlight. But, even with the small light, I could barely see.

It was pitch black. Chase's attic looked like the kind you'd see in a horror movie – broken mirrors leaning against the dusty walls, portraits hanging, boxes everywhere.

I flinched when I heard the turn of a page. I swore, out of the corner of my eye, that I saw the little girl I met at the mall. But, when I looked over my shoulder, I saw nothing but a painting of an old lady with tiny glasses.