The house is full of water, from floor to ceiling.
There's a dark creature trying to capture the two people trapped inside the walls.
There's one way to escape.
One way, and one escapee.
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. 2 . The Chaos of Katie
I hid in my room for the rest of the afternoon. My laptop sat open and I stared at the lists of assignments that were due soon. None of them held any interest so I turned over to my stories.
Mom always said that she had written at my age but she never let me see any of it. She claimed it was too cringey. When I looked over my stuff, I realized that one day I would be like her. Nothing I wrote now would get published so I didn't try as hard as I could, I just wrote.
The sky turned from a pastel blue to a wicked black, snuffing out the sun and pitching the earth into a fearsome shade. I climbed out of bed and looked out the window. It faced the ocean, the exact spot I had stood with Katie.
"Jenn, could you come out. Katie's here." Moms voice echoed in my head. I pivoted around, my arms shaking.
Katie, the girl I hadn't seen for years, was coming. She was inside my house, probably heading to my room. Would she knock like a stranger or barge in like the old times? She knocked, which sent a stabbing pain through my chest.
"Come in." I stiffened.
The door cracked open and she peeked inside. She looked like she had in the pictures, pale and skinny. Her hair, which had once been thick and beautiful, was now thin and stringy. It hung down to her waist.
"Hello." her timid voice barely crossed the room.
I stared, dumbfounded. If I hadn't seen the pictures, I wouldn't believe that this was Katie. I almost wished that she had moved. I didn't want any of this. I didn't want to rekindle our relationship. Her parents had overreacted, why should I be forced back into this? Yet, a small part of me was begging to run overt and hug her.
"Hey, Kate." I reverted to the name that only I had called her.
She stepped inside and looked around. She seemed shocked by the room, like she had expected it to be the same as it was all those years ago. I had changed the theme from sports and pink to something more mature. There were a couple fish bowls and small fountains adorning the shelves along the wall. A small collection of vines hung from the ceiling in little pots, their tendrils extending down to the floor. They crept up the posts of my bed and gave the room a jungle feel.
I loved it, contrary to my mom.
I was about to say something again when mom walked into the room. She smiled, clasping her hands together and looking from me to Katie. "How are you guys doing? Feeling like old friends?" Her voice had the fake plasticness that she always plastered in when she was making an effort to be happy.
"Mo-om." I groaned. Behind her, Katie's parents filled the door. They looked anxious as Katie crossed over and stood beside me, her arms folded.
"Seriously, we're fine." She said harshly. Her parents seemed taken back. They moved out into the hall and, after one last glance, my mom followed them.
