Forlot - Books 1-3 {Completed}

Chapter Fifteen

"It was there!" I proclaimed.

Damian and I were sitting on the red couch together. I had invited him over for supper after Nell left. I needed to talk about what I experienced earlier, and he was the only person whom I trusted.

But do you think that he believed me?

Nope!

"No way," Damian said in disbelief.

"Yes way!" I exclaimed. "I would not be making this stuff up, now would I?"

"Of course not. But it seems untrue."

"I am telling you that it actually happened!"

"Nigel, could you please lower your voice a bit? You will disturb our neighbors next door," Dad called.

My cheeks turned red. "S-sorry."

"You know that there is no reason to panic."

No reason to panic? If only he knew.

"Have you told your dad yet?" Damian asked.

I shook my head. "Better said than done," I stated. "Besides, he would think that I was joking."

My best friend adjusted his glasses. "And you think that I will believe your story instead?"

"You are smart, Damian. Smarter than me. You might be able to piece out the situation."

I was not kidding on that. He may be the clumsiest, but he is also very smart. He has the highest grades in my entire school and can even make his own websites.

How cool is that?

"I can try." Damian took out a pencil and notepad.

Good ol' Damian. He always has his writing utensil and notepad wherever he goes.

"I would like to ask a few questions first," my best friend suggested. "That way, I can figure out this case at a different angle."

I nodded. "Ask away," I said.

"Question one. What color is your underwear?"

My eyes widened. "What?"

He chuckled. "I am just messing with ya."

I rolled my eyes, smiling. "Ask me a real question."

"Okay, did the shadow have any odd features?"

"Hmm. Except for the red eyes, it was all black."

Damian scribbled something on his notepad. "Was it a boy or a girl?"

I shrugged. "I have no clue. Maybe the shadow was a girl. It took the form of Maxine."

He kept scribbling. "I have one more question. Why did Nell come to your house?"

"She—"

"Kids! Suppertime!" Dad called from the kitchen.

"Finally!" Damian exclaimed happily.

I sighed. "You do realize that my dad made supper, not my mom," I reminded him.

"I never had your mother's meals or your father's meals. Anyway, your father's cooking will taste delicious."

You do not know the half of it.

While my mom was such an amazing cook, my father is...well...average. His cooking is not bad, but it does not compare to the meals and feasts that Mom prepared for us.

I sighed again. I missed her.

My best friend and I headed into the kitchen, and I examined the table.

On the table were three bowls of soup, one for each of us. Next to the bowls were napkins, and on the napkins were spoons. Three wooden chairs were set in place for us sit in.

Damian and I sat down, and I stared at my soup.

The soup was dark green, and bubbles reached to the surface, making a pop! sound. Crackers floated on top of the soup, and then started breaking apart and falling to the bottom of the bowl.

I covered my mouth to keep from gagging.

This soup looked like a horror movie that came to life!

"D-Dad, what is this?" I questioned, uncovering my mouth and looking away from the soup.

"Soup," he responded.

"I know that. What kind though?"

"Spinach soup. It is supposed to be healthy for you." He sat near us. "Dig in!"

"I think that I will pass," Damian said.

"Me too," I agreed, pushing the bowl away from me.

"You boys need to at least try a sip," Dad insisted. "You might like it."

"No thank you," Damian and I said at the same time. "We would rather have liver and onions."

"You two do not like liver and onions."

"Yeah, but it must look and taste better than the soup," I told him. "Especially the onions."

My dad shook his head sadly. "I tried." He took out his phone from his pocket and pressed a button, and I heard American Starless being played.

"Dad, are you watching American Starless?"

"Why should you care? You obviously do not care that I slaved over a hot stove to make a nutritious meal."

"Technically, you did not need to use the stove to make soup," Damian jumped in.

I felt bad. I did not mean to hurt Dad's feelings. I knew that he was doing his best without Mom around.

"Dad, I—"

"I know that you miss Mom, and so do I. But wanting her with us will not bring her back. She is gone, and we have to move on." A tear streamed down his cheek. "If she were still here, then she would scold me for watching American Starless. She hated that show from the bottom of her heart."

I looked down. I got Dad upset.

Dad got up from his seat. "I will be back." He hurried out of the kitchen.

"Man, I feel sorry for your dad," Damian said.

"It has been hard for him," I explained. "He loved Mom so much, just like I did."

"I bet."

I thought about how Mom scolded with Dad on American Starless. You see, my mom loathed American Starless. She stated that it is a useless show with no interesting concept. It is just there to tell the audience that you are either good enough or not. I know that a lot of people love that show, but I have to agree with my mom on this one.

"Hey, I just realized something," Damian spoke.

"What?" I asked.

"You told me that Nell came through the back door."

"Yep."

"How can that be? Your house does not have a back door."