Number of Death

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

        The room lit up like the brightest day of Summer. I slowly crept in and ran my finger on the wall. The feel of the wallpaper was ridged and had the texture of sand. The walls were covered with antique paintings and animal heads. The ground lied with dust and rust. The four corners filled with webs. This place has not been open in ages.

         I noticed a book case standing tall in the corner. It looked like one I had seen before. But I wasn’t sure of where. I opened it and inside were tons of books. Books I’m sure no one has read. I picked up a large book and set it on the table near by. I blew the dust off and opened the book, dusting off every page I turned. There were just pictures of signs and words of different languages. I turned around to see that Pretty Boy was gone. And who had been standing there watching me this whole time wasn’t him. It looked like him. But it wasn’t. He stood there. Like the rest. Still, silent. He crossed his arms and stared at me. Watching me. I turned back to the book and kept turning pages.

        I saw something familiar. This sign I had seen before. I couldn’t recall where. I just couldn’t. “We gotta go. I don’t want to get caught.” Pretty Boy said. I turned quickly around and hesitated before saying, “Okay.” I got up and took the book along with me. We exited the room and Pretty Boy never turned back to lock the door. I thought I’d remind him but I wanted back in that room. I followed Pretty Boy down the hallway and finally reached my next class. Throughout the day it seemed he had every class with me. It was weird that he would but I was okay with it. I haven't even gotten to know his name yet and I like him. I keep trying to start a conversation to find it out but he just ignores me. I finally find him in the hallway and tap his shoulder.

        "Hey." I say.

        "Hey." Pretty Boy says.

        "So...question."

        "Yeah?"

        "What is your name exactly."

        "Grant. Grant Mathers. Yours?"

        "Lilly. Lilly Greene."

        "Nice to meet you Lilly Greene."

        "Nice to meet you Grant Mathers."

        He grinned from ear to ear. So did I. His smile was the greatest thing I've ever seen. His smile made me happy. Made me feel so warm inside and made me giggle. I sat next to him and we passed notes all during class. Not just friend notes. Love notes. At that moment I was so glad I met him. I wrote my number down onto the paper and handed it to him. He opened it and grinned. I grinned back. He wrote next onto the paper “Want to see a movie?” I of course replied with “YESS!” I had a date. With a real boy!

         The day had ended. I walked outside to my mother waiting there in her brand new car. I got in the car and she was crying. When I asked her why she didn’t reply. I’m thinking she’s still mourning over my fathers death. We drove silently home. Neither one of us spoke. We pulled into the driveway. I got out of the car and walked inside to see Bobby waiting there happy to see me. He greeted me with a huge hug. I asked him if he’d like to watch TV and eat ice cream. We had always done that when we were younger. We sat down and watched SpongeBob and ate Chocolate Vanilla ice cream until it was time for him to go to bed. 

        Mom called his name and he rushed upstairs to bed. I cleaned up our mess and watched TV for just a few more minutes. I grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. I walked upstairs and checked on Bobby. He looks so calm when he sleeps. I walked in and sat next to him. Tucking him in more to make him feel safe. I closed his door to just a crack to let some light in. I walked around the corner to my moms room. She was sound asleep. Smiling as she slept. First time in a long time I’ve seen her smile. I tucked her in as well and shut her door completely. I walked to my room tripping over Bobby’s skateboard. I picked it up and put it in his toy closet. I lied down on my bed and read myself to sleep. Reading “Abundance of Katherine's” by John Green. I dozed off but it wasn’t long before I was awaken by a noise.

        A noise that wasn’t pleasant. It sounded like a scream of animal. And we don’t own any. I followed the noise outside of my room. Putting more fear into every foot step I took. The noise stopped and I froze. I stood there for a while. Not wanting to move. I walked back to my room and lied down.

        The next morning I rushed downstairs and told my mom about the noise I had heard but of course she didn’t believe me. I explained to her I wasn’t lying. She just ignored me. I couldn’t blame her for not believing what I was saying. I was probably just over reacting. It was probably just a neighbors dog or something. I woke Bobby up and got him ready for school. Walked him out to the bus stop and got him on the bus. I got ready for school and began walking. On the way there I saw that man again. Except this time he didn’t have a knife, he had a dog. He was throwing the ball and the dog brought it back. I watched for a while enjoying that whole “a dog is a man’s best friend” thrill. The man saw me watching and threw the ball once more. This time into his house. The dog ran into the house for the ball and never came back out. The man stared at me and grinned slightly. I sped up my walking and rushed passed his house. I turned back and saw him watching me. I turned the corner. I couldn’t see him anymore. As I turned the corner I ran into a girl. She was carrying her books and they all fell to the ground.

        “I’m so sorry.” She said. “No it’s my fault I wasn’t watching where I was going.” I told her. “I’m Jess.” She said. “I’m Lilly.” I responded. 

        We walked to school together and talked about this phantom of a man. She says she sees him too. In fact she lives next door. We got to school and we separated. Her down one hallway I to another. On my way to science I ran into Grant. We chatted into class and sat together. Every time he spoke a word my heart raced and my stomach filled with butterflies. His voice was so soothing and peaceful. I sat there with my chin rested into the palm of my hand and listened to the things he had to say. Mr. Matthews walked into class and told us to pick lab partners. Of course I chose Grant, and he chose me. We got our first assignment together. We got a paper and got to work. 

        “So. How do you wanna start this off?” “I guess look it up.” We searched around in books and surfed the internet for ideas. We took up the whole class period before the bell rang. I packed up my stuff and headed to gym, looking down at my feet realizing I had boots on. There’s no way I would put my uniform on with these boots. I went to class and talked to my teacher and all she told me was “No excuses.” So all I did was pace back and forth in front of the locker room doors waiting for class to be over. I watched what was going on around me. Watching the other people. I looked up at the ceiling above the boys locker room door noticing a tile was missing. I looked up and saw two glowing red dots. Thinking they were just electrical lights they got closer. Then I saw a figure. Of a man. With a knife. And his best friend.