Back For You

Chapter Four.

     Back For You - Chapter Four. 

                            “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

Peyton sighed and nodded, “Yes, mom, I’ll be okay. I’m not a child.”

Her mother frowned, “I just feel guilty leaving you just to go have drinks with my friends.”

Peyton groaned and leaned her head back against the chair. Peyton had been practically spending the whole night telling her mother to go out and have fun for a break. Her mother wouldn’t listen. At least not until Peyton pushed her up the stairs and pleaded with her to go get dressed. Her mother gave in soon enough when Peyton said she could borrow her pair of Jimmy Choo heels she got from her last birthday.

But even after she got dressed did her mother start to argue again. Peyton was beyond frustrated at this point.

She stood from her chair and grabbed her mother by the shoulders, pushing her towards the door. “You deserve to have fun for a change. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

The truth was, she wouldn’t be. She didn’t want her mother to leave her alone. Especially not at night. But Peyton felt guilty for making her mother stay home all those nights she got invited to go out just because she was scared. It was selfish of her. It had made her feel worse when she saw her mom sitting on the couch and watching some Spanish novella. Her mother hated novellas. Come to think of it, her mother couldn’t even speak Spanish. Nor understand it. She must have been incredibly bored. And it was because of Peyton making her stay home for childish reasons.

There was nothing to worry about anymore, anyways. Tyler Moore was locked up and Peyton was safe… right?

“Promise you’ll call me if anything happens.” Her mother gave Peyton a stern look. Peyton nodded and forced a smile onto her face.

“Of course,” She promised and opened the front door. “Now get going before your friends’ think you’re not coming.”

Her mother rolled her eyes and leaned in, pressing a chaste kiss to her daughter’s cheek. “Bye, love you.”

Peyton gave her mom a hug and reluctantly let her go. “Love you too.”

She watched her mom walk over and climb into her ford, seconds later, she heard the engine fire up and her mom pulled out of the driveway. Peyton waved and closed the door once her mother drove off.

She was officially alone.

She didn’t hesitate to put on the bolt lock. Nor to turn on all the lights in the house and to crank the volume of the TV to the loudest she could without disturbing the neighbors.

She kept her phone close by as well.

She settled down to do some homework and eat. Only a few times she caught herself gazing around and looking for any sign or sound of movement around her home. It was silent besides the drone of the TV in the background. Still, Peyton wasn’t able to be put at ease.

She decided that maybe a hot bath would help her relax.

She stuffed away her work in her bag and made her way to the bathroom, collecting a towel along the way and locking the door behind her when she entered the bathroom.

She filled the bath tub up with warm water and jasmine smelling bubbles, removed her clothes, and then slid into the water with a content sigh.

She sat in the tub for twenty minutes or so before she heard a loud thud just outside the door.

Immediately, her heart began to hammer against her chest and her breathing picked up.

The water in the bath suddenly felt cold.

She hurried out of the tub and tightly wrapped the towel around her frame. She pressed her ear against the door, straining to hear if there was any sound of footsteps or even breathing. Nothing.

It was silent. Completely silent.

Unable to help herself, Peyton peeled open the door in her state of panic and rushed to the kitchen, searching for phone. Except it was gone.

Peyton struggled to remember where she had placed it when she went to fetch herself a towel. She tugged at her hair in frustration. It was such a bad habit, but she didn’t care. It was the least of her problems, anyway.

Peyton looked around frantically and knocked over items as she searched for her phone. She even went as far as to glance under the grand piano in her living room. She didn’t think about how stupid that was until she noticed the magazines sprawled across the floor. She was certain they hadn’t been there before, but on the coffee table.

She glanced to see another magazine dangling over the edge of the coffee table, just above the rest that were on the floor. She breathed a sigh of relief and placed a hand over her heart, as if trying to stop the erratic beat.

So that’s what caused that sound. The magazine’s dropped on the floor, Peyton thought. She shook her head and scowled herself for panicking like a mad women.

She shrugged on an oversized sweater that she found on the couch and began to pick up the magazines and restack them. That is, till she heard another sound. This time, it was coming from the hallway.

She recognized the sound as footsteps.

Without thinking, she flew down the hallway and to the stairs. She ran up and dashed around the corner and into her room.

She expected to see Tyler there. With that same creepy smile on his face as he announced that he was back for her. But there was nothing. No one.

Nothing was out of place in her room.  There were no imprints of foot prints on her white rug. Nothing. Everything was normal.

Except for the window.

 It was open.