I Know What You're Afraid Of

Chapter 7

  Marianne stood in front of the stove flipping pancakes. She was surprised when Miles apologized. She didn't think he would. She was glad he did though because that means he has a heart. Judging by her horrible dream, she was beginning to believe he didn't have one. Marianne was in a house she had never seen before. The room she stood in was huge and looked old. The walls were a red shade of brown, though she couldn't really tell because it was dark. The only light was from a few candles placed in each corner of the room. A big mirror was placed on the wall in front of her. Marianne walked towards it but stopped in her tracks when she realized it wasn't her reflection she was seeing. Staring back at her was a woman who looked to be in her twenties. She had short blond hair and bright blue eyes. Marianne noticed a shadow in the corner of the mirror. "Miles."  Marianne didn't say it. It was the lady in the mirror. Miles? Marianne turned around to find the boy standing right in front of her, and before she could speak, Miles wrapped his hands around her throat and pushed her head into the glass, shattering it.

    Then she woke up and he was just standing there. She doesn't know if she should befriend him because he apologized or fear him. Sure, he didn't smile much, but when he did, it was almost genuine. Almost. Just then, Ricky walked in with Gina asking if she needed any help. So, Ricky and Gina helped set the table while Marianne finished making breakfast. Soon, Brad came down followed by Miles, who seemed to be the only person that changed their clothes. He wore a black sweater with white and brown stripes, tucked into high-waisted light-wash blue jeans that were cuffed at the bottoms. Marianne smiled kindly at him, and to her surprise, he smiled back. A genuine smile.

    Marianne stacked the pancakes onto a big plate and brought them over to the table, where the others were seated. She sat down at the head of the table, Gina to her left, and Miles to her right. They each grabbed a few pancakes and began eating. The seat next to Miles was empty. Sydney hadn't come down yet. Who could blame her after the event that took place just hours earlier? No one else seemed to notice she was missing from the table. "Has anyone seen Sydney?"

     Brad scoffed from the other end of the table. "Who cares? She almost killed us."

     At this point, Marianne had mentally attacked Brad three times. "She saved us. It's not her fault. You ran at him with a lamp! What, did you think you could fight him and win? We all saw that knife go right through him as if he wasn't there. If it weren't for Sydney, we would all be dead." She hadn't realized she was yelling until she had stopped. They were all staring at her frozen. Miles looked amused; a smirk plastered on his face. "We should all thank her."

   Ricky nodded in agreement. Gina on the other hand, looked seconds away from exploding. "You want us to thank her? I'm sorry, are you aware she did that with her mind? She's a freak! A monster!" Marianne was secretly wishing she would explode. Gina turned to Ricky and folded her arms. "Do you think we should thank her? You could have died."

   "I do think we should thank her, Gina. I mean, yeah, we could have died, but I don't think it's entirely her fault. She was just as scared and confused as we were. That's probably why she isn't here right now." Gina gave him an incredulous looked and turned to Miles.

    "You're awfully quiet. What do you think we should do?"

    Marianne rolled her eyes. This is ridiculous. Miles looked at Marianne as if he were waiting for her to tell him what to say. She just shrugged and gestured for him to answer. It was his turn to roll his eyes. "I think this is stupid." Thank you. "Do whatever you want. Just stop whining about it." That was the second time he had snapped like that. Marianne was too distracted by the priceless look on Gina's face to care. Her face was red, and her jaw was practically on the floor. Marianne had to bite back a smile and pinch her hand to keep her from laughing. Gina got up from the table and stomped up the stairs.