*Author's Note: All characters in this story are eighteen and older. No underage characters are present in the story or put into suggestive situations. This story has mildly disturbing scenes, please be warned. Thank you for reading and enjoy chapter eight of this story.*
For the first time in years, my dream was simply just that. A dream. No traumatic flashbacks or ill-gotten gains to be had. A simple dream about me, my family, and everyone else in my life. My mother, Marci, kissing my forehead for being a good boy to her all these years. My step momma, Isabella, who looked at me with a kind expression. My oldest sister, Wolfie, who bit her bottom lip at me. My other sister, Autumn, who blew me a kiss from slightly far away. I turned around in my dream, to see my two friends that are currently in my life. Evaline, my best friend, who simply shoved her middle finger in the air at me. Aiko, who shyly waved hello, only to walk towards Autumn's direction. A voice reached out to me, softly speaking through the haze of fog that was my mindscape. "James?" I tried to find the voice, only to be misguided, finding myself in front of the fried chicken restaurant my mom likes to get her lazy dinners from. That was when the light that illuminated from above turned dark, making it seem like an eerily quiet night. The neon open sign made my face red, while the blue corner lights made the whole thing seem surreal. I walked into the place, which was deserted except for the booth at the tail end of the hall. In the booth was my teacher, Ms. Aguta, alongside her eighteen-year-old daughter. They were having a meal together, which to me felt slightly off for some reason.
Quickly after I saw them, that reason came into view. The hooded figure I saw at school walked past me, taking a seat in the neighboring booth to them. I tried to say something, but my voice wouldn't come out of my throat. It was like something was holding me back. Keeping me still so I couldn't try and help my teacher. The world started to crumble around me. Walls started to crack and fold, with windows breaking into pieces before disappearing into the floor. I heard screaming yet couldn't make out from where, looking in every which direction that I could. That was when the hooded figure appeared in front of me, scaring me half to death in my own dream turned nightmare. What was even more terrifying was the eyes. I couldn't see the color of them, but I could see their shape. The worst part was how recognizable they were. Before I could do anything, the hooded figure pointed at a bathroom. It looked like the bathroom from the restaurant. As the bathroom door slowly opened, a flood of red came out from it. As I was carried away in a sea of blood, I woke up in my bed, sweating from head to toe.
I looked around in a slight panic, before seeing my naked sister sleeping soundly next to me. With a sigh of relief, I laid back down, which must have disturbed her cause she cuddled closer into me. My phone buzzed next to my head, making me reach for it to see the notification. It was currently October 16
th
, meaning my stepmother's birthday is in two days. "Shit..." I said to myself, not sure how I would even be able to get a good present by this point. Also, I don't think it would be wise to get a simple gift since I just made my risky play last night. I sighed to myself, lost in thought about what to do next. That was when I turned my head to let my closet come into view. I remembered last night being weirded out for some reason by it, with no rhyme or reason to either. Slowly creeping out of bed as to not wake up Wolfie, I walked over to the closet in question. I opened the door to it, seeing my hanged clothes in front of me. My eyes gradually went from wall to wall, searching for something that I am not exactly sure of.
I was going to give up, only for my blurry morning vision to finally lock in, focusing on a singular point towards the middle left of my closet back wall. A hole was randomly there. Not a small hole either, but a big enough hole to see through. The other side was dark, too dark to see inside of. I rubbed my chin, backing up from my closet. Doing mental imagery, I figured it led directly into the wall, which didn't make much sense. Meaning there was some way to access the wall from somewhere else. The more likely possibility was the attic, making me put on my clothes quickly. Some basketball shorts and t-shirt as to hurry up and get my investigation done quickly before the house wakes up. My feet felt light against the carpeted hallway floor, letting me move with ease until I got to the middle of the hall. I looked up at the ceiling, where the attic door was closed shut. I jumped up, grabbing the cord to bring the stairwell down. Soon as I set it in place, I started to climb up into the black abyss above me.
My hand touched the wooden floor first, letting me use my weight as leverage to pull my body into the attic. It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the lighting. The air smelled like dust, with a hint of whatever could be dying within the cracks of what can't be seen. I found the light switch, turning it on to reveal piles of boxes. All our old toys and family framed photos were up here, not doing well over the course of years without human touch. I looked around the floor, trying to find a way to go downwards since that would be the only way into the wall of the house. However, I couldn't find anything big enough to allow for such a thing to occur. That was until my foot felt a plank shift slightly. Raising an eyebrow, I crotched down to remove the plank, allowing me to shift the ones around it as well. With all the planks removed, a hole into the wall of the house was created, letting me hop down into the confine space. After sliding a few feet over, I found the hole that looked through my closet, letting me be able to see through the crack of the closet door. I saw Wolfie's naked body on my bed, with the blanket moved to the side. Her soft breathing could be seen with her body slightly shifting up and down.
I pushed my back against the wall behind me, realizing this was not only weird, but also a key indicator that someone in my own family was spying on me. Why would they need to do that? Is this related to the case, or is this more on the line of one of my family members having a stalker's crush on me? The more I try to understand what was happening around me, the more I get confused. A voice pulled me out of my thoughts, with the voice coming from the bedroom I was peeking into. "Pup?" My sister woke up, making me quickly get out from the crawlspace. I put the floorboards back, only to hear footsteps coming up the attic stairs. My eyes turned around, only to see my stepmom's head come into view from the attic entrance.
"James?"
"Oh... Hi." I may have been awkward at first, but that was only because I was making sure she didn't see what I was doing up here. I started to walk towards her, forcing her to go back down the steps of the attic to let me out of it. I pushed up the staircase, closing the attic before tapping the dust off my clothes that had formed. I turned around to face her, looking her up and down. She was wearing her nighttime clothes, which was just a nightgown that covered just enough of the body to not seem inappropriate to wear in front of kids. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"I woke up to make breakfast, but I saw the attic door opened. What were you even doing up there?" My mind quickly went to three possibilities of how this conversation could go. Personally, I just wanted to get out of here to start looking into my theories about the case at hand. However, if I want to keep my family out of the loop for the time being, I must keep all of them in check, including Isabella.
"I was looking at my old stuff. How time flies when you're focused on what you want in life. What you need in life." I put an emphasis on the word 'need' while looking directly into her eyes. I stepped towards her, which oddly didn't budge her stance like it did last night. It threw me off, but not as much as her next set of words did.
"If I am what you need, then why don't you just tell your mom that?" I crossed my arms, unsure where she could be taking this.
"That's stupid, considering you are her partner."
"Yes, James. Her partner, and while we may not be married yet, I am also considered to be your stepmom at this point. I have watched you grow up from a young boy into a man, and the man you are becoming is scary to say the least."
"I... What?" I was in the palm of her hands now, as her words genuinely hurt me. I was becoming a scary man? I am the least scary looking person in the world by this point.
"You don't talk to anyone anymore, and it was only recently you started to bond with your sisters, but I know it is for some weird reason. Even if I don't know what that reason is, it is also roping in your mother. That reason is changing you in a scary way. A way mere words cannot describe. To top it all off, it feels like I am being left out of something big. Why am I being left out if I am considered family?" I couldn't speak, let alone think of a response that would satisfy her while making me seem respectful. "James... Talk to me, please... If you can't get me a gift for my birthday, then make that your gift. Talk. To. Me."
"...Fine. However, we shouldn't really talk here. I rather talk somewhere private." I thought for a moment, realizing I could kill two birds with one stone if I go to that place. "Take me out on a date? Usual restaurant? I will buy us some breakfast and tell you what is happening."
"A date? Really?"
"Well, I did say last night I was into you. Not like I lied about that." I smirked at her, making her shake her head at me. However, her lip bite made it known she was genuinely thinking about it.
"Okay, a date between us. Maybe I will learn why you are still single."
"Be careful not to fall for your stepson in the process."
