ALone

"Come on Lexi it'd be so much fun! We could go out, get ice cream, watch a movie, anything," I say, pleading with my best friend.

"I told you Amy. I have to go to my grandma's birthday party this weekend," she says, obviously no longer amused by my begging. 

"Fine. But I'd better get a piece of cake when you get back."

"Deal. Bye Amy," she says.

"Bye Lexi."

 

     I hang up the phone and flop down onto the bed. I let myself be consumed by the pillows and stare blankly up at the ceiling. I turn over onto my side and grab onto my teddy bear. "Why is everyone so busy tonight teddy" Do you know? Do you?" I stare into his glassy brown eyes and they stare back endlessly at me with a silly smile. "Of course not," I say. "You never do." I look back up at the ceiling and let out a puff of air. What to do, what to do. Any other normal teenager would be having a party while their parents were gone, but not me. I don't even know if that what teenagers do. But whatever, I'm going to get a movie. 

 

    I jump up off the bed and throw on a sweatshirt. I step out the door and begin my mile trek to the store. The air is cool and crisp as it washes over my face. The breeze blows only slightly but it's just enough to send a shiver down my spine as I pull my sweatshirt closer to my body. The shadows twist and turn around me in the darkness, but I let them. No sense in being afraid. 

 

   Around 8:30 I finally make it to the store and quickly pick out a chick flick for the night to curl up with in a blanket with a carton of Ben & Jerry's Ice cream: The perfect combination for a girl like me. I step back into the street to find it desolate. I'm used to the small town feel, but something is different. The air feels denser and more dangerous. The lights shine with a brightness I've never seen before, each one perfectly aligned with the next. Every parking spot is empty, leaving me to feel like the only human being alive. My chest feels heavy and my palms get clammy, but there is small piece of me that craves the adventure, and that I like. 

 

   I continue to walk past houses and businesses, each one with its lights on, but nothing seems to be going on inside them. They're just empty shells waiting to be occupied. I finally reach my house again and crash in through the garage door, panting. Never again will I walk to the video store alone. My eyes begin to wander around the room, wondering if it had ever felt so...empty. Just like downtown, everything I'd ever known felt oddly unreal. The lights shine with a different glow, and the pictures of my family don't look so familiar. They feel very distant. I walk closer to them, squinting at one in particular. It was a photo my family had taken a long time ago on our trip to Hawaii. We all sat on posed on the beach, each in our own unique, sporadic position. It had always been my favorite. But as I looked a bit closer, my family starts to disappear. One by one, they vanish until I am the only one. I stumble backwards, unsure of what had just happened. I fall backwards onto the couch, my heart thumping increasingly fast. "What is going on?" I think. That couldn't have just happened. I think about all the other pictures I have and run upstairs to my bedroom and stare at the pictures cluttering my bulletin board. As I look at them, everybody but me begin to disappear: Lexi, Sam, Jared, Darcy, everyone. "How can this be happening!?" I scream. My hands shake and I can feel my heartbeat pounding into my head. I sprint out of my room and back down the stairs, watching the rest of the pictures fall apart. The walls begin to shake and the pictures begin to fall shattering to pieces as they hit the ground. Glass flies everywhere as I crumple to the ground beside the couch. I scream and cover my ears, tortured by the sound. Something falls from the wall, hitting my head. I see only darkness as the world fades from my view.

 

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   I wake up what seems to be the next morning. My head is pounding and my body is still shaking with fear. I pull myself out of my sunken position and sit upright. My vision goes into a blurry mesh of colors and I fall back onto the ground where I stay for the next few minutes until the sensation stops. I once again raise myself but all the way until I'm standing in the center of what used to be my family room. Everything is trashed. Couches are torn to pieces, pictures clutter the floor, and pieces of everything are scattered everywhere. My eyes instantly fill with tears and I collapse at the knees, bending down to cry into my hands. The only thought I can muster up is why. Why did this happen? What is it? I don’t know what to do. So I step outside. 

I wipe the remainder of the tears away from my face as the cool morning air blows through my hair. The air still feels different. But this time it's something much worse. The air feels of loneliness and sadness. It hangs over me, a cloud to follow me around. I walk around to my neighbor’s house to see if anyone else had seen what had happened, but no one seemed to be home. I walk up to Ms. Flower’s door and knock. No answer. I knock once again and still find no answer. "That’s strange. She was home yesterday." I say to myself. But I move on quickly. She could have left.

I try this on the next few houses, each one without a response. And with each new house, my heart sinks further into my stomach and my hands shake uncontrollably. With the 11th house, I decide I can no longer take it. I run back to my house and curl up in bed. My thoughts race to a conclusion. Am I the only one left? It really seems to be the only solution: The…the pictures, the empty homes, the coldness of the town, everything. It all makes sense. And with that, I turn into a mess. I cry without end. I am alone.

Reviews

[mattefox]

you have a very descriptive style, i like it :-)