Chapter 3

Nicole is finding it difficult to cope with not knowing what bothered Katie so severly, as well as her own alarming dream.

Chapter 3

     The rest of the day went by like a blur.   Nicole purposely busied herself with things to distract her from the lump that remained on her mind.  To her surprise it worked for the majority of the time, but just when she had a moment to think on her own her worries began to sink through the cracks.  There was not much that she could do, which was what bothered her the most.  She knew that something tragic was going to happen, but she couldn’t even do a thing about it.

     But the second she caught herself thinking about it again, she continued on with another task.  Trying to avoid cutting to any conclusions.  

                                         ……………………………………………….

      After the sky was fully blanketed with darkness, she rolled onto her bed and stared up the ceiling.  Listened to the silence that filled the house.  The silence that, earlier that day, was like a calming melody.  But it no longer gave that feeling.  She lied there, imagining up random things and doodles in her head that would distract her.  I should try giving Katie a call.  She reached for her phone which was a couple inches shy of falling off the bed, and let her fingers punch in the familiar numbers that she knew so well.  She sat up and held the phone to her ear, eager to hear her voice.  Eager to find out what was bothering her.  

     But the only thing she heard was the same monotone voice saying that the number was not reachable.  

     She sighed, and played around with the phone in her hands.  “Oh well, there’s nothing I can do I guess.”  She paused as she placed it on the table next to her.  “I’ll just wait until she calls me.  Until then… I’ll just have to try ignoring it some more.” 

     It was midnight when Nicole finally began to feel drowsy.  She looked at the doodles that she created all around a piece of paper that she had, and smiled when she noticed the one of her and her cat.  She folded the paper up into a small piece and let it fall down to the carpet.  Now that she was tired, she felt so much more at ease as compared to before.

     She flicked off the lights and fell into her bed.  Letting her head hit the pillow felt so good, its cushiony comfort alone almost putting her to sleep.  Subconsciously, she was grateful to finally not be worried about… her worries.  Allowing her mind to go blank as she began to drift off into slumber.  

     It felt more amazing than ever to just… go to sleep.  

     

                                  ……………………………………………………….

     Nicole snapped open her eyes when she heard the front door being unlocked and swung open.  With a brief moment of confusion, she felt around through the darkness for her lamp, and switched it on.  She squinted her eyes from its brightness and allowed them to adjust.  She watched as the light from downstairs was flicked on, and heard the fridge being opened.  Someone must have finally come home.  

     She quietly walked out into the hallway, the ends of her pajama bottoms rubbing against the carpet.  She wondered who it was.  Was it her aunt coming home from her vacation?  Was it one of her sisters coming back from their boyfriends’ houses?  Or was it her uncle who just finished his work?  

     She stroked her cat’s velvety black fur when he joined her, and then began to walk silently down the stairs.  Carefully avoiding all the spots that she knew would make a cracking noise.  She stepped into the hallway, the tiles feeling cold against her bare feet.  

     Curious to find out who just arrived home, she peeked around the corner into the kitchen.  Surprised to see her sister was the one present, who was scavenging around in a big purple handbag.  Nicole recognized that it was the new purse she bought a couple of days ago.  

     “Hey.”  Nicole spoke as she casually walked in from around the corner.  Angela glanced at her before continuing with the search in her bag.  “Hey.”  She answered.  

     As she played with her pajama top, she wondered why her sister came home at… at 3:00am in the morning.  

     “I’m not staying.”  Angela spoke without looking up.  “I just came home to get something.  I’m going back to Jake’s as soon as I find it.”

     Nicole gazed at the dim light that was on above the stove, feeling drowsy.  

     “Well I’m gonna get back to bed.”  She mumbled, only to get no response.  So she turned around and silently walked back up the stairs to her room.  The room where her comfy bed waited for her.  She fell into it and felt her cushiony pillow beneath her head that seemed so heavy.  Closing her eyes, she fell into slumber almost instantly, her mind gone blank.  Being put to sleep so quick, not even awake long enough to hear as her sister left the house once again.