Chapter Three

Thunder woke me. It must have been thunder, because the banging was ferociously loud. I must have been out cold. Now that I'm sitting up straight, I can think clearly. Yes, it was thunder. The sound was so distant but so close. Outside one window, the sun is hidden behind dark, gray clouds. Rivulets of water flow down the glass, and small droplets of rain settle on the base of the windowpane. Again the noise rings in my ears, and immediately I know it can’t be thunder. The sound is coming from below me. I jump up and throw on some slippers. How and when did I fall asleep? I was thinking about my day, of Adam; his mysterious, beautiful eyes. No. Stop. You don’t even know him, I think to myself. The house is cold; heart-stopping so. Once again on the first floor, I look around for my parents. Who else could make such a (loud) noise that I heard it from two floors above? I duck into the kitchen, but they aren’t there. Almost too late to see it, I realize a sticky-note has been placed on the counter. In neat, cursive handwriting, only belonging to my mother, I read:
Aerie,
Me and your father have gone out to dinner.
We ordered you pizza. Money by front door.
Love you, Mom.

I crumble the paper up and dunk it in the trashcan. I walk out to the hallway and see the money on the small table next to the door. As I walk down the hallway, my skin tingles. Portraits of people my family doesn’t even know watch me; stair with eyes that seek vengeance. Most of the people in the paintings on the walls died of a mysterious death, while I stand here in the house they used to own, with no connection to their (death). And yet, their revolting faces still accuse and (watch) me (walk) down the hall. At the end, I step into the living room.
The couches and chairs form two parallel lines in the center of the room. A few bookshelves stand on the walls and a record player sits in a corner. A fireplace is directly across from the doorway and the couches sit perpendicular to it. The black of the fireplace attracts your eye; the only color in the room even close to it’s depth is the light blue. A sound vibrating in the air around me points me towards the coal. I bend down next to the fireplace and look for a switch or way to turn it on. The air in this house is excruciatingly cold and the more I stand around looking for a mysterious noise, the more I wonder if I'm going insane.
The fire doesn’t have a switch. On the ground next to it, black charcoal-ed fingerprints surround a box of matches. I pick up the box, and immediately recognize it. They are mine. On the side they say Forever American. On the top is a picture of an American flag and an eagle. I bought the box at a convention when I was in 7th grade. I’m so going to nail my parents about taking my things. I flick open the box and pull out a match.
Never in my life having done this, I go through about seven matches before I realize my efforts are futile. The firewood won’t light, and I have no idea if I’m even trying to ignite the right side of it. I (throw) down the box, but quickly pick it back up and stuff it in my pocket. I walk out of the living room and walk towards the front door. I snatch up the twenty from the table and reach for the front porch lights. The second I flick on the lights, the doorbell rings.

Pain. My heart pumps blood and disperses it so fast I can’t catch my breath. Two times in one day I have almost had to go to the hospital; three if you count the nosebleed. I open the door and the first thing I notice is a drenching boy shivering slightly, but not enough to ruin his manhood. He smiles at me and says “Hey Aerie! I didn’t know you lived here.” Make that a cute drenching boy.
“Hey, Adam. Yeah, we just moved in. But, uh obviously you already know that; since today was my first day of school, and all...” I fade my voice away, because I realize I must have sounded extremely stupid.
He laughs. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“So. How much do I owe you?” I ask.
“Well,” he says. “Seeing as you are new to town, I would tell you to forget about the charge, but since that would probably get me fired, how about we get dinner tomorrow night and I’ll pick up your tab then?”
I can feel my smile penetrating through the rain, and I pause for a second until my heart finishes jumping. “That sounds great,” I manage to say. “I’d love to.”
“Cool,” he says. “Then the total is going to be $8.21.” He looks sheepishly at me like he’s nervous about asking me for money; probably more nervous than asking me on a date. A date! I sigh while looking into his eyes and realize I must have a complete idiot, take-advantage-of-me-
now face on. I clear my throat, pull out the twenty, and hand it to him. He takes it and puts it in a bag while handling the box with his other hand. He hands me $11 dollars and a warm pizza.
“Wait, here’s a tip.” I try to hand him a couple dollars, but he just grins.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says. “The pleasure was all mine.” I instantly smile back at him and my breath catches again. I start to close the door as he begins to walk down the steps, but I quickly open it back up.
“Wait!” I call after him. He turns around. “What about... uhm, your girlfriend? Sarah? Won’t she mind? I mean I know we’re just friends and all. But still, won’t she be mad?”
“Sarah? Who’s Sarah?” He laughs at my “joke”.
“You know. The girl at lunch!” I can’t help but smile when he laughs; his melodic voice hums inside my chest.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about, Aerie.”
He walks away quickly, chuckling to himself as I stare dumfoundedly off into space; rain pelting the yard with fierce arrows that point at a silver object I don’t remember seeing until days later.

Author's Note

the chapters keep getting progressively shorter... i need to fix that! anything else?