Gravity, a young adult paranormal romance
now, it
just made me feel exposed. I contemplated running either up the
stairs or to the door. The motion detector lights outside hadn't
been activated, and I was certain that I had locked the door before
I went to bed.
    For a split second, I
envisioned Jenna walking to that same door and into the
night. I won't miss you , her voice echoed in my head. I shook the completely
inappropriate memory away.  
    I stood still for a moment, then
decided it was ridiculous to keep playing this cat and mouse game
with my own fear. I stomped over to the door, throwing the lock and
sliding it open. If someone waited to ambush me, I might as well
get it over with.  
    Stepping outside into the cold night,
I looked from side to side. But I didn't see a soul. The sky lacked
a moon, and the world slept peacefully beneath it, quiet and calm.
Only the occasional rumble of a car on the street broke the
silence. But the creepy feeling remained, as strong as
ever.
    My bare feet were beginning to freeze
on the cement slab porch. I faced the strange girl's house, but she
wasn't around, either. Of course she wouldn't be in the middle of
the night. Normal people were sleeping in their ordinary beds, not
chasing phantoms. I shivered, looking up at the windows of the
house anyway. No sign of movement.   
    I shut the door, ready to go back to
my room. Out of nowhere, the air against my skin turned to ice. My
fear peaked, my heart racing as though I were in a race. As if I
were face to face with something terrifying that I couldn't see,
but my instincts knew endangered me. And then, as fast as it had
swept upon me, the feeling disappeared.  
    I was left gasping for breath. I sunk
down to my hands and knees, waiting for my heart to return to
normal. When I could finally breathe, I stood, locking the door. A
second of indecisiveness kept me still, and then I raced back to my
bedroom.
    "What the hell just happened?" I asked
the empty air. But no answers came back to me.
    I shut my door tightly, and jumped
into bed. I tugged the blanket up around my chin, but it was a long
time before I fully got back to sleep. Even though I now felt
utterly alone.

Chapter 6
    By the morning, I'd
convinced myself that I had imagined the whole thing. My lifelong
love of horror movies could have easily contributed. My parents
always told me I had an overactive imagination. They were right. I
had enjoyed the company of imaginary friends until I met Jenna to
replace them. The one thing that I couldn't reconcile was the fact that
normally I didn't scare too easily. And last night I had been
terrified.
    Hugh joined me for
breakfast.
    "I had a talk with Claire last night,"
he said.
    "About what?" I asked, completely
forgetting our chat during the car ride home the day before.
Unforgiveable, considering how important the ability to come and go
on my own was to me.  
    "You know what," he said. "Your
suggestion that you walk to school. I tried every bargaining
technique I know." He buttered his toast with a steak knife. I
almost told him it was an inappropriate use, but I let it drop
considering he held my fate in his hands. "Believe me; I put up the
good fight."
    "And let me guess, she said no way in
this lifetime," I said, sighing as I finished my soggy cereal. I
swirled the little Os around with my spoon.  
    "Actually, she agreed to it. After
intense deliberation. The only stipulation is that you have to send
me a text message when you get to school and when you leave to come
home."
    I raised my eyebrows. "No joke?" I
couldn't believe it.
    "No joke."
    I got up and gave him a hug around his
neck. Hugh laughed softly.
    "Thank you!" I said. "You don't know
how much I appreciate that!"    
    "This is on a conditional basis,
though," he warned, as I gathered up my books and shoved them in my
backpack. "Don't get too excited. You have to follow the rules
every time, or I reserve the right to personally revoke
it."
    "I will," I promised.
    After cleaning out my bowl, I went
downstairs

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