yawn as she walked out, pulling my door closed behind her.
I fell back down on my pillow and began to relive the dream-nightmare I had just lived through.
Later that morning I tried to call Roger. I wanted to apologize about ditching him at the party. But there was no answer. I hoped he was just sleeping and not avoiding my phone calls. My next call was to Rebecca. I wanted to feel her out, too. I was hoping she was not upset with me, either.
“Hey, Rebecca.”
“Meredith! Wasn’t the party so great? Where were you all night? I tried to find you.”
“Oh, I bailed out early. Wasn’t really in the partying mood.” At least she did not sound mad at me. “Hey, did you catch a ride home with Roger?” I decided to get straight to the point, my real reason for calling.
“No, he was still there when I left. I got a ride from Sarah.”
“Oh, okay. He must still be sleeping, or maybe he’s packing for Rockport,” I said, biting my lip, thinking maybe I had really pissed him off. All he had wanted was for me to have fun, and I had promised him that I would try. Maybe I should’ve told him I was leaving—that would have been the right thing to do.
“Speaking of packing, I’m just about done, and I have to see you before I head out. Want to meet up for lunch later?”
There was a long pause.
“Um, hello … Meredith, are you there?” Rebecca questioned.
“Yeah, sounds great,” I replied, sounding distracted. Not even sure what I had just agreed to.
“Perfect, how ’bout Omega’s Pizza at 1:00?” she asked.
“Sure, see you there.”
When I got downstairs, I opened the medicine cabinet and took out some aspirin and a bottle of water from the fridge. The horrible headache I had woken up with was still there, lingering in the back of my head. After popping two aspirin into my mouth, I took a large drink of water. And just as I closed my eyes and tilted my head back to help the aspirin slide down my throat, the images from the nightmare began to come back to me. I have to admit, it was nice to see my sister alive and running around, creepy as it was. So even though I knew it was unhealthy to be enjoying this, I just smiled and watched.
Then the images flashed to the two men standing in the forest, and my head began to pound so hard that I hunched over and gripped the counter for support. I winced in pain, unable to open my eyes and get rid of the horrible faces. The two men stood there, the evil one smiling the same evil smile, his lips curling upward as they both stared after my younger self where I had just entered the forest.
What. Was. Happening. To. Me?
After a few seconds, I forced my eyes open, despite the pain, and the images were gone. I was finally able to stand upright. My head was still pounding, but the pain was not crippling at least. Something was wrong. Way wrong. In the back of my mind, I knew the smart thing to do would be to race upstairs and tell Aunt Rose all about what was happening—the car that had moved in slow motion and stopped just inches from killing me, the way I had felt and acted around Abby and Blake, and most of all, I should tell her about the headache and nightmare. That would be the smart thing—the right thing—to do. But I knew myself well enough to know that I would tell her nothing, not wanting to cause her to worry more than she already did. Maybe Roger would be a good person to tell if he ever decides to talk to me again, I thought. At least he already knows I’m nuts and will probably just laugh it off. But at least I could tell someone.
After breakfast and my second failed attempt to call Roger, I got dressed and headed out to the library like I had promised Aunt Rose I would. On my way, I thought about what I would say if Ms. Donaldson asked me about previous work experience. I had never had a job. My parents had left me a little bit of money, so as long as I did my chores, I received an allowance, which only went right back into my
I fell back down on my pillow and began to relive the dream-nightmare I had just lived through.
Later that morning I tried to call Roger. I wanted to apologize about ditching him at the party. But there was no answer. I hoped he was just sleeping and not avoiding my phone calls. My next call was to Rebecca. I wanted to feel her out, too. I was hoping she was not upset with me, either.
“Hey, Rebecca.”
“Meredith! Wasn’t the party so great? Where were you all night? I tried to find you.”
“Oh, I bailed out early. Wasn’t really in the partying mood.” At least she did not sound mad at me. “Hey, did you catch a ride home with Roger?” I decided to get straight to the point, my real reason for calling.
“No, he was still there when I left. I got a ride from Sarah.”
“Oh, okay. He must still be sleeping, or maybe he’s packing for Rockport,” I said, biting my lip, thinking maybe I had really pissed him off. All he had wanted was for me to have fun, and I had promised him that I would try. Maybe I should’ve told him I was leaving—that would have been the right thing to do.
“Speaking of packing, I’m just about done, and I have to see you before I head out. Want to meet up for lunch later?”
There was a long pause.
“Um, hello … Meredith, are you there?” Rebecca questioned.
“Yeah, sounds great,” I replied, sounding distracted. Not even sure what I had just agreed to.
“Perfect, how ’bout Omega’s Pizza at 1:00?” she asked.
“Sure, see you there.”
When I got downstairs, I opened the medicine cabinet and took out some aspirin and a bottle of water from the fridge. The horrible headache I had woken up with was still there, lingering in the back of my head. After popping two aspirin into my mouth, I took a large drink of water. And just as I closed my eyes and tilted my head back to help the aspirin slide down my throat, the images from the nightmare began to come back to me. I have to admit, it was nice to see my sister alive and running around, creepy as it was. So even though I knew it was unhealthy to be enjoying this, I just smiled and watched.
Then the images flashed to the two men standing in the forest, and my head began to pound so hard that I hunched over and gripped the counter for support. I winced in pain, unable to open my eyes and get rid of the horrible faces. The two men stood there, the evil one smiling the same evil smile, his lips curling upward as they both stared after my younger self where I had just entered the forest.
What. Was. Happening. To. Me?
After a few seconds, I forced my eyes open, despite the pain, and the images were gone. I was finally able to stand upright. My head was still pounding, but the pain was not crippling at least. Something was wrong. Way wrong. In the back of my mind, I knew the smart thing to do would be to race upstairs and tell Aunt Rose all about what was happening—the car that had moved in slow motion and stopped just inches from killing me, the way I had felt and acted around Abby and Blake, and most of all, I should tell her about the headache and nightmare. That would be the smart thing—the right thing—to do. But I knew myself well enough to know that I would tell her nothing, not wanting to cause her to worry more than she already did. Maybe Roger would be a good person to tell if he ever decides to talk to me again, I thought. At least he already knows I’m nuts and will probably just laugh it off. But at least I could tell someone.
After breakfast and my second failed attempt to call Roger, I got dressed and headed out to the library like I had promised Aunt Rose I would. On my way, I thought about what I would say if Ms. Donaldson asked me about previous work experience. I had never had a job. My parents had left me a little bit of money, so as long as I did my chores, I received an allowance, which only went right back into my
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