Be Careful What You Wish For

chapter six: home sweet home

This chapter is like a meh to me. I don't like it that much in particular :P Hope you like it though!

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It was dark outside, and Margaret realized she was almost late to dinner. She closed the door to Agnes’ shop and wheeled her bicycle down the narrow alley, deep in thought about Agnes’ last few words of warning. How the heck do you use a necklace “wisely?” She really was a nut bag after all, Margaret decided. The necklace was pretty though, that she’d have to admit. 

She was so deep in thought, she almost walked past her own house. Wait... what?!? She froze and looked around, surprised. How was she suddenly in front of her own house? She’d been lost!She slowly turned around, and gazed through the darkness from the end of the alley. She thought she’d be able to see the outline of the door she’d just left but there was nothing there. No outline, not even the slightest trace that a shop had ever existed there.

She stood there for a moment, wondering if she had imagined it all. There was a weight in her pocket that didn’t belong though, so it wasn’t possible it has been her imagination. Still, it was so eerie. 

Some sudden yelling yanked her  out of her thoughts. It sounded like her mom and dad. Woah! They were loud! She could hear screaming from the driveway. There was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as she rang the doorbell. 

“WHO’S THAT? IS THAT ONE OF YOUR RIDICULOUS FRIENDS?” her mom yelled from inside the house.

“HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?” her dad yelled back. He yanked open the door, his face red as a tomato. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?” he yelled angrily, yanking her hand, pulling her into the house. he shoved her up the stairs. “PUT DRY CLOTHES ON!” Then he turned to the equally angry mom. 

Her parents had been fighting for years now. They’d had an arranged marriage, and there were many problems. She could hear them screaming from her room.

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU’RE THE WORST ROLE MODEL SHE COULD POSSIBLY HAVE!! STAYING OUT LATE, DRINKING, LYING. YOU’RE HAVING AN EXTREMELY BAD IMPACT ON HER! WHO KNOWS WHERE SHE WAS JUST NOW?! AHE COULD HAVE BEEN DOING ANYTHING, MUGGING PEOPLE, MAYBE EVEN KILLING. YOU ARE SO SICK!” Margaret cupped her hands over her ears. She couldn’t take anymore. 

You’d think home would be the place she could seek shelter from the harsh outside world that mocked her, and seemed to hate her, but instead she comes home to more yelling and screaming. No place was good for her anymore, except for maybe Antarctica where there wasn’t a single living thing (possibly amoebas) to call her names or tease her about her hideous glasses, braces, or hair. She had the sudden urge to run away from home. 

“COME DOWN FOR DINNER!!!” her mom screamed.

“COMING!” Margaret yelled back, tugging on a pair of pajamas. 

“STOP SHOUTING!” her mom replied. Oh the irony. “SEE? YOU’RE A BAD IMPACT!” her mom yelled to her dad.  Shaking her head in disbelief, she climbed down the stairs and landed on the bottom with a thud. 

“HURRY UP!” her dad thundered. She quietly sat at the dinner table. In front of her, on the straw placemat was a tv dinner of frozen fish and peas and carrots. She gagged.  The fish was frozen, meaning it hadn’t been defrosted, and the peas and carrots had chunks of ice in them. The front door slammed, and in came Jake, her brother. The only normal person in the house. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?” dad yelled.

“Soccer practice, remember? You were supposed to pick me up. I had to get a ride from the coach. Do you know how embarrassing that is?” Jake replied, running his hand through his chocolate brown hair. Jake was the best looking in the whole family. Honestly. He had bright, gray eyes with green flecks, chocolate brown hair which he liked to style with gel at the front, and aside from a small dimple on his right cheek, flawless skin. No braces, no glasses. He had a piercing on his left ear occupied by a small black stud and a colgate smile.

She wondered how he was even remotely related to her. She had a larger, cuter, more noticeable dimple on her left cheek but she had too many pimples and marks on her face for people to see it. 

“OH, SO NOW YOU PUSH THIS RESPONSIBILITY ON ME HUH? WOOHOO MR. BIG SHOT,” her dad screamed, his face turning purple. Jake looked pissed. Margaret looked down at her so called “dinner” and then back at Jake. He looked sorry and mouthed “come to my room,” to her. She nodded, glad someone in this world cared about her. He was five years older than her, and Margaret knew she could trust him. He always knew how to handle the conflicting parents. 

She quietly, carefully tried to sneak out of the dining room. 

“WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?” it was her mom.

“I’m not hungry. I lost my appetite from all the shouting,” Margaret said in a small voice, trying to sound fierce. Her mom looked at her for a long moment. 

“Ungrateful...” she muttered under her breath, and turned on her heel to continue yelling. Margaret was surprised and proud of herself for saying something like that. 

She knocked lightly on Jake’s door, using the secret knock he had taught her.

“Come in, Marg” he said. She stepped in, and closed the door behind her to muffle the screaming. The pleasant scent of Abercrombie perfume tickled her nose, and she looked around, taking in the quiet. “Sit,” he ordered, gesturing to her favorite beanbag seat. She plopped down on the comfortable seat and sat there for a moment, relaxed. “Here, your favorite,” Jake said softly, handing her a styrofoam takeout container. She opened it, and the strong smell of noodle soup woke her up. 

“Thank you!” she exclaimed, wanting to jump up and hug him. She took a pair of chopsticks and unwrapped them. They sat there in silence, eating peacefully. That was definitely the highlight of her day. Seeing her brother always was. He knew how to cheer her up. 

After their little dinner, she got out her iPad. Jake had gotten it for her for Christmas. He had a part-time job for pocket money, so he had been able to afford such luxuries. She plugged in her headphones and listened to a couple of songs, and then opened iBooks and read a novel she’d been in to.

“You should get to bed,” Jake said after about an hour. Margaret nodded. She always listened to Jake. He was sensible and one of the extremely few people who cared about her in the world.

                                                                            ***

Something pulled at her. It was like... A strong urge. The wanting of something, but Margaret couldn’t place it. It was so terribly strong! It was controlling her in a way, she was pulled towards her room. The door was closed, and she almost slammed into it from all the pulling. She opened the door, trying to block out the sounds of her parents screaming. She fell on her bed with a loud thud. She looked around, the tugging feeling rapidly increasing. 

“Margaret... Margaret... Margaret!” the same voice she’d heard at the alley was calling her name again. This time, it was coming from her closet. Suddenly frightened, she bit the inside of her cheek. 

Oh my god. There was someone in her closet. She inched closer, a feeling of dread washing over her. Should I open it? Margaret wondered. Just do it, a voice in her head declared. She tugged at the handle, and the door burst open. She was blinded by the brightest light she had ever seen. Blinking hard, she felt paralyzed. Finally she could see again, and her eyes shifted down. To the jeans she had been wearing earlier. The pocket. Was glowing. Pulling. At. Her.

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So that's that I guess :P Leave a comment and don't foget to fan and vote! 45 votes in total for the next chappie to be up!

xo diprox