I woke up the next morning to my alarm clock blaring. At eight o'clock on a Saturday morning. Why, I have no idea. My alarm wasn't even set for eight on a weekday, and I almost never set it for any time on the weekend. The weekend was a time to sleep in until dinner time, and then complain about how the day went by way too fast.
Rolling over, I reached my hand out to smack it and shut it off. What happened instead was the classic wakeup that would make anyone laugh. I had misjudged the space I had before the edge of my bed, and didn't realize it in time to stop. In the split second after I left the edge of the bed I closed my eyes, waiting for impact on the floor. And also hit my head on something along the way.
But, that never came. A bit confused I opened my eyes and found myself staring at my ceiling once again. Sitting up, I looked over at my alarm clock. It was just past eight now, which made me even more confused. How was I still on my bed when I had just rolled off? Maybe it was all one of those odd, way too realistic dreams people had now and then.
Ignoring it for the time being, I slipped out of bed and let out a yawn as I walked over to my closet. No use trying to get back to sleep. Once I woke up, I never managed to get back to sleep. After managing to find something decent to wear, which turned out to be a white tank top and a pair of blue jean shorts, I turned and headed out the door and down the hall to the bathroom to take a shower.
Already I could hear my parents downstairs, no doubt getting ready for the party that would come later in the day. Knowing them they'd send me away until one or two this afternoon, just so I wouldn't be able to see what they were doing. It happened nearly every year, only they usually had to plan ahead so that one of my friend's parents could come pick me up. This year, I had a car so it wouldn't be so hard. Only thing was, I had no idea what I was going to do for a few hours before then.
Shrugging it off, I closed the bathroom door and turned the water on. The warmth felt nice against my skin, and helped to wake me up after a long night. It was surprising I had slept as good as I had last night with everything that had happened. Speaking of which, I wondered if Mom and Dad would say anything about Xavier again this morning, or later at dinner. Hopefully they wouldn't.
Just as I closed my eyes, they shot open again and looked towards the shower curtain. It sounded like someone was out there, messing around in the cabinet above the sink. Staying quiet, I tried to peer through the curtain, which I knew was useless. There didn't seem to be any shadow or anything on the other side. "Guess it was just...."
I froze. Someone, or something, had their hand on my shoulder. My heart was already racing, and it took every muscle in my body not to jump, scream and get the hell out of there. Slowly, I turned my head and glanced behind me. For a second it looked like there was the faint outline of a hand coming through the curtain and resting on my shoulder, rather long claws on the end of each finer. But, after blinking a few times, it was gone. "Great, I really am losing it," I said to myself, letting out a long sigh.
The rest of the time went by without incident, which made me even more sure that I was completely losing my mind. Things were happening that were impossible, and I was seeing, feeling, hearing things that weren't even there.
Stepping out, I quickly dried off and slipped on my new clothes. Today was supposed to be another rather hot day, and I didn't want to melt like I nearly had yesterday. That was the last time I was ever wearing jeans on such a hot day. From now until it actually cooled off, I was going to stock my drawers full of shorts and tank tops.
Once again, my hair was pulled up into a ponytail. When I looked in the mirror again, I paused and leaned closer. My eyes looked, different. It was like the blue iris had darkened so much it was now almost black. After blinking a few times, just like with the hand, it was gone. I shook my head and leaned back, trying not to think too much about it.
Finally, I opened the door and walked out, the fresh air sending a chill up my spine. Almost as if I was expecting to see something, I glanced down at the living room from the balcony as I made my way towards the stairs. But, there was nothing even remotely out of place. "Hey, Mom," I said walking in the kitchen.
I paused about three steps in as Mom looked at me. Someone was standing right beside her, and he definitely wasn't Dad. She seemed to notice my confusion and smiled a bit, wiping her hands on a towel before turning her full attention to me. "Riley, this is Mr. Crawford. My boss," she stated, and I raised an eyebrow.
Why in the world would Mom have her boss over? Especially on a day like today. "Please, call me David," he said, giving me a small smile. "Your mother told me about what today was, and I've heard a lot of good things about you. Hope you don't mind me stopping by or anything. I have a son your age I think you'd get along with," he finished.
"Oh, um it's ok," I replied, not exactly sure what I was supposed to think. "I think I'mma head to town for a bit, until you get everything set up. I'll be back around one?" I said.
"Hey, Dad, can I..." started a voice, but then it paused. "Riley?"
My eyes immediately darted over to the doors that lead out to the patio, the place that would soon look like a totally different planet. There stood Blake, a slightly confused look on his face. We just kind of stared at each other for a few moments, ignoring the looks our parents were giving us. "So you two know each other? That's great! Blake, why don't you and Riley go out for a bit and give everyone time to set up. Be back by one, though.
Again, Blake and I just looked at each other, then gave a small nod. "Um, sure," he said, walking the rest of the inside and towards me.
I was silent as he passed by, looking over at Mom. What in the world was going through her mind? Was she trying to set me up with a guy or something? She just smiled at me, and I turned and followed after Blake. We didn't say anything until we were safely in his car and starting down the road. "Um, sorry about all this. I had no idea it was you he was talking about. And he just kind of dragged me along with him. Not sure what he was expecting," apologized Blake.
"It's ok. Not like he did it without Mom knowing, anyways. Who knows what was going through their minds. They hoping we'll instantly bond and start dating or something?" I replied with a small bit of amusement.
"Maybe," Blake answered, the disappointment clear in his voice.
Looking over at him, I tried to figure out what it was, but soon gave up. As I had said before, if I was like every other girl I would have knew exactly what was bothering him.
