The Vampires Next Door

Chapter Three

"Another animal attack late last night. It's tragic. A teenager by the name of Morgan Turchill was attacked by a wild animal. With bite marks surrounding her body, her parents were notified as soon as the girl was brought to the hospital by a hunter, quite early this morning. Our thoughts go out to them today."

Alyssa's eyes widened in shock, "I told you, I told you, there's a bad man. he's hurting people." she said with fear clearly the main tone in her voice. I sighed. I have no idea what to say. she's not going to lay off this whole bad guy thing.

"No Lyssa, it's an animal. They just said so." I said giving her a hug trying to calm her down. I continued hugging her until she stopped babbling on about the bad man. "Lyssa, Lyssa, it's okay. We're safe okay." I said she just nodded and carried on watching the television.

"I think she should stop watching the news." Chad said as he changed it to cartoons. I nodded in agreement as I stroked Alyssa's hair in hopes she'll stay calm. Alyssa soon forgets her small outburst and I can leave. I leave the two downstairs as I head toward the bedroom.

Once I was upstairs I decided to text Lea. When I get to the room the balcony doors were open. Weird, I didn't go out there at all today. I walk slowly to the doors and take a suspicious look around. There's no one around so I close the doors softly. I walk to the vanity and picked up my phone then sat down on my bed.

TO LEA:

Hey, what're you doing?

I sent the message quickly and kept the phone in my hand as I laid down on the bed. Almost instantly my phone buzzes and I have a new text.

FROM LEA

Nothing, you?

I stared at the text thinking of something I could put without sounding pathetic.

TO LEA

nothing I'm tired...

I leaned over on my left side and sat my phone down on the night stand. I was looking out the balcony doors and I start to get curious. I start to wonder about the people who live in the Lively House.

I get up from my bed and walk towards the balcony doors. Pulling them open I walk out with my arms crossed. It's warmer outside than I had thought. I watch the very few cars that drive by. My attention instantly drawn towards the Lively house. I thought about the angry man I saw the other morning. I wonder if he lives alone, or if there's a whole family there. It must be lonely if it's only that one guy.

I see a young girl slowly walk out of the house and once the door closed she looks around, almost as if she were trying to see if anyone was watching her. Her eyes make their way of my side of the street, her eyes glued on Chad's house. A little freaked out, I walk back inside and close the balcony doors. I sit back down on my bed and grab my phone, which had received a text.

FROM: LEA

Oh. Well how are you emotionally?

I read the text and for some reason I felt like it was a therapist texting me. My fingers hovered over the letters, thinking what to put, and then I just started typing.

TO:LEA

Well this past week has been better.

I send the message quickly and fall back on my bed. I look towards the dresser and see something odd about the vanity. I get up and run my hands through everything on there and nothing feels out of the ordinary until I come to mom's journal. The ribbon was out of the journal, no longer marking my place. I flip through the pages and find that two of them are stuck together by something sticky. I put the ribbon back in the journal setting it back on the dresser. I walk back over to my bed and sit. I think about when I was reading the journal. None of the pages were stuck together last time. 'How did that happen then?' I ask myself.

**

My phone hasn't buzzed in a while so I go back downstairs with it still in my hand. Alyssa wasn't down there, but there was Mike doing something.

"Hey stranger." I say as I open the fridge. He opens the back door and takes a step outside with a bag, "Where are you going?" I ask as I closed the fridge.

"Out" he yelled as the door quickly closes behind him. 'Where does he have to go? Who does he know here that he can go see?' I think to myself. I lean up against the refrigerator. I stay by the refrigerator for a while before Chad comes in.

"What are you doing?" As he spoke, I jumped, not expecting him to come from behind me.

"Nothing."

"Hey, do you know where Mike went." I ask, but he just shakes his head. 'Hey great parenting habit,' I thought to myself. "Okay, where's Alyssa?" I ask, he's silent for a split second.

"I made her take a nap. She's in her room." He says and my mouth makes a small 'O' shape.

I decide that sitting in this house, alone with chad, is just too much to stand. Outside sounds much more appealing. Once I am comfortably sat on the little white bench I notice the same guy from yesterday morning, when I was out here with Lyssa and Mike. He's headed to his car and looks angry, just as he did the day before. I think he notices me staring because it feels like we make eye-contact. I look down rather abruptly After a long second I look back up and he is still staring. Bringing my hand up, I smile widely and wave. He does this odd salute thing just before getting in his car and speeding away.

***

As the sun is going down I sit on the swing, watching the sky. My feet are just barely touching the ground, only using the tip of my toe to hold myself kind of steady. I face the narrow street in front of the house that I now must call my home. I watch aimlessly, though my eyes now shift towards the Lively House. A young man, that looks only a bit older than me, walks out of it. He walks steadily over to the empty lot across from this house. He looks around, being his own look out, when his eyes get to my direction I freeze. My feet have planted themselves to the dirt patch under the swing I sit on. I am silent. He seems to freeze as well.

The silhouette of the guy makes its way closer to me. Small features, such as his hair style, started to be clearer seen. Something about him is creepy. Probably the fact that it's a stranger walking slowly towards my house. I slowly get up from the swing as he approaches the house. There was a faint noise coming from the right of us. My eyes never left him. The noise is louder now.

"Caleb." A voice yelled. His face goes into a sneer. Our heads seem to move simultaneously, looking towards the Lively House. Where that guy I saw earlier was calling to the guy, who I now know as Caleb. I look back expecting to see him, but Caleb is now nowhere to be seen.