The Loss of Time

Chapter 4

I walked around. "Where am I?" My voice and my actions were watery, as if I was completely submerged in water.

Was that the case? I hope not. "Hello?" Silence followed. Alone in this world.

No one. No one to love, no one to talk to, no one to hate. A coldness, a chill, it scratched a finger up my spine. It tapped my shoulders, grasped my neck like a rope, slid over my cheek like how my mother used to, and ran its fingers through my hair.

I let out a squeal of alarm. I shivered, shuddered, trembled, jittered, and all in between. I felt as if my hair was being pulled out.

I also found I couldn't speak. I kept shrieking and trying to escape, when the hands of fear and frigid wrapped around my neck and lifted me up.

I shot my hands to my neck, but there was nothing there. I screamed.

"MATILDA!" My eyes slammed open. My hands were grasping at my neck. I stared at Lauren. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yes, I'm good," I muttered, pushing myself up. "Nightmares."

"Oh. Okay, you were thrashing pretty badly. I'm going back to sleep, if you don't mind." Lauren walked over and tossed her covers over her pajamas.

I swallowed. "Lauren?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's the bathroom?" I asked.

"Oh, down the hall, to the right." Lauren pointed out the door.

"Thank you." I quickly got out of the bed and walked out the doorway. "Oh my gosh, that was a little embarrassing..." I muttered under my breath as I made my way down the hall.

"AHH!" I screamed when I tripped. "Ow. Yikes, that was loud." The thing under me wriggled out. "What?"

"Are you okay?" What the...

"James? What were you doing sleeping on the floor? You have a bed, you know." James pulled me up.

"It's warmer here," he answered. "That's number one. Two, I think my sister was thrashing like a dolphin out of the water, and three, I don't know, it's more relaxing next to the bathroom."

"Oh..." I blinked. "I guess she was thrashing a lot... How long were you here?"

"Not long, I think." James looked at me, concerned. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"How did you know?"

"Why else would you be here?"

"To use the bathroom?" I muttered slowly, pointing at the bathroom. James laughed.

"Yeah right. What was it about?"

I knit my eyebrows. "Loneliness, I hate it." I described it exactly how I saw it. James interrupted twice, both involving the creepiness.

"Oh, he, like, did this?" James leaned forward and caressed my cheek. I hated the tingling feeling that extruded it.

"One, yes, two, please don't," I told him, my face tingling more. "It-it feels odd."

James' hand shot back. "Oh, sorry. Keep going," he apologized.

The next time he interrupted was not helpful. "Well your hair is certainly soft-" He glanced at my look. James shot his hand to behind his head, embarrassed. "Uh, sorry. Keep going."

My knuckles turned white in anger. "Stop. Interrupting." I continued with my story.

"Wow," James said when I finished. "Maybe you need a walk."

"I was having a walk, then my trip stopped," I informed him, "or maybe it just started," I growled under my breath. James heard me and laughed-which made me jump and curse in my head, saying the word James' father said.

"That was a good one, I have to say!" He exclaimed. "You don't need to have the walk alone. Whiskers can come with you!" My eyes widened quickly in surprise as he said that.

"Whiskers?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think I'm fine. I'm going back to sleep."

"If you want, Garden Girl."

"Please don't call me that," I retorted as I started walking out of the moonlight.

"I can call you that if I want, Garden Girl!" I whipped around, hoping my death glare looked ominous in the sharp shadows.

"Fine, Bathroom Boy," I scowled warningly. I held my sharp breath as I strode back, the darkness engulfed me. Like the coldness. I saw a flash.

I swallowed. I needed to get back and sleep. Sleep. Sleep will help, sleep always helps. Sleep. I need to get back and sleep.

Eyes. I swear I saw eyes. That snapped it. I ran back to the moonlight as fast as I could, cold sweat running down my temples.

"Matilda? Are you-" I sat across from him in a hurry and Whiskers hissed in alarm. I breathed heavily. "-okay?" I didn't answer, I just hugged myself and tried to calm down.

"Be quiet, I'm freaking out!" I snapped at him. James lifted his hands in a sort of surrendering way. I puffed up and blew out my cheeks. "Okay, I think I'm fine."

"Okay, what happened?" James dropped his hands.

"Death looked upon me."

"When pigs fly!" I stared at him in disbelief. "That means you're not going to die, well, not for a long time."

"Very reassuring," I intoned at him. James rolled his eyes.

"You're such a scaredy cat, Garden Girl." Whiskers hissed in his lap. "Not you, Whiskers." Whiskers settled, purring. I glared at him deceptively.

"Tell me a story."

"I'm not a storyteller," James said while crossing his arms. "And even if I was, then I have no story to tell." I sighed in doubt.

"No story? Hmm... what did my mother say when I said I had no story ideas... Oh!" I clapped my hands together. "Let's go make a story!"

"Make a story?" James asked.

"Yes, of course, we can do that, can't we?" James looked at me skeptically. "If not, I'm going to force it that way."

"That's not how physics work."

"Physics are boring."

"I guess that's true."

"Put a shirt on, we're going outside." Oh, oops, I forgot to say what his pajamas were. Yes, it was just    plaid blue bottoms. Did I say what I was wearing? I don't think so, I was just wearing a white nightgown. Yeah, boring, whatever. Oh well.

"Outside?" I was ready to just leave without him.

"I saw a beautiful lake near your house. I think the moon would look nice shimmering on it. Let's see the water ripple!" I exclaimed, pulling on his hands, leaning back in determination.

"You're really immature." I scowled.

"Let's go!" I scoffed. My feet dragged forward until they pressed against his. "If you don't start moving, I'll pick you up and drag you!"

"Why do you need me? Why don't you go alone?" James asked, releasing my hands and dropping me to the ground.

"I thought you would make me feel better while I moved along, but if you're going to have that attitude..." I muttered as I stood up.

"Don't worry, I'm not actually make you go out in California alone. At night." James took my arm and took me to the only unlocked window in the house at night (fun fact he told me during our studying).

"Thank you," I replied as we slipped through. "For once." James stuck his tongue out at me.

"You should be happy I'm not going to push you in the lake."

"ARE YOU F-"

"No, calm down. I wouldn't do that to anyone, but my dad did it once."