I'm Not Crazy (On Hold)

Chapter 2: Ghost or Imagination?

She sensed her family as they gathered around her and they silently stared up at their soon-to-be comfortable home.

“Mom, where are we?”

Bethany turned to her son, smiling as he rubbed his eyes drowsily.

“This is our new house, Caden. What do you think of it? What about you, Calli and Vivi? Do you think it’s big enough for all of us?”

Calli was nearly jumping in excitement while her older sister leaned casually against the car, glaring up at the glowing white structure.

“I really like it, mommy. It’s so big! And so pretty!” Calli exclaimed, blonde curls bouncing around her angelic face.

She grabbed her brother’s hands and began dancing in a circle, singing her favorite song, “I Love You” from the Barney show. Bethany and Henry exchanged a kill-me-now kind of look as the twins whirled around and around. They rolled their eyes, shrugged, and joined in.

Twirling each other in dizzying circles, Bethany broke away and held out a hand to Vivi, calling, “Vivi, come on, sing and dance with us! Have a little fun!”

The young girl shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I don’t want to act like I’m stupid in front of this stupid house in this stupid town in this stupid state with my stupid family.”

Bethany’s carefree smile turned into a disapproving frown.

“Vivianne, I understand that you miss your friends a lot, but you haven’t even given this place a chance. I know you’ll like living here in the city if you just try it.”

Vivi stiffened as she stared at her mother.

“You don’t understand, mom.”

She quickly got back in the car and slammed the door shut, the sound echoing eerily off all the other houses lined up along the street. Bethany turned and walked away so she could hide the tears forming in her eyes at Vivi’s most recent rejection.

“If I don’t understand, why don’t you try to help me?” she whispered to herself.

Why was her little eight-year-old acting so much like a rebellious teenager? What was wrong? What is something she said, something she did? She stood, arms wrapped around her body protectively, just thinking.

Bethany felt a warm hand fall gently onto her shoulder and heard him whisper questioningly, “Elizabeth?”

Knowing Henry only used her full name when they really needed to talk, she reached up to grasp his hand. Before Bethany could touch him, his hand released its light hold of her shoulder. More than a little confused and desperate to discuss Vivi, she turned and started to talk.

“Henry, I don’t…”

She froze midsentence. There was no one standing behind her. What in the world was going on? Probably one of his silly pranks he likes to pull, she decided, ignoring the fact that her heart was beating a little faster than normal.

“Henry, wh-where are you?” Bethany called out hesitantly, pausing for a response of any kind.

All she could hear was the wind quietly rustling the leaves on nearby palm trees. She shivered, but not because of the breeze.

“This is not funny, Henry. You need to come out right this minute. I’m being completely serious.”

Still no answer. Bethany felt something cold seep through her skin and it seemed to touch her very being. Where were they? She took a few strides towards the car and opened the door.

“Vivi?” she asked.

Her oldest daughter was nowhere to be found. Don’t panic, they’re probably inside, she told herself. Climbing the steps on the porch in a matter of seconds, Bethany whipped open the door faster than she probably should have.

The fading light shone through a few windows and the doorway, outlining her shadow on the living room floor. She saw a figure out of the corner of her eye and turned to look. Just like before, nothing was there.

She shook her head, trying to suppress the sudden terror that ran throughout her entire body. It’s just my imagination, she reasoned. No need to get all freaked out.

Finding a light switch, she flipped it on and made up her mind to explore the house. Maybe along the way she would discover her family playing hide and seek and getting used to the layout of the house.

Bethany smiled in relief when she heard a couple loud thumps coming from upstairs. Of course, why didn’t she think of it before? The first thing the kids would want to do is claim their rooms. No reason to be frightened, I’m just tired, she thought.

After reaching the final step, she scanned the average-sized hallway, looking for anything out of the ordinary. After deciding everything looked normal and the hallway was decent enough, Bethany continued on her quest to find her husband and the children.

Wherever the noises came from, Calli and Caden were sure to be. She jumped when another loud noise came from the first room on the left. Shaking her head, she tiptoed over to the entrance to the bedroom.

“Gotcha!” Bethany cried with a silly smile plastered on her face as she leapt into the room. Her smile turned into a shocked gasp as she took in the scene before her.

“Vivianne Jean Chandler, what on earth do you think you are doing?”

Vivi ignored her mother and continued on with her self-appointed task. THUMP! She lifted her rather large suitcase and slammed it against the floor.

“Vivianne!” Bethany yelled, attempting to control the situation. “Stop this, now!”

The young girl whirled around and stuck her tongue out at her mom, then met Bethany’s stunned gaze with a hateful glare.

“I don’t have to stop if I don’t want to! You can’t make me stay here, and you can’t make me like it. I hate it here, I hate everything, and I hate you!”

Vivi’s anger suddenly disappeared and she sank down onto the floor, tears gushing down her cheeks, and turned away sobbing.

Bethany felt like she had just been slapped across the face. Hard. Her lower lip trembling slightly, she whispered, “I’ll just leave you alone, then.”

She backed away from her crying daughter and quietly shut the door. Nothing had hurt her more than to hear those words and then leave her baby by herself while she cried, but Bethany knew from experience that she needed some time before any kind of confrontation.

She needed to find Henry, Calli, and Caden. They were bound to be around here somewhere. A warm hand stopped her abruptly in the middle of the hallway.

“Elizabeth.”

 Holding her breath, she slowly moved her hand and cautiously lifted it towards the one on her shoulder. Was it Henry’s this time? Once more, the pressure was removed before she could touch the hand. Bethany spun around and let out a startled cry.

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Another chapter! Yay! And the plot thickens...kinda. I felt like I had to put something spooky in here because the first chapter was pretty boring. Wooh, a wedding. Yay, fighting in a car. Joy to the world.

Then...BAM! Ghostly hand. Or is it? Maybe she really is going crazy. Maybe this is all a dream. Maybe life is just one big dream and you are all figments of my imagination... Sorry, one of my friends randomly came up with that a while ago and I just remembered it. How creepy would that be though?!

Anywho, comment, comment comment, pretty please!! I'm not sure how good this is, especially since it's so short and I feel everything is kind of random. Opinions are welcome! Critiques are welcome! All comments are welcome! Leave one below because you know you want to!! :3