The Terror Next Door (Based on a True Story)

20)Terror's Back

"Virgin" by Manhester Orchestra
***

Months soon passed without further strangeness. Holidays came and went. For the Summers family, it was easy to forget about the terror that Blake Bradshaw provided when they never had to see him. Still, for a long time, Sophia had trouble falling asleep at night. The young woman would lay awake in bed and stare up at her bedroom ceiling fearfully. All the while she pondered how realistic it was that Blake Bradshaw had once been sitting in her attic and lying in wait. Given she had not seen nor heard from the boy in so long, Sophia started to wonder if it were possible her imagination had propelled everything to a much higher magnitude than what had happened. Maybe none of it had been quite as dramatic minus the incident with the truck. Maybe none of it had been as real as it seemed. It was funny how your own mind could play tricks on you; one-minute Sophia was convinced Blake was a psychopath lying in wait; the next, she was wondering if any of it had ever been real. It had to be. If not, why was she still plagued with haunting fear?
Sophia never brought up her sister's murderous theory with Alex herself. Whether it was because the two Summers sisters didn't want to talk about it or Alex was worried about what her parents would say if they found out she was still talking about it, Sophia didn't know. All she knew was that for the duration of time that passed, Alex never brought the topic up and Sophia was too afraid to approach her elder sister about it.
Soon enough, all of Sophia's injuries from the fall had healed quite nicely, including the scar she was now sporting underneath her chin. Her injuries, just like her family, were healing as if the damage had never been done. But for Sophia mentally, it didn't feel as though this was something time was ever going to heal.
***
Every morning the Summers took their mail, newspaper, and packages that arrived and placed them in a cubby next to their front door. It was done so that family members could claim their individual mail upon their arrival home. One day arriving home from school, Sophia found a letter in the cubby addressed to her. The letter was unlike the other parcels Sophia could see in the small pile. Unlike the bills, brochures, and Amazon packages addressed to her siblings, the one Sophia received had no address written on the envelope, only her name. There was no postage stamp and nothing else to indicate the letter had gone through the USPS.
Somehow, someway, Sophia knew Blake had sent it without any evidence needed. She had not thought his name for over a while. There was positively nothing to indicate the simple letter had come from him. Perhaps it was the terror that had taken deep root in her heart that had her convinced Blake was the sender. Sophia could do was simply stare at the letter in her hands that held no address or even return address. Clearly the letter had been simply placed inside her mailbox and her little brother hadn't thought anything of it when he collected the mail from the front porch that morning. Against her better judgement to throw the letter away, Sophia opened the white envelope to find a small, red, slip of paper inside. Cautiously Sophia pulled it out and unfolded what was blood-red colored piece of paper cut into the shape of a heart. On it was a messily scrawled handwritten note. It was such a small message, but Sophia immediately knew that not only was the message sent from Blake, but, it meant that he was back.

I've missed you.
***
Sophia was alone in the house with no one other than her sister Annie. Immediately she hurried towards the back window directed at the house Jenny Bradshaw was supposedly living in alone with her older son. The only other people Sophia had lately seen coming and going from the Bradshaw house were random men. Often enough the middle-aged Jenny was getting plenty of visitors of the male variety coming and going at odd hours of the day. One older man would make his rounds a few times per week in the early morning while younger men made a visit later in the day. If one were to judge the situation simply by the amount of men visiting the house along with the audacious revealing clothing Mrs. Bradshaw wore, it appeared the soon-to-be-divorced woman had a strong sexual appetite.
Nearly pressing her nose against the glass, Sophia desperately looked out the window for any sign that Blake Bradshaw was back. Her palms were sweaty and a scared tingle shivered her spine. But the teenager wasn't sure what she was looking for. There was nothing abnormal of the large house next door. It looked the same as it did any other day. Sophia looked at the clock against the wall. No one in her family was expected home for a while. Attempting to call her sister Alex was useless, her phone went to voicemail. The same went with her brother Colin. Given her mom was picking up children from elementary school, Sophia didn't want to bother her. Her father was probably in a meeting at that very moment. There was no one to talk to about these developments. Against all better judgment, Sophia slipped her jean jacket back on and headed outside.
As she made a brisk walk across the yards towards the Bradshaw residence, Sophia knew to go to the neighbor's house was a bad idea. She could feel it in her bones. But no rational thought could stop her from going to the front door of the Bradshaw residence. She needed to see for herself if the boy with the cold eyes was back.
Luckily for her, Jenny Bradshaw and her other son were currently not at home. Their cars were gone. The living room blinds from this morning were still shut tight. It was only as she was approaching the stoop of the large front porch did Sophia hesitate. Not only was this a stupid idea, but Sophia didn't quite know what she was expecting. If Mrs. Bradshaw and her elder son weren't home, why would she assume Blake was? But right as she was contemplating turning on her heel, the front door of the Bradshaw house opened, at first, seemingly by itself.
It was soon revealed that the opener of the door was a very familiar person, one that made Sophia's insides freeze up.
Blake Bradshaw was indeed back. Dressed in clean blue jeans and a simple black polo, he simply stood in the doorway, looking at her with that same pale blanketed expression he always wore. All of Sophia's memories of him didn't do Blake justice. Her nightmares of him watching her were inaccurate in his description. The summer and fall of the year before had changed him. Blake's previously lanky limbs were now bulked up as well as toned. All traces of boyhood were lost in his face. There was no more childish roundness or anything to indicate he was still just a boy. Even though he didn't quite look as though he belonged in adulthood, Blake didn't quite look like a teenager either. He was somehow in the crosshairs of both. But something else did change about him. Blake seemed, even more, intimidating to Sophia than before his metamorphosis.
" Hello, Sophia," said Blake coolly. His tone sounded as though he were greeting an old friend. He even provided a wry smile.
"You're back," said Sophia, not bothering with simple pleasantries. She wasn't sure what expression her own face held. Fear, or, regret for walking over to his mother's house. The teenager was certain it was fear. Her back teeth were clenched tight as her bottom lip struggled with the strong desire to tremble. What Sophie feared was just proven; Blake was back. She wanted to cut right to the crux of the matter. The teenager wished she sounded braver than she felt. But her two words were a hollow statement saturated with quiet fear.
"My dad has to travel for work," explained Blake. His words were spoken as casually as if they were old friends reconnecting. "Since a minor child cannot live alone, here I am, home to mommy dearest," Blake said these last words sardonically.
Without batting an eyelash, Sophia removed the folded Valentine from her pocket. She opened it up to show to him, saying nothing more. Blake raised an eyebrow. "Still with Dylan? I thought you two would have broken up after your accident," he acknowledged coolly.
"Don't play dumb, you're far from it," said Sophie, still quietly. She and Blake simply watched each other for a few moments longer, seemingly each other up. Blake half smirked.
"Speaking of Dylan," he said calmly, continuing as if Sophia had never spoken. "What kind of man leaves a girl alone and bleeding in a ditch?" Sophia couldn't help her lip from trembling. His words proved he was there that horrible night of her accident. How else would he know such a detail? But before Sophia could even utter a word in reply, someone else spoke for her.
"Maybe the same kind of asshole that puts her in one," snarled a voice Sophia was suddenly very thankful to hear. Alex had arrived. Neither Sophia or Blake had heard her jeep pull up. Her vehicle sat idly in front of the Summers home, Alex seemingly leaving it there and coming over as soon as she saw her younger sister conversing with Blake. A very dirty glare was on Alex's face as she watched Blake with hateful eyes.
"The elder Summer's sister has arrived," drawled Blake in a flat voice. His eyes now blazed with annoyance. "Tell me, do you stalk your younger sister to know of her whereabouts or do you just get lucky with your timing?"
"That's funny. The dirt-bag stalker is saying I'm stalking," mocked Alex smoothly. She was always quick with the draw, ready to fire back sarcasm as quickly as an old-style cowboy in a shooting match. But unfortunately for her, Alex was evenly matched with Blake Bradshaw and his timing with comebacks.
He gently snorted. "Name-calling will always indicate a lack of intelligence."
Alex didn't blink ashe held her glare.  "Then I guess I'm stupid, asshole."
Sophia looked between the two of them. She saw raw hatred in the eyes of both her sister and Blake. Both watched one another with the same amount of pure loathing. Only, Sophia knew Blake had nothing to fear from her sister. Alex was loud and quite sarcastic but she wasn't a violent individual. The same couldn't be said for Blake. Sophia protectively wanted to shield Alex from the hostile look the neighbor boy provided.
"What do you want?" asked Blake, finally breaking the silence. He ignored Alex and was only speaking to Sophia. He could change a mood quick. His look became softer as he turned his attention back to her.
"I want you to leave me alone," said Sophia, holding up the blood-red Valentine. It was Sophia's brave statement that caused Alex to catch sight of the card.
Coming over to see it, Alex snorted with a mocking laugh as she saw it. "You can't control yourself, can you? Not even five minutes back and you're still the same creep you've always been."
Instead of watching her with another hateful look, Blake did something surprising to Sophia. He merely watched Alex with an eerie smile that was far more frightening than his glaring.
"That nasty little mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one day," declared Blake softly. He turned his head back to Sophia before offering a cold, insincere smile. He then went back inside the house without further conversation.