After Midnight

11

"-It was in the pizza!" My father's voice boomed from the kitchen, a chorus of laughs ensuing. I smiled at my dad's words, the pizza story was a classic, one he used to warm up to strangers. Everyone loved it. I shrugged off my jacket, maneuvering around the various pairs of shoes that littered the entryway to reach the coat hanger. I had contemplated going to the kitchen to greet our guests but thought against it. Right now I was tired and full of grime from the day's activities, all I wanted to do was take a shower and get some sleep. Our guests weren't going anywhere soon, surely I'd run into them tomorrow.

So I tip-toed upstairs, peeling my shirt off in the process. Within a matter of minutes I was standing underneath the shower head, hot beads of water streaming down my body. Squeezing my eyes shut, I blindly turned the knob so the water was at the hottest it could get, scalding my skin. It hurt, but the pain was soothing in a way, and soon I found my tense muscles giving way under the heat.

The sound of a drawer closing had me tensing up again though.

Startled, I slowly pulled back the plastic magenta shower curtain to take a peek at the rest of the bathroom.

My vision was blocked though, by a head of wild, curly, red hair.

As if sensing my gaze on the back of her head, my bathroom intruder spun around, pure shock on her face.

"Oh my-" She stammered out stupidly while taking a headphone out of one of her ears. "I-I-" She started but then stopped, the expression on her face changing as she took me in. A sort of confusion danced across her green orbs, and my expression began to mimic her own.

Why? Because I felt like I had seen her before. She seemed familiar.

The shower curtain shifted a bit between my grip, exposing my face and neck a bit more. That's all it took for the girl's expression morph from confusion to pure horror as her gaze became locked onto the mark on my neck that was barely in view.

"I-I-" She stammered, beginning to back away, but was interrupted by my father's voice calling from downstairs.

"Did you find any?" He quizzed the girl. "I swear, we should have a spare tube of toothpaste laying around somewhere. I'll go check in the other bathroom..." He trailed off, leaving the girl and I in an awkward silence once again.

I bit my bottom lip unsure of how to deal with the situation at hand. I'd never really planned on a stranger barging in on me in the shower, and didn't know how to confront her about it.

"Hey, I-" I started, my voice rattling her from her shocked state. Her cheeks flushed crimson, and the look of embarrassment plastered on her face made me pity the girl.

"I'm so sorry." She gushed. I-I-" She stammered, but whatever she wanted to say just wasn't coming out so instead she scrambled away, shutting the door behind her.

I sighed, popping my head back into the shower.

I guess I had to make a mental note to lock the bathroom door behind me more often. I didn't want another awkward encounter like that to ever happen again in my life.

Soon enough, the shampoo was rinsed from my hair, and I pattered back to my bedroom in a damp towel that was tightly wrapped around my body. Inside, my two brothers sat on my bed, rummaging through the jewelry box that I kept on my bedside table.

"Hey!" I yelled, snatching the box from the boys. They both looked up at me, sheepish grins on their faces. "What are you guys even doing in here?" I questioned.

The sheepish grins on my brothers' faces slowly faded away, and Brent scrambled off the bed to shut my bedroom door.

"We came to talk to you." Darren whispered. "It's about the people that are going to be staying in the basement. They're weird Lily."

"Weird? How?"

"I don't know how, it's just... Something's just not right, there's something off about all of them, we can just sense it. I don't think dad sees it, but the two of us do. I just wanted to warn you, so you can keep an eye on them. I'm just a little nervous."

Darren's words sent a few chills down my spine. As far as I was concerned, Darren and Brent both had very good intuition, especially when it came to people. If they were this concerned about these people staying in the house, it meant that I had some work cut out for me.

"Okay, yeah." I said while brushing a hand through my hair. "Thanks for the heads up. Now go on, get off to bed, you guys have school tomorrow."

And with that Darren and Brent raced out of my room. Quickly I threw on some pyjamas and snuggled into my bed. I would worry about the strangers in the basement tomorrow, right now I was too tired to worry or care.

I should have worried though, I should have cared and stayed awake to try to sort something out.

You see, If I would have stayed awake just a few moments longer, I would have noticed a figure emerging from my closet.

If I would have stayed awake just a few moments longer, I would have heard footsteps creeping towards my bed.

If I would have stayed awake just a few moments longer, I would have felt someone trace their fingertips along the mark on my neck.

If I would have stayed awake just a few moments longer, I could have prevented what happened next.