The Attic

Chapter 12

Mother was busy in the kitchen preparing for the guests that would be arriving in a few short hours. I sat on the porch my head swimming with the idea of having people we hardly knew into our home. Knowing that Charlie Miller could be in our home with a secret he may be keeping close to his heart made me very unsettle. A chill hit my bones at the thought. Something was keeping me unsettled something rattling my brain. The birds were friendly singing in the trees welcoming the sun that was shining among the Earth. The smell of BBQ, and pies floated from the window mixing with the sweet grass that surrounding the land.I looked over at Ellie's expecting to see her face pearing from behind her curtain. Nothing but the shadows of the trees casting on her window. The fallen curtain still, un-nerved of the day. There was a slight breeze only relieving my face from the warmth from time to time.  Father was busy setting up table and chairs in the garden for the guests, whistling Sing Sing Sing by Benny Goodman. I haven't seen Father in such a good mood, it felt like ages as I swear I could see the ice melting away as his lips turned to a smile and face flushed with excitement. Only if Father knew the secrets of this house and the spoiled ground that is laid upon. That  a man that may or may not have blood hidden in his hands as a life was taken from the grip they had. The breeze stop is breath and the world suddenly became silent. I felt the heat beating down me, boiling my fresh as my body tears to try to cool down.
"Find me" a gentle hum echoing off the trees bouncing from leaf to leaf. Echo pulsing through my ears bouncing of the core of my brain, vibrating the stems and running down  my neck.
Louder and loud screaming as it scratches at my brain, bleeding down in my throat running its raw metal taste in my mouth.
"Irelynn what on Earth are you staring at? You're standing there like a statue" My fathers voice broke the noise and I was back into the moving world, where the breeze tickled my skin and the singing of the birds rested in my ears. I twisted around to see my father staring at me quizzing my sanity.
"Oh sorry Father, I haven't slept well the last few nights" it wasn't a complete lie, I haven't had a soundless night since we moved. 
"Well I can't blame you my dear, all the excitement about our gathering and new friends has your mind playing in the night. we have plenty of time before our guests arrive if you need to take a rest your mother and I can handle things" he winked and brushed my shoulder and walked off. I wasn't really tired as I was anxious, would Charlie remember me from the woods. Should I mention this to my father so he can put Charlie in his place. I thought back to that haunting voice that continues to haunt not only my dreams but my reality. I looked toward the woods, hoping to find something, a hint of knowledge to what I'm suppose to find and why the voice had chosen me to be the one to play hide and seek with. I'm tired of this house, and the tangled freak show my life has become. This spirits of this home are draining the life out of my sunken hole of a body. Will I be sucked into an emptiness left to rot with the dead lurking instead the walls of this death house. 
 The garden was full of tiki torches, decorations for a fun little Hawaiian BBQ. I could hear mother singing from the open windows as father sang along in his deep strong baritone. I smiled, even with the darkness that spilled from this house, my family can seem somehow paint beauty into. I found a bench with a few outdoor pillows to prop against. The shade was a few degrees cooler almost too chilly. The Earth busy making noise, but gentle enough to lull me into a tender sleep. The world around me began to fade as the darkness behind my eyes began to dance with images of a life that was not my own. 

        The heat of the sun made the air muggy, sticking to the skin that I wore. Air too thick to get a breathe that refreshed the heat that was surrounding me. Choking on the fog of air, trying to get a taste into my lungs. My eyes begging to see, the darkness flooded my vision.  The silence ringing through my ears vibrating through my entire body. I felt chained unable to feel freedom, unable to move my way through the darkness that now had conquered me. I laid still my mouth dry and thick choking on my tongue. Heart beating hard and fast I swear it was outside of my chest. I was trying to calm myself down, so I could settle enough to take in the situation and what I could do to get out of it. Unable to calm down I only began to kick my feet and jolt around like a fish out of water. A caged animal trying to break free of the chains that bared them down. I felt hot tears run down my face, my body had given in before my head at a chance to fight. My chest moving slower, as I give up the fight for air. My body grew limp the energy I once had, the fight that ran through my veins had vanish as I lay already as if I were dead. My eyes burned and the tears dried, with the darkness I couldn't tell if my eyes were opened or closed. I faded with the night.