Darkened Heart

Chapter One

No matter where she was in this house, the smells of dust and wood never left her. She knew her allergies would escalate sooner or later. Walking to the bathroom in order to do her business, she was horrified to find several dead roaches on the bottom of the bathtub. Looking at the wall, she saw a few that were still alive! Acting quickly, she tore off her shoe and began to kill them as they scurried off in different directions. After most of them were dead, she made a promise to herself not to bathe here for a while. She never liked bugs. In fact, insects were a small fear of hers. Turning on the water on the showerhead, she sprayed away the dead roaches and watched them all float down the drain. Watching them do was enough to make her gag and shiver. Suddenly she didn't have to go to the restroom anymore after that incident. Washing her hands, she went upstairs. The floorboards creaked slightly as she walked through all the rooms. Surprisingly, hers wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. It was a normal space, with the luck of having windows. Making a note to check for bed bugs later, she dusted off the bed and decided that it the vibes would feel better if she decorated with a little personal touch. Looking at the cracked ceiling, she spotted a leak. Therefore she found a bucket and put it underneath before it became too messy. She spent so long trying to tidy things up, she nearly forgot that she left the rest of her things downstairs. Just as she finished airing out the dust, something caught her eye. Beside the bed was a wooden nightstand, but in its unfurnished drawers, looked to be something sticking out.

Confused, she walked over to it with curiosity. It looked like orange yarn of some kind that was preventing the drawer from fully closing. Oddly enough, she could've sworn it wasn't there before. Opening the drawer, she gasped in surprise as she realized there was an entire doll attached to it! Charlotte marveled at it. The feeling of being watched now maximized as she looked at it. Picking it up, she felt goose bumps all over her body. She didn't know if it was confusion or fear, but whatever it was, it hit her like a brick. The doll had her ginger hair, her freckles, her huge purple jacket, and two dark green buttons for eyes to accompany the raggedy object. That's how the afternoon went from sad and depressing to creepy in less than five minutes. The resemblance it had to her was unbelievable. Taking the doll, she examined it with both fascination and puzzlement. She knew nobody who would have such a thing made for her. Her dad wasn't one to surprise her, and her mom, friends, and grandparents were back in Jacksonville... Not only that, but by the looks of it, the doll looked as old as the house. Just to be sure, she rushed back down stairs, her tennis shoes stomping on the wooden steps.

Reaching the bottom, she heard her dad talking on the phone in the living room. Thinking he was talking to one of his friends back in Florida, she was about to interrupt. However, as she reached the living room's door frame, she nearly froze. Sitting on the couch, her dad held his lousy flip phone to his ear, "Miranda, I told you, she's busy. We'll call you after Charlotte's settled with all this collage business." The realization he was talking to her mom made her heart light up for the first time in a while. She approached him swiftly, eagerness overcoming her sadness for the move. "I have time to talk!" She said, standing in front of him. Her dad raised his hand, indicating for her to be quiet for a moment as he continued to talk with her mom. "No, no, she's fine. Of course she's happy!" He was referring to her. "Dad, come on!" Charlotte tried again, but instead, she was ignored. "Sure I'll tell her... alright. Goodbye." He hung up. The sound of the dial ending was enough to crush her. However, he acted like nothing was wrong and instead continued to unpack a bunch of useless things such as the snow globe collection he held so dear. Charlotte didn't move. Her face went red, both anger and sadness. "Why couldn't I talk to her?" She asked, trying with all her might not to sound angry. Setting the doll down on the table, she stood next to her father with crossed arms. He merely shook his head, "It's none of your business... she was just checking in." That only made her even more upset. "Of course it's my business! She's my mom, and I still love her. I haven't seen her almost two weeks!" She argued. Snapping, her father faced her and placed his hands on his hips. "I don't care if you're not a little kid anymore, you do not talk to me like that!" His words stung. "Talk to you like what? Like an adult?" She put her hands on her hips too, just to match him.