Alex dropped her phone and shot out of bed. No. This shit had to stop, right now. Earlier, she'd basically admitted defeat and agreed to continue doing what Mitchie said. But now, she had a whole different mindset.
She hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep and not 'fulfilled' her duty to watch Mitchie. But fuck it, she didn't care right now. These messages were way too creepy.
How did Mitchie know her dad had talked to her at all? Mitchie was spying on her somehow, and she had no idea what way that might be, but damnit she was gonna figure it out. She refused to live like this any longer – to be under Mitchie's control.
She sat on the edge of her bed clutching the sides of her head. But what could she even do? She felt so powerless. She supposed she could ask her parents to buy her a new phone so she could get a new number so Mitchie couldn't text her, although with the way she'd appeared to them lately she didn't think that was a viable option really.
And ultimately, even if she could somehow convince her parents to get her a new phone, it still didn't eliminate whatever method Mitchie had of spying on her.
So what? Was there some kind of camera somewhere? There had to be.
Suddenly, it dawned on her that that might have been what Mitchie was referring to as 'leaving' in her room. But it was impossible! Alex had been with her the whole time when she had been in the room with her. She would have noticed Mitchie putting something like that, whatever that looked like, in her room somewhere.
'You shouldn't leave your phone in the bathroom'
Alex suddenly recalled that first text she'd received from the number.
"I wouldn't go in there for a while if I were you." Mitchie had said, and closed the door behind her upon leaving the bathroom that first day she was in Alex's room. She had been in there for a while, and now... thinking of it, Alex couldn't remember hearing the toilet flush or anything like that. Of course, it was a minute detail that she may have possibly forgotten, but right now it seemed right.
And obviously, Alex's first thought at hearing that wouldn't have been oh, she must have planted a camera in my bathroom. It was smart of Mitchie – if it ended up being true.
She rushed into the bathroom and flicked on the light, and began looking around everywhere. It wasn't a large bathroom at all, so there weren't too many places something like that could have been put.
Listen to me, Alex told herself. Looking in my own bathroom for a what? A spy camera? Have I lost my fucking mind?
"Probably." She answered herself aloud.
But there is no other explanation for how she could have known I left the phone in here, and how she could have possibly heard and/or known my dad and I had a conversation earlier, she thought.
Her intuition for hidden objects wasn't the greatest though. She discovered this after rapidly scanning the bathroom and the shower. Literally nothing seemed out of place.
She picked up the hygiene items off the small sill above the sink which was at the bottom of the mirror, and looked stupidly into the mirror, expecting to find something.
"God I am losing it..." She said aloud again.
She clutched her head and spun around the bathroom, looking at everything once more.
What the fuck? How could something be in here? Everything looked normal!
Alex covered her face and felt like sobbing – partly from being upset at everything and partly because she hadn't gotten much sleep and was still feeling exhausted. But she couldn't go to sleep now. She had to figure something out tonight.
She left the bathroom and went to her window and opened the curtains, looking across to Mitchie's room. Dark. It was hard to tell if the curtains were closed or not.
Well, if she couldn't find this camera or whatever it was, the only option left was to figure out the number Mitchie was calling from.
Alex closed her curtains and paced about her room, thinking of what she could do.
She thought of possibly sneaking into Mitchie's house somehow. Of course, now it was the weekend so she didn't have school either. If she even went to school. Alex didn't even know anymore. Mitchie was shrouded in so much secrecy and tricks she came to the conclusion she wouldn't believe anything she said anymore. Apart from her having these pictures of Alex watching her; because Alex had physically seen her take the pictures before.
What would Mitchie do if she just showed up right now at her house?
Alex shook her head. No, that was a phenomenally stupid idea. Mitchie could call the cops on her or something.
What was she meant to do then?
She sighed and covered her face with her hands.
Nothing. There was nothing she could do. Not right now, anyway. It infuriated her, but it was the truth. What? Did she expect to just heroically break into Mitchie's house at 2 in the morning and uncover the truth about all of this? This wasn't a fucking Hollywood movie. That stuff didn't work out in real life.
Of course, in similar fashion, she couldn't just ignore all of this and just have a peaceful night's sleep like they did in the movies either. She was tense and very much awake, despite being tired.
She decided to take some sleeping pills, which wasn't something she was fond of, but she didn't see any other way she'd calm down enough to fall back asleep.
After shutting off the bathroom light she got back in bed, eyeing the curtains suspiciously until her eyes grew heavy once again. It wasn't long until she fell asleep.
-
She awoke the next morning and checked her phone to see if Mitchie had sent any other menacing messages. She hadn't. She elected to not use the bathroom in her room out of paranoia that there was some sort of camera there, and in fact used the hallway bathroom to shower.
When she got out, she noticed her parents downstairs. There was luggage by the door. What the hell?
She got dressed quickly and went downstairs.
"Where are you guys going?"
Her father smiled. "Alex, really? We told you earlier this week we were going away for the weekend."
Alex was confused. "When did you say that?"
"We told you at dinner a few nights ago. Wednesday I think? You just nodded and didn't really seem to say anything about it but..." Her dad was cut off.
"But you never really say anything if we go away." Her mom finished. "But I still made you breakfast." She set a plate of pancakes on the table.
"No..." Alex started. "I don't remember I guess... But where are you going?"
"Well, the neighbor that lived next door prior to uh... Mitchie, he used to work with me before he moved away. He had won some sort of weekend vacation through a contest we had at work a few weeks ago. But it was right before he was leaving the company. So this lady from HR called me earlier this week – the night we told you about it at dinner – saying he had relinquished the vacation to us. So naturally, I accepted." Her dad beamed. "Come on, honey. You're nearly out of high school. You are more than capable of taking care of yourself for a weekend. After our conversation last night, I trust you not to see that girl next door. Doesn't sound like you want to anyway."
Alex shook her head. "No, I don't." She sighed. She really didn't remember them ever saying this, but her mom was right, she normally didn't react to them going away.
It just didn't sound right. "You made sure the vacation was legitimate right?"
Her mom looked at her surprised. "What? That's certainly something you've never asked before..."
Alex wouldn't be able to argue that. She could normally care less if her parents were leaving. But under the current circumstances with Mitchie, she didn't really trust anything anymore. Maybe she was being too paranoid.
Her dad grinned. "It is true you haven't asked before, but I appreciate your concern, sweetie. Yes, I did make sure to check on the confirmation number of the flight and everything. It's all real. Why do you ask?"
Alex shrugged. "I'm sorry. I just really don't remember."
Her mom looked concerned. "Honey, if you don't want us to go..."
Her dad eyed her mom at hearing this.
No, she couldn't deny them some time away, she knew. That would be incredibly selfish, and also completely unlike her.
"No, no, Mom. It's fine." Alex tried her best to feign a smile. "I honestly just forgot. I must have been tired. You go, and have fun. You're coming back tomorrow night or Monday or something?"
"We will be back late tomorrow night. It's just one night. My work doesn't give away luxury vacations or anything..." Her dad laughed.
"Okay." Was all Alex responded.
It still seemed weird, but again maybe she was just paranoid from yesterday and last night. She knew her dad wouldn't take some random trip on a whim that he didn't check out. This whole thing wasn't connected to Mitchie at all, she summarized.
"I'm gonna leave you a hundred for food and stuff. I expect change when we get back of course, so don't go eating at a five-star restaurant or something..." Her mom laughed.
Alex again tried to smile, despite not feeling very happy about this. "Okay, I won't."
Her mom walked over to her and hugged her, then kissed her head. "We have to get going soon though, to make our flight."
Her dad did the same. "You be good, okay?"
Alex nodded. "I will. Have fun."
When her mom opened the door for them to go outside, she said, "Alex? Eat the breakfast I made, please?"
Her parents did know of her light eating habits.
Alex feigned a last smile. "Of course, Mom."
"Okay. We love you." Her mom said, and her dad smiled in kind.
"I love you too." Alex replied.
The door closed, and Alex looked out of the kitchen window at them loading their luggage in the car, and then pulling out of the driveway.
For some reason she felt completely lost as to what to do. Any other weekend she'd just spend it in her room on her phone or computer, watching Netflix or something. Ironically, those weekends she'd wish her parents were gone so she wouldn't be disturbed at all. Now that they were gone she felt different.
Of course, this wasn't the first weekend she'd spend alone in the house. But given Mitchie next door... she wasn't too comfortable with it this time.
She stabbed at the pancakes on her plate, taking a few bites before throwing the rest away. The 100 that her mom had left her could probably last her almost a week, honestly.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she retrieved it.
Good morning babe :)
I see your parents left. That was smart to send them off.
Alex rolled her eyes and set her phone on the table. Not like it would have done much good to try to reply. It did give her some reassurance though. At least Mitchie hadn't planned on them leaving. Or did she? Alex didn't know what to believe anymore. She sat there at the kitchen table for a while, pondering the situation.
Now that it was day time, confronting Mitchie again wasn't as likely to turn into a phone call to the police. But what could she say? She had a feeling regardless of what she said that it wouldn't change anything. Mitchie was set on ruining her life it seemed.
Her phone buzzed again.
So whatcha doing today? We should have a sleepover since your parents are gone ;)
Alex groaned, reading this. It was funny when Mitchie would ask her things like this, knowing that she couldn't respond to them. She was wary of Mitchie's text from last night about how this weekend was going to be fun, but she didn't anticipate this kind of text from her. It was probably the most non-malicious one she'd received.
Buzz.
Just getting ready. Should I bring anything specific?
Ooh, I know you have a pool, I'll bring a swimsuit :)
Wait. Was she actually serious? Alex thought, shocked. Could that have really been what she meant from the text last night?
No... because Mitchie hadn't known about her parents leaving until this morning, Alex reminded herself. Unless she really did. Again, she had no way of knowing anymore about anything when it came to her.
Of course, she could always not answer the door when Mitchie came. Having a sleepover with a psycho wasn't exactly high on her list of 'fun' things to do, obviously. But then again, since she was alone for the weekend, defying Mitchie might not be the smartest thing... Alex didn't know what exactly Mitchie might do in retaliation, but she didn't want to risk it to begin win.
-
Sure enough, about half an hour later, the doorbell rang. Alex hadn't moved from the kitchen table; she really didn't have anything else to do.
Well, here goes nothing, she thought as she went to the door. She placed her hand over the door lock and exhaled, before unlocking it and opening the door. Mitchie was standing there with that too enthusiastic looking smile of hers, holding a duffel bag. She dropped it upon seeing Alex.
"Hey cutie." Mitchie said, and immediately leaned in to kiss Alex, which Alex backed away from.
Mitchie cocked her head to the side and made a pouting face. "C'mon now, is that any way to treat your girlfriend? All I want is a kiss, is that so much to ask?"
It amazed Alex how delusional Mitchie was with this whole pretending she was actually her girlfriend thing. The act was pretty convincing. A third party would probably think she was serious, Alex thought.
Alex shook her head and turned to the side. "Do you want to come in or..." The most reluctant sounding invitation ever.
Mitchie folded her arms. "Not until I get my kiss."
Alex groaned to herself. What a child. As much as she wanted to say 'Well, you can go home then', she couldn't.
She sighed. "Fine."
Mitchie shrugged her shoulders and brightened. She leaned in once again and Alex didn't back away. It was a quick peck, much like when her dad had walked out to see her yesterday morning.
Mitchie didn't say anything, just picked up her duffel and walked inside. Alex closed the door and made sure to keep eyes on Mitchie. She wouldn't be sneaking around the house this time, Alex vowed.
"Do you uhh... mind if I look in your bag?" Alex asked. Not that she could really do anything if she found something suspicious in the bag anyway, but she at least wanted to know.
She was actually surprised when Mitchie said with a smirk, "Sure. I've got nothing to hide."
Alex eyed her suspiciously as she knelt down on the carpet and unzipped the bag. Mitchie was watching her, while biting a finger between her lips.
Alex was surprised to see there was barely anything in the bag. There was a swimsuit on the top, which she took out, a bra and underwear, pajama pants, a tank top, jean shorts, socks, another t-shirt and then a separate bag. She unzipped the smaller bag and discovered a razor, shaving cream, a hairbrush, perfume, and a toothbrush.
"You... don't mind if I use your toothpaste and shampoo and stuff like that right? I didn't bring any kinda hoping you would..." Mitchie interjected.
What the hell... Alex thought, putting everything back in the bag. This was quite literally an ordinary assortment of things for visiting someone's house. Either Mitchie had deliberately tried to make it look believable or... she actually just wanted to stay the night.
Alex was leaning towards the former. She wasn't about to put any amount of trust in this girl.
"Yeah, sure."
"Is that okay?" Mitchie asked. "I might have overdone it for one night but... I haven't really done this much in my life."
Maybe if you didn't act like such a fucking psycho more people would actually be your friend, Alex wanted to say to her.
Alex narrowed her eyes at her, getting up to her feet again. "You've never slept over at someone's house before?"
Mitchie bobbed her head from side to side. "I have, it's just been a long time I guess?"
"Hmm." Alex wasn't trying to get into some deep conversation about it.
"Sorry this is so sudden. I just got the idea after seeing your parents leave. Thought maybe we could get to know each other more. Seems only right if we are dating, right?" Mitchie winked.
Alex rolled her eyes. "Right. Of course."
-
The day went surprisingly tame, to Alex's surprise. Despite some awkward moments of Mitchie demanding her to do certain things, like lay her head in her lap while they watched a movie; it was shockingly... normal.
Later at night, after Alex ordered a pizza which she only ate one slice of while Mitchie ate almost six by herself, Mitchie opened up more. This was something Alex feared. She resolved to stay neutral to anything Mitchie said, she wasn't about to let her get to sympathize with her or something.
"I kind of miss my parents..." Mitchie started. She was sitting next to Alex on the couch with the pizza box on her lap. There was a movie playing, but they weren't really watching it. "But then again, if they were here they probably wouldn't have let me come over here today."
"So, they are strict?" Alex asked. That might explain at least some of Mitchie's weird behavior.
Mitchie looked downward. "They were."
Wait a minute. Were? Alex became suddenly terrified at hearing this. She coughed out of surprise.
"Ummm... what do you mean 'were'..." She ventured.
Mitchie didn't change expression. "I haven't been very upfront with you. The parents I live with now aren't my original parents. I have foster parents now. I haven't seen my original parents in almost ten years..."
Alex felt a wave of relief hearing this, and then immediately felt bad for feeling that way. She should think that's a terrible thing to hear. But she was trying so hard to not be influenced in any way towards Mitchie.
"Well," Mitchie continued, "I've had like three different sets of foster parents actually..."
No, no, no, Alex! She scolded herself. You're not supposed to feel sorry for her! But, despite her best effort, those walls broke. She did feel bad for Mitchie. But it still didn't excuse how she'd been acting, in Alex's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mitchie. I don't know what to say to that..."
"It's fine. You don't have to." She set the pizza box to the side and got up from the couch. Alex got up with her instinctively.
"I need to use the bathroom." Mitchie said. "Is there one down here?"
Well, as much as Alex didn't want to lose sight of her, she couldn't very well follow her into the bathroom. "I..."
"Relax. I really do just have to use the bathroom..." Mitchie seemed to read her mind.
Alex sighed. "Well, you understand my-"
Mitchie suddenly darted her eyes towards Alex. "Yes Alex! I get it! You fucking hate me! You don't trust me! I fucking get it, alright? But I really just need to use the goddamn bathroom, okay?!"
Alex widened her eyes at this sudden outburst. "Okay... yes. There is one around the corner by the stairs."
"Thank you. Christ." Mitchie grumbled as she walked away.
Uh oh, pissing her off was definitely not a good idea, Alex thought.
She turned back to walk towards the couch and noticed something.
There was a phone on the couch.
Mitchie's phone.