I went over to a round table while its contents were folded neatly on it. Joey walked behind me and wrapped his arms around me, laying his head on my shoulder. “What do you want, Joey?”
“You.”
“You can have me when hell freezes over,” I said, smiling.
“Ouch, cold, that hurt,” he moved away. “Hey look,” he grabbed a black silk lingerie and puts it up to my shoulders, “perfect. Really brings out your eyes.”
I slapped him in the gut, “ Knock it off. Act normal.”
“I don’t know how.”
“When are we supposed to meet the other guys?” I asked just remembering them. He looked at his watch, “ Shit, 10 minutes ago. Oh well they will get over it. Do you want anything in here before we leave?” he asked.
“No I have no use of any of this.”
“Yeah right, you will.”
“I got to get out of the house first.”
He smiled flirtaously, “Not this month.”
“Its not going to be you, that’s for sure.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“Well let me put it this way… you aren’t my type,” I lied. He was everything I wanted, everything I dreamed of, but I dared not say. We walked out of the store, laughing. J.C. turned hearing our laughter, looking relieved. He waited till we were beside him before he spoke;
“You were supposed to meet us back her,” he looked at his watch, “15 minutes ago. We were afraid teenyboppers chased you out. Where were you?” I looked past him to a fountain. Clear water poured out of it, splashing into a pool below it.
Joey looked annoyed, “We were shopping, like we were supposed to. Isn’t that why we came?”
“You were 15 minutes late,” J.C. gave us hell.
I rolled my eyes, “Stop being an asshole.” He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it, looking away.
“Lets go you guys. I’m beat,” I said.
Later that night, Justin sat on the balcony thinking about what Tabitha said earlier.
“By tomorrow morning you wish you hadn’t…you’re going to be so scared by tomorrow night, you will be so scared to go to sleep.” Her warning came as a surprise to him. Just to make me scared he thought to himself. It’s working too, he added. A cold breeze blew past him and he got up to go inside.
Closing and locking the glass doors he thought he heard somebody talking to him. Spinning around he saw no one there. He looked around suspiciously, “Hello? Anybody there? Joey, I swear if that’s you you’re dead.”
Silence.
Still freaked out he moved to his bag and toke out his toothbrush. He cautiously opened the door to the bathroom that J.C. and him would share for the next month. J.C. was brushing his teeth over the marble counter top.
“Hey, fro boy.”
“Were you talking a couple minutes ago?” Justin asked his friend.
“No,” J.C. watched his band mate fidget a little.
“Did you hear anybody talking?”
“No, why? What is up?”
“I just thought I heard somebody talking to me a couple seconds ago,” Justin replied looking around.
“I didn’t hear anything. You are just worried about what Tabitha said that’s all,” J.C. put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Look, I’m in the next room, don’t worry about it. Goodnight, fro boy, see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, C,” as the older guy retreated to his room. Justin looked into the mirror and sighed remembering his toothpaste. He put his blue toothbrush on the marble counter. Coming back seconds later, it was gone.
“Where did my toothbrush go?” he asked aloud. After several minutes of looking for it he decided to ask for help. “Ok, I definitely need help finding my toothbrush. I can’t go to bed without brushing my teeth.”
Bursting through J.C’s room he asked, “Hey, C, have you seen my tooth brush?”
“Don’t you know how to knock?”
“Sorry man.”
“No, I haven’t seen your toothbrush. Last time I saw it, it was in your hand.” Justin explained the situation to J.C. In one breath.
“You sure you put it on the counter?” J.C. asked.
“Positive.”
“Well, I can’t help you.”
“Ok, well, I’ll look harder. Thanks anyway,” Justin said closing the door. He turned back around to the sink to find his toothbrush on the counter. “Now, I know that wasn’t there when I left this room,” he told nobody in particular. Brushing it off he started brushing his teeth.
Spiting into the sink hot water rushed out of the faucet. “Hey,” he said jumping back wiping the whit excess toothpaste off his mouth. The knobs turned off, stopping the water. He slowly moved toward the sink again, planning to rinse off the toothbrush. Slowly he turned the knobs on; taking his hand away. The knobs turned back off. “What the…” he turned it back on, stepping back to watch it turn off, than on again. Just in amazed, turned it off. He shook his head as the knobs turned and water pored form the faucet. “You prick…” as he turned it off. Both knobs turned on full blast. “I give up,” he said moving past the sink, throwing his toothbrush in it.
He stood at the bathroom doorway, amazed at what he saw before him His once clean room was now in shambles. Clothes and cds scattered upon the floor, t-shirts on lampshades, drawers had their shelves out, emptied of what contents were in it. “I’m going to bed,” he told himself climbing in his waterbed. After getting under the warm covers, he turned the lamp off. The nightstand shook lightly with age.
Hours later he woke up wondering what woke him from his dream. He looked at the digital clock radio he had brought with him. Sighing he laid his head back down on his soft pillow, “4:42, why would I wake up at4: 42.”
Knock, knock
He bolted forward, confused.
Knock, knock
The knocks came louder this time. “Come in!” he yelled from his bed.
Knock, knock
Justin turned on the light and shivered, “God, its cold in here.” Swinging his feet off the side, other knocks sounded, louder than the others. Opening the door to the hallway he saw nothing. Confused he shut the door and again got in bed. He was just reaching to turn out the light when he heard pounding from across the room. Slowly he turned to look, afraid at what he would see. Pounding came from inside an old ancient grandfather clock that he noticed didn’t work. The whole clock shook from the pounding.
An unfamiliar voice sounded from inside the deep brown clock. “Please, help me, let me out!” Justin froze with terror, unable to move. His breathing quickened, his heart pounded through his chest. Suddenly everything got quiet. Just when he thought his breathing got back to normal, he heard other knocks. Tabitha poked her head in the room and he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Can I come in?” she asked. All he could do was nod. “I figured you would be up this early. Can I get under the covers with you?” he nodded. Tabitha climbed in and laid down looking up at the ceiling. “I told you, you shouldn’t have said that, didn’t I? You should’ve apologized. Looks like they did a pretty good job at destroying your room,” she looked around the bedroom.
In one split second the door from the clock flew open with anger. Tabitha sat up, just as the lights got dimmer. Her eyes moved wildly form one end of the room to the other. It suddenly dropped 10 degrees cooler. Tabitha looked beside her side of the bed. An 11 year old by stood silently, looking at them. His blonde hair fell over his forehead like curtains. The boys’ brown eyes showed he was scared. Justin pulled Tabitha toward himself. She held onto his white wife beater with fear. They stared at the boy who hadn’t moved.
“Make him go away,” he whispered in her ear never leaving his eyes from the boy.
“I can’t. I’m not the one he is haunting,” she whispered back.
Justin looked down at from under his chin and back up to the boy. “Please go away, you are scaring her and me. I believe in you, now, just go away,” Justin instructed.
The boy walked over to the door and opened it, stepping out into the hallway and shut the door. Tabitha and Justin sunk into the bed more, still holding each other. Justin shook with fear while Tabitha silently started crying into his shirt. They both didn’t say a word to each other till they fell asleep, with the lights on.
copyright © 2001 AngelH