Ava exits the library book in hand.

She shudders a bad feeling away and keeps walking. She felt something bad coming on.

She spots her house ahead and increases her speed. Now she was frightened and didn't know why.

What you don't know can't hurt you right?

She was almost running now, her house upcoming.

She felt eyes on her, all around her. She felt like suffocating, sweating, and like a closed in animal.

Ava was now sprinting the rest of the way home.

She suddenly lunged onto her porch and threw the door open.

It slams shut behind her and she turns to lock it.

It became harder to breathe for Ava as her claustrophobia came back.

The years of her dad locking her in the closet for being bad flooded her senses.

Ava feels the hard floor under her as her mom runs to see what was going on.

She sees her mom bending to help her up. But it wasn't her mom, but her dad.

Then her mom, then her long dead father.

Ava screams bloody murder as he reaches down to grab her.

His wicked laugh echoes through her ears as she shuts her eyes.

Something shakes Ava and she reluctantly opens her eyes.

"Ava? Ava! Wake up!"

"Wha-?"

Ava opens her eyes to see her mom in front of her.

Ava jumps away from her and scrambles away as her "mom" reaches for her.

"Ava, are you okay? You passed out from heat exhaustion! You ran home and passed out once you got inside... you were screaming..."

Ava hugs her knees and rocks back and forth. She didn't realize it, but she was crying.

"Something- s-something," she blubbered, "w-was following m-me.."

"I didn't see anything honey," her mother hugs her and strokes her hair. "It's okay,"

Ava nods and hugs her mother.

But Ava was right. Something was following her.

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Words- 320