Speechless, I staggered over to a kitchen chair and sat down in front of the counter. At that moment, my anxiety was so bad that I could no longer feel my heart beating. For a moment I was scared that it wasn't beating at all, so I placed my hand on my chest. I couldn't feel it, but I was still alive and breathing. What I had seen already ruined everything and I was afraid.

Things only got ten times worse when Shayla walked inside of the kitchen, giggling to herself. When I turned around, I realize that someone who wasn't my father stood behind her. The guy looked much older than my dad and wore a black and white suit, groomed and dressed like he was going to church or something. 

Shayla looked at me as if she was surprised that I was there. I immediately got up to leave, not wanting to get mixed up in Shayla's matters. I didn't know who that man was, besides, he could have been a friend of hers. By the way she walked in giggling and smiling, it was hard to tell if he was just a 'friend.'

"What are you doing in the kitchen?" Shayla asked. She gave me a look as if she was disgusted with me. I looked at the floor and tried to walk past them again, but she cut me off.

"I only came for some water," I replied. "Now I'm about to go up to my room."

Without words, the man helped himself to the same seat where I had been sitting. Like a total scumbag, he kicked his feet up on the table and leaned back in his chair then smirked at me. "She's mad daddy left her with a lunatic?" He chuckled.

"Oh, behave yourself, Gabe," Shayla waved her hand in his direction. "She lost her mother."

I stood in front of Shayla, wanting to knock her teeth in for smiling at her statement. "Excuse me," I pushed passed her, only for her to grabbed my forearm and pushed me onto the kitchen floor.

"You're not going to tell daddy what you saw today, right?" She looked down at me. Gabe walked around the counter to look at me. Both of them, giving me a serious stare. 

Scared, very scared, I shook my head. "I won't tell," I responded, giving into a threat she had not even mentioned. I hated to give in so fast, but there was two against one. As soon as I attempted to get up, Gabe pushed me back down. Hard. So hard that my head bounced a little after it had hit the floor once. Looking into both their eyes, I realized how dangerous and serious they were. Shayla too. I never feared my life as much than I did now. 

"I'm serious," Gabe slowly shook his head. "The less your father knows, the longer he could live." He said, then took one giant step over me. He and Shayla walked out of the kitchen laughing as if what they did was so hilarious. 

I was about to get up but froze when I saw Sunny glide over the floor out of nowhere, then walk into the living room behind Shayla and Gabe. On my knees, I crawled and peered from behind the kitchen wall. Amber had been sitting on the last step and watched Shayla as she and the guy were about to leave. However, before they could go, Sunny took a small statue of a silver horse, stood where Amber sat, and threw it at the back of Shayla's head. What came next terrified me. Sunny sat down next to Amber and their bodies linked into one. I wish I could say the moment of it was swift, but I saw how Amber's flesh and skin opened up for Sunny to slide inside of her.

Shayla slowly turned around, but Gabe beat her to the stairs. He pointed his finger at Amber, giving her a look so hard that I could see the bone in his chin bulged. "You threw that?" He said, breathing heavily.

"No," she smiled. "It was the ghost."

With no warning, Gabe smacked Amber's face so hard that the sound echoed throughout the living room. He then walked over to Shayla and put his arm around her. "Damn kids, I can't wait until you leave that motherfucker," he complained and cursed us until his words were no longer possible for us to hear.

I finally stood up then walked out of the kitchen and up to Amber. Amber or Sunny. She looked at me. They looked at me. Cold eyes that made me shiver and that were no longer Amber's. Her body trembled for a second then it opened, revealing the insides of her. Sunny slid out, then walked upstairs like nothing had happened. Amber followed behind Sunny, rubbing her face. I stood there, watching them jog up the stairs. Listening to them play made me feel uneasy. A ghost and a little girl, playing so normally. 

***

Sleep did not come easy the previous night, which is why I ended up falling asleep during almost every class. I've gotten warnings from over four teachers, and even that wasn't enough to keep me awake. During lunch, I sat at a wooden table connected to wooden seats. A boy carrying his lunch walked past me, and the smell of it brought back memories. The memories at that moment struck me hard, and I could see everything so clear. The events that had happened a month before I had come here.

"Turn that music down, Olivia," My mom walked into the living room where I had been drawing. I didn't have headphones, so I let the music play out loud. Like she demanded, I turned down the music.

She smiled at me. "Good girl, let's go to the fields."

"I don't feel like it," I replied, annoyed with having to go there every day while she stared at tall grass, birds, and trees. It smelled like farm animals over there, for an old farm had rested in the fields, and that's where the smell lingered from. Mother usually had explored it, but not me.

"I won't go to the farm today," she said. "Come on, we need some fresh air."

"No mom,"  I said. "I just want to stay inside today."

"Damn you!" She screamed. "You haven't gone anywhere with me or even left this house in weeks."

"Sorry, mom," I sat up. "I'm tired of the fields. Let's maybe do other stuff. There's a fair tomorrow in Clarkwood. Maybe we can visit it."

"Maybe you can tell your father to send money for the fair, or perhaps tonight's dinner," she sneered. 

Before I could tell her that she and I both knew my father wouldn't do such, she walked away. She left the apartment alone, leaving me all by myself.  I hated being alone. We lived in a crappy neighborhood with gangs, drug users, prostitutes, and alcoholics. I was the only kid on this whole block. My dad wouldn't call me, my mom wasn't stable, and I had no friends. 

The sound of people laughing knocked me out of my thoughts. When I looked up, I found Megan and her crew making faces at me. It was sad that my eyes had been opened and I was unaware of that.

"Out of this world, Olivia," one of Megan's friends laughed. 

I got up, not wanting any more trouble than I was already getting. I felt like moving here had been like walking into a town cursed by an evil witch. It wasn't mature of me to think that, but that's what it felt like. Never have I felt so lonely and sad. When I reached the apple tree, I sat down and took out my headphones, ready to bury my sorrows in music. I leaned my head on my knees and crossed my arms around me while listening to Escape the Fate. 

As soon as my anxiety calmed down just a little bit, I felt someone tug my arm. I jolted up, thinking it was Megan. My headphones fell onto the ground along with my phone.

"Sorry," Robert said, reaching for my phone. 

I stuck out my hand for him to give it back to me, but he did something I wasn't expecting. He started to run with my phone. I couldn't believe it. Pushing my headphones back into my pocket, I ran after him. People watched me as I chased him, but I didn't care. I wanted my phone back. I was glad he wasn't much faster than me, so I was able to keep up. He slid down slides, and I followed behind him, sliding down the slide that shouldn't have been in a high school. He then ran behind a basketball pole while people were playing. I stopped and looked at him. He was leaning his head to the left and right of the pole, taunting me. My cheeks went red, and I could feel it.

I ran after him, cutting through an active basketball game. The curse words coming from the players didn't bother me at that moment. "Give me my phone back!" I yelled when he moved from behind the pole.

"Come get it," he called out.

 I didn't want to tell a teacher because he could have trashed my phone or something. With the little bit of energy I had, I chased him, dodging people, and jumping over chairs, looking under wooden tables for him. He ran back towards the apple tree, and when he got there, he started slowing down. He finally stopped five feet away from the tree, sucking in air from lack of oxygen. I didn't think next about my upcoming action, which is why I ended up jumping on him, making us both fall to the ground. He made an "Ouff" sound when my knee accidentally pushed into his stomach.

I snatched my phone out of his hand and rolled over onto my back, clutching what was mine tightly. I was too tired to speak. God knows I wanted to say so much. Still on the ground, Robert breathed heavily. Soon afterward, I heard him chuckle, then his chuckles turned into hard laughter. His goofy laugh hacked me, making it impossible for me not to laugh. 

So, there we were. Two school nerds on the ground laughing together underneath the leaves of an apple tree. Out of nowhere and as if the God wanted us to laugh more, an apple fell from the tree and landed on Robert's stomach. He sat up and handed it to me.

"Why did you do that?" I asked him, feeling my anger fade. I tried to get that anger back because he shouldn't have done what he did. However, I couldn't. I still smiled as I talked to him.

The apple dropped from his hand. "You were sad," he said.

"And?" 

"I wanted you to chase me," he laughed some more. "Don't you feel so much better?"

The bell rung, ruining a weird but good moment. "Fun's over," he said. I grabbed his hand, wanting to say something but the words wouldn't come out. He placed his hand over mine. 

"Yes?" He said.

Are you dead?

Those were the words I wanted to say, but how could I? I was too shy to ask, and I didn't want to ruin anything. Robert was a nice guy, and I could see that he meant well. Afraid of what I wanted to say, I smiled and let go of his hand. "Can I walk with you back to class?"

"Sure," he smiled.

On our way, Robert was telling me about how fast I was and how he almost broke his leg sliding down the slide. Together we laughed like the other students were. With him, I wasn't alone. I didn't need my headphones, and I didn't need the voices of bands screaming into my ears. At that moment, Robert was the music, only this time I didn't have to listen. He did the listening, and he made me feel like it was just us. I wasn't alone whenever he came around.

***

blackwolf3131 and jenny_cat13 suggested the flashback idea! I thought it was great to add :)