Haunted

Chapter 1 §

When the man clamped his hand over my mouth, my first thought was: if I die, what will happen to Carson? My sweet, innocent little brother would surely starve were it not for me. So, as a reflex more than anything, I thrust my elbow into what felt like a ribcage and spun around to face my attacker. Then I realized who it was.

"Zach!" I cried as my boyfriend clutched his ribs in pain. I had elbowed him pretty hard. "Don't do that!" He glanced up at me with his bright blue eyes.

He had long, dark eyelashes that always made the girls come running, and light brown hair. He had a splash of freckles across his nose and cheeks, but light freckles, and he's the kind of guy that makes all his features look good.
He stood up straight and gave me a crooked grin, showing off his pearly white, straight teeth. "I was just testing you; I had to make sure you were still in shape in case something like that happened for real."
I rolled my eyes. "Hey! I'm just making sure my girl is safe!" I smacked him in the chest. "You scared me!" I complained.
Zach ignored me and wiggled his eyebrows. "So, did you miss me?" He asked. I sighed and pulled him in for a kiss. "Yes; I missed you so much," I said when I pulled away. "What are you doing here?" Zach had gone to his grandparents' house for the summer.
"I decided to come back. My grandparents were okay with it. They'll be back after summer break. I wanted to have a couple weeks with you before we go back to school."

I gasped. "Well, my mom's going to kill me because I'm late. I was supposed to be back from Alina's a half an hour ago; I need to pick Carson up!"Alina was my best friend that I had known since kindergarten all the way to where I am now, about to start my senior year of high-school, about to turn 18. I had stayed at her place for a couple hours or so on my day off, and now my mom was going to eat me alive. I left Zach and started running in the direction of my house after kissing him on the cheek. "Wait!"

I turned around. "Tell Carson I said hi... and be careful." I nodded my head and continued running.

When I got home, it was dark and my mom had already gone to bed, leaving my 10-year-old brother without supper. Mrs. Donovan had been waiting for me when I got here, dropping Carson off. I sighed and cooked up some ramen noodles for us. I actually hoped I would get crap from my mom about being late, but in reality, she doesn't care. After dinner, I made sure Carson went to bed and got into my pajamas. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I drifted off into a deep sleep.
*****
That night, I was disturbed from my peaceful sleep by a sharp thudding sound. I groaned and dragged myself out of bed.

I sat up groggily and walked to my window. I pushed it open and dodged a piece of bark as it shot through my window and landed on my floor. I picked it up and threw it back out. Zach had climbed a tree and was throwing tree bark at my window since his arm couldn't quite reach. "Geez, you were sleeping like a freaking coma patient!" He said as I leaned out the window towards him. "Oh, shut up," I replied. Then I added, "Try to be more stealthy next time."

He pretended to be offended and said, "I am stealthy; I'm a ninja!" I rolled my eyes. "Come on, let's go for a walk on the beach."

"I can't, my mom's . . . asleep. She's gotten worse." His eyes softened. Without warning, he pushed off of the tree branch and clung onto my windowsill, pulling himself up and into my room. I gasped as he did so. "Zach! Don't do that; it's dangerous!" He flinched. "Oh, gosh, Mak, I'm sorry!"
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Age 7
We lived on the 10th, and the highest, but floor of our old apartment complex. My dad, Liam, was standing on the railing of the balcony, reaching onto the roof trying to grab a doll he had hand-made me. It had accidentally gotten stuck when I was throwing it up and down on the balcony. "Daddy be careful!" I called. The railing was wobbling. "Baby, I'll be fi-" It snapped. The railing snapped and my father fell ten stories down. I was forced to watch in horror. I didn't realize it, but I was screaming. I was screaming so loud. That's when my pregnant mother walked out. She screamed. I ran to see my father, hoping he was just joking, that he was just fooling around, but my mom held me back. I wasn't then, but I would always be so glad she didn't let me my father lying dead, his body bent at odd angles and blood pooling around him.
-----
"Mak!" He waved his hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my funk. "Are you okay?" I shuddered, feeling stupid at my overreaction. "Yea, I'm fine; just . . . be careful." He nodded and we sat on my bed and I explained about what's been going on with my mom since he's been gone.

"She's drinking every night now. I tried asking her where she went one night and she smacked me across the face." I touched my cheek, the memory of her hand forever burned into my memory. "She's either drunk or asleep by the time I get home, leaving me to take care of Carson." My eyes became wet with tears, and I willed them not to drop, but they did anyway. I tried to wipe them away before Zach could see, but he saw.

He blinked in surprise. "What?" I asked innocently. "I've never seen you cry before," he replied. I looked down at my comforter to avoid his gaze.

He put his finger under my chin and pulled my face up until my crystal blue eyes locked with his. "Your beautiful even when your crying," he said with a sad smile. He kissed me softly, and I buried my face in his chest, tears rolling freely down my face. We sat like that for a while, until Zach interrupted the silence.

"I was going to do this on the beach," he began. "I was trying to find the perfect moment, but as long as I'm with you, every moment is perfect."

What he did next made my heart jump out of my chest and my brain flip over.

Slowly, he got down on one knee, pulled out a ring and said, "Makayla Salvatine, will you marry me?" My hand went to my mouth and I gasped. Zach continued. "I love you. We can run away together. You don't have to live like this forever." My eyes welled up with tears again, this time out of pure joy. I did. I wanted to be with him forever. So bad. But I couldn't leave Carson alone.

"Carson can come with us. We can figure out the details later. Just please . . . marry me." He looked up at me with pleading eyes, eyes that I could not resist if I was the devil himself.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Yes, of course!" I kissed him, then whispered into his ear, "I love you." He quietly slipped the ring onto my ring finger, smiling with delight and relief. I kissed him again and pressed my forehead to his, laughing and crying with joy.

My face was buried in his chest, and slowly, ever so slowly, I fell asleep. For the first time in a long time, I had happy dreams. And I knew that I would stay happy as long as Zach was with me.