In Absence

Are you sure ?

I begin to get dressed, throwing on a grey hoodie and a pair of washed out jeans. I slide on my black toms and head down to the kitchen.

I open the fridge and close it immediately, "I'm going to skip breakfast today" I consciously say to my self.

I go out for some air, just to wonder Columbia Falls. Heading down Fifth; the air was brisk but I didn't mind. Approaching Hudson avenue I pass by Green's Market, I smirk a bit and continue walking for another 10-15 minutes and I spot a hiking trail. I cross the street and a bright green sign by the entrance reads:

"Springs Trail, hikers only. Map 1/4 a mile from this point"

I let out a heavy breath and start up the trail. Moving at a slow pace, I observe the beautiful green trees and the small creatures scurrying around. Glancing up at the sky the clouds begin to cover the sun, I don't mind because I can see the map from here. Moments later I find the map, the only problem was; there was graffiti all over it covering both the time it took and the trail itself. Pondering whether I should continue or turn back; I continue moving forward. About 15 minutes pass and the trail seems to be easy to follow, however I haven't seen anyone pass me by. I guess this town sure is small. Wondering, and strolling through the path I get the feeling someone is following me, I take a quick glance behind me and there was a man. I spot a bench about 10 feet away; as soon as I approach it I take a breather and sit down. The man passes me by and I give a sigh of relief. I wait about two minutes before I get up and head down the path home, only for the reason of it getting late.

I pass by the map and get down to the path entrance before I notice the same man who passed me by on the trail. He was rummaging through his hiking backpack near the trail entrance. I get a bit skeptical and speed walk down Hudson avenue; soon passing Green's Market, I decide to glance behind me; there was no one there. My tension eases up and I notice I'm at fifth street, crossing the crosswalk a bit quickly I glance up at the sky and notice the clouds are gone and the sun is shining bright.

Strolling down fifth street I notice Joshua walking home from Green's Market, I suspect this because he is still wearing his uniform.

I decide to gain an ounce of confidence to wave and shout "Hello."

He shoots over a glance and smiles wide, I blush a bit while he decides to cross over to see me. He jogs across the street and all I could think of was how perfect he looked; just as he did when I saw him two days ago. His green eyes stare at me and I stop in my tracks,

"Hey, I remember you from the market the other day,My name is Joshua"

I blush a little more "yeah haha, that was me; I'm Abigail."

We stand on fifth street, between my house and the end of the street; we talk a while and he realizes how much time has gone by.

"Oh! it's getting late, mind if I walk you home?" he says with a seductive smirk.

I flush a bright red and nod with approval, "I live right down the street so we don't have ways to walk."

We continue walking, as we approach the front of my house I blurt out "well, this is me..."

He turns to me as if to say goodbye
"So, are you busy tomorrow night?" My eyes widen and I ponder a moment...

[inner monolauge]
"I'm not sure If I should lead him on or not. Maybe I should keep him waiting, maybe I should take a chance. This is a new place and I should put myself out there; waiting on someone to come for me isn't the best, but maybe it will work. How about I stop being selfish to myself and accept my fate."

"No, I'm free. Why?" I give him a sly smile.

He promply says "want to go out tomorrow night? I'll pick you up at 7."

I reply a bit to quickly with a "yeah, that would be great!"

He walks off "cool, see you then."

I dash inside to find my mother at the table accomponied with a glass of red wine, and the bottle right next to her. I look at the time and it is 5:27pm, I walk over to my mom and she downs the remaining wine in her glass.

"Hey..." I say softly, as I walk over to her.

"Where. Have. You. Been?!" she shoots back.

I look down at my hands as they fiddle " I went to take a walk, because it was a beautiful day."

She looks past me and begins to cry. I go over to her and give her a hug, and her arms cup mine.

"He just won't leave." she cries out. I try to comfort her the best I can, but it just doesn't seem good enough.

At about 9pm she sends me to bed while she finishes the bottle of wine, alone at the table. I climb up the stairs with my legs feeling weak I plop on my bed facing the ceiling. All I could think about was the possibilities that could have happened at 7pm tomorrow night. Soon enough my vision began to blur and my eye lids got heavy, then my body fell asleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night unaware of the time. My room was dark and all I saw was a tall man hoovering over me. I tried to get up but, I felt strapped down; I attempted to scream, but my voice was gone. The man saddled on top of me and his cold hands wrapped around my neck, my life was slipping away and my blood ran cold.

My eyes were about to close concluding the death of me, then my mother berged in. She noticed I was in distress and began to shake me, I sat up quickly and started to gasp for air holding my throat. I started to cry and my mother was sobbing horribly. She walked me down the stairs with her hand set on my shoulder, keeping our silence as we sat across from eachother at the dinning table.

She asked what happened and I told her, but she gave me a worried squint, "honey" she said sympathetically "I heard you choking so I went into your room.I immediately noticed you having a slight seizure that is why I woke you. Nobody was in there, I don't know how a man could have done this."

She was hushed, I didn't know what to say. It might have been a dream, but I swear it was real. Maybe, the man I saw earlier did this, the one who creepily ended up at the enterance of the trail before I did. Maybe it was My dad mother claimed to have seen the other night. Utterly confused and lost in thought I tell mother I'm a bit tired she suggests I lay on the couch and that is what I do.

Too occupied with my thoughts I had trouble falling back asleep. It was about 4am before I fell asleep, dreaming of Joshua and his seagreen eyes, he is waiting for me at my front door and for some reason he holds my hand and pulls me close, just as we were about to kiss; there was a knock at the door.

My eyes flick open and I slide off the couch to see who was at the door, as I reach for the door knob it begins to turn. My hand jolts away and I watch it for a moment. It stops abruptly and I immediately turn to find a tapping at the back door. Cautiously walking to the back door;soon approaching the kitchen, the fridge slams open and all of it's contents spill out. I stare blankly in fright, all the glass products are broken, and all of the food sits there to rot. Struggling to figure out a logical explanation and a safe way to clean it up.

Just as I finished cleaning up my mother came down stairs and asked what all the noise was, I made up an excuse and told her how a stray cat attempted to catch a sparrow flying by but instead crashed into the back door. She squinted at me with suspicion, but she quickly dismissed the thought and the phone rang.

I ran to answer it "Hello?"

Consciously afraid, tears began to stream down my face.

AN: Thanks for reading!! What do you think of this chapter? Comment about what you think will happen next!