Forlot: Welcome to the Dummy House - Book Forty-One

Chapter Four

I have heard of gunshots in shows and movies, but it is nothing like real life. That is, real fictional life. And the scary part was not hearing them. It is the fact that they were close to our home. I was so startled by the sounds that I nearly jumped out of my shoes.

My first thought was that it was a shooter. The shooter was traveling the town and shooting at people. I loathe those types of people. He or she shoots at the innocent because they can. Just because you can does not mean that you should. Guns are not bad. It is the people who use them, so unless that you are defending yourself, do not ruin another being and their family. You will regret it. I guarantee.

Olive did not like the sounds either. She clung onto my shirt and teared up. I plopped on my bed and planted a kiss on her head. She enjoys being kissed. Perhaps that she loves the feel of lips on her skin. I love her kisses as well. She grabs my face and kisses my nose and cheeks and sometimes my lips. I am thankful to have this little human in my life.

Olive looked up at me and said, "Scary!"

"I was thinking the same exact thing," I answered. "But do not cry. I will protect you. I promise to protect you."

She sniffed and put her feet on my stomach. "No!"

"'No'?"

"P..pr...pr..."

"What are you trying to say? 'Promise'?"

She shook her head. "P...pr..."

"'Protect'?"

She nodded and tugged on my shirt. "Pr...pro...tect."

"Good job, baby girl."

She pouted. "Pro...tect...you!"

"You want to protect me?"

She nodded again and put her hands on my cheeks.

"I admire your bravery, Olive, but who will protect you from the bad guys?"

The door to my room swung open, and Dad hurried in. He seemed distraught. Sweat was on his forehead, and his breathing was shallow. I stood and asked him what was wrong. If he was alright.

"You had better believe that something is wrong. I just heard gunshots. A bunch of them," he responded. "Did you hear them too?"

"Yes. As plain as day."

He motioned to the hall. "Could you please come down and bring Olive with you? I am going to investigate the sounds and would like some company."

"Did you ask Alexis?"

"Yes, but you know as well as I do how frightened your sister gets. She will hide under her bed with her phone. She is scared of anything outside of her phone."

I could not help but giggle. "It is funny because I think that social media is the scariest thing in the world."

I followed my father downstairs and to the front of our house. Next to the front door was the living room. This living room was bigger than our old one. Now my little sister has more space to put her toys and play. I set her on the floor, and Olive cooed and explored. My mother was on the couch and holding a glass of water. She was exhausted. I could tell by the bags under her eyes.

"Did not get much sleep, huh?" I said. "Neither did I. I just want to stop unpacking and hit the hay."

She took a sip of her water and wiped her lips. "Janice, I do not think that I can fall asleep. I do not think that we can."

"Why not?" I watched Olive crawl to the television and grab the remote. She cooed happily and waved it in the air.

"Did you not hear the gunshots? Those loud gunshots? I sure hope that is not normal around here."

"Oh, I heard them, Mom. I comforted Olive before she could cry."

Dad was by the door and grabbed its knob. "So are you coming, Janice? Or are you going to continue standing there and talking to your mom? I do not have all day."

I skipped towards the front door. "I do not have all day either."

Mom took another sip of her water and got up. "Seems like that one of our daughters has big plans today."

"Yeah. Unpacking and organizing," Dad said.

She shook her finger at us both. "You two had better be careful. I do not want a call from the hospital, claiming that my husband and daughter were shot. I might have a heart attack. And do not get into any trouble with our new neighbors. Please. We do not want them to believe that we are crazy. 'Cause we are not a crazy family."

Dad motioned to her to relax. "Take deep breaths. It is okay. Everything will be okay. Janice and I will not get shot. We will not end up in the hospital. And if the new neighbors assume that we are crazy before knowing us, then they are not worth it. They are not worth bonding with."

He had opened the door, when someone came running up and knocked into me. It was Alexis. I screamed and did not have time to move. She ran into me, and I went back and landed on my side. I tried my best to keep my balance, but it was such an impact. Alexis had knocked me off my feet. I grunted and grabbed my ankle.

"Janice, are you okay?" Dad asked.

"Janice, are you okay?" Alexis mocked. "She is fine. My gosh. She has always been fine."

I frowned at her. "Fantastic. Just fantastic. Alexis, you have done it this time."

She put her hands on her hips. "What are you babbling about?"

"You broke my ankle!"

I assumed that she would care about my broken ankle. Nope. She did not care one bit.

Mom gasped. Dad bent down to check on my ankle. As if a broken ankle were not bad enough, a man came up to our porch.

Then I fainted.