Forlot: The Replacement in my Room - Book Seventy-Nine

Chapter Six

I gazed out the window as I strolled past it and into the living room. The dark blue sky covered the entire town in darkness. Time for every living creature to go to bed to be well-rested for all their plans tomorrow. I did not have any important plans. Just messing with my items that I bought at the mall - if Mom gives them back first thing in the morning. She kept them somewhere in her room and said that she would make up her mind in the morning if I could keep them or had to return them all. Except what she needed, of course. I traded in my own belongings for most of the new things, so I should keep them.

Now who does she think that she is? Yeah, yeah. She is my mom. My only mom. But she should be fair. Maybe fairness is a myth to her. She enjoys reminding me and my brother that life is unfair. She and Dad were totally unfair when they did not attempt fixing their marriage. They got a divorce in a snap.

Charlie and I want nothing more than for us to become one blessed family again - and stay that way. Mom and Dad should get back together. They are meant for each other, but they are uninterested in a relationship. So it is up to me and Charlie to help them find the way back to each other. To what they had. The good memories.

Right after their divorce was finalized, my brother said something that should not have stuck with me while he was weeping in my tummy. "If Mom and Dad loved us, they would not have divorced!"

Could his statement have some truth to it? Did they no longer love us? Were we burdens to them? They would not still be in contact had we not been born.

The plan for repairing the family has to be put on hold. Tomorrow, I will investigate who is hiding in my room. Probably an insane girl from school jealous of my good looks. I will pull her out from her hiding place to prove to Mom that we were not alone. Such a scary feeling. A stranger - a dangerous stranger - had been living in my room for who knows how long. Possibly not long if she planned on giving herself away right away. My mother would not stop apologizing for not believing my story - and putting me in danger.

She and Dad should apologize for breaking the family.

"Evie," Mom called, her sharp voice slicing through the uneasy silence.

"In the living room," I called back.

No way was I sleeping in my room tonight. Or sleeping at all. Who knows what the girl will do to me? She may stab me in my sleep! I could not let her kill a pretty girl like me. I would not let her do whatever she came here to do. I could not and would not let her win.

Wait. She is already winning. I will not sleep peacefully for even one minute because of her and her craziness. I will feel like crub come morning. But being overly tired beats being dead. If I do not sleep, I will certainly sleep all day tomorrow.

No. I cannot sleep a wink tomorrow. Mom is running a couple errands, one of which is grabbing a few items at the grocery store. She never notified me and Charlie of the other, but it was out of her house. Was she heading to Dad's house to apologize and convince him for them to be husband and wife again and be the blessed family that we once were? It was too good to be true. But why else would she keep her second errand a secret?

Charlie was stepping out too. He was hanging out with all his friends at the park and the arcade. He and Mom would be gone for most of the day, leaving me all alone - with the crazy girl. I did not need to be alone, though. I could leave and spend time with my friends. Or invite them over to keep me company. No. I could not put my good friends in harm's way. Leaving was not an option either. The girl could trash the home and steal valuable items, like Mom's jewelry. But I definitely did not want to confront her alone. Who knew what she was capable of?

What will I do?

Mom's footsteps clomped down the stairs. She entered the living room. "Why are you on the couch, Evie? You are supposed to be in bed."

I was lying on the couch with two of my blankets to my chest. I lowered my phone and looked up at her. "I will not sleep in my room tonight." I murmured, "Probably never again."

"Is this about your so-called 'roommate'?"

Mom will never believe me no matter how many times I repeat the story.

"Maybe..."

A worried expression was on her face. "I see the fear in your eyes. You truly believe that somebody is hiding in your room."

"I do not just believe. I know. I know for a fact. A girl is in...my walls. She sounded as if she were in the walls."

"If she is hiding out in your room, she cannot surely be in your walls."

"It is possible for others to hide within walls. I strongly encourage you to read and listen to the Internet horror stories. They give you a huge insight on how dangerous the world really is."

"I always keep the windows and outside doors locked." She strolled behind the couch and moved a hair strand away from my face. "Want me to check your room?"

"You would do that for me?"

"If I do not find anybody...will you please sleep in your bed?"

"We will see."

The girl hissed in my ear.

"My mom will never find me - until tomorrow."