10:31

Part 3

Jacob awoke with a sharp pain in his throat. Wether it came from sickness or emotional strain, he didn't know. Probably both. When his mom entered his room and saw his motionless body laid in bed, he figured she knew better then to push him to going to school. It wouldn't be a big deal to miss. The classes he took were standard and basic; he lost his motivation for school after the event, and since then his scholarly status had dropped to below average. And he could just ask Sean if he missed anything important. If they were still talking.

As Jacob tossed and turned in his blanket, he realized he needed a break from his fake friends and his fabricated life. He knew it couldn't be real, when all of his recent experiences were all paper thin. He wanted more than anything to break out of his stupor and return to reality.

Having had enough, he got up to wash his face and go for a walk. As the wind met him on his front porch, he roughly exhaled, sending a chill up his spine. Lately it had been feeling more like winter than fall. Passing by Vanessa's house, he noticed a feminine face peering through the front window. She smiled and waved in Jacob's direction. Startled, he could only manage a grimace. He had forgotten that the house was reinhabited. 

Walking on, he seemed to travel wherever his legs would take him. Only halfway to his destination did his mind realize where his body was heading. Soon, a weathered house appeared in his vision. He stood outside of the fractured gate and observed the crime scene. Every year during this time he wandered to this place, despite the instant feeling of suffocation whenever he was in close proximity. It was a fact he had to face. He would stand outside for hours, dormant, until finally a passing car or pedestrian would knock him back to his senses.

Remnants of neighborhood pranks littered the front lawn. Beer cans, broken lawn chairs, egg shells, food containers and other garbage mixed in with the dull CAUTION tape that meshed into the mud. What a nice way to decorate Vanessa's graveyard.

Without permission from his brain, his feet carried him up the pathway to the door. With every step closer, the fire in his throat and itchiness of his eyes seemed to deepen. Although he returned to the house every year, he never entered it. His heart was frantic, shaking his ribcage. As he stood on the porch the image of Vanessa's gleaming eyes seeped back into his thoughts. He willed himself to keep composure. As his fingertips made contact with the door handle a jolt rain through him, sending his body into a shaking frenzy. An unknown force willed him into the house.

As soon as the door opened, his pain halted. Despite the lack of strain, his breathing remained shallow. The smell of mildew and mold penetrated his nostrils. As he once again was in the dark lobby where his young self stood just five years before, he couldn't help recalling how his friend's smile was ripped from her face.

He felt as if there was a presence beside him, but figured he was just being paranoid. He almost wanted it to be Vanessa, finally returning to him after fives years of absence. There was a part of him that denied her death and
believed she was still alive, thriving somewhere. But he knew he couldn't hold on to hope.

Jacob wanted to leave, but he couldn't budge. He swore he heard creaks advancing towards him. "Hello?" he called out to the emptiness. His words came out in a squeak. After what seemed like centuries, a light emerged in front of him. A head appeared to be floating amid the black background. The beam from the flashlight revealed a young lady with porcelain skin, probably in her late twenties, early thirties.  It was the women from Vanessa's window.

"Hello Jacob."

Taken aback, Jacob fell on his back and hit his head on an object hidden by the darkness. 

The woman chuckled. "I didn't know a young man like you could make such a high pitched sound!" Her voice was sickeningly sweet, like when you have too much syrup on your pancakes.

Still on the dank floor, head pounding, Jacob was speechless. He hadn't even realized that he'd screamed. He blinked his wide eyes as a response.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." The stranger's lips were pulled into a tight smile. "You know, you shouldn't be out here wandering by yourself." She lowered the flashlight to cast light on both them and the surrounding areas. Cobwebs and the skeletons of leaves cluttered every corner. "I've heard some crazy stories about this place...Some of them involving you, i believe..."

Jacob stared through her, mute. How did she know about that? "Oh, I apologize! I've forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Stephanie, your next door neighbor." Stephanie eyed him. "You do talk, right?"

Jacob disregarded her question and asked his own. "How do you know my name?"

She smiled but her eyes were stone cold. "Oh good! I thought you'd gone speechless from shock!"

"Answer me." Jacob commanded sternly. He came back to his senses and stood up.

Her cackles echoed throughout the room. "Why don't we both come back to my house and we can talk about it?" Stephanie stepped forward until she was an arm's length away. Her close proximity allowed Jacob to analyze her features more deeply. Her skin appeared to be almost transparent, revealing blue veins underneath. Like her face was painted on to hide an old women's wrinkles and imperfections, but not enough paint was used to do the job.

"Thats Vanessa's house. Not yours."

Stephanie grabbed his wrist as Jacob yelped in surprise. "Its my house now, you have to move on Jacob," she sneered.

"Get your slimy hands off me lady!" Jacob pushed him off of her.

"You'll regret that." Stephanie's voice lowered to a growl as he dashed towards the door.

Looking back, Jacob decided he should make sure that she was okay. He figured it would leave a bad impression if he pushed his new neighbor on their first encounter and just left her in pain. When he saw Stephanie rising from the floor, eyes glowing red, he didn't think twice about leaving the premises.

He sprinted all the way home and didn't look back.