Double Jinx (Wattys2017)

Chapter 16

"Will you sit down child, all your pacin' is making me dizzy and an old girl like me can't be getting' dizzy or I might fall over." Grandma insisted, rubbing at her eyes as a yawn escaped her.

It's late. Very late. Three in the morning late. I've been wandering in circles for nearly an hour. Before the pacing was nail biting and before the nail biting was twitching. I couldn't sit still to save my life because my mind was far too preoccupied with running through every possible terrible outcome imaginable.

Where were the boys? Why hadn't they come back yet? What was going on? What were they doing? What if they were hurt? What if they were laying in a ditch somewhere, dead? What if-

"Seriously Genevieve, I'm goin' to nail your feet to the floor." Grandma warned. I sighed, taking her threat to heart. I sat myself down beside her on the couch, looking towards the front door yet again from where we sat on the couch in the living room.

"They should have been back by now." I told her quietly, bouncing my leg rapidly as nerves swept through my body. I shouldn't be so quick to believe the worst had occurred, but that's exactly where my thoughts were taking me. The boys should have been back hours ago if they were just going to pick a fight with Vic. It shouldn't be taking all night, especially if it were Ace, Creston, and Jason against one man.

Something wasn't right.

Something had gone wrong.

Grandma placed a hand on my knee to cease it's sporadic spasms, "Take a deep breath and try to calm down. They're fine. Those boys know what they're doin'. Besides, there ain't nothin' you can do so stop fidgetin' or so help me God."

I forced my leg to still but that couldn't stop my heart from pounding fearfully within my chest. Luckily, most of the pain from my earlier near death experience had vanished. The pills pastor Jim left for me worked better than I could have hoped for and the paramedics cleared me for simple bedrest.

Still, something inside me felt ... off. I couldn't quite place my finger on it but I felt different, colder almost. As if those thoughts of living permanently in the darkness had somehow crept into my consciousness. It definitely wasn't medical related so I kept the concern to myself but it certainly was alarming. Whatever happened when my heart stopped, wherever I went, it has followed me back.

And it wasn't just the strange feeling inside that I noticed was different. The shadow sticking to the far wall was something I noticed as well. It wasn't a big shadow nor did it feel threatening in any way, but it sure moved fast. Sometimes I'd see it across the room, then right next to the couch, then back near the stairs all within a single breath. It floated about aimlessly as though it were lost, in search of something I couldn't see.

Was this the thing Elena kept cautioning me about? Was this the thing that creeps?

I couldn't be sure but after I saw the tip of the shadow ignite one of my candles, I knew it definitely had something to do with the strange happenings in the house. I couldn't tell Grandma about it, Jason and Ace were gone, and Lady was sleeping by now. I had no one to talk to, no one to tell about the shadow that pulsed as though it breathed like any other living creature.

What did that mean?

"I can't keep my eyes open, hun." Grandma informed, stifling yet another yawn. She held my shoulders tightly and rubbed my arm, "Why don't we get some sleep? They'll be back before you know it."

But I was shaking my head long before she finished speaking, "I won't be able to sleep. Not while they're out there. But you should sleep, you look exhausted."