Insane

•Chapter 4: First Impressions•

A silhouette of the bright light bursting through the window starts to form on my shut eyes. It takes moments to adjust to the lighting. I take a deep breath and sit up. Rocky hears the sheets shuffle and lifts his head. "Hey buddy!" He places his head on my knees and I continue to scratch his head. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and trudge to the door. My rugby t-shirt and pink polka dot shorts are all wrinkled from my constant tossing and turning. I push the door to reveal the three doors on the other side. That door. It stayed mocking me, as if what I had saw never happened. I knew it did, but it's no use making a fuss of it now.

Rocky leads the way downstairs and I waltz into the kitchen. On the refrigerator, a simple lined paper was stuck on by a magnet. I swipe the paper off the surface and begin to read.
"Went shopping for groceries! And to see Chris ;) Love you! - Alice"
I sighed and pushed the paper away across the counter. I look at the clock on the wall, 9:45 AM. She was right, there was no food. Therefore, I would have to wait. I put the paper down on the counter and begin to ponder. That door has gotten the best of me, and I'm going to find out what that was. Suddenly, the burst of daylight gave me a newfound confidence to investigate the room further, as opposed to the darkness of the night. I quickly changed into some leggings and my high school volleyball t-shirt and wash up.

I look in the mirror and put contacts in my hickory colored eyes. I also surprisingly found the urge to curl my hair this morning, which isn't typical. I lost that urge after many mornings with no will to prepare because I had studied so much the night before. Rocky begins to scratch on the door and it snaps me out of my daydream. I open the bathroom door and jog down stairs. My eyes scan the room for the keys, and there they were, still on the stacked boxes. As I grab the keys I begin to imagine what could be behind the door. My hands shuffle between the keys, trying each one till I find the locks match. I turn the key, hearing the sound of the unlocking door.

I push the door open. The door swings with a loud but slow and eerie creek. I blink a few times and try to make sure that what I was seeing was real. It was a room, a normal room, just like mine. The only difference was that this room came with a doll, placed strategically on the edge of the bed. The room also contained a vanity, maybe this was a young ladies room? My eyes return to the doll, it gave me an unexplainable feeling. My chest felt as it had weight on it, pushing it closer and closer, suffocating my heart. It's painted smile and its porcelain skin didn't sit well with my conscience. I walk over to it and pick it up. It's grin, intimidating me with every passing second. A tag fell out of its sleeve, "A.B". "An initial?" I take the doll in my hands and decide it does not belong in the house anymore. I open the front door, the fresh air finding its way to my lungs, and walk over to the trash can placed in front of the driveway. The neighborhood here was oddly placed, no one out here for miles. I toss the doll in, face down and close the lid.
~
I had returned to the house and started reading one of my forensic books, in light of my new job starting next week. The front door opens and Ella trots her way to her owner.
"Hey! Took you long enough" I shout, taking off my glasses. I exit the tea room and walk towards the kitchen, which has a view of the front door.
"I just got a little caught up that's all." She smirks, in her hands she holds seven brown grocery bags. "I think I got everything."
"Good to know..." I mumble as I look through each bag.
"Today's the day right?!" I lift my head to see her grinning from ear to ear.
"Is there something I've missed?"
"Today's your big date! Oh what are you gonna wear, huh?!" She says following me into the kitchen as I place the cans in their specified cabinet.
"Most likely a nice shirt and- you know, I only needed to talk to him to see if he wanted that stupid book I found."
"Yes you're right but you need to set a great first impression!"
"I already set it when he sold us the house Alice!" I start to walk out the kitchen and sit on the Victorian couch in the living room.
"Enough! I'm going to dress you for your date and he won't be able to resist you!" She giggles and grabs my arm to pull me upstairs.

She had already unpacked her entire wardrobe and had it beautifully arranged by color in her closet. "Pick a color!" She says cheerfully, clearly proud of her accomplishment.
"Green...?"
"Let's go with a nice blue instead..."
She pulls out a figure hugging blue dress. The dress had an off shoulder top with long sleeves and a pencil skirt. "These are to go with the dress." She pulls out cream colored heels that compliment the blue nicely. "Oh, I almost forgot something." I say as I get my tote bag and stuff the newly found photo album into it. After that, I finally give into her plan and the moment finally arrives.
~
The doorbell startles me and I quickly speed to the door. The door reveals Henry, wearing a light blue button down shirt and nice cream pants.

My mouth opens in awe as a result of the color coordination. "Did you-"
"Ah, Alice called me."
"Mmm, doesn't surprise me."
"So, are we ready to go."
"I sure am..."
"You do look stunning... I gotta say, you make a great first impression."
He takes me by the arm and guides me down the steps.