You Don't See Her?

Day 31

Shelley was playing with her toys when Gaelle went outside. Gaelle was wearing her sneakers and jean shorts. With her hair pulled up and her phone in her hand, she crossed the street. When she got to Shelley's lawn, she took pictures and looked at them right after. She shouldn't have.

The person in Shelley's spot wasn't a little girl. It was a teenager with bags under her eyes and a loose dress. Gaelle tightened her jaws and imagined Shelley standing right in front of her, ready to break her phone. Shelley didn't do that though, she just stood.

"Are you happy now?" Shelley asked and Gaelle shook her head. There were too many questions to even think of one in the second. Sheeley sat back down and continued to play with the sand. Gaelle looked over to her house, to her bedroom window where the night before she'd watched Shelley's house. Her stomach curled at the thought of the music that permeated from the building. Bennie didn't even mention the singing that morning when they were eating breakfast. All the girls pretended to be energized and ready for the day but Gaelle realized there was a reason she'd always go to their houses. Her mother had insisted though that she have friends over, just to keep me company while she and Gaelle's father went away for the weekend. They'd be back in an hour or so depending. Gaelle couldn't imagine staying a night in the house alone now.

Sheeley kept packing her sand into the pail and then plopping the pail on the sand. It never formed a castle like it should have. Eventually, Gaelle sat down near the sand. She touched it and felt cold wetness. She furrowed her brows, looking at Shelley for an explanation she wouldn't get. Instead, she just watched her play in silence. Even when Mark took out the trash or when people walked by, she didn't move. They always caught her eye then ignored her after. One even shook his head.

After a while Shelley stood up, Gaelle followed her action. As Shelley walked over to the door that opened, Gaelle watched, remembering the time between the door actually closing and Shelley getting inside. When Shelley was about to step into the house, Gaelle ran after her.

Shelley's young body morphed into a longer one, like the one from the picture. She was gaunt and pale as snow. Her bones slightly protruding from her body. Her hair was long and black.

The house was lit only by a few lights. Outside of those, anything could have been lurking. When she looked back at the door, she saw a shocked woman near the kitchen counter. She looked thin and gangly. Almost ghost like in the way she was. Her mouth was slightly open but she didn't move and no noise came out.Suddenly in the darkness, Gaelle felt the need to get out.

She ran to the door, pushing it but it didn't budge.When she turned back around, Shelley was staring at her. Her previously brown eyes were as dark as coal. Her face did look like her younger self but prettier and more full. Her brows were furrowed and her lips were pulled down in a grave from.

"What are you doing here?" She asked through clenched teeth. Her mother was still by the kitchen counter, holding something in her hands.

"I..I had to know," Gaelle said pathetically. Shelley shook her head, filling with more rage. Then a silence took. More people appeared out of the darkest corner. They smiled and looked just like Shelley but younger, maybe kindergarten age. The mother in the corner, still her mouth stretched open at a strange angle but soon she closed it. She didn't even seem to breathe, she was so still.

Shelley looked over at her mother. Her mother shook her head. Gaelle took it as she wasn't going to go home after all. Shelley rolled her eyes, then grabbed Gaelle with her cold hands. She dragged her up a set of stairs then brought her to a room. There was one bed in the room. It was large and the rest of the room was decorated in posters and pink. No light came in either, the same black drapes were hung on the curtains. It was strange to watch as Shelley opened the closet door.

"You need to hide." She said. The certainty in her voice made Gaelle wonder if she'd had this happened before. Gaelle didn't argue, she got inside the dark closet and sat down.

Downstairs, she could hear the chair being moved and people walking. Maybe they were cooking, she thought. It must have been that. Shelley hadn't had younger siblings, Gaelle thought to herself. She'd never seen her mother either. The image of her in the corner with dark, yes and her mouth contorted to widely in a shock made Gaelle's skin crawl. No mouth should open in that way. Yet, it did and Gaelle saw it. She also saw Shelley turn from five years old to a teenager about Gaelle's age. Gaelle wished those imagined away but they stayed in the front of her brain.

Something finally distracted her when a car parked. She heard it's beep when it locked its door. She heard footsteps up stairs then silence. She wondered why even the kids stopped moving then.

"Finally back to my beautiful family." A male voice said. It was low and rough. Something about it made Gaelle's bones feel icy.

"Finally," A female voice said. It must have been the mother. Moments later, there were footsteps up the stairs again. Gaelle's heart raced and they neared the room. They walked past though, into another room. When they returned, Gaelle was sure the door would swing open but it didn't.

Instead, there was a polite knock. There was a second knock when she didn't answer.

"Feel free to come out, sweet heart. I saw your parents looking at this house." Gaelle didn't move. Her parents were back. How did he know she was in here anyway? Maybe he had cameras or something about the family was off. Maybe Shelley's had other friends here. "Suit yourself," he said and kept walking.

The smell of food reached the closet, reminding Gaelle that all she'd eaten were a few eggs that morning. There was complete silence as the family ate downstairs, not one word was uttered. A bit later, she heard it. She heard someone playing the piano. It was the same distressful song but now she wanted to throw up. It wasn't the vibration but the idea of being stuck in that closet. Something in the song seemed like a warning now, one she should have recognized.

The piano didn't even stop when Shelley got upstairs. Gaelle expected a bruise on her cheek but there was nothing. Just a look of sadness as she helped Gaelle out of the closet.

"He knows. You can talk and join us for food if you want. Or you can stay in here." She said.

"How did he?" Gaelle asked. Shelley shrugged and sat down on her bed.

"It doesn't matter." She said then point in the direction of Gaelle's house like it was a promise that she'd get her back. Gaelle changed into one of Shelley's pajamas and tried to forget her hunger. Her fear was much more controlling; she wouldn't be able to eat if she could. He was a boogie man and she had just walked into his trap. He was doing something here, she could feel it but didn't know it. Shelley got into her bed and fell asleep immediately.

Gaelle slowly crept out of the bed and crawled down the stairs on all four, distributing her weight to reduce the chances of sound. On the last step, she couldn't help out. She ran toward the door. She pulled at it over and over again but it was locked from the inside. A key of some sort was needed to open the door. Her mind swirled. Why would he lock it? She wasn't staying here.

"I expect the kids to be in bed by now." The voice was feminine. Gaelle turned back to see Shelley's mom standing in almost darkness. The memory of her picking Shelley up from kindergarten and walking home with her. Shelley never wanted to go home, Gaelle could always see it in her eyes. The closer it got to the end of the day, the quieter Shelley got. Her mom would always pick her up and spin her around to make her smile. She probably never smiled outside of that.

"I'm going home," Gaelle said even though her stomach screamed at her to shut up and go back to Shelley's bed.

"Father would like you to remain." She said. Nothing in her face showed recognition of Gaelle. Nothing on her face said anything. It was like she was sleep walking.

"I'm not staying here," Gaelle said.

"I'm sorry, Gaelle." Her face broke it's stoic expression. "You don't have a choice." Gaelle's stomach hurt even more until she felt the world turn black.