VULNERABILITY

Amber

"I think there is something wrong with my window. It keeps. . . opening at night." 

My mom's hunched over the stove making breakfast. She shakes her head. "That damn window was always finicky once you .. left." 

"Oh." It's now very quiet in the kitchen. The only sound is the sizzling of bacon and the birds chirping outside the window. It's all very peaceful and awkward at the same time. My parents haven't actually said anything about me running away 7 years ago. My mom never apologized for slapping me. 

So many weird things are going on. Julia missing. My window opening. The man in the yard. My brain hurts just thinking about everything that has happened these past three days. 

"That smells good." My dad says before kissing my mom's cheek. I gag when I hear my moms giggle in response to his affection. My dad stands behind her. His hands are attached to her waist. Rubbing. Gripping. Ew. 

Ya, that's my cue to leave. 

"I'm going to go take pictures." I blurt out before making my escape to the stairs. 

"But breakfast-" 

"I'll eat later." 

I quickly grab my camera, a bottle of water, and my phone before heading out the door. The afternoon sun feels good on my face. It's pretty warm for a fall day so I wear a jacket but instead of jeans, I wear a pair of denim shorts. I made sure to wear a shitty pair of tennis shoes just in case there is some mud. 

Thankfully, It doesn't take long for me to find a trail that is frequently used by hikers. I snap pictures from different angles and continue on my hike. I take frequent gulps of water. 

I encounter our neighbors on my hike. 

"Hey Mr. and Mrs. Sage." 

"Good morning, Poppy. That's a pretty big camera you got there. Take any interesting pictures?" 

"Yes, I got a good one of the mountains with the trees in front of it." They smile and nod at me. 

"Well, be careful. I wouldn't go much farther. They say there are wolves in this part of the forest." 

Wolves? I've never seen a wolf in this forest. Or in my life. Besides on google, I guess. It was nice of them to warn me. I always liked our neighbors. They would babysit me when I was younger. They have a daughter but she was always a little distant. However, her and I have something in common. We both ran away from home after we graduated. She ran away a year before I did. I ran off to escape my parents and she ran off to be with a boy she met in the city. My parents told me to not speak of her. Their daughter hasn't returned in years. 

"Oh, thank you for the warning. I'm just going to go a little further and then I'm going back home." I say to assure them. 

"Oh good. We don't want you to find something you don't want to see. It can be scary out here." They look at each other and laugh loudly. I don't know what to do so I laugh awkwardly in response. Then they are off down the trail. When they disappear from sight I make my way further down the trail. 

I do what I told the Sage's. I walk a little further and take some more pictures. I do notice that the deeper I go, the thicker the trees are and the muddier the path is. I see a bunch of wolf paw prints in the mud. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. At that point, I decide its time to turn around. I try to shake off the paranoid feeling but it doesn't go away until I open the door and get inside the house. 

"How was your forest adventure." It's Matt who greets me. He has a plate in his hands and a smile on his face. 

"It was good. Muddy. But I saw the Sages on the trail." I say while sliding my tennis shoes off onto the mat. 

My brother nods and takes a big bite of bacon. 

"You probably shouldn't go there again." He looks deadly serious. It throws me off. How does he go from smiley to serious? It's a feeling deja vu. It makes me want to go right back into that forest to spite him. To show him and my parents that they can't control me anymore. I'm leaving soon anyway, I'll just go with it. 

"Ya. Sure." He looks relieved at my answer until I ask him a question I've been wanting to ask. "Where is Julia? My texts aren't going through. . . " 

I watch his face carefully. Not even a flinch. I know something weird is going on. No matter how stoic his face is, I can tell he is going to lie. 

"She's visiting family. There isn't good reception out there." 

It's a weird answer. Perhaps even weirder is the Sages. Why were the Sages on the trail? I didn't know they hiked. They were muddy. Why did they laugh the way they did? I'm now 100% sure that something is going on. Something not good. 

"Oh." I go with it because I have to. I can't accuse him if I don't even know what to say. Or do. All I can do is think and try to find out what's going on. I need to find Julia. 

For now, I go to my room. Mom and dad are out shopping in town. They won't be back for a while as they always argue on what to get. With the little time I have to myself, I run up the stairs and whip out my laptop. It's old but very reliable. It was cheap and light. I bought it a year or two ago. 

I grab my camera and take out the SD card. When it's put into my computer I start the long process of sifting through the hundreds of photos I took. The first few look really good. I'll upload those to the website later. 

But then something weird happens. 

All of my photos have an animal in them. A wolf. With amber eyes. Like my dreams. 

I rapidly click on the arrow button but all of them are the same. Somewhere in the photos there is always a set of eyes looking at me. Amber eyes. 

My phone ringing brings me out of my haze. I jump when the load ringer fills the room. I reach over and see the caller ID. It's Daniel. I accept the call. 

"Hey, babe." 

"Hey," I answer numbly. I'm still staring at the pictures. 

"Is everything okay?" 

"Ya, just looking through pictures. Kinda distracted." 

"Oh," he sounds deflated at my lack of enthusiasm to talk to him. "I can call you later." 

"No, no, I'm sorry. I just shut my computer." Lie. "How has your week been going?" 

"Been pretty good. I miss you though." 

"I miss you too. I'll be home in 2 days." 

"I know. I'll have a surprise waiting for you when you get home." 

This makes me smile and pull my attention away from the computer. 

"Oh ya? Can I have a hint of what it is?" 

"Nope. Just hurry home and you'll find out what it is." 

"Not fair," I pout. 

"It's not fair you have to stay there forever," he says with a groan. 

"Big baby," I laugh. 

"Anything cool been going on?" 

"Well, there have been some things going on." I debate whether to actually tell him or make something up. I want to tell him everything. I'm slowly going crazy with paranoia. 

"Do tell." 

"Some weird things are going on." 

It's quiet for a little bit before he responds. 

". . . like what? Like an apple in your sock weird or really really weird?" 

I don't laugh. 

"Scary weird." I pause. ". . . Julia is missing after she tried to warn me of I don't even know what. There was a random guy that popped out of the bush in my backyard. I met my neighbors in the middle of the woods. There is. . .a wolf in every picture I took today." 

It's deadly quiet. 

"That's strike three, Poppy."

"Wait- wha-"

The call is ended. He doesn't answer when I try to call him again, it goes straight to voicemail.