The Wolfe Manor - DISCONTINUED

Chapter Four

Maria

Black and gloomy-looking clouds blanketed the sky, blocking out the sun. A heavy sheet of rain poured down on the neighborhood, the sound of honking cars mingling with the thunder that could be heard in the distance; it wouldn't be too long before the storm arrived.

The apartment complex looked darker than usual and eerie; the dark stains that ran down the walls looked like claws reaching out to grab hapless and unsuspecting victims, the few plants that sprouted out of the cement were wilting, giving way to the heavy rain, the ground–or what was left of it–was muddy and dark, and people came in and out of the apartment quickly to avoid getting soaked.

My room was extremely dark, so I just closed the blinds and turned on most of the lights on. The raindrops pattered on the windows in my room, the soft tapping soothing me. The sound of a storm always calmed me down and I needed that more than ever right now. Today was my only day off for the rest of the week because Mr. Carlos was concerned about me not feeling well. Amy begged him to let her take the rest of the day off too so he let us, leaving the Red Wheel in the hands of the other two, middle-aged employees which Mr. Carlos complained about often because "they didn't get the job done as we did."

But right now, it didn't matter much to me because I was thankful to stay at home, away from any living soul except my friend, who was lying on my bed, scrolling through the channels on Netflix. I didn't feel safe enough to stay at home by myself so I invited her to at least stay with me until the evening. No cars were parked close to mine, but I was still jittery about the previous incidents that happened in the last two days. I didn't even feel safe enough to go out into the balcony, even if it was sunny.

I'm overreacting. I told myself a million times this morning. Was I really? Anybody close to me knew that I was very skeptical of strangers and very distrusting, so these events flared up my mistrust even more. I didn't know what to think anymore; if I should let my guard down and or if I should always be on the edge. I couldn't make up my mind and these two thoughts clashed together, making me mixed-up and confused and angry.

"Are you alright, Maria?" Amy called behind her back. I blinked to find myself staring at the window, unaware that I was searching for the van. I turned to her, whose eyes were still fixed on the TV.

"Yeah," I answered. I was doing just marvelous.

"Netflix doesn't have any good shows anymore," Amy complained, switching up and down through the different genres of movies they displayed. "They took them all off and replaced them with 'Netflix's Unoriginal Originals.'" She grinned at me but when I didn't respond, she turned off the TV and rubbed her eyes. "How did you sleep last night?" she asked.

"Horribly," I responded absently, sitting down next to her.

"Did any events I should know about happened last night?"

I sighed before I told her about the night before, hoping that she would take me seriously. So far she was listening to me and understanding, but I felt like an idiot explaining my irrational concerns.

After minutes of telling her about my situation, I finished and looked away, feeling embarrassed. "Please don't think I'm crazy," I murmured, tears stinging my eyes. Any sane person would think I was off my rocker; they would think I was too frightened to make any sense of anything, which was how I felt I was acting.

But Amy took my hand in hers and squeezed it, attempting to comfort me. "Why don't we report this to the police? I'm sure they'll be able to help."

I shook my head. "I don't even know the license number; they'll have a hell of a time trying to find it."

"At least give them the description of the van."