Not What You Expected

Chapter Three

I wake to the sound of a dog barking. I groan, rolling over to reach the nightstand, and I realize it isn't an alarm clock, but Charles' dog. I mutter a curse as I bring my stinging hand to my chest and sit up. My eyes scan the room and I remember yesterday's events.

Ugh, it wasn't a dream...

Nope, here I am stuck for the next three and a half months living with my Dad, who is basically a stranger to me now as I haven't seen him in over six years. I throw off the white and purple blankets and stand from the bed, my warm feet making contact with the cold hard wooden floors as I stretch my arms above my head with a small sigh.

Since there isn't a window in the room and I'm too lazy to get my phone from my backpack, I have no idea if the sun is even up. But if I had to guess I would say it's somewhere between seven and nine. My feet make small smacking sounds as I walk across the small room to the chester doors. I grab the clothes I need and head to the tiny bathroom at the end of the hall. I don't think to see if Charles is up in the kitchen or living room. After a quick, cramped and uncomfortable shower I get dressed in light wash blue jeans that have two big holes in both the knees, but if anything it adds character, I also wear a black sweater. I brush my wet hair and tie it up into a messy bun, pulling out pieces so that they frame my face.

I throw my dirty clothes into the hamper that sits right outside the bathroom door. Once I exit the bathroom I finally notice how quiet it really is, not even the dog is barking.

How odd...

I wander into the living room and see that the tv is on, broadcasting the news, but Charles is nowhere to be found, I sigh and find the remote before turning it off and heading for the kitchen and to no surprise it's a mess and there is no sign of Charles. But I notice a yellow sticky note stuck to the fridges door.

Fishing with the guys, don't expect me home until late tonight.

-Charles.

I roll my eyes and throw the note into the small metal garbage can.

Ha, so much for father-daughter bonding time...

After cleaning up some of the dishes that were overflowing in the sink and washing down the wooden table that was covered in food crumbs. I also sweeped and then got rid of some of the spider webs.

Gross!

But after thirty minutes I stop for breakfast and that soon comes crashing down on me when I discover that all Charles has in his fridge is fish and even more fish! Seriously he doesn't even have milk or eggs!

This is not at all what I expected when I imagined living with my father, honestly I imagined he would live in a fancier house with more fancier things. I sigh and rub the back of my hand across my forehead, if this was Mom's house the kitchen would be full with food and I would never had to clean the kitchen when I first woke up. After a few minutes of mentally thinking I make the decision to go to the small store I first saw when mom and I drove into Wild River yesterday.

Wow I can't actually believe I made it this far...

After grabbing my small all white purse I head out, luckily it is not raining but it is cloudy and normally that means rain so I hurriedly walk down the dirt driveway. Before I even left I already figured out he took whatever vehicle he owns with him, honestly walking isn't a terrible way to get around. Back in Los Angeles I used to have to walk basically everywhere because Mom was working and she took the car with her. Once I finally make it off the driveway I stop, the dirt road goes right and left and even straight. I don't remember if mom took a turn or just drove straight. After a few minutes of debating I decided to go straight and pray that it is the right way. The dirt is stuck to the earth like glue and the trees lean over the road like big shadows. Honestly Wild River is a place where you would film a Werewolf/Vampire Horror movie or just a plain old horror movie that takes place in the dark woods.

Crows, Crow from above the tree tops as I walk aimlessly down the dirt road, it seems with every step I take, it just takes me deeper into the darkened forest and the trees seem to get bigger and thicker, now they almost completely block the view of the sky and I fear that the further I go, the sky will eventually disappear from sight all together. I nervously pull on the strap of my purse as I quicken my walk and glance around even more nervously than before. I was never a fan of being left alone in the dark, you see us humans souly rely on our eyesight and unlike many different species of animals we didn't get the gift of night vision and so when dark time comes around we are temporarily blinded until the sun decides to make it's appearance once again.

As feared, I only take five more steps and than like a switch the filtering sunlight disappears and darkness takes over.