Timothy
“There’s nothing under the bed.”But Bunny growled as if something was hiding there.I dropped into a squat and peered underneath.For a second, I was convinced there was a glimmer.I blinked.Nothing.Now she’s got me jumping at shadows.
Bunny looked at me as if to say she’d seen something too.
“There’s nothing there.”I don’t know if I was trying to convince the dog, myself, or Taya.I stood, not sure what the hell was going on.I should be able to dismiss Taya’s fears, but they have awakened the same fears I had as a kid: that something lurked under my bed, or in my closet, and made the windows rattle.I wasn’t a kid anymore.That stuff shouldn’t weird me out.I raked my fingers through my hair and bit back a sigh of pure frustration.“Why don’t you keep Bunny in here?She’ll protect you.”
Taya pouted, unconvinced.I had a movie to finish that was not kid-friendly and didn’t want to spend the rest of the evening watching cartoons.I hoped my father wasn’t going to make me babysit on a regular basis.
Because you’re worried that there might be something there?
Where did your briefs go?
You got off thinking that someone…something was watching…
It’s a dark whisper that hasn’t left me alone since that night.There was nothing wrong with imagining things.It was normal.
And the glimmer beneath your bed?
A trick of the light, nothing more.And tonight?Was my retina detaching?But the only time I saw the gold flash was beneath beds.I suppressed a shudder as a memory tried to claw its way up.
“What about you?”
I forced out a laugh.“I’m fine, Taya.”But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was in my room the other night.“Your mom will be home soon, and I’m going to finish my movie.”Before she argued, I patted the bed, inviting Bunny up.“I won’t go to sleep until your mom gets home, okay?”
Bunny turned around twice and settled at the end of the bed, as if understanding the mission.
“Leave my door open,” Taya called as I went to leave.“Please.In case I need to call you.”
“You won’t need to call me.”
“What if you need Bunny?”
“I won’t need Bunny,” I assured her, then walked out, leaving her door open a crack the way she’d asked.
Now I was weirded out, so I checked the doors and windows before returning to my room.As a kid, I feared the dark, and I’d used a nightlight for years.I frowned at the spilled dog food on the floor.Bunny was with me, and the mess hadn’t been there before, but I spent a few minutes cleaning up and refilling her bowl.The cushions in the living room are everywhere, and one of them is ripped.I hold the cushion and stare at the stuffing sticking out.
Bunny didn’t do that.She’s never been that kind of dog.
I padded back to my room and placed my hand on the light switch, convinced something was waiting for me in the dark.I can’t see anything, but it’s there.It’s the weight that makes my heartbeat quicken, the overbearing silence like waiting for the roll of thunder that follows lightning.
No thief makes a mess without taking anything, and I doubt a killer would either.
Don’t be fucking stupid.There’s nothing there.
I can’t pull my hand away, but I can’t turn on the light either.“So, what are you?A nasty poltergeist that gets off on scaring small children?”Another forced laugh escapes my lips.I shake my head.“Too scared to face an adult?”
I let my hand drop.There was nothing there except my own fear.I shut the door and walk over to my bed, ready to resume my movie.If I hit play, then I won’t be able to hear if something is rustling around and waiting to eat me.But I can’t get comfy or press play.
“For fuck’s sake.”I jump off the bed and turn on the bathroom light.The bathroom is empty, as expected.My heart is racing even as I curse myself for being so easily scared that I can’t turn the light off.
In the mirror, something moves behind me.I spin, but everything in my room is in shadows after standing in the light.Grow a set of balls already!
I yank my towel off the rail, hoping that I can use it as a weapon—it works in movies.“I know you’re there.I can sense you.Stop scaring my sister.”
And me.
My heart hammered against my ribs, drowning out all other sounds.
