Chapter Eighteen
The doll house loomed in front of me, dark, dreary and ominous. The blind blew around me with such force that it nearly knocked me off my feet and caused my hair to hit my face in a whip like fashion, stinging me in the process.
After jiggling the knob, the door opened, hitting the wall behind it, and the wind ushered me into the house. I took a cautious step deeper into the house, my eyes peeled for anyone. A shiver ran up my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up.
"What are you doing here?" The voice was low and raspy. I turned to see Madison, my Madison, starting down at me from her perch in the middle of the staircase. "We don't want you here." Madison's perfect blond hair was chopped up in harsh angles and caked with blood that was dripping from a wound on her forehead. "I don't want you here."
"What happened to you?" I whispered. "Why are bleeding Madison? What did they do to you?"
"They didn't do anything to me," Madison said. Every time she opened her mouth blood trickled out and fell on her dirt encrusted nightgown. "You did this to me! How could you leave me at that party? How could you turn away and not worry about me at all? What kind of friend are you? I hate you!" The angrier she got, the more the blood poured out. Streams of blood were flowing out of her ears, her nose, her mouth, and her head, pooling on the stair she was sitting on. When the stair was covered the blood started to slink down to the next step, and the next, getting closer and closer to my feet. "You are a horrible friend, Amber and I wish you would have died instead of me!" Madison shouted. The blood was now like a wave, splashing up on every surface it hit "You are worthless, pathetic, and no one even really likes you! I hope you rot in hell!
I jumped up with a start and tumbled out of bed, taking the sheets with me. They were wrapped around me like some kind of cocoon. I was shaking and I looked up to see the window wide open. It was three in the morning.
I don't remember opening the window before I went to sleep, I thought. Shaken up, I used my good leg and boosted myself back onto the bed. I was rearranging my clothes when my door flew open and my sister bolted in.
"Are you okay?" she cried as I shielded my eyes from the harsh light of the living room. Rebecca kept blinking and checking me over, looking for any cuts or bruises. “What happened? Did you slip?”
"I'm fine," I said. "I had a bad dream, that’s all." A bad dream was an understatement, I realized as my hands shook and my head pounded. Licking my dry lips, I climbed into bed with the help of Rebecca. “I’m sorry I woke you up. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?” she asked as she pulled the covers up to my chin. “I can stay in here if you want.”
“No,” I said. “I’m okay. You’re knocked up and you need your sleep.”
“You sure?” Rebecca asked, gnawing on her lower lip.
“Positive.” Rebecca kissed my forehead, like a mother would kiss her child, and went to close the door. She was going to make an excellent mom.
“Can you turn on the lamp?” I asked before she left. “I don’t want to be in the dark right now.” Rebecca flicked the switch on and the room was lit by a warm glow. “Thanks.”
“See you tomorrow.” Once my sister left, I sat in bed and looked around the room. Rebecca closed the window, thankfully, and locked it shut. I forced the air out of my lungs and stared around my room.
There’s no way I’m going to go back to sleep now, I thought. It’s going to be a long night.
* * *
Seven hours later, I stood on the stoop at Ethan’s house, knees shaking, and rang the bell. I heard footsteps echoing behind the door and then Ethan appeared, a smile on his face.
“Amber!” he said, sounding surprised.