The Darkness Within

by Taylor Henderson

I took another step down, standing on the sides of the stairs to avoid the creaky centers.

  Mom sighed, and said, “Well, maybe you have to let Gwen cool off before you can talk to her. How old is she exactly?”

  “Fifteen,” he answered with a sigh.

  “The same age as Claire. We should really introduce them and see if that makes her feel more comfortable. I’m sure Claire wouldn’t mind. She loves meeting new people.”

  “Claire actually already offered to help introduce her to people, but Gwen wouldn’t even let me in her room long enough for me to tell her. I’ll wait a few days and reintroduce the idea to her. I just feel like such a failure of a parent.”

  I took the rest of the steps down, turning the corner and entering the living room where David and my mom were sitting. There was a bottle and a glass of red wine sitting on the coffee table and my mom had a nearly empty wine glass in her hand. When I turned the corner, making my presence known, David’s eyes met mine. He stared at me for a moment, and then forced a smile.

  “Hey, Claire. Were we being too loud down here?” he asked, his expression apologetic.

  I shook my head, and joined my mom on the couch across from him. “No, not at all. I just came down to say good night.”

  Mom patted my knee and gave me a soft smile. “Getting into bed already?”

  “Yeah, I’m tired.” As if to prove my statement, I let out a loud yawn.

  David glanced at the watch on his arm before looking up and furrowing his eyebrows at me. “It’s only nine o’clock,” he mused. “Aren’t teenage girls supposed to stay up all night talking on the phone with their boyfriend? That’s what Gwen does.”

  “I don’t have a boyfriend,” I deadpanned, wondering where he got his stereotypes on teenage girls. One girl couldn’t be an example for all other girls her age.

  A look of embarrassment crossed onto David’s face for a moment before my mom saved him. She squeezed my knee affectionately and turned to David to say, “Claire is my little early bird.”

  He smiled and nodded in response.

  I looked at him, feeling slightly put off by the hardness in his eyes, but trying to put that behind me. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but something about his steely gaze reminded me of someone else—Ben. They had the same coldness in their eyes, but Ben’s was slightly different. There were times when he had real emotion in his, mainly when he was around Adrianna, where as David’s were unfeeling. “Were you guys talking about your daughter?” I glanced from mom to David. “Gwen, right?” David furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He was probably wondering how I knew her name. “I overheard you two talking when I came down,” I explained.

  They both nodded simultaneously, my mom raising an eyebrow at me.

  “What happened to your wife?” I asked suddenly, the words just spilling out of my mouth without any thought about how rude they might seem. “Why couldn’t Gwen just stay with her?” I added, giving a reason for why I asked such a personal question.

  David sat up straighter, his smile faltering. “My ex-wife still lives in Ohio. She wanted Gwen to come with me because she has a very busy work schedule and wouldn’t have time to keep an eye on her. I usually work from home, so I can keep her out of trouble.”

  “Oh, well that works out perfectly,” my mom said, crossing one leg over the other. She bounced her foot up and down and gave me a pointed look that I knew meant that I needed to mind my manners. She would have some words for me later, that’s for sure.

  “Can I see a picture of Gwen? You know, in case I see her around; so I know who she is.” I explained, even though it was a perfectly fair question to ask. Honestly, I was just curious to see what this mysterious daughter of his looked like. I’d seen him multiple times in the past few days since he moved in, but I hadn’t seen his daughter even once.

  “Of course you can,” David said with a smile, though his dark eyes remained cold. He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen for a moment. My mom and I sat staring at him as he searched for a picture. “Here she is. It’s an old picture. She doesn’t like to be photographed anymore.” He rolled his eyes and held the phone out over the coffee table for me.

  My mom and I leaned in, looking at the screen. On the phone was a school headshot of a girl with long blonde hair that spilled over her shoulders. Her eyes were big and round and even in the picture I could see their jade green coloring. She had a small smile on her pretty face, and looked like a kind person. Nothing like the stubborn teenage girl David made her out to be.

  “She’s gorgeous,” Mom commented, leaning back.

  I nodded in agreement, leaning back as well. She looked nothing like David. He had dark hair and eyes, with skin that seemed to have a natural tan to it as if he was part Italian. Gwen on the other hand had a pasty, pale complexion, with light hair and eyes. David returned the phone to his pocket.

  “Thank you. She takes after her mother,” David commented, his eyes on me. It was as if he’d read my mind.

  Mom tossed her arm over my shoulders and said, “Claire takes after me.”

  David leaned forward on his knees and smirked, eyeing my mom. “Lucky her.”

  Mom giggled, and her cheeks burned red. Then she leaned forward to set her wine glass down on the coffee table. “I think I’ve had enough.”

  I frowned at her, then at David. “I get my hair from my dad,” I said, feeling compelled to mention him since Mom hadn’t brought him up. I shook my head lightly, causing all of my natural curls to bounce around my head.

  “She does,” Mom agreed. She tucked some hair behind my ear. “It’s a great gene.”

  Across from us, David nodded his head. His gaze landed on me again and I shifted uncomfortably under it. A shiver went down my spine—a stare shouldn’t cause such an odd reaction. He seems like a perfectly nice guy, it’s not his fault he has scary eyes. I couldn’t explain it, but I just felt a sense of dread whenever he looked at me. I’d never before seen eyes hold such little emotion. It was kind of disturbing. Like you didn’t know what he was thinking or how he would react to certain things. I just hoped we wouldn’t be spending too much time with him. This ‘new neighbor’, ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ phase was going to end soon, and my mom and I would go back to ignoring the little house next door along with the man who lived in it. At least, that’s what I hoped.

  Chapter Five

  Night Terrors

  My television flickered, and I awoke from my sleep with a fright as a scream tore through my room. I snapped up, pulling my covers with me as I did so. The main character in the old horror film I fell asleep watching was running through a graveyard at night, trying to get away from the killer. Even though I knew the sound came from the movie, my heart continued beating fast. That definitely wasn't the best way to be woken up.

  I let out a yawn and glanced at the alarm clock on my bedside table. The red numbers on the clock showed it was 4:58am. At the sight of it I let out another yawn. I was an early bird, but I was never up this early. Stretching, I slid off of my bed and went to turn off the T.V. A cold chill seeped into my body and my toes were like ice against the hardwood floor. I grabbed a small cover off of my bed and wrapped it around my body before I journeyed out into the hallway to use the bathroom.

  My body was stiff from sleep and numb from the chilly air. It was only the start of fall, yet somehow the low temperatures in the early morning made it feel like it was winter. I went into the hall bathroom, leaving the light off and the door open as I used the bathroom and washed my hands. I didn't want the light to wake me up and make it hard for me to fall back asleep. I wrapped my blanket around my body again as I walked back to my room and fell into bed. I tucked myself under the covers and shuddered from the cold air that had entered my blankets. Moving around, I found a comfortable position before I closed my eyes and willed myself to go back to sleep.

  After a while of lying still, hoping for sleep, my eyes started to feel heavy and my breathing slowed. My blankets wrapped around
me in a cocoon of warmth as I drifted back to sleep. I had a few hours left before I had to get up for school. I breathed in the fresh linen scent of my pillows and was nearly asleep again when another scream hit my ears. My eyes snapped open and I looked around my room, my gaze landing on the black television screen.

  My heart raced in my chest, and I gripped my covers tightly in my hands. My mind is playing tricks on me, that's all. I shouldn't have watched a horror film before bed, I told myself, trying to rationalize what I’d heard. It almost worked, until I heard it again. The distinct, but muffled sound of a girl's scream coming from outside. I peeled back my covers quickly, jumping out of my bed on shaky legs and running to the window. My breathing was ragged as I dropped to my knees on the hardwood floor and peered out into the night.

  My mouth dropped open at the sight that awaited me. David was hunched over in his backyard, dragging a squirming girl in through his backdoor. He had one hand over her mouth and the other around her writhing torso. I watched wide-eyed as I took in the scene, afraid to blink and have it vanish when I reopened my eyes. I watched in horror as the girl tried to escape David's grasp to no avail. Then, in a short moment, they were gone—disappearing back inside of the house. Everything was still again. I waited a moment, watching the house, which was now dark and quiet, and wondering if I was the only one who’d heard the scream.

  I ran to another window, looking out at the front of the house to see if any other house's lights on my street were on. There weren't any. I must have only heard the scream because I was so close to his house. My bedroom window is right off of his backyard, and I was already awake. A shiver raced down my spine as the image of David dragging that girl into his house replayed in my head.

  Grabbing my pillow and a blanket, I left my room in a hurry. I walked quickly, my feet slapping against the floor as I headed down the hall to my mom's room. I pushed the door open, locking it behind me before going to climb into bed with her. I lifted the covers, slipping under and getting comfortable. When the bed dipped under my weight, my mom rolled over and yawned. Her hair was pulled back and covered by a scarf, her features unrecognizable in the dim lighting.

  "Claire?" she asked, her voice thick with exhaustion.

  "Mom, I'm scared," I replied.

  She must have heard the sincerity in my voice because in moments she was sitting upright and had flipped on the light on her bedside table, illuminating the room. Her brown eyes were wide as she regarded me. "What's wrong?" She glanced over me, checking to make sure I was physically okay before she asked, "What happened?"

  I slid into her side, resting my head on her shoulder. "I heard a scream outside my window and I saw David dragging some girl into his house."

  Mom sat up straighter. Her expression was unreadable. "When was this?"

  "Just now."

  She frowned. "Could you tell what the girl looked like? Was it his daughter?"

  I chewed my lip, trying to keep the tears from prickling my eyes. I was scared as hell. I tried to think about the girl's physical features, but it was hard because it was so dark when I saw her. The only thing I could remember was that she had really long, light hair. Her hair wasn't as dark as everything else surrounding her. "I think so," I answered, remembering the picture David showed us of Gwen. She had long blonde hair in the photo.

  Mom sighed, tightening her arm around me. She smoothed my hair down and kissed my forehead. "Sleep in here tonight. His daughter and him probably just had an argument or something. It's none of our business, but if you're this worked up then I can ask him about it the next time I see him. I'm sure there's a logical reason for it."

  A tear leaked from my eye, and I wiped it away as I nodded. "You're right."

  "David told me about his daughter. She's troubled, and with the move she has a lot going on in her life. She was always getting into trouble back in Ohio, and she likes to test boundaries now that she doesn’t have both of her parents around to keep an eye on her. He told me that his ex-wife and him give her tough love, but they hope moving will be good for her. She just needs some friends." She continued to smooth my hair down. Her fair, mixed-race complexion seemed to glow in the light from her bedside lamp.

  "If I meet her, I'll make an effort to be her friend," I said, snuggling further into her side.

  Mom leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. "Aw, sweetheart I know you will. You're such a caring person." She hugged me tighter, letting out a breathy sigh. "Also, you should stop watching those scary movies before bed. Those probably didn't help you think rationally about what you saw or keep you from being scared."

  "All right," I agreed. What I saw probably wasn't nearly as bad as I was making it out to be. It could have been just a late night hallucination. I didn't know for sure, but I knew I was far too scared to return to my bed, and thankfully my mom didn't make me. Instead, she turned the light off and smoothed my hair down until I fell asleep to the sound of her breathing.

  Chapter Six

  Gut Feeling

  "What did you get on number seven?" Adrianna asked, tapping her pen on her spiral bound notebook. Her dark hair spilled over her shoulders and onto the floor, the pink stripe tucked behind her ear. We were both spread out on our stomachs in her living room, with her math textbook in between us, doing our homework.

  I scanned my page, looking for number seven. "I got x equals 88," I answered.

  Adrianna made an "aha" sound and erased her answer, scribbling mine down. "You're so good at math."

  "I'm not good at math, I'm just better at it than you are," I replied with a laugh.

  She laughed along, rolling her eyes. "Same thing."

  "You girls sound like you're having fun doing homework," Mr. Rodriguez, Adrianna's dad, said as he strolled into the living room with a plate in his hands. He was still dressed in his police uniform, and had a smile on his face. Adrianna’s dad had been a police officer for our county’s department since before Adrianna and I were born, and he loved his job with a fiery passion. His passion for his job had spread to Adrianna’s brother, Lorenzo, who was away for his first year of college and had decided to pursue a career in criminal justice.

  "Oh yeah, we're having so much fun," Adrianna said. The sarcasm in her tone was so heavy that I could practically see it dripping from her words and all over the textbook. "I wish I could spend the rest of my life doing math problems." She poked her tongue out and pretended to gag herself.

  "Well, your wish may be granted considering how many questions we were assigned for homework tonight," I said, eliciting a groan from Adrianna.

  Her dad squatted down in front of us and set a plate of apples and peanut butter on the ground near the textbook. "I brought you girls a snack to keep your brains fueled while you work."

  "Thanks, Dad," Adrianna said, reaching for an apple and dragging it through the peanut butter.

  I did the same, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez."

  "You're welcome, girls," he said, before leaving the room again.

  I leaned to the side, watching as her dad walked down the hall and around the corner. I was waiting for him to be out of hearing range before I brought up what I saw and heard last night. I waited all day long until now to tell Adrianna, out of fear that someone would over hear us. Once I was sure her dad was gone, I sat up, hugging my knees to my chest and leaning my back against the couch.

  "Are you finished?" Adrianna asked in shock, furrowing her eyebrows. She even leaned over and took a look at my notebook.

  "No, but I have to tell you something. It's important." I chewed on my bottom lip in anticipation.

  Adrianna frowned, and following my suit, she sat up. She folded her legs under her body and stared at me expectantly. "Well, what's up?" she asked. She tucked her thick, brown hair behind her ears, making her look even younger than usual from the way her ears poked out at the sides.

  I hugged my legs tighter to my chest as I said, "I heard, and saw, something really strange last night, Ade."

 
; She leaned forward, waiting for me to say more.

  "I saw David in his backyard dragging his daughter into his house," I explained, still feeling uncomfortable with what I saw. My mom's theory about his daughter and him arguing was seeming more and more like a valid reason for what I witnessed, but it still made me feel unnerved.

  Adrianna frowned deeper, producing three small lines on her forehead. "Dragging her back inside?"

  I nodded.

  She shook her head slowly as she said, "Wow, they must have had some argument."

  I shrugged. "That's what my mom said, but I think it was more than that. His daughter really looked like she was trying to get away. She even screamed. That's how I woke up."

  "Well, maybe she was trying to get away. No family is perfect. Maybe David has a bad temper and he was upset with her so she tried to leave," she offered.

  "Maybe," I responded, still slightly skeptical. "My mom said David told her his daughter was troubled. Apparently she struggles with a lot, but she didn't specifically say what." I shivered, thinking about how he had his hand clamped over her mouth and had yanked her back inside of the house.

  Offering me a sympathetic look, Adrianna said, "Claire, have you thought that maybe the reason you don't like David so much is because you're trying to find reasons not to like him?"

  I tilted my head to the side and frowned. "What do you mean?"

  Adrianna sighed and glanced down before she met my eyes again. "I'm just saying, maybe you aren't giving David a chance because you don't want him to become your future stepfather. You see the connection between him and your mom and you feel threatened by it. Like you're afraid of what such a huge change could bring."

  I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Mrs. Rodriguez is a therapist, so Adrianna grew up learning how to psychoanalyze everyone. Whenever I had a problem, she quickly transitioned from friend mode into her daughter-of-a-shrink mode. "That's not it at all," I said with a groan.