Faded Memories

Chapter 22

I jolted awake, my body hot to touch as if the fire had managed to catch me before I was released from the nightmare. I never normally wake up during that part, I've never woken up early from that nightmare before. My brain always forces me to relive the entire thing, not just that part - so why am I awake? Why am I...

A loud ringing was coming from below my room, as if I had left my phone on loud exactly below where my bed was. I sighed dramatically, realising it was most likely Georgia calling to check up on me. I was so lucky to have somebody like her around me now, after all, I wasn't exactly the greatest friend to her myself. The ringing would not stop, and I realised that perhaps it might never stop - maybe it was an alarm? But I don't set alarms...

My phone was on the bedside table right next to me.

My stomach left my body, my heart sinking as the ringing continued on and on and on. The back of my mind was telling me to ignore it, to just go back to sleep, to pretend that I had never heard it. But I didn't have the willpower, and I had to see where the noise was coming from, to see why it was happening right now. I grabbed the baseball bat and tiptoed down the stairs, part of me worrying that somebody was in the house and it was their phone ringing.

Except, when I reached the bottom of the stairs, the ringing had stopped. Completely. Everything was silent... almost too silent for comfort. I double checked that both doors were locked - both the front door and the kitchen doors. Maybe I was just hearing things? I hadn't exactly been the most sane person this past week. That must be it. I was hearing things.

The tiled floor of the kitchen was cool against my bare feet, sending shivers up my spine as I quickly wandered towards the fridge in search of a snack. I honestly can't remember the last time I had a real meal, and I definitely needed to sort myself out because of it. It was almost as if I was becoming a shell of myself, something that I thought I would never return to...

RING. RING. RING.

My feet left the floor as my heart left my chest. Jumping, I spun around with the bat in hand as it felt as though the noise was directly behind me. I'm not sure if a noise could be attacked with a baseball bat, but I would sure as hell try. I crept forward, feeling as though it was coming from the walls itself as it sounded like it was everywhere when I spotted one of the drawers in the cabinet vibrating slightly.

Cautiously, I pulled out the drawer to discover a phone that definitely wasn't mine sitting inside. This phone was old, almost looking like a burner phone would - but I had only ever seen them in movies. I gently reached my hand inside the drawer that was filled with old letters and documents my parents had lying around the house, wrapping them around the phone that had stopped ringing once again.

I stared at the object in my hand as if it was from Mars, the total concept of a burner phone being left in my house completely unfamiliar to me. My body was shaking, as if knowing what was coming before my brain even did. When the phone began to ring again, an unknown number appeared on the screen. Who was so desperate to ring this phone that many times in a row? I took a deep breath, before pressing the answer button and placing the phone to my ear.

Heavy breathing could be heard down the phone, forcing goosebumps to appear on my skin. I scrunched my eyes shut, a wave of nausea suddenly flying over me as I realised what was happening. I placed a hand out onto the cabinet in order to steady myself, my chest rising and falling faster than I thought possible.

"Did ya miss me, Amelia?"

My hands released the phone, my eyes staring completely at the front door down the corridor as the phone crashed to the floor, the battery sliding across the room. My brain hadn't even caught up with what was happening as I grabbed my keys and ran out of the house, barely remembering to put my shoes on before I left. I stumbled down the porch, tripping over my own feet as I looked back at the house. A house I didn't even recognise anymore.