Chapter 2

After school, I made it back to the motel where I came to great surprise, "Mom?" she looked up at me happily from her folding,

"Claire!" she ran across the room and hugged me tightly, she seemed happy about something, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Hey, mom, what are you doing home so early? I thought you wouldn't be here until late tonight?" she went back over to the bed and continued folding,

"I wasn't, but they let me off early because I was already reaching my limit, but I also have some news!" She said excitedly, I sat down and waited for her to tell me, "I bought a house for us!" with those words, I got excited as well! Finally, no more nasty motel germs, no more hiding things where they can't be stolen, and, most importantly, my own room! I was so thrilled I could hardly find words.

"That's amazing mom!" I hugged her and then started putting my stuff on the bed,

"There is a downside, Claire," she says, killing the mood ever so slightly, I looked up at her, "It's a fixer-upper, it needs a lot of time and love if we're going to make it a home. But we're going to start tonight; I already got ahold of some of the people in town willing to help. And thanks to dad," she paused, we haven't talked about dad since he died, "We have the money to fix the place up." I nodded slightly, putting everything into my bag.

Mom brought me to the house where there were already two separate trucks parked on the curb so we could have the driveway. Mom was right about the 'time and love' this house needed; I got out and started inside to see men putting down flooring, no doubt my mother had already gone shopping for that so they could get it done. Once mom came in, setting down her bag, she wrapped her arm around me, "One good thing about this house, Claire, you have your own bathroom." I smiled at her as we started walking through the house, but something about it made me uneasy.

We made it upstairs, and mom brought me to my room, it was huge! The high ceilings and hardwood floors, the only thing I didn't like was the pink walls. Mom sensed my distaste for the color and smiled, "They're going to paint it. I got a purple for you, and there is a wallpaper I found that would look perfect right here with the closet." I nodded and smiled, "They already did the floor so you can move in tonight; same for me, the movers will be here in two hours with our things." 

"This is so cool, mom." she kissed my head,

"I'm going to go bark orders, do you need any help here?" I shook my head, and she went back downstairs, "Painters are here Claire, tell them how you want your room." I smiled,

"Okay, mom." I chuckled to myself, until,

"Where do you want to start, Boss?" I froze in place, please no; I begged, I turned to see Harry. He smirked, "I didn't know this is where you live." I just smiled,

"I want that wall with the wallpaper my mom picked out, the rest just paint it purple." I sat down against a wall and got out my notebook because I knew my mother would send me right back up to supervise. I looked up every so often to see Harry glancing over at me; I knew he was looking at me so I may as well draw and just let him work.

The darkness began to creep on me; I didn't know where I was. Looking around, I saw boxes and cobwebs; it looked like it was an attic. I began walking around and came across a mirror that was broken; I stood in front of it and closed my eyes...I felt something there. The hatch to the attic opened, and a girl with a flashlight came in; the girl looked around and then looked directly at me. She turned to leave but then she turned back, "Who are you?" I went to answer but then,

"I don't remember who I was," I heard another voice, turning around, I saw another girl roughly around the same age. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but there was something else, it wasn't the two girls, it was something darker. My great-grandmother told me what she felt when an evil spirit was present, and that's what I felt this very moment. It wasn't long before the second girl disappeared; the other girl went back in front of the mirror. I looked at her closely. She looked a lot like Allis, I saw something creeping up behind her, I tried to warn her, but she didn't hear me. I saw the eyes, those terrifying red eyes, and I felt my heart stop, the girl noticed, but as the creature bore its teeth, it was too late.

I woke up screaming. Harry was by my side as he pulled me close, whispering, "It's okay, you're okay." I tried to catch my breath. I didn't remember falling asleep; it all felt so real. I heard mom standing in the doorway, but she already knew what was wrong. Harry carried me downstairs and set me down on a chair. Mom was making me a cup of hot tea to calm me down. Everyone but Harry continued working; mom smiled as she handed me the drink, "I'm Catherine, Claire's mother, and you are?" Harry shook her hand,

"Harry. I'm a friend of Claire's." he smiled at me as I sipped the tea,

"Well then, will you watch over her while I try getting things situated?" Harry nodded, and mom went on outside, he turned his attention back to me.

"Your mom seems nice." I nodded in agreement,

"She is, she's the best." I sipped the tea some more, hoping he would get back to work on my room so I could start fixing it up.

"If you want to go back to your room, I can take you back up there." he smiled at me, but I could see the concern on his face, I shook my head,

"No, thanks, I'm okay. If you want to get back to work, you can; I'll be alright." he was skeptical at first but agreed,

"I'll go, let your mom know, you rest." I smiled as he walked outside to talk to my mom.

I finally went upstairs to see my room. Harry was still in there working; he wanted to help the movers since I was still shaken up from that horrifying nightmare. When I went up there, the movers were leaving, and Harry came into the hall, "Claire, I have a surprise for you." I looked at him questionably, "Close your eyes and give me your hands." he reached for my hands. 

I closed my eyes and gave him my hands as he guided me into my room; I kept walking until I hit him, he chuckled as he turned me around, "Okay Claire, open your eyes." I did, and what I saw before me was breath-taking. Above my bed was a dream catcher painted onto the wall with vines and roses all around it; I turned to Harry,

"Did you do this?" he smiled, 

"Yeah," I looked back at the wall, "Your mom was telling me that you've been having nightmares a lot. Thanks to Allis I found a piece online of a dreamcatcher, the roses were Allis's touch, she said that you had shown her some drawings at lunch, so I did some roses. Do you like it?" I didn't know how to respond; it was incredible! 

"I love it, Harry, it's amazing!" he smiled and looked around the room,

"Yeah, I just guessed on where to put everything, the only thing we didn't mess with is the clothes." I nodded as I sat down on the bed; I noticed my bags by the closet door,

"This is amazing, Harry; it's exactly what I envisioned my room being. Thank you." Harry smiled,

"It's my job, Claire. No need to thank me," How modest, I thought to myself, "Claire," I looked at him as he sat beside me on the bed, "I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie or something maybe Friday?" I was surprised, but also flattered; I saw a shadow in the doorway, mom was listening. 

"Sure, sounds like fun. Also, don't look now, but we have a stalker in the hallway." Harry laughed as he got up. We both went out to the hall to see my mother trying to act casual with one of my boxes.

"I was just dropping off this box to your room, and now I'm going to order Chinese." she nearly ran downstairs while I walked Harry to the door.

"So, I'll pick you up Friday, say six o'clock?" I nodded, "Great! I'll see you tomorrow, Claire."

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Harry." With that, I closed the door and went to the kitchen with mom.

After dinner and a shower, I went into my room and started going through my clothes. Once I slipped on my pajamas, I put up the rest in the closet and others in the drawers of my dresser. Mom smiled as she walked by, "Claire," 

"Yeah, mom?" I stopped for a moment to look at her,

"Did you want to go shopping tomorrow for your date? I have to work, but Harry told me about your friend Allis, maybe she would like to go with you." I thought about it for a minute,

"Sure mom; I don't have anything for a date." she smiled and hugged me, 

"You're growing up so fast, Claire. Fifteen, beautiful, and going on your first date; your father would be so proud of you." I smiled, fighting the tears that threatened to pour from my eyes, mom noticed, "I know, I miss him too." she held me for a few minutes before finally letting me go. 

"I should get in bed; I have school tomorrow."

"You're right, and I have work in the morning. Goodnight and sweet dreams." she kissed the top of my head before heading to her room. I finished putting my clothes away, then went back to my bathroom to brush my teeth before bed. Mom had bought a lavender spray for me so it could help me sleep; I took it out from the nightstand and sprayed the whole room with its scent before crawling into bed. I closed my eyes, slowly drifting asleep.