Promises

                                    

                                          
It's so incredibly cold as I walk through the door of an unknown house. It looks old, but like it's been renovated not too long ago. "Hello?" I ask into the dark hallway in front of me. On my right there's a huge open door and behind it is a very cozy living room. Three big couches in multiple pastel tones are placed around a wooden table. It looks really elegant along with the tall windows. Pastel curtains are decorating them causing he light from outside to be even darker.

When I call another "Hello?" and still no one answers, I assume there's no one here. My steps are really quiet, mainly because of the high ceilings. When I glance at the other side of the living room I spot a TV and another device, assumingly for music. 

Only now I realize my foot doesn't hurt. Wait, this isn't real. 

I walk out of the living room again and face the left side of the door. It's another huge door, but this one is closed. When I open it I step inside. It's the kitchen of the house and right next to it is a wooden table along with many chairs. 

"Linda." I hear my mom's voice. But when I turn around no one is there. I feel a hand on my shoulder, but again, there's no one here. "Linny, wake up." 

It's too bright for my eyes which are used to the darkness of my sleep. I can see my mom chuckling while she stands up from my bed. "It's never been this difficult to wake you." she tells me while walking out of my room. "Come downstairs, sweetheart. Breakfast is ready." 

I stretch my whole body while being still under the covers. I don't wanna leave the warmth of my comfortable bed. My thoughts keep wandering back to the dream I had. It's weird because it's different from the other ones. There's nothing that points to any activity of a spirit or any ritual. 

"Do you need help with your foot?" I hear my mom ask. She's standing in my doorway again. I glance at my leg under the covers and then back at her. "Yeah, I think that would be great." I tell her, my voice still rough from sleep.

I wrap my arm around her again and together we walk downstairs all the way to the kitchen table. My foot doesn't hurt that much anymore and the bandage my mom wrapped around it keeps it from moving too much. "Linn! I helped mommy make breakfast." my little sister tells me excitedly. Her long brown hair is almost as long as mine, just that hers is straight and mine has waves in it. Mine looks more like our mother's hair. 

"Oh, you did? That's amazing." I tell her as she rushes over to me to hug me. She's so full of energy in the morning. She keeps on telling me about the breakfast and what she'll do in elementary school today. "That's really cool." I comment and she finally goes to sit down again. 

"I heard you hurt your foot last night." my dad mentions before taking a sip from his coffee. While taking a pancake my mom and Judy made I glance at him. He smiles but I know he's worried. What on earth did my mom tell him? 

"Yeah, it was an accident. Really stupid." I say quietly. "Will you or mom drive me to school?" I ask, trying to not dwell on this theme any longer than I have to. I can see my mom glancing at him, I'm not quite sure what it means. "Uh, your mom will." he says, seemingly a bit confused. 

Even though I really like pancakes I can't enjoy them. Somehow I feel watched by my parents and I can't help but feel like something else is watching as well. Judy and I clear the table before we get ready for school. My mom changes the bandage around my foot before already going downstairs. I can manage to walk, my foot just hurts a little. "Linda, are you coming?" I hear my mom call from downstairs. Judy already took her school bus. 

"Just a minute." I call back while putting my pencil case along with the piece of paper in my backpack. Before heading downstairs I grab the necklace Judy gave me and my mom ages ago. There's a picture of our parents and me in her necklace, one of Judy and me in my mom's and one of my parents and Judy in mine. I don't think there was a day I didn't wear it since she gave it to me. 

My style is very much like my mothers and the aesthetic of the necklace matches perfectly to it. Today I'm wearing a light blue skirt and a white long sleeved turtle neck. The leaves on the trees are beginning to turn red, orange, yellow and brown and with them the weather is getting colder. 

"You look pretty." my mom says as I reach the bottom of the stairs. She's wearing a white skirt and a blue blouse, matching my outfit. I chuckle as I walk past her towards the door. "You don't look bad yourself, mama." I smile while she follows me. 

"Bye, dad!" I call inside the house after I put on my shoes. Just before I walk out of the door I hear a faint "Bye, have a good day!" from him. He's been behaving so differently this morning. I keep wondering what my mom told him. It has to be something she hasn't told me or maybe it's something I already know. 

Quickly I glance at her, we're already driving. "Mom, did you tell dad I'm a clairvoyant?" I ask. It would make sense. It's kind of the only thing he would act that weird about. Maybe it's not, I'm not sure. Wouldn't he be happy about my gift? But also, mom wouldn't tell him. At least not without asking me first.

"No, hon. I didn't." my mom says, glancing at her right towards me. "It's your gift so it's your choice when to tell him or even if you want to." she says carefully. "What makes you assume I told him?" she asks. 

She's not lying. I'm not quite sure how I know, I just do. "Well, he's been weird this morning. And you were too, well kind of." I tell her honestly, looking down at my hands in my lap. "I just wanna know what this is about." I admit before looking up. We're almost at my school. 

Lorraine sighs while she parks on the main street of the school. I'm a bit confused because normally she drives closer to the building and she should now too, especially because of my foot. 

"Linda, your dad and I, we're just worried. Trust me, I know how annoying that can be first hand, but we just want you to be careful. We need you to be okay, hon." she explains and I can practically feel her worry. 

"Is it about that bell?" I ask skeptically. It makes sense. They've been behaving like this since last night. Since whatever they did and whatever my mom couldn't do with me. A little fear appears in her emotions and the hand still holding onto the steering wheel, her left hand, grips it a little tighter. 

"I promise I'll tell you what this is about. Just not now." she says. "But you need to promise me something too. I need you to promise me you'll watch out for yourself. Be careful and don't do anything stupid. If you see- just be careful. Okay? Can you promise me that?" she asks. Tears are glistening in her eyes. I wonder what she's so worried and scared of. I mean it has to be a big thing because my mom isn't afraid easily. It's her job to walk into creepy houses, but now she's scared. 

"Yeah, I will." I tell her, even though I'm not sure what I'm even pledging her. 

"Promise?" she asks, forcing a smile on her face so she doesn't start crying. 

I nod. "I promise." 

She drives me as close to the school as possible. "Have a good day. I love you, bye." she says while I climb out of the car and throw my backpack over my shoulder. "Bye, mom. Love you!" I call, already on my way towards the main building. 

Katie is at our usual spot when I go to greet her. We always meet up before school in the school garden. It's right next to the library, our second favorite place at school. "Jesus, why are you walking like my grandpa?" Katie laughs while we hug each other. The smile is still on her colored lips when she leans back and looks at me. 

I smile as well while I sit down on the wooden bench Katie sat on before. "The easy story: I tripped on broken glass. But there's a lot more to it. Do you wanna hear the whole story though?" I ask while she sits down next to me. 

"Yeah. Duh." she says. I can't help but smile at how awkward she is. "After biology though. You're late. Is that part of the story?" Katie wonders. 

I chuckle while she stands up and holds her hand out for me. "Actually, yes it is. Well, kind of." I admit. We walk towards the main building where I just came from and then we part ways. Her first lesson is biology while mine is English. American literature to be exact. It's not that I hate it, but it's so boring.