Chapter 4

                                    

                                          


                          


                          
        
                          
I've been outside for at least twenty minutes now, I'm just standing here taking it all in. They probably think I'm crazy or something. I've started pacing to help myself calm down. I've been contemplating running away or going inside. I don't know why I'd want to go inside, especially with a family that hates me, or hates the girl they think I am. 
                          
I hear the back door open and look towards it expecting to see the girl come running out after me. I don't recognize the woman walking my way. She's much older than Sam. She looks like she's all dressed up to go out to church or something. Her short gray hair is all neat and tidy, and her lips are painted with bright red lipstick. She's got a blanket in her hand and stops right in front of me. 
                          
"Alice?" 
                          
"I think," I say. 
                          
"Hi, I'm Annmarie, Sam's mom. If you are Alice you grew into a beautiful young lady, I last saw her, I mean you... you were just a small thing chasing Cart... I mean Derek around with a nerf gun," she laughs at the memory like it's fresh in her mind. 
                          
"Who's Derek?" I ask. 
                          
"The young man with the dark hair, my grandson. Was he smitten with you... her, with Alice," she stumbles again. 
                          
I get how this could be weird. Her pale cheeks redden as she isn't quite sure what to say. 
                          
"Why don't you come in and have some dinner dear, when was the last time you ate?" she asks. 
                          
I stare at her because I honestly can't remember the last time I ate food. I woke up like this and have no clue how long I was out for. For this first time since then I finally feel the soreness in my throat and the grumbling of my stomach at the mention of food. All the blood and guts I've seen today probably kept the hunger away, but now I think there's a wild animal in my stomach. 
                          
"Let me show you to a room. There's an attached bathroom so you can clean up and I left you some of Tanya's old clothes in there for you, they should fit," she says, and I assume Tanya is the girl who went after me. 
                          
Her voice is a lot kinder than Sam's, and she's the only one who has smiled at me since I've been dragged into this whole mess. She throws the blue blanket over my body, I hadn't even realized how cold I was. It's pretty much dark out now, so the temperature has dropped significantly. 
                          
"You should come in now before you get frostbite." 
                          
She goes to turn and then stops when I don't follow. I nod my head and then slowly walk behind her and into a warm house. I've never seen anything like it in person, it's like one of those mansions you see in the movies. The backdoor leads into the kitchen and the smell of food makes my stomach growl even louder. Thankfully no one is in the kitchen, but I can hear hushed voices from a room close by. 
                          
The house has a dark vibe to it with dark wooden panels along every wall I've seen. The kitchen had the same vibe with dark wooden cabinets and dark beige walls. All of the windows in the house were covered with thick curtains, and on one of the windows I thought I spotted heavy black metal bars. I don't know what I was expecting, but from the outside I guess I thought it would have been more modern. 
                          
She leads me up to a second floor, but we don't spend much time there before going up one more flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs is a dark brown wooden door. She turns the golden knob and we enter into what seems like an attic, but transformed into a bedroom. Underneath my feet the hard wood floor creaks with every step. At the very back of the room sits a huge queen sizes bed with a tan comforter. Just above that is a small oval window that looks to be painted over. It's the only window in here, and not even the bright light helps with the darkness.