“So basically, there’s a hobo in your basement?” Carla asked, grinning at me as she kicked a rock down the sidewalk.
I stared blankly at her for a second. “Um, yes… I guess…look it was way freakier when it happened,” I said, trying not to sound like a total wuss. “And what if it’s not just some hobo, but like a psycho killer or something? How am I supposed to sleep with that in my basement?”
She laughed, it was such a pretty laugh, and in this case, not at all appropriate.
“You wouldn’t be at all freaked out?” I asked her.
“Nope.”
“What, that’s it? Just ‘nope’ just like that? You wouldn’t be scared at all?”
She grinned again. “Yup.”
“I hate you,” I grumbled, which made her laugh again.
“Oh come on, this is kinda funny. I mean, if you can’t laugh then what can you do? It beats being all wiggy about it.”
“I’m not being wiggy. Who says wiggy now a day’s anyway?”
She gave me a look, then said, “You said your dad got the basement key this morning right? So let’s go down there and check it out.”
I stopped dead and looked at her. “You serious?”
“Well your dad probably kicked your hobo out already, so we probably won’t find much, but then I could see your house. I mean we’ve been hanging out every day for like the past month and you haven’t once invited me over. Or are you actually scared of going down into the basement?”
“I’m not…”
“Great!” She smiled and hugged me in a fit of glee. “It’s a date.”
“If this is all you expect out of dates then this should be pretty easy,” I smirked at her.
She laughed again; Carla was in a good mood today, I guess. Which was nice, it beat her being stressed out over school, like she usually was. Her parents were pretty rough on her about that stuff I guess. Mine were just happy I went.
So we got to my house and Carla bounded on in, way too excited. I headed in after her, though much slower, and found her talking to my mom. And damn if they didn’t already look like the best of friends.
“Ian, it’s about time you started bringing friends over. I was getting worried you weren’t making any at school.”
I sighed. “Mom this is Carla, Carla, my mom.”
“Yes I know dear, we’re way ahead of you here. Carla, seeing as my son never brings people home, much less any as pretty as you, would you like to stay for dinner?”
She spared me a quick glance to see what I thought. I just shrugged. Which she had figured out pretty much meant I was cool with it.
“I’d love too,” she beamed. “Let me just phone home real quick first.”
Mom showed her where the phone was, and then came back to me, all smiles.
“Ian, you never told me you had such a pretty girlfriend.” She said, now that Carla was out of earshot. “And she’s so full of life.”
“She’s not…”
“I really like her. You know I think she’ll be very good for you. You’ve been so mopey and…well just ‘blegh’ lately.”
“Mom I’m always like…”
“But I think Carla will really help get you out of your slump. Now dinner isn’t going to be for a little while yet so you kids find something to do until then.”
She looked like she was about to walk away, but paused. “But keep your bedroom door open,” she said, much louder than necessary, and headed towards the living room.
Oh god. Well at least Carla didn’t hear that. I met her in the kitchen just as she was getting off the phone.
“My mom said it’s cool if I stay,” she said. “I mean, if you’re still okay with it and everything. I know I’ve been a little pushy today.”
I smiled, just a little bit. “Its fine, I’m kinda glad you’re here actually.”
“Great! Oh and your mom doesn’t need to worry, I’m not so pushy as to attempt ‘closed door’ stuff already,” she said, grinning at me.
Damn it.
“Well, can we go check out this basement of yours?”
I refrained from sighing at her enthusiasm. “Okay, let’s go.”
We got to the door, and as I was mustering up the courage to open it and face whatever was down there, Carla shot her hand out and swung it open. She was already half way down the stairs before I realized what had happened.
“Hey, wait up.” I called as I found a light switch and flipped it on, heading after her.
At the bottom of the stairs, I could see that it was just a regular basement. It was old and dusty - pretty much what you’d expect. All our unpacked boxes were down here though, which meant dad must have been down here already.
“So, should we look for a cot?” Carla asked with a grin, clearly not taking this seriously at all. “Or maybe a rolled up blanket or a smelly jacket?”
I responded with silence. I felt it was deserved. I did start looking around though. For what I wasn’t really sure, but with Carla here helping me I felt a lot braver than I thought I would.
A half-hour of rummaging later revealed that this was, in fact, just a basement. No secret compartments or anything. No places a person could really hide. No evidence to suggest anyone had been down here at all.
“Hey look at this,” Carla called from the corner.
“Did you find something?”
She held up a small locket, dangling from a thin gold chain. It looked really old. “Is this your mom’s or something?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve never seen it before. See I told you there was someone down here.” I said, taking the locket.
“Or,” she said, giving me a look, “The previous owners forgot it when they were moving. But your psycho hobo living in the basement theory makes sense too.”
Despite being mocked, I couldn’t help but smile. There didn’t seem to be anything to be afraid of down here after all.
We looked around a little while longer before deciding to head upstairs. Carla finished homework while we waited for supper. She wanted to close the door to mess with my mom but we decided not to push our luck. After dinner, I saw Carla out. She opened the door to leave and I stopped her.
“Hey, thanks for coming, and helping downstairs…I mean…um…” I fumbled for words that would express my gratitude and not make me look like a sissy when she stopped me.
“Anytime,” she smiled at me, then leaned forward and kissed me. Just a quick peck on the lips, but a kiss just the same. Seeing my expression, she frowned.
“Too soon?”
I smiled, a genuine doofy looking, ear to ear smile. “No, I mean, um…” Man I was stammering like an idiot. “Oh god please just go, this is embarrassing.”
She laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said and closed the door behind her. I stared at it for a while before I realized what I was doing, and headed upstairs, still smiling ear to ear.
I didn’t want my parents to see that I was practically walking on air. I had an image, after all. So I avoided them for the next few hours until I went to sleep, thinking of how good a day it had been. The basement thing went well, and most of all, Carla and I seemed to be a couple now. Maybe; I mean I wasn’t really sure how it worked, but I thought it was a safe bet.
I slept pretty soundly until a noise woke me up. Groggily, I rolled over and checked my clock. 2:30 in the morning. I listened for a bit, trying to figure out what had woken me and heard footsteps outside in the hall.
Just one of my parents coming back from the bathroom, I figured as I drifted back to sleep.
Then I heard it. The chuckle. That grainy sandy raspy chuckle.
I was sure as hell awake now.
I listened as the footsteps got louder. How the hell could my parents not hear this?
And then they stopped.
And my door creaked open.
Jesus Christ, someone was in my room.
I was too terrified to do anything but pretend to be asleep. I could see a little bit of who it was, but it was too dark to see any details. Hunched over, with what looked to be a black robe on, a hood pulled over its head.
The figure came closer and it was all I could do not to scream. A long, claw like hand reached out and cupped my face, and I really thought I was going to die. Its grip was so cold. I should have screamed when I had the chance.
The chuckle again, and I could feel the heat of this thing’s foul breath on my face. Then its hand let go, and the figure shuffled back out, and I heard the bedroom door open and close.
And then I screamed.
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