Jack Hammer by Tabatha Vargo, Melissa Andrea Page B

my window, that when I saw a shadow move in the moonlight, I screamed. The sound hurt my own ears and I clamped my hand over my mouth.
    There was a brief stretch of silence, and then I heard a muffled voice from the other side of the window.
    “Are you purposely trying to wake up the entire neighborhood?” Blaine whispered through the window.
    My heart continued to pound wildly in my chest even after I recognized his voice. I scrambled off the bed and hurried toward the window, lifting it open.
    “What are you doing?” I hissed, looking back toward my bedroom door.
    I knew there was no way my scream had gone unheard. It was only a matter of time before my parents came charging into my room.
    He pushed his head in. “What does it look like?”
    My expression went slack and my face contorted with confusion as I tried to think around this entire situation.
    “What?” I asked, still confused.
    “Are you going to let me in or not?” He motioned for me to move out of his way.
    “Not. You scared the crap out of me. You had me thinking my room was haunted.”
    My rant was cut short as he pushed his way through the window. I couldn’t seem to breathe past the knot in my throat, and then it didn’t matter if I could or not because I was about to be dead.
    My head turned toward the door where light flooded the hallway, spilling into my room from underneath my bedroom door.
    “You have to—” I started.
    But when I turned to face him, he was already gone.
    My frown deepened as I twisted from side to side looking for Blaine, surprised by his quick disappearing act.
    “Blaine?” I whispered, chewing on my lip nervously. “Where did you go?”
    There was a light tap on my door before my father called my name softly from the other side.
    “Are you okay, honey? We heard you scream.” His voice sounded muffled through the thick wood.
    Taking a deep breath, I moved toward the door with one last look behind me. My room was still empty. I pulled it open and squinted against the bright, hallway light that spilled into my room.
    Concern deepened the lines on my father’s aging face as he looked me over and then past me for any harm.
    “I’m fine, Dad,” I said, sounding breathless.
    I pulled the door tightly to my side, hoping to block out as much of my room as possible.
    “We heard you scream.”
    I laughed nervously. “I thought I saw something outside my window.”
    He went on high alert, pushing his way into my room and toward my open window.
    Shit!
    I wanted to take back my last words, but it was too late.
    “What did you see?’ he asked frantically. “Did you see a person? Maybe I should call the police.”
    “No!” I shouted, almost falling forward in my outburst.
    My father turned around, giving me a strange look. My hands were up in the air and I dropped them to my sides. My face flamed in embarrassment.
    “It was a squirrel,” I lied. “Please. I feel silly. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
    He searched my face for a few seconds, and I managed to smile despite the pounding in my chest. The fact that Blaine was somewhere hidden in my room and my father could easily catch him was causing me to have a panic attack.
    My father smiled, putting his hands in his robe pockets. “You and your mother were never fans of the dark or anything creepy or crawly. I remember the Halloween when you were eight. You were dressed up as little red riding hood. You declared it your last Halloween because you were too afraid of the spooky costumes.”
    His smile softened at the memory, and I couldn’t help but return it.
    “I was a bit dramatic back then. I remember calling a big family meeting.” I chuckled.
    He laughed along with me. “Ah, yes. You made a pros and cons list that you went over with me and your mother.”
    I buried my flaming face in my hands knowing Blaine was listening and gathering up ammo against me.
    “Please, no more,” I complained.
    My father took a deep breath and his shoulders dropped. He