On the Bedside Table

The chair in the living room rocked as Masie leans her head back, the sound of endless pounding on her bedroom walls sending shivers up her spine. The darkness from the room around her body sends cold shadows to give goosebumps, lights turned off except the ones in her dim room upstairs. She roughly rubs her sweaty hands together as her brother starts walking upstairs, he looks seemingly oblivious to the slamming on her wall. Masie wasn't slow to stand up and follow him, her eyes locked at her doorway as it becomes bigger in her groggy vision. 'Whatever it is, it's not going to harm anyone but me' was the stupid motto in her head, frustration picking at the edges of her thoughts. The wooden stairs creak and echo Masie's footsteps, her brother's footsteps quiet as he reaches the 2nd floor, and she speeds up her walking. Reaching the top, the floor almost makes Masie slip as she walks into her room, the knocking stopping as Masie mumbles a prayer under her breath. She sits on her bed, staring at the wall she heard the knocking from intently. Nothing. She shuts her eyes a second, Masie's head pounding from the headache that's taking over her thoughts. "It's okay." She mumbles gruffly, sighing. Pulling the blankets on her bed over her, she tosses and turns for a half hour. But something stops her. A faint whispering echoes through the hallway outside her room, a seemingly tender voice cracking the silence into a eavesdropping session for Masie. Squeezing a top corner of the blanket in her palm, she tries to make out what the voice is saying. Another voice joins, the strain in it obvious as it rasps words slowly.

"Now... no... don't talk..." Was all Masie could make out, is was if a thick pillow was over her ears. Her hair feels rough and matted as it presses against her neck, tiny strands of her hair ticking and scratching her soft skin. The first voice comes in again, a bit clearer.

"If you... what if she... knocking.." She freezes at the last word she was able to decipher. Knocking? She kept listening, but those precious words were all she got out of the whispering before it stopped, leaving silence to fill the house again. Masie's body still bunched up, she cautiously lets her legs relax and feel the cold mattress. Resting her head properly on the pillow, she lets sleep slowly take over her consciousness, and erase her last trace of reality for the day.

"Sister, are you up yet?" Masie hears her dad calling from downstairs, his indoor sandals letting Masie recognize him instantly.

"Mhm...." Masie answers, letting her voice groan out her answer. She slowly opens her eyes, the room piling up with a neon covering before her vision turns back to normal. Pulling the blankets off her, the sweat makes her shirt damp and baggy. Masie slides off the bed, her feet lightly making contact with the ground as she walks out to the hallway. Are there any whispers? Masie thinks about what happened, the whispering, the knocking... everything. The paintings on the wall making her head throb out of pain. She just couldn't stand paintings or anything too bright, waking up and having everything coated in a neon light was already bad enough.

Entering the bathroom, Masie is quick to get re-dressed and get ready to school, her eyelids slightly puffy from her lack of sleep. Leaning forward, she grabs her toothbrush and puts the toothpaste on, her hands feeling weaker from just the slight weight. Placing it back after 2 minutes, she grabs a hairbrush, yanking her hair back, brown strands of hair broken off and attaching and matting onto the hairbrush. "Gosh, when will this stop? Caring for myself is... not my specialty. " Masie says in a frustrated yet gentle voice, her statement echoing around the walls. The top layer of her hair was smooth, now she just has to do the middle and back of her head. She groans, placing her hairbrush lightly in the middle of her hair while holding the top layer of hair up. Letting out a high-pitched sigh, she brushes through it, jolting her head back with every movement until it was smooth. At least mostly. She moves to the back of her hair, and brushes gently, the knots untangling as Masie works her fingers into the hair, tired already of the pain the hairbrush inflicts. Placing the hairbrush down fiercely onto the bathroom counter, Masie grabs a hairband and ties her hair into a ponytail, pinching out the front of it to make her face slimmer. She blinks warily, her eyes trailing over her body in the mirror before walking out, and heading downstairs. Grabbing her phone off the window seat in the dining room, which is left to the living room, she slips it into her pocket quickly.

"Are you excited for your second week of 11th grade, honey? Isn't that career planning class going well?" Masie's mom asks, her voice ringing out softly to her.

"Yeah, I guess." Masie plainly answers, her voice breaking in-between before she clears her voice and repeats the sentence. "Yeah, I guess." Masie says, her voice no more than a murmur as she checks If she has indeed fixed her minor speaking problem. Her mom scoffs, looking at Masie intently.

"What does 'I guess' mean, Masie? I'm worried, I feel like we don't even have a relationship." She says, her voice becoming more of a coo as she finishes it off, a sad look outlining then filling her face once done. I don't say anything, nodding slowly.

"Sorry, I just.. I'm busy, and I'm stressed...." I murmur, my arms dangling at my sides like heavy pieces of wood. "C'mon, we have to go." Masie's dad says from the front door. 'Right', Masie thinks, 'just get used to it. Skipping breakfast isn't that bad.' Her feet move quickly to the door, slipping her shoes on and hauling the backpack to her shoulder, walking out the door to the car. It's old smell intoxicates her worries as her dad gets in and starts it, driving off to the bus stop.