He's Watching Me (4 page)

Chapter 4

Her legs almost buckled at the horrifying discovery that there could be an uninvited, potentially dangerous guest lurking in the castle. Laura placed a hand on her chest to steady her over-active breathing. She tried urgently to think with logic,
it could be kids?
They knocked, went unheard, got restless and broke in. Then after seeing candy a few feet into the hall, were brave enough to steal it.
Yes, that was most likely it
. Even though this was a very likely possibility, a part of her feared this explanation was too simple, too good to be true. But her mother often said 'sometimes the simplest explanation is often the right one'. That it was just cocky, arrogant, greedy kids, and not something more insidious hiding behind the veil of reasons. She was at a crossroads, one part yearning to gallop upstairs and seek refuge in Toby's room. But another part wanting to stay, close to the door, settle, and stop being silly. Then her legs began to move.

Laura still hadn't made a firm decision as to whether to flee, or close the door and stop the bitter cold barging in. But her two pins seemed to have made that decision, giving no choice but to continue onwards and shut the wooden piece. Until she stood, now only metres from the entrance, nothing outside but deceptive darkness: elusive and mysterious, but also deadly. With the ability to cloak the evils of the night, and cloud nightmares until they sneaked up when least expected. She could see the massive field that was this castle's version of a front lawn, but calling it that would be insulting to the astronomical size. It was a mountain of green, with tall streaks of brown bark holding leaves, stabbed into its canvas. Eager to get this over with, Laura reached out, grabbed the handle and pulled, slamming it shut. This time, to prevent any further distress, she locked it. It had many locks and bolts, as if the building held all of the government’s highly classified secrets. Once all locks had been engaged with an abundance of clicks and taps, she made for the kitchen, craving a soothing mug of tea. On occasion, she did indulge in flavoured coffees and frappuccinos, but she knew that to settle her nerves a nice, milky tea was just what the doctor ordered. Perhaps they had a nice selection of herbal fruit teas? Both being doctors and expectedly health conscious, they were sure to have a premier collection of beverages hidden in a cabinet. Upon entering the vastness of the kitchen, she noticed something atop the kitchen counter: a candy bowl.

Laura questioned her memory, or lack of it.
Am I going crazy?
Had she
not actually put it on the floor at all, but absent-mindedly returned it to the kitchen? Or one of the kids who presumably took the candy, felt guilty. So they grabbed a handful, and then rushed it to the kitchen where they figured it would be kept. But there was something unusual about the bowl. The amount of confectionery hadn't gone down. If Laura didn't know any better she would have guessed that not a single piece had been taken. Which puts a kibosh on the candy stealing theory. But more importantly, a piece of folded paper lay atop the pile of cavity creators. Laura was intrigued. Maybe she missed it before and it was a note from Dr Anderson advising of numbers to ring in case of emergencies.
But why would he put it in a candy bowl? That was strange. Perhaps the wind sent it fluttering into the candy bowl.
She unfolded the piece of paper and read it aloud.

“How was Toby?” Laura whispered, then dropped the note back into the bowl as it rustled against the mountain of candy. Laura's neck tensed as her legs became unsteady.
Someone is watching me.
Laura's heart propelled into a rocket-ship speed.

Laura's skin prickled with goosebumps. Now there was no doubt about it, someone was watching. But these weren't casual glances, someone was monitoring every move. Laura was terrified to say the least. Someone had seen her go upstairs to check on Toby. She stared at the white sheet resting afloat the rainbow of treats as if it was about to pounce. Laura felt as though her whole head was spinning around.
They could be watching me right now.
Then from the chaos of her own unease, she thought of Toby.
TOBY! 

She fled the kitchen and bolted upstairs, barging into his bedroom unannounced, frantic with panic, gasping for breath. Toby jerked immediately, still clutching the remote control. Laura then realised it was stupid to burst into a young boy's bedroom unannounced.
Duh, hormones!

“Jesus what's wrong!?” he spouted, eyes wide with shock.

“I... he just...... there was a.....” Laura struggled to speak, winded from the seemingly endless mountain of steps.

As she was about to divulge the situation she paused for a second. He was only a kid, and this was bound to scare or upset Toby. So, after an incredibly quick second thought, she pronounced it was best to keep him in the dark, until matters worsened, which she desperately hoped didn't.

“There was a huge spider, I, erm... hate spiders, oh, I am sorry. I overreacted. Sorry Toby,” Laura felt moisture slide down her face,
tears!

She was bawling.
Seriously?
Laura couldn't believe her inability to withstand emotions. First with her father, now a child. Toby paused the game and looked at her with a serious gaze, his face tightening.

“Are you okay?” he asked politely, appearing worried, tossing the remote aside.

“Yes, I'm fine, I just, I think, being in a new house for the night and the spider,” she was exhaling deeply now.

“Hang on, I'll come down and we can go in the computer room for a bit if you want?” he swivelled and hopped off the bed.

“Oh no, you don't have to do that Toby,” she was so surprised at his caring nature.

“No, it's fine, I am being rude, I should have come down a while ago, but this game is so addictive,” he chuckled.

He actually laughed, despite the recent troubles of being stalked; Laura felt an immense sense of accomplishment at bringing this hermit out of his sanctuary, metaphorically and physically.

“Oh okay, well, there are plenty of snacks downstairs,” she informed, swiftly wiping tears from her face.

“Great I am getting a bit peckish,” Toby straightened out his blue t-shirt and pulled down matching bottoms that had hiked up his calves during his gaming session.

“Why do you want to go in the computer room?” Laura asked as they both descended the loops of steps.

“I should get my school work done, and I always save it on one of the computers in there, I have a school report due.”

“On what?”

“I had to pick a film, and do a review on it, mention everything from the technical aspects, to the plot and characters and such,” Toby muttered.

Laura couldn't believe she was talking to a kid a few years younger than her, who was so smart and mature.

“What film did you choose?” she inquired.

“Jaws. A classic. Figure it would be easy as that film practically reviews itself, and it is one of my favourite movies,” he looked at her smiling. Laura was surprised he even knew about
Jaws
.

“Me too! So, you mentioned
one
of the computers, just how many does the computer room have?” she asked, noticing her black bra strap was exposed on her upper arm, having slid over her shoulder during the frenzied sprint to Toby's room. Embarrassed, she quickly twanged it back under her tank top.

“I think about fifteen now, well not all computers, some tablets, laptops and the rest are traditional computers.” He informed as they declined the final staircase.

“Wow, I can't wait to see it.” Laura beamed, stepping onto the wooden floor barefoot, noticing the various rugs dispersed among the wood like lily pads on a pond.

“It is pretty cool,” he grinned.

They were headed into the kitchen for some snacks, when another boom at the door stopped them cold. She jolted, almost tripping over. Toby noticed this overreaction immediately.

“Jeez calm down it's probably just trick or treaters,” he laughed, which actually calmed Laura.

They both approached the door, Laura shuffling behind Toby, then stopped a couple of feet from it.

“What are you waiting for?” Toby asked, face creased in confusion.

“Nothing, I just, I wish I could see who it is before I unlock the door,” Laura replied, aware of how childish that came across, but unable to cover the abhorrence and visions of what may lay on the other side of that door. Especially given that some unknown predator was stalking them.

“Then look through the peep-hole.” Toby's eyebrow raised in sarcasm. 

“What? There is a peep-hole?” Laura couldn't believe it.

“It is hidden behind a little wooden square. Up there, just out of my reach,” Toby pointed to a small square of wood that stood out prominently from the door, also being a lighter shade of brown. Laura swung the square aside, then plucking bravery from the lower depths of her stomach; she tried to connect with gall. Leaning forwards on her tiptoes she propped one eye against the tiny glass window, to see....nothing. No one was there. She felt reassured, but foolish for getting so worked up.

“Sorry Toby, there is no one there,” Laura exhaled as she turned to see an empty space. Toby was gone.

Heat warmed her face as panic began to course through her veins. But before jumping to any conclusions she used common sense to dictate her next move.

“Toby,” Laura hollered, trying not to sound panicked, just merely gauging his location, beckoning a response.

“In here,” a voice mumbled through the kitchen door.

“Thank god,” she exhaled quietly.

Laura entered and was pleased to see Toby just on his way out holding a plate of various treats: from candy, to cakes, crisps. Laura's mouth felt dry all of a sudden. In his other hand he held a large bottle of pop that wore two plastic cups like a hat.

“Let's get going then,” Toby grinned, looking excited.

They left the kitchen and strolled across the hall. Toby skilfully used his knee to lower a golden handle, and then extended his foot to push the door open. Laura was once again astonished; every room in this castle seemed to improve on the previous. A semi circle of metal tables covered the front of the room, with technology resting on them. Each piece in itself was worth thousands, so the contents of this room combine must have cost a fortune collectively.
Just how much did doctors get paid?
She would have to look into studying further into the human body. If she was guaranteed a life like this, or at least a home like this, then maybe progress into medicine. Laura had expected a room of old models, ancient musty computers to fit in with the aesthetics of the castle, not a chance. They had abolished any preconceived notions people may have, by forcing their hands to marvel in the glorious robotic heaven, and no doubt become sufficiently envious. Laura presumed that friends and acquaintances of the Anderson's would be equally rich, but Laura being from a more modest household found herself choking on jealousy, almost drowning in it. She loathed this feeling. It made her belittle the success of her parent's, and wish they could have achieved more. Laura felt ungrateful and selfish. As she knew her home was quite large compared to the surrounding suburban properties, but in comparison to her current place of leisure, it was pathetic. Toby dropped the snacks and soda onto a table in the middle then opened a laptop.

“Help yourself, I am gonna load up a laptop and get started on my work, then we can watch a film later if you want?” Toby suggested.

“That sounds wonderful,” she was flabbergasted at his offer to watch a movie together, and not retreat back to his gaming temple.

She had expected him to abscond to his bedroom after he'd finished homework. For him to make a proposition to watch a movie together must have taken a lot. Although a thought crossed her mind like a train screeching by,
maybe he has a crush
? But he could quite possibly just be a lovely, polite young boy.

“Can I use any computer?” she asked him.

“Sure, the newest one is this one by me, it cost daddy a lot of money,” Toby rolled out a chair, which she suddenly noticed were everywhere. Comfy leather seats had been hiding from plain sight under the tables, playing peek-a-boo with Laura.

Soon they both sat. Toby working on his review, and Laura actually doing homework by researching content online. There was a state of the art three-in-one printer in the far corner, and Laura figured she may as well take advantage of the free ink, as the Andersons clearly weren't short of a penny or two. Every few minutes the printer would hum and spit out several colourful sheets with a twang as each sheet fell into the paper tray. The energy in the room was indescribable; it was like that of a library, which they also had. The positive vibes seem to electrify the entirety of this metallic explosion. You could actualize your goals, and attain them. In her own bedroom back in much more modest waters, there was the constant urge to check social networking pages; they had become an international addiction. The cravings were pretty much continuous, ongoing desires to share with the world changes in her life, considerable or insignificant, vaguely interesting or tirelessly boring. But tonight she had managed to abstain from phone usage, and concentrate on more productive tasks. Witnessing a young boy being so industrious and constructive with his time, made her all the more motivated. It was gratifying to be with a young man that could pull himself away from battling zombies or warlords in a virtual two dimensional world, and actually offer polite conversation between finishing school work. Laura, in dire need of refreshment, took a few heavy glugs of pop. Her throat swelled with every mouthful, almost gulping down the entire contents of her plastic cup, until her thirst had been quenched. She choked back a belch and then turned to Toby.