Page 17 of The Attraction File

I watched as the girl appeared startled and then ran behind the tree. When I glanced back at the window, I saw my wish coming true.

Damien appeared at the curtain. His silhouette barely lit from the street lamp in front of the house. I could just make out enough features on his face to know for sure it was him.

In that moment as he leaned out the window—obviously looking for something—I realized I didn’t want him to come outside anymore. The last thing I wanted was for Damien to find her.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly. She turned her head to glance at the window. When Damien stepped back into the room and pulled the window shut, her hand went to her heart. Her head fell back as she closed her eyes in relief.

I started to lean over to the passenger’s seat to open my car door but stopped myself. Why would a girl climb into a strange guy’s car at night? But I really wanted to find out why she was running. No one snuck out of the house for one night with a huge bag like that.

My curiosity grew as she slid down the tree trunk and covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook and I knew she was crying.

After some time passed, the girl wiped her face and stood. She reached into her bag and pulled out some white paper. Again, she gazed at the house before she turned her back toward me and pressed her hand to the tree.

Finally, she picked up her bag and began to walk across the street toward me. I slid down in my seat, just enough so she wouldn’t see me. As she made her way in front of my car, her head turned and I saw her haunting blue eyes gaze right at me.

As if it was high noon and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

I wondered if she saw me, but believed the darkness hid me well enough. The way her eyes fell on me felt uneasy. As if I was looking at someone stepping out of childhood and into adulthood far too soon.

Then she disappeared. I tried to follow her in my car but she was on foot and could walk through backyards and woods, so I lost her within minutes.

I made it back to that house later that night and went to the tree. All thoughts of confronting Damien forgotten with that girl taking his place. Sticking out of a knotted hole in the trunk of the tree was a piece of paper. Pulling it out, I grabbed the sealed envelope and read the one word scrawled across it—Mom.

Images of earlier kept flashing in my head. All I could see were her heartbreaking eyes. So, I did what any normal nineteen-year-old guy would do, I took the envelope.

---