What Brings You Back

I'm in the car. Engine running. Hands shaking on the wheel.

I don't know how far away from the house. Away from whatever was wearing my face. From my husband still sitting at that table saying those same words over and over.

I need to get to mom's. Need to get Henley. Need to get far away from here and never come back.

My phone buzzes again. Unknown number. I don't look at it.

The streets are empty. Middle of the night. Streetlights making everything orange and wrong.

I take the turn out of the neighborhood. Onto the main road. Start heading north toward the highway.

That's when I see her.

Sophie. The neighbor girl. Riding her bike in circles under a streetlight.

I slow down. Stare.

She shouldn't be here. It's two in the fucking morning. At least I think.

But there she is. Riding in circles. Same loop. Over and over.

I speed up. Keep driving.

Two miles down I turn onto a side street. Shortcut to the highway.

Sophie is there. Same streetlight. Same circles.

I slam on the brakes. The car skids.

That's impossible. I just left her two miles back.

She doesn't look at me. Just keeps riding. Round and round. Like she's stuck on a track.

I reverse. Take a different road.

She's there again.

Every street. Every turn. Sophie on her bike under that same streetlight.

I pull over. Sit there with the engine running. Trying to breathe.

This isn't real. This can't be real.

I get out of the car. Walk toward her.

"Sophie? Honey?"

She stops. Puts her feet down. Looks at me.

And smiles.

"Don't go down there," she says in my husband's voice. "Please. Don't go down there."

I back away. Stumble. Almost fall.

Sophie tilts her head. Still smiling. "You already did."

I run back to the car. Lock the doors. Hands shaking so bad I can barely get it in gear.

I drive. Don't care which direction. Just away.

The streetlights blur past. Orange. Orange. Orange.

I blink.

I'm in my driveway.

My house. Both cars. Front door still open from when I ran out.

The clock on the dash says 1:47 AM.

Same time as when I left. At least I think.

I sit there staring at the house. At that open door.

I never left. I couldn't have. Time didn't move.

But I drove. I know I drove. I saw streets. Saw Sophie. Saw—

My phone buzzes.

I look up at the house. At the dark windows.

Another text.

My hands are numb on the wheel.

Another.

I should drive away. Should try again. Should floor it and not stop until I'm in another state.

But I can't move.

I look at the clock. 1:47 AM.

Look at the house. The open door.

Look at my hands on the wheel.

They're shaking. But I can't feel them anymore.

I blink.

I'm at the kitchen table.

Not in the car. At the table.

My keys are in my hand but I'm not in the car. I'm sitting in the same chair I've been sitting in for days. At least I think. I'm staring at the basement door.

The door that's open. Just a crack.

How long have I been here?

I try to remember. Try to piece it together.

I saw myself standing behind my husband. I dropped my keys. I ran out the front door. Got in my car. Drove away.

Right?

I look at the keys in my hand. They're right here. I'm holding them.

But the front door is still open. I can see my car in the driveway through the window.

My phone buzzes. I don't remember picking it up but it's in my other hand.

Text from Henley's number.

"Mom where are you"

I stare at it. Try to type back. My fingers won't move right.

Another text.

"Grandma says you're supposed to pick me up"

I look at the clock on the wall. How long has it been? Days? A week?

I don't know.

Another text.

"Mom?"

I try to respond. The letters come out wrong. Scrambled. I delete them. Try again.

"Coming soon bug"

But I'm not. I'm sitting at this table. I've been sitting here.

I hear it then.

Laughing.

Henley's laugh. Coming from upstairs.

But Henley isn't here. She's at her grandmother's.

The laugh gets louder. Higher. A manic edge.

It goes on and on. Rising in pitch. Not stopping.

I stand up. The chair scrapes back.

"Henley?"

The laugh keeps going. Getting faster. More desperate.

I walk to the stairs. Start climbing.

The laugh is coming from her room.

I open the door.

Empty.

But the laugh is still there. All around me. Inside the walls.

I back out. Close the door. The laugh stops.

Silence.

I'm at the kitchen table again. How did I get here?

Keys in my hand. Phone in the other.

Like I never moved.

The basement door is open wider now. A foot. Maybe more.

I can see the stairs going down.

How long have I been sitting here?

I check my phone. Messages from Henley. From mom. From my brother.

The timestamps are wrong. Some say today. Some say three days ago. Some are dated next week.

I try to call mom. The line is dead.

Try Henley. Same thing.

Try 911.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"I'm trapped. I need help. I'm at—"

"You're at 4758 Maple Street. We know."

My stomach drops. I didn't tell them the address.

"Ma'am, you've called seventeen times in the past hour."

"No I haven't. This is my first—"

"You're at the kitchen table. Basement door is open. You can't move."

"How do you—"

"You need to go downstairs, ma'am."

"What?"

"Go down to the basement. It's the only way out."

I hang up.

The phone rings immediately. Unknown number.

I answer without thinking.

"Don't hang up," my own voice says.

I drop the phone.

Laughing. I can hear the laughing.

I stand up. Force myself up. My legs barely work.

I walk to the front door. It's still open. Has been open this whole time.

I step through.

I'm in the kitchen. At the table.

I try again. Walk to the door. Step through.

Kitchen. Table.

Again.

Kitchen.

Again.

Kitchen.

I can't leave. Every door leads back here.

I sit back down. Not because I want to. Because there's nowhere else to go.

The basement door is fully open now.

I can see all thirteen steps.

Something is moving at the bottom. In the dark. Can't make out what.

My phone buzzes. I check it. I don't know why. Text from Henley.

"why did you leave me"

I type back with shaking hands.

"I didn't baby I'm here I'm trying"

Another text.

"you left and didn't come back"

I stare at the screen.

Another text.

"i'm still waiting"

The timestamp says three years from now.

I hear footsteps. Above me. Someone walking through the house.

"Hello?"

The footsteps stop. Then start again. Coming down the stairs from the second floor.

Getting closer.

I should run. Should hide.

But I can't move.

The footsteps reach the kitchen. Stop right behind me.

I can't turn around. Can't make my body move.

"Look how big I am." Henley's voice. I turn around.

Nothing.

The house is silent again.

Just me. The table. The open basement door.

I check my phone. No service. Time says 1:47 AM. Same time as when I left.

Or tried to leave.

The basement door is calling to me. Not with sound. With something else. A pull. Like gravity.

I stand up. Walk toward it.

One step. Two steps.

I'm at the threshold. Looking down.

I can see something at the bottom now. A shape. Wrong proportions. Standing in the dark.

My husband's voice comes from behind me.

"Don't go down there. Please. Don't go down there."

I turn. He's at the table. Where I was just sitting. Staring at me.

But his mouth isn't moving.

"Please," the voice says again. From the basement. From the shape.

Using his voice.

I take the first step down.

The door slams shut above me. Locks.

I'm in the dark. Complete darkness.

I can hear breathing. Not mine. Something else's.

The shape is closer now. Right in front of me.

I try to back up. Hit the door. It won't open.

"Let me out."

The breathing gets closer.

I can feel it now. Cold like basement air. Wrong like sound that arrives too early.

And I hear that laugh again. Henley's laugh. The manic one that doesn't stop.

Rising in pitch. Getting faster. Breaking apart.

It's coming from me.

I'm laughing and I can't stop.