A few days after cutting my hair, I meet my friend at the park. She shows up and just looks around. I walk up to her and set my hand on her shoulder. She jumps and turns around.
"Penny?"
I smile half-heartedly.
"What happened to you? What did you do with your hair?"
"Cut it."
"Why?"
I shrug. "Can we just go now? Please?"
"Sure."
"Where are we going anyway, Angel?"
"To my aunt's house."
I smile. "Oh. I can't wait to meet her."
"She's a sweet woman. She's so nice. I'm sure you'll like her."
I pull at my sleeves. "On whose side of the family is she your aunt?"
"My father's."
"Oh."
We arrive at her aunt's house in thirty minutes. I drop my bike and look behind me. I see my dad's car and duck behind a bush. I watch as he goes by, stops at the stop sign, and turns away. I watch as his car disappears and I step back out. I sigh.
"What was that for, Penny?"
"It was my father." I look up and stagger back. "Your aunt lives across from the Neibolt well house?"
"Uh...Yeah."
"Ugh." I turn around and we go inside.
"Aunt Reese? You home?"
"I'm in the living room, dear."
We get to the living room and I see a woman sitting on the couch. She smiles at me.
"Who's this sweet thing?"
"Oh. Aunt, this is my best friend Penny Rose Phillipson."
"She's beautiful."
I smile. "Thanks."
"I've got brownie cookies in the oven. I hope you'll like them. It's a new recipe." She gets up and staggers into the kitchen.
I walk around, looking at the pictures on the walls. "Hey, Reese?"
"You can call me aunt, dear. What is it?"
"Who are these pictures of?"
"Those pictures were left here."
I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look behind me. She smiles. I continue walking and looking. Finally, I stop at a picture with a man, a woman, and a little girl. The woman's pregnant. I study the woman's face carefully. I gasp and stumble back.
"Oh, goodness. Careful, dear."
"That woman is my mother. That man is my father."
"Really? That woman was my childhood friend. She was the nicest person I had ever met. And the toughest. She caused the bullies to leave me alone."
"Really?"
"Mmhm. Yes she did. You should be proud to have a mother like her."
"Oh. But, um, she's...dead."
"Oh. You poor thing. How'd she die?"
"She had coulrophobia and globophobia. And she was on her way home when she saw a clown holding balloons at a stoplight and she got into a car crash that killed her on impact."
"What about your siblings? Do you have any?"
"My father killed the one after me and the other two, which were twins, were killed. I'm not saying how. I don't want that image in my head again. It's bad enough that I had nightmares for four years after."
"Oh, that's so sad." She pulls me into a hug. She lets go. "Why don't you report your dad?"
"I'm afraid to. He also beats me. And he's tried to rape me. Or get me to sleep with him."
"That's not right. You need to turn him in soon."
"I'll be fine. I can manage."
"Oh. Alright. I won't tell anyone." She pats my head and goes to the kitchen.
************
After an hour, I walk over to a window and look out. I watch as the cars go by every now and then. So far, I've seen two red cars, a blue truck, and a pink van. Suddenly, I see a cat. I watch as the cat looks at me and rushes onto the well house lawn. It disappears in the house and I stand up. I glance behind me and walk over to the double doors. I glance behind me again and go out. I cut across the yard and walk up to the opening to the well house lawn. I see the cat sitting in the doorway. I walk up the sidewalk and the cat meows. It disappears into the house and I push open the door. It creaks loudly. I glance back and step inside.
"Hello? Anybody here?" I brush away giant cobwebs as I walk into the house. "Hello?"
Suddenly, the door slams shut and I jump with a shriek as everything goes black. I pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight. I look around and am suddenly face to face with a spider. I back away and turn around. I brush away a big web and I swear I see a human-like shape move past in the corner of my eye. The stairs suddenly creak and I whirl around. I see the shape of the cat. I walk towards the stairs. I brush a cobweb out of the way. I step on the first step and it groans loudly. I wince. The cat meows and licks its paw. I take go up two more steps and the cat races up the stairs. I go up the stairs the rest of the way and stop on the landing. I look down the hallway and swear I see someone watching me. I start moving towards the hallway when the cat meows. I stop and turn towards the second flight of stairs. The cat just sits there, watching me. I turn towards the hallway and see that the face is gone. I turn back towards the stairs and walk over there. The cat goes up the stairs and I follow after it.
I swear someone's following me. I turn around and look down the stairs. Nobody. I turn back around and continue up the stairs. I find a door at the top of the stairs. I look around and turn towards the door. I push open the door and it creaks. I step into the room and the floor moans.
"Gosh, it stinks in here." I look around. "Here, kitty kitty." The door slams shut and I whirl around. "Hello? Anybody there?"
"mEEow!"
"Oh, come here, kitty."
I turn around and watch as a pair of clown's hands reach out of the dark and pick up the cat. I step back and watch as a clown steps into the faint light. I drop my phone with the light facing up.
"P-p-p-p-p--"
"Pennywise!" He giggles. "Cute kitty." He sets the cat down and stands back up. He looks at me and smiles. I back away. "Oh. Don't run away, Penny. Won't you be nice and play with the clown? You came all this way. What's wrong with staying?"
"H-h-how are y-y-you even al-live? The L-losers killed y-you."
He giggles and steps closer. "Oh. I came back."
"H-how?" I glance down at my phone. He's too close to it to try and grab it.
"They only sent me back to the macroverse."
"You k-killed my b-brothers. Right in f-f-front of m-me."
"Of course I did. I was hungry. And they looked tasty." He suddenly disappears and I look around. I see something shiny and walk over to it. He suddenly appears right in front of me. I jerk back. "Ohh. Penny Rose Phillipson." He lifts up his hand and grabs me. "So beautiful. You remind me of Bevvy." He disappears again and I run for the door this time. I yank open the door. I run down the stairs across the landing, down the next flight of stairs and towards the door. I yank open the door and race to the road. I collapse in the middle of the road and gasp for air.
I glance behind me and jerk back. Pennywise is standing in the entryway with a bunch of balloons. He grabs a balloon and leans in with it.
"Balloon, my dear?"
"No!" I stand up. "You were right. I am just like Beverly. Because I'm not afraid of you. You are just a mere sliver in my traumatic past. You're nothing compared to everything else that has happened." His grin turns to a snarl. "I'm not afraid of you! You aren't scary! You are just a stupid clown that eats children! Go ahead and be mad! Haunt me if you want to! It's not going to change a thing! You are just a clown that's dressed up to look scary! Nothing more! Now leave! Me! ALONE!!"
I pick up a rock and throw it at him. Surprisingly, I hit him right in the middle of his forehead. I turn around and go back to my best friend's aunt's house, the cat following me. I pick it up and take it in with me. I'm not going to let that clown ruin my life.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
