sleep seemed harder to come by nowadays, and it was no mystery why. anne had decided to burn her note a few days ago. pretended to make a mistake on some homework, threw the page in the fireplace and watched it burn. she had photos, she didnāt need the physical note any more, it only brought the fear that it would be pinned to her dead body. but unfortunately, the lack of note hadnāt made it any easier to sleep, chamomile tea, sleep encouraging supplements, nothing seemed to ease her mind. only time she slept seemed to be when she could absolutely no longer keep her eyes open no matter how hard she tried. and due to the light lamp light that came from the window next door, she imagined things were similar for blake. she felt guilty. he was only in danger because she might be. this was only an intense part of his life because of her.Ā
she wasnāt sure of the time but her mother had long gone to bed, and even her brother had stopped cussing at his computer to sleep, so it must be late. too late. but she couldnāt sleep, and her thoughts were haunting her. her deeds seemed to be haunting her. so why not add another deed to haunt her. tucking the bottom of her pyjama pants into her boots so they wouldnāt drag in the snow and pulling her cheer sweater from last season over her head to keep her warm. sheād put her pillows under her duvet to make it look like she was still there if her mother checked on her but she also put a note under them saying sheād gone to blakeās if they werenāt convincing enough. with that she pushed open her window and climbed carefully out onto the ledge, closing it most of the way behind her.Ā
sheād climbed out her own window, over the fence and up to blakeās window a number of times in her life, a number sheād lost count of over the years. but she hadnāt done it recently, and sheād forgotten how much harder it was in winter. after one small slip, she took her time, making sure her grip was good with each movement. her fingers felt frozen by the time she was by blakeās window, holding onto the trellis but she felt far better than she had in her room. poking her head in front of the window, she gave two soft knocks, hoping he was awake. she hadnāt even thought to check before sheād climbed up.
Blake had acquired somewhat of a routine by this point. Once his motherās tone of voice had shifted from suggestive to irritable about Blake sitting up late at night and playing Fortnite, he reluctantly switched off his PlayStation, got ready for bed and switched the light on his nightstand out just in time for his mother to say her final goodnight. Blake spent very little time under the covers after this, however. Once he was confident that his mother was fast asleep or had left the house to attend a nightshift a the hospital, he was up again and seated by his bedroom window in the desk chair he rarely used for studying or anything but propping his feet up on or keeping an eye on the Milton house.
Ever since the Halloween party, Blakeās attitude toward the Boogeyman case had shifted. The townās menace felt closer than ever, as if he had eyes on the teenagers at all times, including Anne and her family. Especially Anne and her family. With an old baseball bat resting between his knees and his elbow planting firmly on the desk beside him, Blake waited. What he was waiting for, he wasnāt sure but he would be ready for it, without a doubt.
It had been weeks since heād started watching the Milton house and nothing had happened yet, providing a reason for Blakeās surprise when he heard noise coming from the second story across the way.Ā He hopped out of his seat, baseball bat in one hand, the other firmly planted on his own window sill as he gawked out of the slightly foggy window, just in time to see Anne drop into the snow between their houses. He tucked the baseball bat away, certain that it would raise questions and moved to his door to meet her in the yard but quickly decided against it. Wearing nothing but his basketball shorts was fine in the in the warmth of his bedroom but as soon as his bare feet met the snow outside, he knew heād be useless. Unsure of his next move for a moment or two, the redhead shifted on his feet without getting anywhere and a moment later there was a knock at his window that made him jump out of his skin before turning on his feels to let his likely frozen girlfriend in.
āFreezing out there,ā he noted as he pulled the window open, giving Anne a hand to climb into his bedroom, despite the fact that she was practically a professional by now.Ā āAre you alright?ā heād skipped the part where he said hello but it was implied and besides, there were more pressing issues at hand. At least Blake was sure there had to be if something had motivated Anne to come trudging across the lawn to see him like this without so much of a text first, on a school night no less.