I have decided to make a Reddit to share this stuff that happened when I was a young man. I was nine when we move to laurel creek. I hated it. I had to leave all of my friends in Durham behind and start over. I never understood until I was older we moved to the small town life to get away from my mother’s abusive boyfriend. She just told me at the time we needed a new adventure. The day we arrived and pulled into the driveway of that single story two bedroom home will be a day I never forget. The day I met Noah.
I was carrying a box that contained my PlayStation two and my games into the front door when I heard a voice.
“Hi” it spoke from behind me, I turned visibly startled and seen a boy, not much taller than myself but quite more rotund. I sat my box down
“Hi” I said back with a smile. He smiled back and said “My names Noah, what’s yours?” I stepped off of the porch and down to where Noah was standing “My names Luke” I stated as Noah’s smile widened “Like Luke Skywalker.” He said excited. “Yes!” I said realizing myself and Noah were going to get along.
As I said that my mother stepped out of the home brushing her brown hair out of her eyes. “Well hello.” She said to Noah puzzled. “Hello ma’am.” Noah said shyly then continued “I live next door and I wanted to say hello.” The movers from the van walked by us arms loaded with boxes as my mother spoke “Then Hello neighbor, I’m Mrs. Davis.” Noah smiled at her. My mother looked down at me and cocked her head to the side “Hey Luke, why don’t you and Noah go play in the yard while we finish up getting the stuff in the house.” My smile grew to the largest it had been since we arrived, and I ran down into the front yard Noah in pursuit.
The august air was thick and hot as we ran through the yard. We got in the middle of the medium sized front yard and I stopped.
“What do you play?” I asked Noah as he caught up, slightly winded.
“I like star wars if you couldn’t tell by what I said earlier and this!” he said pointing to his faded star wars tee shirt.
“Me too!” I said with enthusiasm as the rest of the evening the thick air was filled with the noise of lightsabers and blasters from our mouths.
As we began to get tired I heard a yell from the next house down the street.
“Noah!” the voice said.
“C’mon Luke come meet my mom!” Noah said as he turned and took off, I followed right on his heels. We ran over to the slightly overgrown yard next door and onto his concrete driveway, Noah’s mother stood in the front door, she had blonde curly hair like Noah’s that hung down to her shoulders, her hands rested on her hips.
“Mom.” Noah began to speak between heavy breaths “this is Luke, his mom and him are moving in next door!” Noah exclaimed excitedly. “Well hello darling.” She said to me with a thick southern accent. “Where are all from?” she asked looking down at me smiling. “Me and my mom are from Durham Miss.” I said putting my hands behind my back. She smiled and stuck her hand out, I weakly shook her sweaty hand “you can call me Mrs. Davenport.” She said releasing my hand “c’mon Noah, dinner is ready.” She patted Noah on the shoulder “Bye Luke.” Noah said sounding disappointed. “Bye Noah.” I said as I turned and ran back to my new home, I ran up the stairs and inside where my mom was arranging boxes in the living room. “Mom I made a friend already.” I said with excitement. “See, I told you this would be a new adventure.” She said smiling at me.
The rest of the summer break was filled with star wars in the front yard and the woods surrounding my house and sleep overs, but Noah always came to my house. He told me his dad works early in the mornings and needed sleep. I wouldn’t find out the real reason also until we were older. But when school started, Laurel creeks true nature began to come to light.
Noah and I had the same teacher that year when school started, so obviously we did everything together. We were outcasts, no one played with us on the playground or sat with us at lunch. But that was okay, because we had each other.
One chilly October day we were on the playground and I noticed something, a man was walking outside of the fence of the playground, he was in a black jacket and dark jeans. His face wrinkled and he looked almost upset as he looked at all of us. Noah was sitting in front of me in the mulch making blaster noises when he realized I wasn’t paying attention.
“What?” Noah said Turing to see what I was looking at.
“Who is that guy?” I asked Noah inquisitively.
“That’s Mr. Carmichael, my mom said to pray for him.”
I raised an eyebrow “why?”
“My momma said that his daughter went missing over the summer and he is looking for her every day.”
“What happened to her” I asked
“I don’t know, but the bigger kids said Mr. Holloway got her.” Noah said looking down
“Mr. Holloway?” I said intrigued
“Yeah, we aren’t supposed to talk about him, that’s what Morgan said.” Morgan was Noah’s seventeen year old brother who routinely insulted us.
“Oh okay.” I said ending that part of the conversation, even though this Mr. Holloway had peaked my interest.
And looking back now as an adult. I wish Noah had never mentioned it.
When school let out for winter break that year Noah and I were ecstatic. My mom had bought us Attack of Clones on DVD that we could watch on my PS2 and hot chocolate to watch it with. My mother picked us both up from school that Friday evening and drove us to my house. We quickly ran in and to my room and started up my ps2. Throughout the whole movie I could not get thoughts of Mr. Holloway out of my head why does he get you? Does he know when you talk about him? It had been this way since October when Noah had initially told me.
“I have to pee.” I told Noah and exited my room.
Instead of going to the bathroom I walked down the hall to the kitchen where my mother stood drinking wine watching a soap opera.
“mom, have you heard of Mr. Holloway.” I said timidly shying away from her as she looked at me and raise an eyebrow “where did that come from?” she said quickly “Is Morgan trying to scare you two again?” she asked with a hand on her hip. “No mom, I was just wondering.” I said backing towards the hall. “No son I have no clue who Mr. Holloway is.” She said looking back at her soap opera. “Okay” I said as I turned and headed back towards my room. Noah sat cross legged in the floor with the movie paused.
“I heard what you asked your mom.” He said looking worried
“Oh” I said rubbing the back of my neck
“My brother said if we talk about him too much he will come get us.” Noah said looking at the ground
“Who told your brother this?” I asked him as I sat next to him on the floor.
“Can we just finish the movie Luke?” Noah said not looking up from the floor of my dimly lit bedroom.
“Yeah” I said looking back at my small TV
A light snow began to fall outside, Noah and I watched it through the window. I heard the house phone ring and from the other end of the house my mother yelled “Luke can you get that?” I yelled back “Yes!” and ran into the living room Noah following.
“Davis residence, Luke speaking.” I said just as mom told me how to answer the phone.
“Well hi Luke this is Mrs. Davenport, is your mom around?” she asked
“Yes ma’am hold on.” I said back into the small house phone.
“Mom it’s for you!” I yelled as she came out of her room in her robe and took the phone from me, she seemed frustrated.
“Can we go play in the snow?” I whispered to her as she took the phone. She nodded as Noah and I ran to my room to get our coats.
As we re-entered the living room I overheard my mom on the phone
“They have got to do something about this, hang on Phoebe I got to talk to the boys.”
She held the phone away from her mouth and said “Boys I’ve changed my mind it’s too cold to go outside.”
“But mom!” I said disappointed we can’t play in the first snow of the year.
“No butts, go play video games of something.”
We both hung our heads and went back to my room. The rest of winter break my mom had been up our butts it seemed. We weren’t allowed to go outside after dark even if noah wanted to go home he had to stay at my house. But we had fun, we slept on the couches in the living room and played star wars all day. Until school started back in January.
The classroom was filled with whispers, as our teacher Mrs. Jenny had wrote “Special presentation.” On the board. “Okay guys.” Mrs. Jenny clapped and got our attention. As she clapped a tall police officer walked in, his large brimmed hat pulled down so far we almost couldn’t see his eyes.
“Officer Riley is here today to talk to us about strangers and safety.” He removed his hat revealing a shiny bald head and small blue eyes.
“Hey guys, as she said I’m Officer Riley with the laurel creek police department and I’m here to talk to you about the danger of strangers.”
He babbled on about not getting into people we don’t knows cars and such for what seemed like hours, and as he talked I looked to the back of the class and seen an empty desk.
“That’s where Emily sits.” I thought to myself as the bell rang to dismiss us from class.
We all stood and Officer Riley thank us for paying attention and told us to be safe. As Noah and I walked down the hall I asked him “what was that about?” Noah shrugged and we walked out the front door of the school. There was a poster stapled to the pole out front. In big bold letters it read “MISSING: EMILY WILKINSON” I pointed to the poster and looked at Noah. Noah’s eyes got as wide as saucers as he read the poster.
That evening when I got home I went straight to my room and sat on my bed “that’s why Emily wasn’t at school.” My nine year old mind raced, did she just disappear. Or was it Mr. Holloway. I shuddered at the thought of the name.
Later that night around nine o clock my mom stuck her head in. I had just finished my math homework and was about to play PlayStation hoping she wouldn’t notice it was past my bedtime.
“Alright Luke its bedtime.” She said as I sighed and turned off my desk lamp.
“Goodnight honey I love you.” She said as she walked over and tucked me in after I had climbed into bed.
“I love you too momma.” I said as she planted a kiss on my forehead.
“Sweet dreams.” She said as she walked out of my room and flipped of my light.
The light from the streetlight put a blue hue to my room. I looked outside and wondered. “Where did Emily go?” again as the same shudder ran down my spine.
As I was thinking this a blur passed my peripheral vision on the street. And to this day as an adult I wished I had never looked.
I looked out the window and seen a tall man, he had a large bag over his shoulder and by the way he was carrying it I could tell it was heavy, he sort of shuffled. His long tattered coat nearly dragging the ground as he shuffled down the street towards the dirt road past my house that led to a place I wouldn’t go until I was older. But as he was walking, the wind blew his coat and his face was visible for just a moment. And he was extremely pale. My heart dropped, my eyes welled with tears, and I urinated in my bed. For I knew I had seen Mr. Holloway