My mom was leaving for Colorado this morning. I didn't know what time she was leaving. I woke up at about 5:50, hearing the dogs bark in the house. I was a bit confused about why they were barking, but after a minute or two I was up and fully awake. The dogs had been put in their cages at night, so I figured maybe my mom had left for the airport and let them out this morning. As I sat in the dark listening to them bark though... dread started creeping over me...
They didn't stop barking. They kept barking, and barking, and barking. Loud, aggressive barking. I could tell one of the dogs was directly outside my bedroom door, barking. My mind started swirling with terrible thoughts, bringing back the last time someone had been in our house... I couldn't tell if there was someone at my door or not... I listened at the door, but all I could hear was the barking... I stood there by my door - which was still locked - with fear and indecision for a minute before I decided I needed to do something.
I grabbed my phone and sat down on the floor against the door. I called the house phone. Figured that if my parents were still home, they would answer. The phone rang, and I couldn't hear it ringing in the rest of the house. Nobody picked up. I waited a few seconds and then dialed again. I got a busy signal. For a moment, my fear spiked... I couldn't hear our phones ringing and then it didn't work the second time, and I was terrified to think of what that might mean... So to reassure myself, I waited a few more seconds, then dialed again. I could barely hear the phone ringing in the house this time, so I felt safe in thinking that no one was tampering with it, but still nobody answered. I called my mom's phone - no answer. I called my dad's phone - no answer.
At this point, I was slumped against my door, feeling alone and scared... I still didn't know what to do, but I knew I couldn't just sit there... The dogs had been barking for over 15 minutes at this point...
I finally decide that I need to open my bedroom door and check the house... so I take my phone - punching in 911 so that I would only need to hit 'send' if I needed it - and start to unlock the door... And then my dad calls me. He said they tried to make it to the phone, but couldnt answer fast enough. I asked if they were home, and they said they were on their way to the airport. He asked what I was calling about, and I said, "The dogs keep barking at something and it's really starting to freak me out..."
My dad tells me they may be barking at Mr. Kitty (the stray cat outside), but when I tell him they've been barking for several minutes, he tells me they're probably just upset about mom leaving this morning. I stayed on the phone with him and opened my door to turn on the lights and check the house. No one was here, and the dogs stopped barking when they saw me. I told dad everything was fine, and he suggested that I go back to sleep in their room so the dogs would calm down.
As if I could go back to sleep.
After hanging up the phone, relief and adrenaline washed through me... I was shaking and on the verge of tears... I'm reliving so many of the fears and terrible thoughts I had on that day several years ago... Fears that weren't easy to get over in the first place... I still feel scared and right now, more than anything, I wish Kevin was here... Unfortunately, the best I can do is curl up in my bed and wish for my nightmares to go away...