Jordyn came up behind me and asked me what I was doing. I slammed the yearbook shut and said nothing. She gave me a weird look and said she had to go home and would see me tomorrow.

So JW44 must be real. The yearbook proved it.

I thought about Rachel Farmer and JW44 all night. I haven’t been sleeping very well lately. I keep hearing scratching at my window so I get up and check, thinking it might be Joseph wanting me to let him inside. Sometimes I think I see him hiding in the shadows.

During the daytime, it doesn’t seem so scary, but at night it’s different. After I go to bed I hear sounds coming from the vent above my desk. I think it might be Joseph Wither whispering my name over and over through the vent in my bedroom.

But that’s impossible, right?

The first few nights, I went into my mom and dad’s room and told them I was having a bad dream. My mom would walk me back to my room and lie with me in bed until I fell asleep. But after the third night, my dad said enough was enough and I needed to get to sleep on my own.

I’ve been trying, I really have. Last night I didn’t hear anything coming from the vents and there wasn’t any scratching at the window. It was quiet. Too quiet. Now I’m afraid I did something wrong and he won’t come back.

Beth Crow Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Beth Crow

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

I sit at the kitchen table, a lighter, a pack of cigarettes, a cup of coffee and a pocket-size can of pepper spray in front of me. I’ve been sitting here for hours watching in case whoever spray-painted our house comes back. When the sun finally comes up, I still can’t bring myself to move from this spot. I pick up the pack of cigarettes, tap one out and roll it around in my fingers. I haven’t smoked a cigarette since I found out I was pregnant with Violet, haven’t even craved them until I found the half-smoked pack and lighter in the pocket of Max’s jacket. I can’t even be mad at him.

I started smoking when I was in ninth grade and didn’t stop until I was in my midtwenties. I just was hoping he would be smarter than I was. I don’t even plan on saying anything to him about it. I suppose it’s the least of our worries.