Chapter 9

"Martha?" I ask, in shock. I look at her perfect curly hair and deep brown eyes, matching her shirt.

"Yes, Martha. Nice to see you too," Martha says, gesturing me inside.

I walk past her slowly and into the living room. Ray is sitting on the couch and he has a bowl of popcorn on his lap. He looks at me and does a closed mouth grin (with popcorn filled cheeks) and waves me over.

"Hey, Jordan! C'mere. We're about to start the movie!" Ray attempts to say, with all the food in his mouth.

"Hi, Ray," I say. I approach him and sit next to him on the couch. "I didn't know Martha was going to be here."

I try to sound and act casual about it, but that's really hard, okay? I do the whole pick-at-my-cuticles-subtly thing. But Ray laughs and shakes his head at me.

"I didn't either. But you know," Ray says, then his voice goes to a whisper. "I think her mother sent her here. She always wants Martha out of the house."

I find it hard to contain my laughter. So I cover my face with one of Ray's couch pillows. Then a question finds its way into my mind.

I understand the fact that it is rude to get into someone else's business, but I can't get rid of the question. It's stabbing at me and won't stop..

I use a whisper voice as well, since who knows where Martha is right now.

"What ever happened between you two?"

Ray sighs. "We really weren't ever meant to be. We went on some dates. She's a nice girl. Just, not for me. Know what I mean?"

Not really, I don't. I haven't ever had a boyfriend. But I nod anyways.

Martha returns, a box full of soda cans in one hand and three bowls in the other. She puts the sodas down on the table in front of the couch and takes the bowl of popcorn from Ray and splits in into the three bowls. She hands one to each of us.

"Thanks," I say.

"No prob," Martha says. Prob? Didn't that get old in, like, middle school?

Ray presses play on the movie and Martha flips off the lights. She decides to squeeze herself on the other side of Ray, forcing us both to scoot over.

{*WARNING: May contain spoilers on The Ring, so if you don't want to hear them, sorry folks*}

When the tape plays in the movie for the first time, I see Martha cover her eyes with a blanket. She screeches, making me literally laugh out loud. Just as the phone rings in the movie, to announce that the girl has seven days left, the actual house phone in Ray's house rings.

Martha screams and hides under the covers. "DON'T YOU DARE ANSWER THE FLIPPIN' PHONE OR I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU BOTH," Martha yells to us.

"Don't worry, even if we do answer the phone, we'll all end up dead anyways," Ray says, causing me to laugh again.

The phone stops ringing, and as the movie continues, Martha gets more and more freaked out. She begins to mutter soothing words to herself, and has been hiding under her blanket for a lot of the movie.

"It's a movie. It's a movie. Samara's not real," Martha says.

Me and Ray exchange looks of amusement. Then I put a hand over my mouth to, once again, force my laughter to stay inside.

At the third point where the phone rings, once again, Ray's home phone rings. I look over at Ray and he's smiling. I can see under his blanket a light from his phone. On his screen, it shows that he's calling 'Home.' I give him a grin.

"Martha, I believe the phone is for you," Ray says.

"No. Shut up. Just shut up," Martha says, plugging her ears.

************************************

By the end of the movie, it was almost eleven. Martha called her mom to go home around ten, claiming she was sick to her stomach. So now, at midnight, me and Ray sit on the couch watching Frozen.

And yes, we are both singing. Yes, we both know all the words. Don't judge.

My phone rings and I look down and see its a call from Mom.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Why aren't you home?" Mom asks.

"I'm at Ray's house. Watching Frozen," I explain.

"At midnight?"

"At midnight," I confirm.

"You have been alone. With a boy?" Mom asks.

"No, actually. Martha was here. And you know Ray, he's a nice guy," I explain. Ray catches my eye and smirks. I give him a thumbs up.

I hear mom sigh on the other end. "Fine. But listen, I can't come get you. And no way, I am not letting you walk home. Can you ask Ray if he has a guest room?"

"Yeah, hang on." I feel a burst of happiness in my stomach which is very strange.

"Hey, don't even think about sharing a room or I will personally disown you, understand?" My mom demands.

"Alright, mom." I turn to Ray. "Hey, do you have a guest room I can stay in for the night?"

Ray smiles. "Yeah, it's just next to my room."

"He does, mom. See you tomorrow," I say.

"Alright. Love you Jordan," my mom says. Just before hanging up, I hear my mom yell, "I'm watching you, Missy!"

I look up at Ray who is now focusing all his attention on Frozen. I smile at the lit up look in his eyes. He's like an eight year old girl.

***********************************

"Alright, you can sleep in here. If you need anything, let me know," Ray says, showing me the guest room. "I'm right next door if Samara comes to get you."

"Alright. Good to know," I answer. "There's always that possibility."

I walk into the room and close the door, and Ray enters his own room. I walk up to the guest bed and sit on it. The comforter is red and soft.

Before anything else can happen, though, I hear my phone buzz.

'Do you want to build a snowman?' -Ray

'Go away, Ray.'

'Okay, byyyyeeee...'

Then my phone rings. It also shows Ray on my caller ID. I put my phone on the dresser by the bed and ignore it. I lay down and try to fall asleep.

But my phone alerts me that I have a new voice mail. I groan and reach for my phone. Too far...

I click to listen, and press 'Speaker phone.'

It's muffly for a moment before a scratchy voice says, "Seven days."

What a surprise.

I chuckle to myself and call Ray back. He picks up. "What's up, homie?" He asks casually.

"Nice try, Ray. I have caller ID," I explain.

"Psshhh, I don't have a clue what you're talking about..."

"Mmhmm yeah..."

"Conceal, don't feel. Don't let them know....... Well now they know... LET IT GO!" Ray says.

"Oh my gosh, Ray! You are so off key!" I say.

"You're just jealous, Missy."

"Whatever you say."

"I'm gonna go to bed now, okay?" Ray asks.

"Okay."

************************************

"Now, now, what do you want for breakfast?" Ray asks.

"Hey, where are your parents?" I ask. That's what was missing... Right.

"Oh, on a business trip. My dad wanted to take my mom. They're in Orlando," Ray explains. "Now what do you wish to eat?"

"I don't care."

"How about we have some of my famous cold cereal?" Ray proposes.

"Oh, of course."

"Yeah, I don't really want to cook right now. I'm tired," Ray explains.

"Good thing you didn't ask me to cook, because I can't, even if I weren't tired," I say with a laugh.

He pulls out Cheerios, Fruity Pebbles, and Cinnamon Life. Then he takes two bowls and milk.

"Which kind?" Ray asks.

"I can pour myself cereal, Ray," I explain.

"No, sit down," Ray commands. "What kind?"

I sigh with defeat. "Life, please."

After handing me my bowl of cereal, Ray sits down next to me. I look at his bowl and I am about ready to puke. He mixed all three of the cereals together.

"What's wrong with you?" I ask.

"I couldn't decide which one I wanted." Ray eats a spoonful.

"That's disgusting," I say, taking a bite of my own cereal.

"No, it's actually delicious. You should try it sometime."

Once we are both finished with out cereal, we go upstairs to Ray's room. Once again, it is spotless.

"Are you sure you're not OCD?" I ask, looking around at all the perfectly placed items in his room.

"Positive. I told you, I like it clean when people come over," Ray says, falling into his chair.

I sit in the one next to it. We just stay there for a while, with a peaceful silence between us. Then we look at each other and burst out laughing. And calm ourselves down. And look at each other again. And burst out laughing again. We laugh until I am certain tomorrow will be my funeral.