How Long Is Forever

Movie night. The only time me and mom had to spend together. It didn't bother me though, not like it used to. Being a single parent seemed quite difficult, leaving mom with two jobs just to give us this average house we stayed in. And no matter how many times I offered mom help, meaning me getting a job, she would tell me she'd rather me finish college. So that was the deal, I go to college and she works. Monday would be my first college semester I attend. Mom wouldn't stop telling me how proud of me she was, even buying me my first car last week. It was a used car that she bought from a friend who worked at a junkyard. Tonight's movie was Stardust, a space movie about aliens who attack men on the moon. A movie that she was hyped about renting this week. Sitting on the other end of the couch with my own blanket, I asked mom the usual while the movie credits came on. “So mom, how was work today?” Opening her bag of heated popcorn, she answered, “Not too bad. Dell didn't come in for work, so I earned a little extra for covering his shift. That's how I almost missed movie night with you.” “Oh,” I replied, having nothing else to say as the movie started. Movie night was my favorite night of the week. No matter how cheesy or lame the movie was, I could never tell mom that, and believe me, this movie was cheesy. But it wasn't about the movie. It was the only time mom had time for me. On Saturdays, her first shift didn't start until the afternoon, so she was able to sleep in longer instead of leaving out the house at six in the morning. I didn't wake up for school until seven, so I never could catch her to tell her to have a good day at work. So, I started writing her notes, leaving them on the kitchen table the night before. All we had...was each other. Halfway through the movie, my mother drank two sodas. As usual, she would pause the movie and call this little five-minute intermission- “Bathroom break,” She announced as she got up from the sofa. Heading down the hall, my mother went to the bathroom first. Checking my cellphone, it was now eleven at night. In another hour, my mom would be heading to bed. On weekdays, she would have been in bed an hour ago. The extra two hours mattered that much to us. Breaking my train of thought, I heard glass shatter! Behind that shatter, was a chilling scream. It was my mother's scream!! The scream came from the bathroom. I hopped off the couch and sprinted down the hall. Wiggling the doorknob didn’t budge the door open. The door was locked. My forehead began to sweat, as the screams continued, making my nerves even worst as I slammed my shoulder against the sealed door. “I'm coming mom!!” I yelled from the other end as I continued assaulting the door. Freezing me in place for a moment...I heard a growl. Not a dog's growl, but some sort of monstrous growl. A noise I had never heard before. A growl that was unidentifiable to the human ear. My mind attempted to create images of what else was on the other side of the door as I shortly realized...my mother was no longer screaming. Giving it my hardest shoulder charge against the door, the door busted open. The sight I was left with, was horrific. There indeed was broken glass from the bathroom window. There was also blood that smeared against the floor and the walls, leading to the open window. However, there was no sign of my mother. She was gone. One of her poco dotted socks and some sort of dagger were left behind. The dagger also had a stain of blood on it. It all happened so fast. We...we were just watching a movie together. The last movie night that it looked like we would have.