After

'''Note: This isn't exactly fiction. It's what could've happened. Thank Petrov it didn't happen in this timeline.'''

Realisation

I don't remember much. I had an awful dream and then all of a sudden it ended in a "bang". The "bang" I mention is what awoke me to a pigsty of my room. Odds and ends were scattered about and I felt sick to my stomach. I barely remembered the night before as well. Whatever happened must've totally trashed the house. I got up and I hurled into a huge puddle of bile. It mostly smelled of strong alcohol. Hangover was all I thought. Though whatever happened that fateful night seemed to be a blur, I fit the pieces together that it was a huge party.

I put my slippers on and carefully tiptoed out of my room. The hallway wasn't much better. Confetti covered the entirety of the hardwood floor and there were empty pizza boxes scattered all over the stairs. Empty soda pop and beer cans made deafening crunching sounds as I stepped on the seemingly infinite garbage in the silence.

The silence hadn't occurred much to me until I realised that the birds weren't chirping and I heard no neighbours mowing their lawns. Even the wooshing of cars wasn't present either. To me it just seemed like a chaotic morning and that I had to clean up the mess.

As I walked down the stairs I noticed a little sticky note stuck on the banister: ''Thanks for the party, Ricky! I had a blast. Call me please, babe XO -Peyton''

I crumpled the note immediately after reading the name signing off. Peyton was this hot girl at my high school and she dumped 6 guys before flirting with me. I threw the crumpled ball away and proceeded down to the kitchen.

On the counter was another note: ''Hey, Ricardo, your father and I are going out to see Grandma. Keep the house tidy. We'll be back in the morning tomorrow.''

Great. Not only did I wake up to see the house in a mess, but also I had to clean up before my parents got home. It was odd that they were not in the house yet. I checked the wall clock for the time and it read 11:30. Though the left 'til my parents would return was unsure, I drank some cold water, got out a broom and sweeped the upstairs hall. I disposed of the cans and boxes into a large garbage bag I left in the kitchen. When I'd finish, I'd go to the front and throw it into the big can.

I was the done with the entire upstairs just in time for lunch. I opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of ketchup and smeared some on pastrami and put it neatly on a slice of sourdough bread. Not much for a sandwich and the ketchup and meat was warm. I noticed the refrigerator wasn't working. I flicked the light switches, but the power didn't come on.

"For Christ's sake," I muttered to myself.

That was one more thing I had to fix. When I was done cleaning the entire house, I checked the fuse box in case someone from the party flipped the switches off. The switches were on which struck me as odd. I didn't recall a storm during the party. Maybe there was and my memory loss was the product of the hangover I had. I went outside afterward to throw away the big bag, but something stopped me. There was a thick fog in the air and it nauseated me.

Whatever it was I was scared. I don't wanna sound like a pussy, but I've always been scared of being in the dark and the unknown. To me, the dark is like the unknown and the unknown is like the dark. Both are mysterious and you can't perceive nor understand in 'em.

I got a flashlight from a kitchen cabinet and made some dinner. I ate the left over spaghetti by myself. I'd never know that no one would be coming for me.