It was finally Saturday, but Zoey still had to work. The entire day was busy, and most of the customers were teens. They bustled all day long about the festival happening in a few days. The festival had to have been the most exciting thing that happened in their town

The festival was held for the first time five years ago and it went so well that the town decided to have it every harvest moon. Children would always come dressed up in costumes, whether it was near Halloween or not. Most dressed as stories of the beast. The festival was full of games, food and tons of prizes. Zoey used to love the festival as it was all fun and games to hold an event for this mysterious shadow but lately she had a hard time going back.

Work went back slow but soon Zoey was finally done. She thanked Ann a million times as she agreed to take over her shift. She raced home so excited to see her brothers as it had been too long! Zoey hurriedly went inside and changed into something more presentable and waited for them to arrive.

Finally, the doorbell rang, and she heard her mom talking to someone at the door. She ran down the stairs and saw her sister with her kids in tow. They said hi to their grandma then raced outside to the playground that Zoey's mom and dad had built for them. "Charlotte!" Zoey wrapped her arms around her sister and pulled her into a hug. She looked the same as the last time Zoey had seen her, but it had been only a couple of weeks. Charlotte had her recently dyed honey hair pulled into a bun. Her eyes held a tiredness which could be explained by the mountain of kids.

Charlette flinched and lightly hugged her back. She and Zoey never had a good relationship. Zoey was a baby when she moved out of the house so they never got close. Whenever she came home to visit, Zoey would feel as though Charlette was avoiding her and would mostly focus on her parents or brothers.

Her husband, Sean, came in behind, and Zoey hugged him since she considered him one of her brothers. She felt as though they had the best relationship out of her siblings even though he was her brother-in-law.

"Charlotte, come sit while we wait for your brothers." Charlie and Adam lived in a city which was about an hour away. They both went to college there and decided to stay and live there. Her parents had thought about moving there to be closer to them, but we love Aria too much, and her sister lives here also.

After talking to Charlotte for some time, the doorbell rang again. Darrell opened it up to both his sons and their wives. Zoey's brother Charlie had been married to his wife for about seven years and they have three kids. Her brother Adam on the other hand had been married for four years.

Zoey smiled widely as they came into the room. Charlie's children did the same thing as Charlottes and ran out to play with their cousins. While Eleanor, Charlie's wife, held her 10-month-old baby. Zoey looked at both her brothers noticing how much older they looked than the last time. They had the same auburn hair as her mom but hers was becoming more peppered with grays. Charlie's eyes were a forest green which he got from their dad whereas Adams were a darker shade of their mom's eyes. Zoey had wondered where she got the honey eyes but Elise had informed her, they were from her grandfather. She hated her eyes growing up since she wanted them to be blue.

They sat down on the couches and began to talk about everything the family have missed. They spoke on and on about life now and life back when they were kids. Most of the conversations were even before Zoey was born, so she felt out of place. She usually felt this way at family gatherings since she was too old to play with the kids but was too young to talk with the adults.

She practically stayed silent but occasionally laughed with them. Sometimes her name would be spoken in stories, but it was rare. Growing up, Zoey felt like her sibling hated her. They always picked on her and called her names because she was so much younger than them. Zoey was the youngest, so she was the most annoying one to them. She missed them when they left because the house became empty when everyone was gone.

Something Zoey noticed was whenever her mom would bring up stories where Zoey was involved, she would leave her out of it. She didn't understand why her mom was doing it. Maybe she didn't realize Zoey had been there? She brushed it off since Elise was getting older and her memory was fading.

We heard a beep sound from the kitchen. "Dinner time!"

Elise shouted joyfully as she left to turn off the stew that had been cooking in the crockpot all day. Charlie went to tell the kids dinner was ready while we all took a seat at the table. The family dug into the delicious beef stew that was prepared and the buttered toast. Her family continued to talk and laugh while Zoey watched her cute little nephew made faces while Charlotte tried to feed him the stew.

Suddenly Charlie's deep voice rang through the room, causing everyone to be silent. "I have an announcement! I got the promotion!" He boasted as they all praised him. Charlie had been working so hard for it.

"Congratulations, Charlie!" Adam praised while patting him on the back. "We also have an announcement," Adam exclaimed while looking at Lillian.

"We're pregnant!" They announced. So much joy was in their eyes, and everyone was so thrilled for them, but deep down, Zoey felt a bit envious of all their accomplishments. After the cheers and congratulations died down, the room had become quiet.

"So Zoey, anything new?" Adam asked me, and suddenly everyone's eyes were on me. "No, not really..."

"Really nothing? I doubt that. Did you decide to start college next semester?"

"Uh no,"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Are you still working at that old café?"

"Y-yes." She could cut the disappointment with a knife it was so thick.

"You better hurry and start college. You won't be young forever, you know." Adam stated while taking a drink of water from his glass. Zoey put her head down but nodded.

"He's right, Zoey. You should be out dating too. Before you know it, you'll be too old to have children if you wait too long."

"But I'm only nineteen. I've still have plenty more years to date and get married."

"Why not start now? Is there anyone in the town you're interested in?"

"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to fill them in on Bret.

Charlie huffed, irritated by her answers. They all were. The disappointment filled the room, which made it feel like Zoey couldn't breathe. Eventually, the topic got off her, and they focused on something else.

All through dinner, she quietly ate her stew, never saying a word. She wanted to leave so bad and go hide in her room, but it would probably make matters worse.

After an hour or so, they started to say their goodbyes. After they all left, Zoey turned to go back to her room, but Elise stopped her. "You should think about what they said. Do you want to be unaccomplished, or do you want to be more like your brothers and sister? You need to make a choice."

She snapped coldly, "go clean up."

Zoey tiredly cleaned up the mess of dinner. Afterward, she made her way upstairs. She plopped on her bed and felt a tear run down her cheek. She was still young, so she didn't get why it was such a big deal that she hadn't done these things. They had always treated her this way, though. Zoey have been a failure to them for as long as she could remember. Growing up, she strived to have straight As so she wouldn't disappoint them. She worked non-stop doing her homework and studying. It's really why Zoey didn't go with her friends that often or hang out with boys. She wanted her parents to have something they could be proud of her for, but they didn't even notice how hard she was trying. There was always something that she didn't have, they wanted.

Her tears had soaked her t-shirt when Zoey decided to stop crying.

"Ugh, what is wrong with me!" It would have just been so much easier if I had gone to college! I just... I just wish I didn't have this life anymore!"

After the words were spoken, the familiar feeling of being watched washed over her. Zoey groaned, now it's watching me in my bedroom!

She curled into a ball and shut her eyes tight, trying not to acknowledge it. It was unusual how much Zoey had gotten this feeling in the past week. She wondered if she should tell people about it, but they might think she's crazy. She thought about telling Amber when she came in a few days.

The feeling somehow grew stronger as if whatever it was standing right next to her.

Zoey jumped up and flipped on her lamp as fast she could and scanned to room. There was no one there as usual, but the feeling did fade a little.

"Please l-leave me alone," she whispered, a tear falling down her cheek. "Please leave me alone!" She then shouted, but the feeling was persistent.

"Zoey! What are you yelling about?! Go to bed!" Her dad shouted from the other room. Zoey rolled her eyes and laid back into her bed. She fell asleep with something or someone watching her.

Thanks for reading!!