The living room door opened and Emily turned around. Her eyes widened when she saw James coming in.
‘Sorry, I’ve got to go,’ she mumbled to Rose. Before she could reply, Emily walked passed James, into the hallway, out of the front door and across the driveway. The gravel protested under her feet, a brutal disturbance of a street at rest. Emily started to regret she still went to see them this late at night.
She sprinted around the corner towards her bike, where she got swallowed by darkness. Startled, she looked up, but none of the street lights were on. It felt as if they had mutually agreed that whatever would happen down here wasn’t meant for anyone else’s eyes.
Emily groped for the keys in her bag. She anxiously looked up at the house, but the darkness obstructed her view. She finally found her key chain and her shaking hands tried to insert the right key into the lock.
The moment the lock jumped open, she heard a door. Once more, the crushing of the grey-white pebbles and footsteps rushing closer. The lack of lights seemed to enlarge every sound.
Emily swung her leg over the saddle and pushed with all her strength. Her bike started moving: she bounced off the sidewalk, onto the road and into the dark street. Centimetres turned into metres, and in the distance, she saw one lamppost, a bright spot in the darkness.
With a shock, her bike halted, Emily’s foot slipped from the pedal and her chest bumped into her handlebar. The light of the lamppost flickered one more time before it went out as well.
*****
I wrote this scene as an assignment for the Writers Academy (Schrijversacademie). It was a great way to find out how choosing the right landscape/decor can reflect your character’s emotions (max 300 words).