ᴡᴏʀꜱʜɪᴘ ᴍᴇ (ᴇᴊ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ)

7: Watching, Waiting

        The air was thick, and it felt like it was swallowing you whole. Your entire body was cold and shaking while your throat was left throbbing. It didn't feel like you could move. Everything was so heavy. The air, the darkness, your body, your head. It was like you were drowning, and a mixture of self-pity and guilt made up the water.

You didn't know what to do, and that didn't change even when morning came. You knew you weren't going to be able to make it to work. If you went you were more than likely to be sent home anyhow. If the cloud of dread around you hadn't been obvious before, it definitely was now. Ms. Marley would sniff out your secrets in seconds.

The world felt like a lie, and you felt like an idiot for being so sure you understood what reality was. Carson of all people had been the one with his story straight, and you had just brushed him off. He had been the one to warn you, the one to figure out it was Jack himself who was after revenge. He had been right about everything.

Now you were here, still laying on the floor and questioning your life. Blinking a few times, your eyes focused on the ceiling. As much as you wanted to lay here and rot, you owed it to Ms. Marley to at least tell her you wouldn't be able to come in today. You forced yourself to get up, drinking in a deep breath as you did so.

Looking to your right, you saw the window was still open. Trees outside swayed as rays of morning light poked through their branches. You gulped thickly. Jack had spared you for now, but your window served as a reminder he'd be back. You were left knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it. The wind outside whistled sharply, sending a cold breeze into the room. It was a cloudy, dull day with the only semi-vibrant color being the green of the foliage. The weather felt fitting.

You shuffled over to the window and peered out at the ground below. No footprints, no scuff marks, nothing. Jack was like a ghost. It was like he'd never been there, and as far as anyone else was concerned he hadn't. No one believed you before, nothing could be done before. It didn't matter that you knew who the killer was now. There was nothing you or anyone could do about it. A cold feeling of dread spread over you. The type of dread that sprouted from a complete loss of control. From knowing you were trapped in a situation you had no say over. There was nothing you could do but wait.

You closed the window and exhaled. Today you just had to go on as normal. You could do errands, you could pick back up a hobby. Anything to distract yourself from whatever tonight held.

But that night had held nothing. You'd stayed up well past midnight and Jack never came back. No knocking, no tapping, there was no sign of him, and somehow that felt worse.

✦★✦

Three days. Three days had passed since you'd found out the killer's identity, and in those three days Jack hadn't come back. Or rather, you hadn't seen him. You didn't know how much of your fear was valid or just paranoia. You felt eyes on your back with every move you made. Every drive to work and every time you looked out the window. Yet you saw nothing.

A strange feeling of emptiness had taken root in you. Like a pit that grew with each passing moment you waited for something, anything to happen. As much as things seemed to be returning to normalcy, you knew better than that. You knew he was watching you. You knew he hadn't given up. It was as if the grim reaper himself was looming over you.

Even though you were terrified, after taking another day off you didn't have any real reason to not go back to work. It wasn't like sitting in your room staring at the wall did much to help anyhow. Plus, you did have bills to pay. If you lived long enough for them to matter, that is.

With an oversized coat and two layers beneath it, you walked into the unforgiving fall air. Luckily the wind was light from what you could tell, but nonetheless you couldn't help but shiver as you headed towards your car. It felt like a warm embrace once you got the heat going. Rubbing your hands together, your eyes scanned the tree line across from the lot. Trees, birds, a no trespassing sign. There was nothing, no one, there. Of course there wasn't. You sighed and set the car into reverse.