Lone [MATURE HS]

Chapter 26.*

(strong sexual content)

The apartment was quiet. But now not peaceful nor lonely. It was menacing. Every time I walk up the stairs I feel my heart race, my thoughts urging me to turn around to find nothing there. I hadn't told anyone about the texts I was receiving. They had stopped since the day I was at Harry's place, but I was anxious, and scared at every corner. My mother would ask if I was okay every time she startled me simply by knocking me out of my thoughts with her voice. Harry felt the vibe I was giving off, and in a way, thought it was his fault since our little argument that spiraled off a bit. I hated knowing that, but if I said anything, what could go wrong?

In my eyes, everything.

My alarm goes off at nine. Before I even open my eyes, my arm reaches out to stop the irritatingly loud noise. I wake up and feel a weight on my shoulders. But then I remember that weight is in my head, and unfortunately, however afraid I am, I have to get up. Priorities await. Ever since the text about Kennedy, I have been locking up all the doors, even the windows. My body feels chills when I'm alone, convincing my paranoid self that someone is watching me. The feeling when I'm alone weakens me to the point where I'm considerably more dependent on the company of others. Especially with Harry, who notices my strange antics.

My hair, disheveled and untamed, remains so as I pull up a pair of sweatpants up to my hips. I grab a clean, light blue t-shirt and then a coat. My black sneakers are worn out, but that's the last thing I care about. Then I grab my bag and sling it around my right shoulder. Just as I grab a water bottle from the fridge, my phone vibrates in my pocket. The tiny notification startled me, forcing me to freeze and my heart to skip a beat or two. I sigh loudly, annoyed with myself.

I look at my phone to go see a text from Charlie. He probably texted me something completely irrelevant and I'm not surprised to see that it's exactly what I thought. Apparently his shoelaces are eerily symmetrical.

When I stand in front of my door, I get a little scared to open it. I know I've been pushing my mother to look at other places away from here, but she doesn't seem to have the time. Though I know she wants to move, she probably doesn't want to move as much as I do right now.

I reach for the doorknob and sigh heavily. Opening the door doesn't seem hard, nor is it. Right now, though, I'm convinced it's the hardest thing to do.

My fear escalates and I'm shocked at how quickly I'm cracking under the pressure of being so close to someone who is possibly a murderer, or potential sociopath.

I swing it open and see nothing. But for the split second I was ready to face someone or something. It wasn't there. So again, I exhale loudly and rush to get out of the apartment. When I walk by the first floor apartment, I feel chills. I rush outside into the colder air.

Halloween decorations are being hung around the apartments and neighborhood homes. People are getting into the spirit. I assume my mother is the only one around who does not car for Halloween at all. She's more of a Christmas person.

At the UNI, I find Charlie near Wilson Hall, talking to a guy I haven't seen before. For a moment, I think about ignoring him. About walking past him without saying a word. I don't feel like hearing him talk. I don't have the energy.

I think about it for longer than I had to. In the sequence of my thoughts, I forget where I am until I see the jittery, obsessive freak that bruised me and texted me those menacing things. That and him are the only things that register in my brain. And I'm suddenly angry.