Chapter 4

"Fall into me, Fall into me,

I won't hold you.

Kneel and watch as the leaves blow,

I won't keep you."

The next thing I distinctly recall is waking up, discovering myself laying in the comfort of my bed. My mother sat on my desk chair which she positioned alongside my bed, reading a magazine. "...Mom..?"

She quickly closed her issue of 'Home and Garden' and looked at me. "How do you feel? Do you feel sick?" She put her hand on my forehead and felt it.

I sat up and removed my mother's hand off my face. "What's going on?"

She sighed. "Rane, you've been sleeping for almost two days... the University administrator stated that it would be best for you to take a few weeks off, because of monday's incident."

I tried to think back to the other day, but my brain felt too tired. "...Monday's incident...?"

"The administrator guesses you may have had a breakdown due to stress." She answered. "You came back into the classroom very shaky and disturbed."

Only a piece of Monday came to mind. "Oh.. I guess I shall rest and take it easy for awhile.."

My mother nodded in agreement. "Ashley needs a sitter for tonight. It won't be long - just from seven to nine o'clock. Do you feel up to it?"

I shrugged. "I suppose... " Why not give it an attempt? I really liked her daughter, Nicole. I thought she was so adorable.

My mother smiled. "Okay, you rest until six thirty. Ashley will pick you up at six fifty-five... You phone me if you don't feel well, alright? I could take over."

I nodded and closed my eyes, preparing to repose and rest some more. In the silent room, I immediately fell asleep.

--

"That's good you're babysitting my precious Nicole." Ashley declared, once we were inside her car. "I don't want to call the local sitter and fork out 4.50 an hour."

I rolled my eyes. That statement was infinitely symbolic of Ashley. She was extremely cheap and never thought of thanking anyone. "Uh huh..."

Ashley and her husband James were quite wealthy, actually. James inherited his father's real estate business half a decade ago, and they lived in a large estate in the south end of the city. It was kind of neat... except they are both arrogant and superficial, and Ashley was the matriarch of bitches.

"We haven't talked for awhile." Ashley remarked, a sarcastic smile crawling through her red lips, which were probably coated in thirty dollar lipstick. "Anything new?...Have a boyfriend yet?"

Ugh. For the last few years, Ashley has found some sort of amusement in my lack of having a boyfriend, nor having someone do 'those' kinds of things to me, or the fact that I was not experiencing 'those' feelings. It really bothered me. You actually can live without sexual arousal.

"No. You know that I don't, Ashley." I responded half annoyed. "I don't want, nor need, a boyfriend."

"That's too bad." She said, "You can find a great man like James, who's completely loaded. Then you can settle down in a rich area, have a child, and endure a perfect lifestyle, like ours." She smiled smugly at me.

I coughed. Ashley liked to make others assume she had a perfect life, but she didn't have knowledge that I knew that she and her husband were both committing adultery with other people. I knew where James went when he told Ashley he was going to meetings at seven or eight at night. Perfect life, my ass. They cannot even stay faithful to each other.

Ashley and I have never shared much in common. I was always quiet, polite, shy, and a sincere hard worker. Ashley was outgoing, loud, rude, and lazy. As a child I would be the one always in my room, reading or studying. She would invite her obnoxious friends over and blast pop music, and they would scream along with it at the top of their lungs, even if it was during the night. She prided herself upon being so harsh.

A few minutes later, I was sitting on Ashley's expensive beige couch, watching Nicole color in a red coloring book. Nicole had such a gentle charm neither her mother or father sustained. She reminded me of myself at that young age, so innocent, petite, happy, and carefree. She looked up at me and grinned. Her smile was so cute and contagious, I couldn't resist smiling back. "What do you want to do tonight, Nicole?"

"Umm..." She thought, dropping her green crayon. After a few minutes of thinking, she had no reply.

"Hmm... Well, Aunty needs to do something low maintenance. Nothing too complex." I remembered I was talking with a four year old, and four year olds don't understand 'big', discursive words. "I mean, something that isn't hard."

Nicole finally suggested finger painting, because it's one of her absolute favorite activities. I walked with her into the play room upstairs and searched inside the closet, to which I found a cardboard box full of paint bottles and supplies. I lined the glass coffee table with old newspaper and opened the bottles, dispensing the viscous paint into small, white trays. Nicole used sky blue paint, and I decided I wanted red.

"I don't like red." Nicole stated as she began to paint.

"Why not?" I asked. "Red is my favorite color."

"It's the color of yucky things." She simply responded.

"Yucky things?" I repeated, looking up at her.

"Yes. Blood and... guts." Nicole slowly responded, shuddering slightly.

I gave her a half smile as I thought about things. These past few weeks have been tainted red. They were undeniably accented with 'yucky things'...

I suddenly didn't feel the desire to paint anymore. I sat motionless as I watched Nicole finger paint.

"Aren't you going to make pictures?" She asked.

"In awhile." I replied. "I just feel a little sick to my stomach."

I continued watching her. Nicole looked a lot like Ashley and also my mother, with wavy brown hair and blue eyes. However, she had my personality. We were both quiet and thoughtful. I was told my father had shared the same traits as well, but I can't remember any of that.

After a few hours of snacks and endless pictures, it was time to retire for the night.

"Bed time." I told Nicole. "Let's go get your pyjamas."

We walked into her lavender bedroom which was decorated with kittens, butterflies, and fairy tale characters, which was every traditional little girl's dream room. Nicole ran around the room, slowly changing into her pyjamas while she showed me all the presents she had recently received for her birthday a few years ago. The silver miniature grandfather clock I had given to her stood on her pink and white dresser. It made me feel good knowing my gift was put to use, and not just thrown into a corner.

"Can you read me a story?" Nicole asked, smiling brightly.

"Alright, one story." I went to the book shelf and randomly picked a storybook from the second shelf. I glanced at the cover. Cinderella. "Do you like Cinderella?"

She nodded in acceptance.

I sat down on the wooden rocking chair next to her bed and I began to read the story. As soon as I reached the paragraph that introduced the fairy godmother, I noticed Nicole had closed her eyes and was already asleep.

I sighed and slowly closed the book, leaving it on the seat of the rocking chair. I walked out of the room and kept the bedroom door half open, just in case she needed me later on in the night.

My stomach rumbled. I walked down the hall into the expanded kitchen and opened the refrigerator door, and I peered inside the cool plastic compartments. There were various types of food in the fridge that I could choose from, but I decided on making just a plain sandwich.

I took my food along with a glass of milk and sat at the large mahogany dining room table. The house was still and tranquil, and it felt very pleasant to eat without any irritating disturbances. I brought the sandwich to my mouth and slowly took a bit into it, tasting it's succulent flavor. The turkey was juicy and the white bread was fresh. It was delicious.

As I downed my glass of cold milk, I felt that weird sensation one experiences in their lower abdomen whenever they ingest a lot of fluids. I had to urinate.

I sighed and rose from the metal chair, and I deposited my plate and cup into the double sink. The microwave clock read ten thirty, so I estimated that Nicole had been sleeping for about a half hour now. I planned to slowly walk down the lengthy hall to the bathroom, because I didn't want to disturb her sleep.

I quietly creeped towards the bathroom door, preparing to grasp it's glass doorknob. But my jaw dropped in shock instead as I looked in the half open doorway. I caught a glimpse of something I never expected to find.

The unknown man from my living room was on the other side of the door, and he slowly returned my stare through the reflection of the bathroom mirror. The light from the distant kitchen obscurely illuminated his face, permitting me to vaguely perceive his image. He possessed a long, bony, pale face and long ebony hair. He also wore a dark blindfold-type object which covered his eyes, making it difficult for my panicking mind to recognize him from anywhere else.

I stood there motionless for a few extra seconds, which ultimately felt like a decade. My skin grew ice cold as the man watched me back, while he was also motionless. I could almost see the substance of his darkness squirming and swirling around the bathroom walls like a soaked oil painting, mixing and dripping off the vertical surface.

And then, within a deadly instant; his thin, pale lips creeped into a long, stretched out smirk. Even though his malevolent eyes were disguised, I knew they were fixed upon me. The doorknob slowly rattled, and my instincts immediately told me to run for my life.

My mind was darting into a million different directions at lightning speed as I ran down the dark hallway. I raced into Nicole's room and nearly slammed the door, and then I automatically grabbed the wooden rocking chair and wedged the back of it underneath the transparent doorknob. Maybe my reaction to the occurrence wasn't a very intelligent one, but it was the only somewhat logical idea my petrified brain could produce in this moment of horror.

I hid in the corner next to Nicole's bed, my legs pressed up against my chest, covering my pounding heart. I glanced at her petite frame, and she was surprisingly still sleeping very soundly, like nothing had happened. I felt a bit safer with another person inside the room, but I could not let my guard down. I watched the door for a long time.

After what felt like a couple of hours, I stood up from the floor and walked cautiously towards the doorway. I slowly put my ear to its wooden surface and tried to listen for the surreal man. Silence followed, so I opened the door slowly and peeked out. The house was still and quiet just like before I encountered him. Where did he go...?

I decided not to check the house for him. He probably had left already, but I did not want to experience the risk of being attacked, raped, or murdered by this mysterious man. I couldn't perceive any shadows or strange silhouettes inside the dim house, but I still chose to stay in Nicole's room. With the horrific image of his vague face still repeating itself in my head, I sat frozen in the corner, not even moving until Ashley arrived home.