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Death’s Bride
Summary: “I am most commonly known as Death. And you…” He trailed off, his bloodshot eyes boring into mine, making me conscious of the fact that I was only wearing a fluffy pink towel. “You are my Bride.”
RING! RING! RING!
A groan, followed by muffled cursing echoed on the empty walls of my apartment. I didn’t have to open my eyes to know that the curtain was open, light streaming into the room, blinding me in the process. I reached blindly for the phone, knocking the digital clock over. My hand found something long and cold laying on the nightstand and I eagerly clasped my fingers around it, wanting to end the endless noise of the ringing phone. Finally, after what seemed like ages, I finally got a hold of it and pulled it eagerly towards me.
What happened next was history.
You see, in my half-conscious state, I accidentally grabbed a glass filled with water, instead of the damn pain in the ass, aka my ringing phone. Not knowing what it was made me turn it over, thus resulting in icy cold water falling all over me and my warm sheets.
“Holy Shit!” My eyes snapped open and I immediately regretted it. The light was blinding me, hurting my eyes. Groaning, I quickly shut them and hid my face into my soft pillow, forgetting the fact that it was wet. Not only was the pillow wet; I was wet as well, soaked to the bones. I could already feel the result of last night’s drinking: a huge, enormous headache by the size of Sears Tower was hanging over my head in its full glory, waiting anxiously to cause me pain.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
Taking a few calming breaths, I once again opened my eyes, slowly this time, and vaguely remembered throwing my phone under the bed last night. The headache was now growing in size, threatening to unleash its fury, threatening to show me the full extent of its evil power. A low pounding in my head reminded me once again that I should take it easy and let go of my drinking habit but it was hard to let go of painless oblivion. Nowadays, it was a ticket to a night without a single problem. To me, that was heaven.
Finally, the cause of the obnoxious noise was being held in my hand. I looked at the caller ID, even though I already knew who it was. Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I quickly pressed the button that would save me from the ringing and warily leaned back against the wet pillow.
“Hello?” Even to my own ears, my voice sounded oddly tired and worn out. A huge yawn was now threatening to escape my parted lips as I waited for the other person to speak. I didn’t have to wait too long; an incredibly loud voice made me hold the phone a few centimeters away from my sensitive ear as I tried to make sense of the words being spoken. I could have sworn that I heard things like: “Are you out of your mind? Did you know how worried I was? I was trying to get a hold of you since 7 A.M. It’s 3 P.M, Phoebe. THREE!” I couldn’t actually be sure of what she said since all of her words were followed by screams of frustration and a whole lot of cursing. Needless to say, I wasn’t all that bothered, being already used to my overly-protective best friend. So, there was nothing else left for me to do than to lean more comfortably against the pillow and wait until she was finished.
Just as I expected, after a few more seconds of yelling and cursing, silence greeted me once more. I allowed a small smile to play at the corner of my lips as I let out the yawn that had been bothering me since I had picked up the phone.
“Good Morning to you too, Kitty Kat.” Pausing, I glanced at the digital clock that was now sitting comfortably on the floor before casually adding: “Well, it’s not actually morning now, is it? Good Afternoon, then. How are you on this fine autumn day?”
The pain in my head was growing stronger with every passing moment and I fought the urge to cry out. The hangover was actually considered a piece of reality. Everything good always has to end, doesn’t it? Closing my eyes for the second time that morning, I pressed my cold fingers against my temples, not realizing that I was actually missing out on something.
“Ha ha, Phoebe. Very funny.” Was it just my imagination or was Katherine‘s voice getting nearer and nearer with every word she spoke? My throbbing head blamed it on the hangover so I quickly relaxed my stiff muscles. “Now, do us all a favor and get your lazy bottom out of bed.”
My eyes snapped open in shock as I found myself staring straight into the hazel eyes of my best friend. I quickly looked down at the phone that I was still holding before moving my incredulous eyes back to my friend. I slowly forced my wide eyes shut, praying that this was just a fragment of my imagination and that Katherine was not actually in my room, wearing a murderous look that was plastered across her young face. I nervously opened my eyes again, hoping that she had suddenly disappeared into thin air. As expected, she was still there. Slowly, I planned my next move.
By the looks of it, Katherine was ready to commit first degree murder and I didn’t fancy moving into the graveyard, into my new underground apartment. Opening my mouth, I did the only thing I could think of: I screamed.
“Phoebe! Are you even listening to me?” Clueless, I stared at her, still not actually believing that Katherine, my best friend, was in my bedroom. I could have sworn that I had been talking to her only moments ago. If Kat was there then why was I holding the phone in my right hand, staring at it as if someone would come right out of it and smack me on the head with a baseball bat? That wasn’t possible… was it?
“Huh?” Was my weak response. What else could I actually say? A battle was raging inside my head: should I bang my head repeatedly against the wall or should I just make a quick exit to the kitchen and get some warm coffee? At the thought of coffee, my stomach awoke from its deep slumber, raising its head slowly and sniffing the air. I did the same, ignoring the weird look that my friend was currently giving me. The air was thick with the smell of alcohol and sweat. I slowly lifted a strand of my black hair to my nose and sniffed. Eww… By the looks of everything, coffee was just going to have to wait. A shower had to be done first. Once again, Kat’s annoying voice was rambling on about my atrocious behavior. This time, I actually tried to listen. Not because I wanted too, though. I could care less about her poor opinion regarding my person. No, I just treasured my life and didn’t want to be murdered in my sleep. Imagine the headlines: “Young Woman killed in her sleep by best friend. Could this be because of hidden jealousy?” Besides, I didn’t want Kat to end up locked in a cell for the rest of her long life.
“You have to stop doing this, Phoebe. You are ruining your life. This is not the Phoebe I know. So what if Mark cheated on you? It’s his loss anyway. You should just put everything behind you and move on with your life.” Her words stung, I have to admit it. Biting my lower lip gently, I tried not to flinch as she mentioned him. He was the one that ruined everything; my life, my happiness. Turning my back on Kat, so she wouldn’t notice the large, crocodile tears that were swimming in my eyes, I pretended to take out clean clothes from my closet as I answered her, my voice surprisingly steady:
“He cheated on me with another man, Kat.” Disgust was clear in my voice as the memory of my ex-boyfriend in bed with some other guy replayed itself in my mind.
“I can’t forget that. I don’t think I ever will. The memory cannot erase itself from my mind.” I really didn’t need someone bossing me around, telling me what’s right and what isn’t. I have mommy dearest for that.
“Now, let’s talk about something else. While I go to take a quick shower, could you please go and buy some coffee? Starbucks isn’t too far from here and I really need it.”
I quickly snatched up a pair of pink knickers and a matching bra before turning around, facing Katherine once again. She looked as if she was deep in thought and I hoped she wasn’t plotting something against me. The last time she tried to help me resulted in me blowing up half of her kitchen in a pitiful attempt to bake cookies. As if baking cookies would make me feel better… Nothing, if you leave out getting drunk, can make me feel better these days. Without waiting for Kat to answer, I sent her a quick pleading look before slipping quickly into the bathroom and locking the door behind me.
The day had turned out to be horrible so far. Hopefully whatever Katherine was planning would not end up in another disaster.
After I had slowly undressed, I stepped into the shower and let a smile bloom on my lips as the hot water came in contact with my skin. It was amazing how relaxing a single shower could be; my tense muscles relaxed under the power of the water and I closed my eyes in content.
All too soon, the shower was over and I had to leave the bathroom, a pink, fluffy towel wrapped around my wet skin. The living room was exactly as we had left it: The ice cream was sitting on the small table, in front of the television, a bottle of Coke was standing on the floor and popcorn was all over the place. Groaning at the thought of having to clean up all that mess, I threw myself on the couch and took the remote control in my hand.
I wasn’t all that bothered by the fact that I was only in a towel. I sometimes used to walk around naked when I was home alone and I never managed to get rid of that habit. Walking around in a towel was normal to me.
Taking a large gulp out of the whiskey I was holding, I willed myself to at least try to not get drunk. Even though almost a month had passed since I found Mark in bed with another man, I still wasn’t completely over it. To forget my pain and sorrow, I started drinking. A lot.
Five more glasses followed, until I wasn’t able to think straight. I was completely and utterly drunk and loving it.
“You are such an idiot, Phoebe Masterson.” Giggling, I threw myself on my neatly made bed and stared up at the ceiling. “You think you loved him?” Shaking my head, I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I felt tears well up in my eyes. The glass filled with whiskey was thrown against a wall in my drunken state and tiny pieces of glass were all over the place.
Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening alerted me of the fact that someone else was in the apartment. Confused, I wondered who it was I glanced at the clock. 12 A.M.
“Kitty Kat? Is that you?” I received no answer. “Mark?” My voice was hopeful as I called out his name. Still, I received no answer.
Frowning, I stumbled out of bed and down the hall that lead to the living room. All the lights were off and darkness filled every single corner of the room. The only sound that I could hear was that of my own footsteps as I made my way towards the front door. It was closed, just as I had left it. My frown deepened. Dizzy and drunk, I was sure that I had heard that very door opening.
Then, a deep and manly voice broke through my drunken thoughts:
“Hello Phoebe.”