Page 10 of Kalix
Once class is dismissed, my friends and I gather our belongings and leave the room. I don’t go far though, making it only a few steps before I lean against the wall and let my friends surround me. They’re all chatting away, I just insert “yeah” and “cool” comments into the conversation at times that seem appropriate. My eyesare trained on the door, waiting for her to arrive, and when she finally does, my body has the same reaction as it did in the classroom. Lungs seizing, heart pounding, everything around me goes quiet. She’s like the sun to my universe.
If I’m going to keep an eye on her the rest of the day, I’m going to need my bike. The push and pull between going to retrieve it versus following her until she arrives safe and sound in her bed wars in my mind. I finally make a decision and turn to Reed as I bounce between him and her fleeing form.
“Keep an eye on her,” I tell him.
“Man, she doesn’t even know who you are. Why do I need to-”
I grab the front of his shirt, bunching the material into a fist and pulling him close to my face. He gives me a little smirk, but I don’t play into it.
“She took meds and I need to make sure she gets to wherever the fuck she’s going safely,” I seethe, “But I also need my bike. Fucking watch her. Don’t let her out of your sight. When she gets home and locks her door, you can leave. Don’t let her see you.”
I push him away from me and stride away from the group, toward the parking lot. I know that he’ll watch her, just like I’ve asked him to do, but I also don’t want to be away for too long. I have big plans for tonight.
Making it to my bike in no time, I hop on. Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, it goes into the little mount placed on my tank and I pull up Reed’slocation. They’re still walking, close to her place, but not close enough that I need to worry about getting caught.
I don’t even give myself time to enjoy the rumble of the vehicle under me before my helmet is on and I’m peeling out of the lot. The wind whips around me as I make my way down the roads, lane splitting where I can to get to my destination faster. There’s quite a few paths that someone can take to get to her place that’s quicker than taking the vehicle option, so time isn’t on my side.
Pulling about a block past her apartment, I park along the curb and lean down against my tank. My phone still has Reed’s location pulled up, seeing they’re nearing her building. My helmet is on though, and with the way I’m crouched I can see her through the front windshield of the vehicle I’m behind. A perfect shot of my little rabbit. Or is she like a panda now that she’s medicated? All sweet and cuddly, literally no fucks to give, just happy existing.
The little dot on the location gets close and I see her come into view. She’s so damn beautiful. I wonder if she knows how much of an effect she has on everyone around her. That perfect little ray of sunshine that peaks through on the cloudiest of days.
So damn perfect.
She makes her way inside and my phone dings with an incoming text from Reed, ensuring that she’s safe and sound, and I lock my screen. Now, get comfortable, because it’s going to be a long night.
CHAPTER 10
LAINEY
I closemy textbook and set it down on the coffee table before heading into the kitchen, sprinting to turn on the light switches along the way.
The oven clock reads almost two in the morning. Tomorrow shouldn’t be too bad since my anxiety medication made me sleepy not long after I got home, allowing me to take a long nap. I’ll just need an extra shot of expresso in my morning coffee.
My stomach lets out a loud growl. I never realize how hungry I am until I stop studying. I get so consumed with what I’m doing that I forget everything else around me, including eating and, apparently, making sure the lights are on.
I have a lamp beside the couch, but I rarely think about the other lights until it's too late. One thing about me is that I am extremely scared of the dark, and I live alone, so I’m always terrified when night falls.
My stomach growls again.
“Okay, okay. I’m looking for something now. Calm down.” I murmur to my stomach.
I open the fridge and it’s nearly empty. A trip to the store definitely needs to be added to my to-do list. Grabbing a container of sour cream, I open my small pantry door to pull out my half-eaten bag of chips I had with lunch today.This is my all-time favorite late-night snack.
I swiftly make my way to my bedroom, turning off lights as I go, and then shut and lock the door behind me.
Crawling into bed, I search for my remote before finding something to watch to help me fall asleep. The only light in my bedroom comes from the bedside lamp, which turns off and on by touch. Whoever designed this place must’ve been an idiot because who puts a fan in a room without a light attached?
I tap the light off and scroll through the channels until I find a murder mystery. You’d think that being terrified of the dark would deter me from watching scary stuff, but it doesn’t. In fact, scary movies, murder mysteries, and thrillers are my favorites.
I dip my chips and watch in awe as the narrator explains in great detail how a young woman was stalked by a man who was obsessed with her. She called the police and obtained a restraining order against him. He ended up getting pissed and snuck into her house while she was sleeping, slit her throat, then raped her dead body before fleeing.
A chill breaks out over my body as the narrator saysthat this happened over ten years ago, and they still haven’t caught the guy. I can’t imagine how terrified she must’ve felt, constantly looking over her shoulder in fear that someone was following her.
I start to think about how I’ve been feeling lately, as I’ve had the sense that someone has been watching me. However, I quickly push the thought aside. If I dwell on it too much, my mind will spiral, and I’ll never get any sleep.
I set the empty chip bag and sour cream container on my nightstand, deciding to take a quick hit to help me sleep. As soon as I’m done, I lay back down and scroll through my social media apps until my eyes start to feel heavy.
Setting my phone on the nightstand beside my discarded trash, I bury myself under the covers and start to drift off.
