Page 36 of Sergei
“I’m good.”
“How’s the weather out there today?”
“Cold.”
He never looked up from the cameras, making it clear he wasn’t in the mood for idle conversation, so I left him to it and went to the living room to find a movie to watch. I scrolled for a bit and decided to try an old horror film.
It was a decision I would soon come to regret.
At first, it wasn’t so bad. It was just your stereotypical dark house with creepy music playing in the background. There was a weird presence lurking around, and the lights flickered a time or two. All the usual spooky stuff. But then, a presence stepped out of the shadows, and I let out a very undignified, very loud squeal.
It was loud, like I was being murdered kind of loud, and I clutched my pillow like it might save me from being possessed. I was still trying to recover from the scare when Bog thundered into the room with his gun drawn and his eyes wide. “What happened? Who’s here?”
“No one. It’s the movie.” I pointed at the screen and gasped when I saw what was happening. “Oh, God! What are you doing? Don’t go in the basement!”
Bog looked over at the TV, and his scowl deepened. After a long pause, he turned back to me and shook his head. “This is why you screamed?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”
“I thought you were being wounded.”
“It was just a jump scare.”
“Such nonsense.” He crossed his massive arms with a huff. “Not good to fill your head with such things.”
“You nearly tackled the coffee table, and I’m the one with the problem?”
Bog’s attention was drawn to the television screen when everything went dark, and all you could hear was heavy breathing. He stood there with furrowed brows, and I couldn’t help but give him a hard time. “You going to stand guard against the boogeyman now?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t even flinch. He just stood there, looming over me as the movie dragged us both deeper into its creepy little world. We were both so captivated by what was going on in the movie that we hadn’t noticed that the front doorhad opened, and Sergei had walked in. Suddenly I heard, “What the hell is this?”
It felt like the air was suddenly sucked out of the room.
Usually, when Sergei walked in, I’d feel a strange, guilty rush of relief. I was just so happy to have someone to talk to But when I saw the angry expression on his face just now, I was anything but relieved.
Knowing he was mad that Bog wasn’t stationed at the door, I went to his defense.
“It wasn’t Bog’s fault. I was just…”
Bog raised a hand, silencing me with a single motion. His face was stone, and his voice was steady as he said, “No excuses. I was not where I should have been.”
My stomach sank.
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the room. The door clicked shut behind him, and the silence that followed was suffocating. I turned to Sergei and said, “It wasn’t his fault. He’s been at that door for hours on end and barely moves. He was only here because I screamed at this stupid movie.”
“It doesn’t matter what you think or what I think. Bog knows where he was supposed to be, and he will punish himself for not being there. And it will be far worse than anything I could do or say.”
“Well, now I feel even worse.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It certainly feels that way.”
“Don’t worry about it. There will be something else for him to fret over tomorrow.” Sergei sat down on the sofa and let out a breath. “So, how was your day?”
“Pretty quiet.” I gave him a slight shrug. “I read a little, picked up a little, and made a little lunch. I got bored and made the brilliant decision to watch a horror movie.”
“Sounds eventful.”
