Screaming, I wake up from my nightmare with the feeling of blood splattered across my face. No need to turn on the light since I’ve made the trip to the bathroom in pitch black so many times. “Left foot in front of the right. Keep going… Just a slight turn past the end of the bed,” I think to myself. A wet washcloth refreshes my face as it washes away the feeling of blood.
I slide back into bed and snuggle up with my nice warm pillow. It always invites me back to bed, but then teases me with sleeplessness until the morning. Tonight is certainly no exception, although it happily stores fresh tears while it holds me till dawn. I lie still, trying to fall back asleep but instead, a shadowy face keeps flashing in my mind. When I can’t stand it anymore I decide to get up and head into the bathroom.
It’s still early, which is fine because after last night another shower sounds fantastic. I fire up the hot water and return to my room for a set of clothes. When I return to the bathroom, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I close my eyes and gently touch my cheek with the back of my hand. The scar running from my ear to my neck reminds me every morning and it still pains me to see it.
I pull the strip of pink hair down against my cheek and turn away. My eyes burn again and I clench them hard to keep the tears in. I drop my pajamas drop to the floor and crawl into the shower letting the hot water wash over me as I sit. It’s nice to be able to hide for a little while listening to the rush of the water and feel the warmth flow over me.
I’m not sure how long it’s been, but I know I can’t stay any longer. The shower turns off with a thud and the towel dutifully removes the water from my skin. A glance at the clock tells me it was only thirty minutes today, not so long of a shower after all. As I dry off and get dressed, doubt creeps over me. I’m not sure I want to go to the police today and live through last night. It’s been a while since I’ve had nightmares and I don’t want to go through that again. I think I’ll go to work today for a bit, and tell Alex that I’ll decide about the police after. He probably won’t care, since he didn’t seem to want to talk to the police last night anyway. Although I feel guilty about putting it off.
On the way out of my room, I spot my laptop sitting on the bookshelf looking lonely. I realize, after the abrupt disconnect last night, she might have left me a message. The rest of my morning always seems to move along a little quicker simply at the thought of saying hi to her before I have to go to work. Fortunately, my laptop is in my room so I don’t have to risk waking up Alex.
The machine warms up and connects in right away. I log on and search my contact list. I can feel a smile work its way across my face when I see her name lit up: Catherine.
I’ve called her Cat ever since we met online. We’ve never met in person, but she’s the only person that I get truly excited to talk to. We have some kind of strange bond, even though we know hardly anything about each other.
“Good morning Cat,” I type in. “How are you today?”
The screen flashes to life, and I try to imagine her voice. “Hi and good morning to you,” she replies. “I’m good, how are you doing?”
I’m reminded of the events from last night, but I keep them to myself. “I’ve been better,” I type. “It was a long night but I think today will be a short day.”
“I hope everything is okay,” she says.
“Yeah, I’m good. A lightening strike fried my computer last night, but everything else is fine now. Although I have to leave soon.”
“Need to go to work?” Cat asks.
“Yeah, I have a meeting to go to. It should be quick if everyone did their jobs. Then I’ll come back and maybe we can chat more.”
YOU ARE READING
In Factorem - The Coming Winter
Science FictionA young woman trapped in her life and isolated by her past suddenly finds herself bound to a sökare, running as a fugitive, and hunted by shadow. Losing everything, she finds herself thrust into a world her mom hid and an existence her dad died to s...
