Wretched || H. Lecter

} CHAPTER TWO {

} CHAPTER TWO {

After my shift ended that night, I packed my stuff up and walked the five-minute journey back to my apartment with a wary gaze. I never liked walking home in the dark, much like others, the fear of what could be lurking between the shadows sent shivers down my spine. I jumped at every small sound and my only saving grace was that it was only a short trip so I could endure the slight paranoia.

As usual I avoided all dark alleyways and stuck to the main walkways lined with bright street lights that illuminated the surrounding area enough to satisfy my growing anxiety. Not completely but enough.

A scuttling sound came from my left, loud and unsettling but I ignored it, unwilling to become one of those stupid characters in every horror movie on the television.

I just carried on walking, picking up my pace as to speed up this terrifying walk home till my apartment complex came into sight. The chipped paint surrounding the entryway flooded my vision and I had never been happier to see this crappy building.

But then, a strange feeling came over me as I practically ran to the door, a feeling I had felt within the pet shop only hours before.

It was the feeling of someone's burning gaze digging into my back like prickly thorns of a bramble bush. Unlike before, this attention was not permitted. I felt vulnerable and as if I were seconds away from being devoured by some kind of beast.

I quickly spun on my heels, attempting to locate the source of this disturbing feeling but as I peered into the empty abyss that were the pitch black streets around me, I came up empty handed.

I had no clue how long I was standing there just scanning the horizon but it couldn't have been more than twenty minutes before I felt as if I could breathe once more.

They had looked away and I used this opportunity to dash into my building and sprint up the many flights of stairs that it took to reach my apartment, not stopping until I was inside and had locked the doors, with the windows closed and curtains drawn.

My breathing was laboured as I flopped down onto my sofa with tired limbs, my phone in my hand as I hovered my finger over Bev's contact before deciding against it, clicking instead on the number for the chinese takeaway a couple blocks down.

She would call me crazy.

The food didn't take long to arrive and within half an hour I had the food sprawled out in front of me as I was devouring it without a care in the world, momentarily forgetting what had happened as I shovel it down.

I lost myself in the mix of good food and romance movies as I laid across my couch, now adorning comfortable pyjamas. But the sound of my ringtone brought my attention away from the television screen and onto my phone that sat in my lap. Seeing who it was I let out a heavy sigh.

"Hello?" I answered after a moment of staring at the screen.

"Hello, Rachel. It's Alana." She started and I pulled the blanket I had previously draped over my body, closer. "I have spoken to Dr Lecter and he would be willing to take you. He has gone ahead and set up a date for your first appointment with him on the twenty-eighth from ten till eleven that morning, does that work for you?"

"Uh-yeah, that works, thanks." I stuttered down the phone, completely unsure about my new soon-to-be psychiatrist.

I had done some research on Dr Lecter after my appointment with Alana but came up relatively empty handed. All I could gather was that he was originally from Lithuania, his office address and how he had the best success rates of any other psychiatrist in Virginia, although he rarely took many clients. So I guess I should feel honoured that he even considered me.