Sleepwalking - {Joshler}

1.

"My secrets are burning a hole through my heart..."

T. Joseph

The rain.

I've always been a fan of the rain.

The way it falls like broken diamonds from hanging clouds makes me feel as though I'm not the only shattered masterpiece walking amongst the shadows. It glistens in the barely visible moonlight as though it's illuminated by a thousand stage lights; dying stars on unforgiving concrete. I can feel my feet gathering their dead bodies between my toes, but I have no recollection of how I got here. What street am I on? How did I leave my house without waking my family?

Where was I even going?

I can see what lies ahead of me, but it's like it isn't real. It all feels real, but it looks like I'm watching a movie through someone else's eyes and I'm the main character on the screen. The night is quiet, except for the sound of the rain. Would I be able to hear anything over the roar of the drops hitting the pavement, anyway? Maybe not, but that doesn't stop my feet from carrying me down the freezing pathway to my supposed destination.

A slightly open window in a darkened alleyway catches my interest and my body is immediately steering in its direction. I can subconsciously feel myself questioning why this window, on this street, out of view of absolutely anyone who would dare to walk by at this time of night in the pouring rain, but the questions escape me as I push the window open even more and snake my body inside the home.

It's warm and inviting, almost as if someone expected me. I begin to close the window, but something causes me to give a second glance and keep it open. I turn my attention back to the home, looking around as I notice I'm in a laundry room of sorts. The washing machine is sitting idle in the corner as the dryer is finishing its cooling cycle. Maybe this family had been out in the rain as well, and tossed their soaked clothes in to fluff out during the night.

I wander out into the hallway, turning in the direction of a soft light coming from what I assume is the kitchen. The stove light gives a gentle glow to the barren room, my head tilting in confusion at the layout of the confectionary utensils scattered across the dining table. Who would've been up making sweets at this hour? And who would neglect to clean up after themselves? I shrug my shoulders and turn to the countertop by the fridge, where my eyes land on a single blade reflecting the stove light and shining into my pupils. A soft smile graces my face as I reach down and curl my fingers around the blade's handle and turn to leave the kitchen.

There's a staircase by the kitchen's entrance and, thanks to my bare feet, they hardly make a sound as I trek up into the second level of the home. I notice their are no pictures outlining the walls like there would be in a normal family's home, making me assume that this person lives alone.

My suspicions are confirmed as I check the first three of four doors on the floor; one being a bathroom, one a guest room and the other a storage room of sorts. The fourth and final room I open presents a body tucked haphazardly into a bed by sprawled sheets and quilts, an arm tucked under their head and one draped across their stomach. I tiptoe silently into the room, the kitchen blade still resting loosely in my fingers as I get closer to the sleeping stranger.

A woman, I take note. A beautiful woman, with dark waves framing her round face and slightly parted full lips making her appear to be as beautiful asleep as I'm sure she is awake. My heart almost aches as I trail my a finger down the side of her face, my touch light as a feather before pulling back and staring at her for a moment.

She begins to stir, just barley changing her sleeping position as I tighten my grip on the blade's handle. For a second, I watched the sleeping beauty once more before lifting the blade high in the air and crashing it down in the middle of her chest.

I'm shooting out of bed next, panting hard with sweat beading across my face as I squeeze my eyes shut over and over again trying to erase the images from my head. I look outside to see the sun shining beautifully, a sigh escaping my lips as I pull my shirt up and use it to wipe the sweat from my face. Just as I'm about to fall back against my mattress, my bedroom door opens and my mother pokes her head in with a soft smile.

"Good morning, Ty," she says, looking at me quizzically. "My goodness, you're sweating! Are you alright?"

I can still feel my breathing trying to even itself out but I nod nonetheless. "Yeah," I croak out. "Just hot in here, I guess."

Mom takes one glance at my open window and sighs as she crosses the floor to close it. "Maybe that's because you have your window wide open and it's humid as hell outside," she says as she pushes it closed. "Did you sleep with it open all night? Your carpet is soaking wet."

I feel my throat constrict. "Wet?"

Mom nodded. "It stormed for a good four hours during the middle of the night, I'm surprised it didn't wake you up."

I felt something heavy settle in my chest as I let out an uneasy laugh. "Guess I'm just a heavy sleeper."

Mom shakes her head. "I'll bring the steam cleaner up and you can clean this mess up later. For now, get downstairs and have breakfast with us before Dad and I leave to go to work. You're watching your siblings today, remember?"

I groaned softly but nodded. "Right, I forgot," I mumbled. "Is it alright if Brendon comes over? I told him we'd work on our history report today."

"I don't mind," Mom says, "but tell that boy her better not smoke in my bathroom again. There's a covered back porch that you're more than welcome to use."

I nodded with a soft laugh. "You got it, Mom."

"Downstairs," she repeated, leaving my door open as she left.

I sighed heavily but got out of bed and changed out of my sweat drenched clothes before heading downstairs.

~ ~ ~

Uhhhhhh hi 👋🏻

Yeah, yeah, I know I have other stories that I haven't finished, and that I've re-uploaded and still need to finish, but I wanted to write something dark and I wanted to write something creepy because I haven't done that in a while so I hope you enjoy what I'm about to give to you.

Sooooo i hope you enjoyed this little preview!

let me know your thoughts in the comments, please, i've missed writing.

thanks, love you!

- alé 🥀