Demon In A Bottle

4.

Thats about right.

The few minutes I got made me antsy anyway, so I dialed out for Alice "Mars, good morning!" "Morning Alice, so I'm sorry to surprise you with it but I figured I'd let you know I won't be coming in for a bit." "Oh? Are you finally taking a vacation?" I snickered "Against my will, I bruised my elbow-" "-What!?" I jumped a little at her reaction "Uh I just sorta fell wrong? I'm fine though but I can't move too well. Would you be able to let Bodo know and I'll send everything to HR tomorrow?"

"Well sure Mars, is there anything I can do for you?"

Theres a clicking noise in the background before a beep, and I know it by heart, it's the office coffee maker. The clicking was the broken dispenser before it started pouring.

She's at work already?

I hesitated to say 'Some company would be great', not only was this my co-worker, she had a daughter and probably a million things on her plate. And a husband.

Why did that matter?

"No Alice, my sister set me up good and I could use a day off,"

"Okay... but please don't hesitate to call, please?"

"I will. Have a good day."

I toss the phone lazily onto the pillow beside me and rolled it onto my back, my mind was still racing, hadn't ceased since yesterday. I think I'm able to catch a few more hours of sleep before Chris enters with a tray of something heavenly and terrible for me. She rests the small table to the side of me "Hold up" she jogs back out before reentering with movies and juice. I smiled as she rounded the bed "I figured we could both chill out," she said. I took my juice as she walked over to my entertainment center, a cheapo TV on top of my curbside bureau, and put in from what I could tell Texas Chainsaw.

She walked over and curled up next to me "What was the deal with that bottle anyway? You had a death grip on it and I saw it on the counter too." she said. I shrugged, grabbing my breakfast "So... The woman I was with gave it to me, she said to 'take it and be held' thats the last thing I remember," I said. Chris sighed "I can't believe she just left you on the side of the road..." I shook my head "Thats just it Chris, we were on the side of the road, I saw her tires were fucked, I called a tow truck, and those tires were shredded, she said she hadn't changed them in 8 years!"

Chris hissed a little "She shouldn't have gone anywhere," "Exactly! Then you've got the bottle then..." I hesitated at telling her it appeared at the front door. She turned while sipping "What?" I wave her off "Never mind... It's just been a weird couple of days." She nodded "I know... If you need me to fuck off, just say so" I scoffed and leaned on her shoulder "Not on your life," she laughed and leaned into me as we watched our movies.

I stood off the bed when Chris eventually passed out during the first one, cleaning up our little mess from breakfast. I dropped our glasses into the sink, eying the bottle as it still sat on the counter, it just being here made me uncomfortable... But I didn't feel comfortable giving it to anyone. Not like I could do anything right now, but I'll take it to the trash compactor when I leave next time, whenever that be. I'm able to very carefully put it into a cabinet out of sight so Chris wouldn't try to drink it. I went into the room and grabbed my plate, then walked back out to the kitchen. As I rounded the corner I stopped in place... The bottle was on the counter again. I narrowed my eyes and set the plate in the sink before grabbing the bottle again, putting it in that same cabinet, and shut the door hard. The loud clack of cheap wood assured me I put it in there but I stared as though waiting for it to move.

Once I was satisfied I went back to the bedroom, grabbed Chris' plate, and walked back out. I rounded the counter again, nothing on it this time, 'Damn pain pills...' I dismissed it while placing it in the sink. I gave the plates a quick rinse and grabbed a glass of water from the fridge, readying myself to get atleast a little work done while Chris was asleep.

I turned and yelped in surprise, the glass slipped from my hand and smashed against the tile. The bottle had returned to the island but was now right in front of where I stood, I stepped back to the fridge as Chris ran out. She eyed the glass and carefully stepped over to me "Are you okay? What's wrong?" she asked, rubbing my shoulders. I pointed to the bottle "I-I-I put that away I p-p-put it in the c-c-c-" I hate this goddamn nervous stutter so fucking much!

Chris looked at the bottle as I fumbled through my sentence and pulled me away "Hey, hey, its okay, breathe, breathe" she cooed. I obeyed, taking deep breaths but I refused to look away from the bottle, "Alright uh... Let's just get you to your room, I'll take care of this, just go lay down... If you're still up I'll turn on the second one, okay?" she asked. I pointed "Don't touch it" "I won't touch it, Mars, I promise, okay?" she rubbed my back and began walking me around the counter back to my bed.

I'd stopped stuttering and talking altogether, just moving numbly as my brain raced with thousands of things. She covered me with the blanket and cleared her throat "Now just try to sleep okay, have you taken your pills?" I nodded as she stood. I just curled onto my side, secluding myself in my sheets while Chris sighed and walked out of the room. I brushed my hair back with a huff, shifting the blanket around to hood my face.

"What in the hell is going on?"