Paranoia || Naruto Uzumaki ||

Paranoia || Naruto Uzumaki || Chapter 21

HELLO!!!

Wow it's been....7 years! Life just...you know...happened. I'm determined to finish this story though.

FYI ***
This has always been a stalker story and we've gotten to the part where the stalker has made his move and from here on out there may be sensitive items that may be hard for some readers.

ENJOY!

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The snow swirled around Melanie, the pure white hiding the shadow that lurked beyond the flurry. She reached out to catch the snowflakes – a chain shot out of the whiteness winding around her, suffocating her, trapping her.

            Melanie shot up, breathing heavily. The weight on her chest had slid down to resting on her lap. She felt cold and hollow looking at it despite the sweat on her brow. The arm clinging to her as desperately as the chains in her dream wasn't the one she often dreamed of.

            She carefully removed the arm, making for the bathroom before her thoughts could wander any further. The clock on the bedside table read 4:07am. The red numbers blinked as the clock moved another minute forward, unaware that they marked another restless night for Melanie.

            She always slept better when Kabuto wasn't home.

            The bathroom door closed with a soft click, but Melanie still held her breath, listening in the overwhelming silence. After a few tense moments she moved away from the door. The bright lighting nearly blinded her and after a few seconds of staring at herself in the mirror she flicked the light switch off.

            Not wanting to go back to bed, Melanie opted for taking a shower. Standing under the cascading water always made her feel better. The shower was one of her favorite things about the house, with the large shower head in the middle of the ceiling it felt like standing in a waterfall. The remote next to the shower controlled the lighting, she settled on a warm yellow.      

            There was no point in keeping his memory away now.

            Melanie undressed quickly, the feeling of someone watching her growing stronger as her night gown slipped to the floor. She knew the bathroom door was still closed but that couldn't hide her from the various cameras stationed around the bathroom. She hadn't managed to find them, but she knew they were there.

They were all over the house.

Stepping under the warm water, being surrounded in the warm glow Melanie let her guard down. She imagined what her life would have looked like these past three years. Would she be in college now? Would she still be with her favorite ramen eating knucklehead? Would it be his arm wrapped tightly around her after a night of passionately exploring each other?         

Before long, her hand crept towards her aching center desperately needing some relief.

"I could help you with that you know."

Melanie flinched, all the warmth she had been feeling gone. The desire in Kabuto's voice was clear behind the foggy glass.

"I'm almost done."

"I'd love to see you finish."

Melanie turned off the shower, allowing the silence to answer for her. She cracked the door open sticking out her hand expectantly. Once she felt the soft towel brush against her fingertips she yanked the towel towards her, closing the door, using the foggy glass as cover as she dried and wrapped her body in the towel. She swung open the door hoping to smack the arrogant man in the face.

Kabuto had moved to leaning on the counter, arms folded against his chest. The glow from the shower casted him in a golden hue. His silvery hair was messy, no indication of a poor night's sleep on his glasses free face.