Your Worst Fears

Chapter 19: Inside

"I can't even believe she's still dating that douche."

"They were fussing the other day, so...." She crossed her fingers in the air.

"Yeah." I crossed my fingers to mirror hers.

"Okay, then," she got her list and grabbed her purse off the table by the door, "I'll be back shortly. If you need anything, just call."

"Alright. I think I'm gonna go take a nice, hot bath. My shoulder's been a bit achy lately."

"That sounds good."

I'd not soaked in the tub in forever, and I knew it'd relax me a bit, so I was excited as I headed upstairs. It's sad, as an eighteen year old, that taking a bath was going to be the highlight of my day, but that's exactly how it was. 

I started running the water before gathering my things, which included some new bath fizzes I'd gotten for my birthday. I grabbed some bubble bath, too, liking how it made a nice, white blanket over me while I soaked. When I walked back into the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind me so Kylie would bust in on me, steam filled the room, letting me know I'd gotten it just a little too hot. Nonetheless, I went ahead and dropped my bath bombs in and poured the bubbles, a fruity vanilla scent filling the air.

I connected my phone to the Bluetooth speaker I kept on the sink and turned my music on softly, setting it so it'd shuffle through my songs. Getting into the water an inch at a time, trying to adjust to the heat, each muscle already started to relax. By the time I was sitting down, sliding deep into the water until it was up to my neck, I was in heaven. 

It wasn't long before I heard Kylie yelling at me, apparently home from school already. "I'm up here!" I yelled back.

She yelled something else, but I couldn't hear her. I did hear the door again, but then it was quiet, so I assumed Derrick had just dropped her off and not come in, since I didn't hear his annoyingly loud voice echoing up the stairs. Not having to worry about Kylie or her dimwit boyfriend, I relaxed, sinking back into the water, bubbles tickling my chin. It felt so good I could've fallen asleep. Even when the thought of something hiding under the bubbles, waiting to jerk me under, crossed my mind, it immediately melted away like my tension had. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe.

After a good twenty minutes, when my skin was shriveled up like a prune, I ducked under the water, rinsing my hair and face off, before getting out. I wrapped a towel around me and opened up the door, letting the cool air in. I almost felt dizzy from where I'd gotten so hot, but it was worth it; I felt better than I had in months.

I grabbed my clothes and headed to my room, wanting to dry and cool off before I put them on. As I walked in and dropped them onto my bed, a voice startled me. No, it didn't just startle me, it scared the shit out of me.

"Hello, Amber."

I turned around to find Nick sitting in the chair at my desk. "What are you doing here?" I asked, pulling at my towel to make sure I was covered as his eyes traveled up and down my mostly naked body. "How did you get in?"

He stood up, resting his arms against his crutches. "Your sister let me in... before she left."

"Before she left? Where did she go?"

He shrugged. "Some guy let her out of his car, waited for her, and as she was heading back out the door, yelling to you that she'd be back later, she let me in, letting me know you were up here--" he eyed me again "--obviously taking a bath." He came towards me, leaning in and sniffing me. "You smell ssso nice."

I took a step back, reaching behind me and picking my clothes back up off my bed. "Um, you're not supposed to be here when Mom's not home. No parents, no guys. You know that," I added, trying to sound casual. 

"If Mom's not home, how will she know?" he asked, moving closer.

I went to step around him, but he held his crutch out, stopping me. "What are you doing?" I asked, trying to force a smile as I went the other way, but he held out the other one, stopping me again. "Nick, you're being weird." And I knew why, but tried not to show it.

He closed the tiny gap between us, smiling wickedly at me. "I think you and I both know Nick's not here."

In the next few seconds, my mind raced through all options of what I should do next; run, fake dumb, try to talk my way out of whatever was about to happen. The fact that he was on crutches made me choose the first, but before I even made it to the door, he had me. How could he be that fast with a broken ankle?

He pinned me up against the wall, causing my towel to slip just a bit, which I quickly grabbed and yanked up. "You know, I think I like this body the best," his voice said. "That bitch Eleanor was crazy, crazy." It sang the two words slowly, causing chills to pop up on my bare skin. It traced his finger down my shoulder, watching them as they spread down my arm. "She weighed me down, so it was actually a blessing--" he grinned at the word "--in disguise when your friends took her spirit from me." It looked back up at me with Nick's eyes, which were now pale and empty. "I didn't realize I'd become so strong and that I didn't need her any longer." 

"What do you want?" I asked, sounding much more confident than I felt, standing there half-naked and pinned against the wall with my clothes still in one hand and the top of my towel in the other. 

His smile widened, reminding me how much I'd always liked it, but now it was just wrong. "I've been inside you already, which was awful. You're quite the idiot." He laughed. "Has anyone ever told you that? What an idiot you are?" I glared at him as it looked at me through the beautiful eyes it had tarnished, but didn't answer. "Anyway," it continued slowly, "this body is telling me I'd like to get inside you again." He pressed up against me a bit harder, lowering his head so his lips were just a few inches from mine. "I think you might like that, too." He laughed again. "I'm sure you'd like it better than the last time I was inside you, since this time you'd remember every... single...--" his face got closer with each word "--second of it." 

I turned my head before his lips touched mine. "No, I don't think I would."

Just then, I heard the garage door open, causing it to step back and jerk Nick's head to the side. "How inconvenient," it said, the edge of his lip lifting slightly. "Mommy's home."