Stay With Me

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

I unlocked the door to my apartment and stepped inside. My hand automatically shielded my eyes from the blinding light. Well, it’s not really blinding… but still. The rays of the late afternoon sun were streaming in through the large window. Turning my back to the uncovered window, I locked the door. I rotated the knob of the first lock and the second one. And the third. The third one is not really a lock, it's actually a door chain. Still turned back, I removed my tennis shoes.

“Hey,” Jillian cheerily greeted from the kitchen.

Jillian. Of course. The curtains were always drawn aside when she's here. Raising my hand in front of my eyes again, I walked to the window on the other side of the wall. I passed by the living room and glanced at the television. A scene of a ship’s deck was frozen in the screen. The movie was paused with Jack standing in front of Rose, their arms outstretched— the classic Titanic scene. I was pulling the blind’s string to the side when Jillian emerged from the kitchen, a bag of chips on her hand.

"Hey, Jill. What’s up?” I said while lowering the blinds. There are still streaks of light coming through it, so I dragged the curtain to block them. I released a breath of contentment.

“And the darkness prevails." Jillian raised her arms and did an eloquent swing, like she was presenting the area to an audience. Then her laugh echoed through the room. “You're being a vampy again, aren’t you?"

“How could you watch properly if the room is brighter than the TV?” I placed my bag on the table beside my laptop. "So you're watching Titanic again, huh?”

"Yup. You want some?" she asked, offering me the chips. When I shook my head, she continued, "I need a good laugh this afternoon so, yeah.” She grabbed the television remote and the movie continued to play.

Jillian watched this movie more than I could count. Unlike others, my best friend was just watching it, as she said, ‘to have a good laugh’. She finds some scenes in the movie quite humorous. Oftentimes, she would point out mistakes in the movie. And believe me, there were more than I could count.

“Do you want me to cook something for you?" I asked.

“No, I'm fine. I ate earlier in my apartment. You need to for yourself, though.” Raising her hand, palm facing me, she added, "Hush. Wait a sec, Vee. The best part of the movie is coming in five seconds."

I chuckled at her anticipation. Indeed, after five seconds, she burst into a cackle of laughter. Her laugh was contagious. Jillian often called me Vee, shorthand for vampire. The fact that I’m not a fan of ultra-bright light made her tease me that I'm one of the undead.

I was still smiling when I entered the kitchen to drink. I placed my water-filled glass in the breakfast bar and sat in the nearby bar stool. I was thinking of calling Jay and asking why he forgot to meet up. I have a new game software, the latest I've made, and he forgot to pick it up. That’s unusual of him, unless he has an upcoming big fight to manage. Who knows? I’ll just call him later.

For the past few days, I talked myself out of unconsciously spacing out. Not-so-nice things happen when I forgot to keep my walls up. Just like now. An image of a bearded man with a long scar that ran down his cheek flashed through my mind. The cold gradually crept up from my feet to the tip of my fingers, and I struggled to reach for the glass of water. I drank half of it and put the glass down. My toes involuntarily curled, feeling the scar at the bottom of my feet.

Find Ryle, a part of my mind was saying. He will help you.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I can’t involve him in this again. He was caught up in my own messed up life two years ago and there were consequences. The man, who I previously thought was in jail and the same person who gave me this scar, was planning to terrify me. He wanted me to be paranoid. But instead of taking my car or hailing a cab to the library, I walked to prove that I won’t be easily threatened. I won't give him what he wants.