Under the Cover of Darkness

01 | Alexandra

It was the same house I grew up in but somehow it seemed colder, more frightening than usual.

I was in my upstairs bedroom cowering under my favorite Bratz duvet while I listened frightfully to the heavy footsteps ascending the stairs, intent on my room.

Tears coursed down my face as I silently pleaded for the angry man to leave me alone. Assuming the fetal position, I shut my eyes firmly.

I heard the creak of my door and strangely I could smell the alcohol from the man at the door through the thick material of the duvet over my head.

“Alex,” he drew the first vowel in my name. “You've been a naughty girl.”

Suddenly the duvet was yanked from me leaving me cold and vulnerable to the man with the strange red eyes and feral smile. The scent of alcohol was almost choking at that point.

“Pl . . . ease,” was all I could mutter through my torrent of tears.

He made a tsk sound, the animalistic smile still on his face before he lunged for my throat.

I bolted up in bed breathing heavily and scanned my dark surroundings. The fear still gripped my heart so I switched on a light.

The light fell on my sparsely furnished bedroom and raw and unbelievably pleasant relief flooded my body. I tunneled my fingers through my damp hair and focused on slowing my erratic breathing.

Nightmares like that were starting to get more frequent but there was nothing I could do about it short of going to a doctor. As twisted as it sounded I would rather suffer incessant nightmares than go to a hospital.

A shadowy form moved to my left and I drew back in fear. I was about reaching for my bedside lamp when the shape flew out of the dark and unto my leg.

I almost screamed before I made out Morgan's dark brown head on my lap. I clutched my heart. “Morgan! Don't do that please!”

He cocked his head at me as if saying ‘what the heck did I do wrong?’. I chuckled and scratched his head.

Morgan was the brown Cocker Spaniel I once rescued. His left eye looked normal but the truth was he couldn't see a thing through it. He'd been the one constant in my life and although I was too busy to appreciate him properly like he deserved, I loved him to pieces and he knew it.

Suddenly overtaken by love for that shaggy, huge dog, I kissed him between the eyes. His tail perked up happily.

I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes. Looking at the alarm clock on my bedside table, I saw the time was 5.08.

I didn't have to get ready for work for another two hours so I got up and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

The house was tiny. Just a two bedroom apartment I shared with my mom.

What it lacked in space it made up for in hominess. With its bright white walls with blue trimming and the small blue throw pillows on the couch, I couldn't ask for a better home.

I trudged to the kitchen that was separated from the living room by a high arc, and sat on one of the four wooden bar stools surrounding the island.

Everywhere was still dark as I sat. This was my favorite part of the day, the time before the sun came up and I was reminded of how hectic my life really was.

I went through my boss' schedule in my mind.

I worked as the executive assistant to Carson Miller, the CEO of Miller Inc., and the overall boss of the company that revolutionized the tech world by developing the first fully automated ambulances. Being his executive assistant I got to manage and plan most of the details of his personal life but since his work life was his personal life I end up managing both.