Silence fills the air again. I can feel my heartbeat thumping wildly against my ribcage.
This kind of scene only happens in thriller or horror movies, doesn't it? It can't happen to me right now. No way. It can't.
My mind is going crazy from thinking about all the possibilities. I can't decide which one is worst: being attacked by a psychopath or encountering a ghost.
I swallow. This is not the time to think which one is more bearable, Nevaeh. You have to focus.
My heart almost stops as I hear someone close the door. It's impossible to miss the sound of his movement in this dead silence.
Oh, God. It's a burglar.
I wish that this is just a nightmare. Chanting prayers might be able to save me from a ghost, but not a psychotic criminal.
With a shaking hand, I grab the handle of the telephone on my nightstand and dial the operator. They have security guarding this building 24 hours, including this floor.
"Good evening. How may I help you?" a woman's voice greets me from the other side of the line.
I almost drop the handle of the phone due to my fear because the shadow from the living room is now moving closer to my bedroom.
What if the intruder hears me asking for help? What if they decide to threaten my life on impulse? Should I just beg them to spare my life and take all my belongings instead?
"Someone--" I almost choke due to the panic consuming me. My voice is shaking uncontrollably. "Someone just broke into my apartment."
My body goes numb because of how frightened I am. The footsteps are getting closer. The sound of the person's shoes stepping on the wooden floor becomes clearer.
"Are you calling from your bedroom, Ms. Spencer?" the lady's voice turns alert in an instant. "If you are, can you lock the door now while the securities are coming? I'm sending them right now."
I shoot up from my bed to do as she told me. Maybe I should have done this first, but I was afraid that I wouldn't have any chance to call for help.
Just when I'm about to shut the door, a force pushes me back that I let out a small scream. I stumble back as the door almost hits me, and when I look up, I see a man wearing a security uniform staring down at me.
He's tall, and even in this darkness with just a small amount of light coming from the city lights outside my bedroom window, I can still recognize his face. He's the middle-aged security guard whom I've encountered multiple times, often in the lobby downstairs.
The sight of him and not a burglar makes me startled. The moment I notice his dark eyes roaming my features, chills run down my spine.
He doesn't move, just standing there, right in front of me. He's staring at me like I'm the most precious object in this room. I step back as my pulse quickens.
"What are you doing here?" I ask even though I'm not that stupid to not realize what's happening. He's not here to do his duty. "Are you checking my apartment? But I didn't call anyone," I keep talking, hoping that I can buy time until the other securities barge in. "Everything is under control."
I step back again, wanting to go as far as I can from him but not reckless enough to make him hurt me. To my horror, he steps forward. He tilts his head, still eyeing me. A calm smile touches the corner of his lips.
"Ms. Spencer," his low voice echoes in the room. It's filled with lust and makes my stomach churn. I feel like I want to vomit. "You're pretty, don't you know that?"
His words make me freeze. I stare at him in disbelief, wanting to deny everything. The security guard who's supposed to protect the occupants of this building is apparently a crazy stalker.
Tears almost spring to my eyes, but I'm trying my best to compose myself. I look around the room to find something that I can use to protect myself, but the moment he corners me against the bed, I stumble and hit the mattress.
I quickly roll on my side to face the bastard, but he's already towering over me. My chest heaves up and down. My lips tremble as I let out a soft cry. He gazes at me, who's lying down helplessly in front of him. His eyes are glinting with excitement.
He's sick. He's mental.
Before his face draws closer to mine, I kick his chest with all the power I have in my body. A groan escapes from his mouth, and my instinct to survive makes me grab the bedside lamp and hit his head with it. The action causes another groan from him, this time filled with anger.
I run away from the bed, but he grabs my leg, causing me to fall onto the ground with my face lying flat on the floor. I whimper with pain, and that's when I hear the loud sound of the front door banged open.
Rushed footsteps and shouts fill the room, and before I know it, the psycho's tight grip on my leg is gone.
Another security tries to help me up, but I scream and abruptly snap his hand away. I push back against the bed's leg, curling and trembling as I watch the scene before me.
The psycho struggles as two other guards pin him on the floor. One of them secures the handcuff around his wrists behind him.
"What the fuck are you doing, Dave? Get off me," my stalker hisses furiously at his friend, who still looks shocked but does his job nonetheless.
The other guards have disbelief skating all over their faces too. They can't believe that their friend has become insane, while here I am, feeling like being consumed in another darkness.
They're friends. How can I be sure that I can trust them? What if they're just the same?
The guard who was trying to help me up looks at me apologetically, noticing my fear. I wrap my arms around my body, still curling on the floor and shaking.
"We are very sorry for what just happened, Ms. Spencer." There's only sympathy in his voice. "We apologize for this incident. We didn't expect that Nico would commit such a crime."
A tear drops to my cheek as I listen to him, but I know that even though I've been rescued, this place will never be the same to me.
***
Double update: Chapter 07 and 08