SHADOWS OF KAYLA

TYPICALITIES AGAIN

Kayla.

The urge to find Festus to his house was strong, but I held myself back. He was not at the pizza shop that morning when I had intentionally passed by, hoping I would get a chance to talk to him again. The odds were no longer in my favour.

Standing there, I wondered if it was because of me that he wasn't at the Pizza shop, or I had been the one with the wrong timing. With a loud sigh, I walked past the shop hoping I would at least bump into him.

Festus.

“Day off?” Josh asked me while he stood walked out of the bathroom, inspecting his body in the desilvered standing mirror.

“Nope, not going to work,” I muttered in response, while my face was still buried in the pillow.

“Not today, not tomorrow, nor the day after. I quit, Josh,” I added, turning my face to look in his direction. Josh had just had his bath and a white towel hung loosely around his waist while he leaned against the small table that was meant to act as the vanity. He folded his arms over his chest, revealing his huge muscles and six-packs.

“That thing's going to drop,” I told him, referring to the towel.

“Let it,” he shrugged, smirking.

“Just get on with it,” I waved him, turning to face the wall to absorb the cooling morning feeling and garner the strength to find a new job sometime soon. I could as well have needed a complete week off if the money I had left didn't keep reducing digit by digit.

I couldn't help but think about how I've lived in the last week, both leaving home, encountering a ghost and falling under the mercies of my stepbrother. A side of my head was at peace being on the bed, snuggling in my own warmth. But it felt like there was a war going to stir up inside me again if I stepped my feet outside the door.

“What do you think about ghosts, Josh?” I quizzed vaguely, neither expecting an answer nor silence.

“What do I think? I think nothing,” Josh responded. I imagined him oiling his skin with the new body oil he got the day before.

“Are you sure you're not sick?” Josh quizzed. I was sure sick of a lot of things I had no idea about, lying on that bed.

“And would you believe it if I said I saw one?” I continued, evading his question.

“Spirits in your head and they won't go…” he sang jokingly.

“Josh.”

“No, okay? I won't,” he said, as I heard him trying to get into new pants.

Even I still couldn't believe it myself. I couldn't shrug off the feeling that I may have been living some kind of nightmare without realizing it. Probably, I was still in a long dream .

Josh sniffed the air quickly before he added,

“Even if there were ghosts, you wouldn't see one. Except you killed someone in your past life or something, and you're to pay for your sins,” Josh laughed, again joking. I wouldn't have taken it seriously either if I were him.

“I would have prefered that,” I replied.

“Can you be kind enough to tell me why the f**k you quit your job?”

“Suddenly hated it there.”

“It's okay if I'm not worth knowing,” he sighed, quickly doing a short drizzle of his spice-smelling perfume.

Josh was at it again. I smiled in my head.

“A kind of setup. Turns out my brother got me hired there, and you know how I can't accept such a favour. Especially from that direction.

“Hmm. Say no more.”

“Thank you,” I shot gratefully. I really didn't want to keep talking about it and Josh understood.

The thread of silence that proceeded our short talk was suddenly disrupted by a sharp chime of the door bell, which made my head ache. I groaned softly, turning my face to Josh, who was still shirtless, but in shorts.

“Expecting someone?” I asked tiredly.

“Was about to ask the same question,” Josh answered, leaving the room.

It better not be who I'm thinking. I thought in my head.

Not quite long after, Josh returned to the room with a broad smile on his face. He walked further to the bed and sat, while I watched him questioningly.

“What?”

“That beauty in the living room better not be your brother, cause what the f**k?” Josh ogled jocosely, jumping in bed with me.

God, no.

I let out another slight groan as I sausaged myself in the blankets. I didn't want to see or talk to anyone that day, let alone James.

How did f**k did he find this place?

“Don't keep him waiting.”

“Oh! Now you ditch me for him?” I grumbled, casually loosening myself from the sheets, holding in a yawn that was about to break my jaws open.

“I'm just being a gentleman,” Josh whispered saucily, with his face now close up to my ear, that I could smell the fresh toothpaste. I pushed his face away, getting out of bed and staggering angrily out of the room.

James whose butt had been welcomed to the warmth of the small couch smiled as soon as we locked eyes. I almost rolled my eyes but lost the strength to.

“How did you find this place?”

“You won't say hi?” He smiled again, now resting one of his hands straight, atop the backrest. I folded my arms, leaning slightly on one leg.

“I asked how you found this place.”

“Gina…”

“Hell, she doesn't know where I live,” I retorted quickly, watching him look around uncomfortably.

“I was about to say Gina said to say hi,” he responded confidently and brought his eyes to meet mine again. I figured he wasn't going to tell me how he found where I was living. The answer was simple, he was stalking me and I wasn't interested in talking to him about the topic anymore.

“Will you tell me why you're here, or will you leave?”

“I'm sorry.”