I Fell for The Angel That Killed Me

3- Brown Eyes

Jon was so happy, his chest felt like exploding. Nebula was here! She is finally with him. In-person, after so many video calls, he couldn't sleep. From the airport, talking, to food, to more talking, her new apartment, more talking then him pointing out his apartment that was a few lots down, to the mall, to a movie, then back to her apartment, then breakfast at 3 am and still catching up, then packing her clothing out and Nebula finally slept away from exhaustion while they were watching another movie, at her apartment.

Jon was beyond thrilled that she was finally here. After all the strings he had to pull to get her into University here, in Seoul.

Finally. His heart was here. With him.

He almost cried tears of joy when he saw her walk out the automated glassed doors at the airport, but held them back. They did some catching up but still, Jon wanted to know more. He felt that he could never know enough about Nebula. Things were so much easier now that she was here! He would be able to see her often. Every day, in fact, now that she was here in Seoul and attending the same university as him. Jon hadn't felt this happy in a while. Sure, he was excited about his career, but this was a different kind of joy. Nebula was special to his heart.

Now she was asleep and he had to go back to his place. He didn't get any sleep and he wasn't even worried. With his excitement about her being with him now, he was pretty certain that he would be very energetic. He left a sleeping Nebula on the sofa, gently snoring. He smiled despite that fact.

'My girl snores.'

___

Neb was still shaking like a leaf. She opened her eyes slowly and froze. It was watching her. She always felt it, even before she looked up. She almost expected to see the eyes staring out at her, although she couldn't remember clearly. She had seen them before when she was with her aunt and had woken up suddenly not knowing why because she hadn't gotten any bad dream, then. She had passed out abruptly when her eyes encountered another pair staring back at her in the darkness of her room, so she wasn't sure if she had seen what she thought she had seen. But she could swear they were human-like. They felt human-like.

'It's not real. It's not real. It's in my head. There's no baby. There is no baby. There is no one trying to kill me. No one. Nobody. It's all in my head! It's not real.'

Her entire body vibrated with her silent words. Her head pulsed so loudly. The bile rose. She could not hold it in any longer. Her breakfast greeted her on the floor as she leaned over the ...sofa?

'Where am I?'

The cheese and the garlic just made her stomach burn more from the sandwich she had earlier. She coughed as the tears ran down her face and she brought up more of her stomach contents, almost stifling as a movement caught her attention.

Something was coming towards her. From her peripheral view, it looked like legs. Legs covered in black pants? She slowly turned her still bent head a fraction as wide, black cotton-looking pants were moving towards her. She felt her eyes open wider and she froze, her head unable to move. Feet. She saw feet but couldn't see the toes. It was so dark but definitely feet.

'No brown eyes please!'

She squinched her eyes shut and braced herself for whatever impact she felt she should be prepared for. A few seconds passed and the place was silent. Her eyes still closed, she heard something. She squealed when she felt the movement under her.

She heard a buzzing sound and was freed from the fright-like spell she was in and grabbed her vibrating phone from beneath her tummy. Gripping it with trembling fingers, she saw flashing on the screen, Jon.

'Jon! Yes! She was here, with him! She was in Seoul!'

With lightning speed, she grabbed the phone and answered shakily, "Hello?"

"Neb? You're awake? I thought I should call and check in on you. Is everything okay?"

"What?" she replied confused for a few seconds before she understood what he meant.

"Are you okay? Still, jet-lagged?''

Nebula glanced around the room still uneasy. She looked at the screen on the phone. 10 pm. She had to be registered, in person, by 8 am the next day. "Jon...Can you come over now?"

He heard the uncertainty in her voice and replied, "Sure. Ten minutes."

She was comforted with the thought that he would be here soon but the eerie feeling didn't fade. Her middle fingers dug into her thumb cuticles nervously. Her nails digging into her flesh pained but not enough to distract her mind. The odor coming from her apartment floor did have her getting off the sofa to clean up her stomach contents, however. She was still hesitant to look in the direction of her open bedroom door where she thought she saw the pants.

Air freshener in hand, she knelt to sprayed the floor, feeling the hard pumps of her heart against her chest as she faced the door but refused to watch there.

Then she saw it. From her peripheral view, in the darkness of her bedroom.

How very wrong she had been! She had watched so many movies about mythical creatures that she had convinced herself from the level of the eyes she had seen, that it had to be short...and the only thing short like that was an animal. A wolf-like creature perhaps she had convinced herself, as the time she had seen it before was her bed height. It was definitely human she quickly realized as she straightened up from the floor slowly to her full height and felt her eyes widening as a tall person came within the door frame and paused.

Very, very, human.

Turning her head at an acute angle, she faced the shadows of her room. Had it been a person all along? Was someone stalking her since she was thirteen? Did she know a crazy person? Even worst...was it, someone, she didn't know?

'How was that worst? Right. It's worst if I know them.'

Someone was in her room. Here in South Korea and she had now arrived here. Feeling herself going numb as this realization hit her, her legs wobbled. Could it be the same person who was in her room in America? Had she been followed... overseas? Was it just a coincidence and this was just a random... bandit?

'I hope he's just robbing me' ...

She thought about that for a second.'...of valuables...'

She thought some more- 'of jewelry and money...'

She thought again. 'I have no jewelry or money... furniture...I have nothing!'

The eyes were just staring at her, blinking as Nebula's eyes adjusted to the dark. Brown. Then she noticed eyebrows, followed by an entire face. Male. Her tormenter was real and not in her mind as she had been led to believe for so many years. And definitely not a mythical creature and very much human!

Nebula felt the entire room sway as her head grew heavy. The last thing she remembered was hearing her name before everything went blank.