Nyctophilia

chapter three: stranger danger

A scream escaped her mouth as she did the only thing that she could come up with. She threw her back bag at him and run into her bedroom, locking the door immediately after she entered the room. She placed her desk chair to keep it locked in case he had a pin or something with him to open it and then, she locked herself in the bathroom. After making sure that there was no way for someone to enter, she sat inside the bathtub and tried to come up with a way to get out of there.

She could hear his fists banging against her wooden door and she closed her eyes, praying to God for safety. 'Maybe he'll get tired and leave' She thought.

All Anastasia could think was that she sure as hell wanted her sister and her boyfriend to come and save her. She never felt this petrified in her life, her heart was in her mouth and she found it difficult to breathe.

"Come out. Come out, princess." A few tears escaped her eyes and run down her cheeks, she didn't wipe them. She could barely hear him and then, the banging stopped and a loud crash was heard – he broke the bedroom door, she realized. "I'm not going hurt you."

He was amused, she could tell. He kept dragging a few words as if he was making fun of her – which annoyed her even more but fear had conquered her body and she kept trembling inside the tub, not sure of what to do.

His fist hit the bathroom's door, making her gasp. His laugh reached her ear and she knew she had to do something to get out of there alive. She took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, which didn't really help since the banging reminded her that there was a psycho outside the door ready to kill her in cold blood.

She looked around the bathroom and the only things she could find were some hairbrushes, her toothbrush and toothpaste, her shampoo and her makeup bag. Nothing that could substantially help her. And then, her eyes landed on something and a risky idea popped in her head.

Suddenly, the door gave away and his big fist was in sight.

She screamed as he opened the door and in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of her, glaring at her with his red eyer that also held amusement in them.

"It's – you..." She uttered, trying to find the right words. He shook his head in confirmation. His hand grabbed her waist and he pulled her closer, his eyes never leaving hers. She gasped at the sudden contact and a chill run down her spine as she never unlocked her gaze from his. His grip wasn't tight but rather gentle and she wished that it would stay like that.

"I'm sorry I have to do this, darling." His other hand cupped her wet cheek, caressing it with his thumb. He was tall – taller than her at least. She barely reached his chin, something really weird because Anastasia is considered the second tallest girl in her university, the first one being Jade.

"Do what? What do you want from me? Look, I'm grateful and all that you saved me but – why are you here? How did you get here and how – " His hand moved away from her cheek and he placed it over her mouth to stop her from talking. She was asking way too much and he knew he wasn't – he couldn't answer her question. After all, he was there to end her from questioning herself what he was. He knew she had figured it out, after all, he was standing there in front of her proving her suspicions right.

Before he could open his mouth to talk, she grabbed the hairdryer and hit him in the back of his head making him hiss. His hand moved to cup his hurt head, releasing her and she made a run for it. She jumped out of the bathroom and into the hall quickly before making her way to the door which was still locked – like she had left it only minutes ago.

How did he come in?

She grabbed her bag that was on the floor, a few meters away from where she threw it at him and she dashed out of the apartment, tripping and almost falling down the stairs as she ran. She took them two at a time while holding the railing next to her to keep from falling. Where am I going? She asked herself as she got out of the block of flats. She had used the back door for safety and now, she was trying to catch her breath.

A whooshing sound was heard and suddenly, the man appeared in front of her.

Did he jump from the fourth floor?

She opened her mouth to let out another scream but he was quick to grab her and stop her. His eyes were a maroon color which she guessed meant that he was angry. A growling sound left his throat and the inhuman sound shook her to the bone. Her heart was pounding so hard inside her chest that she was afraid it would break her ribcage.

"Never do that again, princess." he snapped, 'Or else, I'll have my men drain you alive".

Tears fell like waterfalls on her cheeks and he rolled his eyes which for once were a normal color – brown. "Now, you will forget you saw me that night – " His eyes dilated and her muffled gasp was heard " – and you will forget everything about me and my kind. That night didn't happen and we never met. You went shopping but didn't buy anything and now, you'll get upstairs as if nothing happened and you will live your life peacefully."

She stayed there, her eyes wide and her vision blurry. She found it difficult to remember what happened a few minutes ago but then, an image of her inside Forever 21 crossed her mind and she felt relief. She hadn't found anything to buy but she promised to check again tomorrow with Jade who will probably buy the whole store.

"Here's your phone, the screen is cracked. It slipped out of your hand on your way home."

Another image of her cursing like a sailor in the middle of the streets while cars honked came up and she took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. Why was it pounding again?

"Now off you go, princess."