Mr. Candy and Other Lights
674 Words
"Jade, no!" Katherine screamed, waking up with a start. "Please, don’t do it! I don’t want to!"
She sat up abruptly, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs. She scanned the room in a panic, but the living room was empty. There was no one there.
"What happened? That was so strange..." she whispered, trying to steady her ragged breathing. "I thought... Wasn’t Jade just here?"
It seemed it had only been a nightmare, but it had felt terrifyingly real. A cold shiver ran down her spine.
"I need to change. I can't keep sitting here in the living room wrapped in a towel. Jade could walk out at any moment."
She reached for her phone to check the time. It was three in the morning.
"Unbelievable. I should have changed earlier," she scolded herself in a whisper. Suddenly, a chilling thought crossed her mind: What if Jade came out while I was asleep? What if he watched me... or touched me?
"No, I don't think so," she told herself, pressing a hand against her chest to force herself to calm down.
She stood up and crept toward her bedroom on tiptoe, holding her breath. She opened the door with extreme caution, slipped inside, and slowly opened the closet to grab a nightgown. She slipped back out the same way, closing the door delicately to avoid making a sound. Jade was completely dead to the world; with how heavily he slept, he hadn't even noticed Katherine's sudden panic when she woke up.
She headed to the bathroom, put on her pajamas, and brushed her long brown hair, gently massaging her temples. When she finished, she turned the handle of the sink with some difficulty; the faucet had been rusty for a while. She washed her face and let out a discouraged sigh as she tightened the tap to stop it from dripping. I need to fix this, it doesn't close properly anymore, she thought.
She went to the kitchen, took out two slices of the leftover pizza, and left the other two in the fridge for Jade's breakfast. She put them in the microwave. Five minutes should do it, she told herself. While she waited, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She didn't trust tap water; the last time she drank it, she ended up in the emergency room with a terrible stomach ache.
With her hot plate and water bottle, she sat at the table. She decided to check her phone and saw a message from her coworker, Nasly, sent a few hours prior:
Nasly: "Hey, girl! I ran into 'Mr. Candy' on my way to my second job. He told me he was heading to your place with an extra-large pizza. I guess tonight is movie night... and you know exactly what I mean, hehe 😉"
Katherine let out a small chuckle and texted back:
Katherine: "Well, I watched the movie alone, because Mr. Candy ate his extra-cheese pizza and fell fast asleep on the couch, haha."
To her surprise, Nasly replied almost instantly:
Nasly: "Girl, doesn't that worry you? Are you sure he doesn't have other little lights shining on his day?"
The comment annoyed Katherine.
Katherine: "Nasly, seriously, don't start with that. I don't think so, he's fine. Besides, what are you doing awake at this hour?"
Nasly: "The exact same thing as you."
Katherine: "Got it. Well, I'm going to sleep now. I'll see your face in a few hours anyway."
Nasly: "Sleep well, girl. Love ya."
Katherine: "Love you too ❤️"
She turned off the screen and settled back onto the sofa. The next morning, the sound of a voice woke her up instantly. It was Jade, talking on the phone in the kitchen.
"Don't worry, I'll change..."
Those were the exact words that made her eyes fly open, a fresh wave of doubt settling deep in her chest.
- Writer
