The Demon
I switch my side on the bed again like I have been doing for the past two hours at least. I take a deep breath accepting my defeat from the never-coming sleep and sit up on the bed. My hand reaches my bedside table, picking up my phone. The bright screen pierces my eyeballs and it takes me a minute to settle my eyes on the screen to look at the time—4:34 am.
Sleep is way too far from my approach mainly because of him. The thought of the demon himself sends a shiver down my spine. I thoroughly go through the messages to make sure I haven’t received any more messages since the last time. Relief pours through me at the sight of no texts from him.
I should really be doing something about it. Like call the cops on him or at least tell my friends about him but his threats are powerful enough to put all my efforts to a halt. Simple as it is, I’m scared. He has perfect access to my apartment and can harm me anytime he wants. And just the thought puts me in another fear.
I haven’t even processed the current terror yet when the view of a new notification on my phone makes my dread more obvious. Adrenaline rushes through my blood and a thump is heard as my phone hits the ground. My eyes widen and I swallow a lump in my throat trying to calm myself down. My shaking hand finds its way to the glass of water on my nightstand. My lips touch the rim of the glass and the water pours in my throat. My shivering hand doesn’t help much and drops of water run down my neck and onto my lap.
Deep breaths, I tell myself.
I haven’t even opened the message and yet I’m losing my calm so easily. This isn’t the Zaviara I was. I gain some energy, pick up the phone from the ground again, and open the message with shaking fingers.
It is him.
Unknown: seeing you soon 🔪
It’s a new number just like the last two times. But just like both those times, the message ends with a knife emoji. I block the number knowing very well it will be unnecessary as he will send the next message with a new number but I do that for my satisfaction.
I get ready for my morning walk and make myself a cup of coffee. Even thinking about breakfast is making me throw up right now so I skip that. Putting my headphones on and looking for a good song to start my day with, I walk out of my apartment.
That is when I see my neighbor coming out of his apartment. This is probably the fifth time i have seen him since I came here to live. He barely comes out of his apartment or so it seems. I have heard his apartment door closing at midnight a few times.
Being the small talker I am, I take off my headphones and hang them around my neck walking towards him.
“Austin. Am I right?”
He takes a good second before looking up at me with his hazel eyes. The black t-shirt is stuck to his torso making everyone sure he works out. He is wearing black gear trousers with a long black coat with the buttons open. He runs his hand through his messy hair and smiles slightly.
“Yeah. And you’re Zaviara.” That wasn’t a question. But we have been living in the same building for over a year now so that should be normal.
“Are you going for a walk?” I sound pathetic after the panic phase I just went through. But I still try my best to talk normally. “Because I sure am.”
He raises an eyebrow.
“I don’t usually see you walking at…” he looks at his wristwatch, “...five fifteen.”
I give him a promising laugh which I realize later, was awkward as hell. But he keeps his face still and waits for my answer. After a good minute of awkward silence, I finally decide to speak.
“Well, I couldn’t sleep the whole night. So here I am.”
He nods with a smile and directs me towards the way with a movement of his hand. I start moving half-expecting him to go somewhere else but then I realize there is only one elevator. I hear his footsteps behind me as I enter the elevator. I wait for him to enter too then I press the button for the ground floor. We wait for the elevator bell to ring and we both step out. I look back at Austin with a smile.
“See you around.” my ending statement seemed to have disappointed him. He never replied and we both parted our ways. I put my headphones back on and jog to the nearest walking track.
After an hour of walking, I see Austin again on the same track and all I do is smile and move ahead. My mind is currently focusing on the demon I’ll have to confront someday. All my hope is for that day to never come.
