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I bite my lip and then finally shrug it off, placing the receiver back into the phone cradle. I could sit here all day and try to figure out the enigma that is Stephan Argyle, but I have the rest of the day off, and I'm not going to waste it.
Maybe I'll actually get to relax on the couch and watch a movie or something. I might even spring for some Chinese takeout.
My mood gets even lighter at the thought.
Yes, Sherry, you really did me a solid by firing me. Thank you, bitch.
Eight
Elena
I can't rememberthe last time I just relaxed and enjoyed myself like this.
I took an hour-long soak in my bathtub. Seriously, I stayed in there until my skin pruned up and the water started getting tepid. It was heavenly. I actually had time to moisturize my hair instead of just quickly washing it.
I've engaged in more pampering and self-care of myself tonight than I have in months. Hell, maybe even a year or longer.
Now I'm curled up on my couch, eating straight from the Chinese takeout box. I swear the chow mien from the Chinese joint down on Fifth Avenue is to die for. I can buy it in those pre-made cartons in the grocery store or try to make it on my own, but it never tastes like this. I moan in complete satisfaction as I take another bite.
I have on my comfiest sleep set, and even though it's not really the season for fuzzy socks, I have on my fuzzy kitten socks. Even when it's spring and summer, I like to wear fuzzy socks when I'm lounging around the house. Hey, my feet get cold easily. Plus, there's something about the softness enveloping my feet that just makes me feel so cozy and comfortable.
I don't expressly pay for internet service or cable, but it's included as part of my rent, so I flick through the channels until I see that one of my favorite comfort movies is on.How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
Cheesy rom-com, Chinese takeout, and fuzzy socks. It doesn't get much better than this. Nothing can ruin this night.
No sooner do I think that do I hear rattling at my doorknob. I freeze with a fork full of chow mien halfway to my lips and stare over at my door, my heart suddenly pitter-pattering away in my chest.
Nobody has knocked on my door, but my doorknob is rattling like somebody's trying to get in.
I set my chow mien slowly on the coffee table before I stand and stare at the door indecisively. What do I do? Do I run? Do I go to the door and ask who's there? Where are those instincts people are supposed to have about things like this? Are mine fried or something?
Before I can come to an ultimate decision, the door is suddenly kicked open and two tall figures in ski masks and black hoodies are standing there.
They barge into my apartment and begin rifling through things, knocking everything over. I think they're looking for stuff to steal, but what's ironic is they couldn't have chosen a poorer person to steal from.
One of them curses loudly, and I gasp, startled by the rough sound of his voice booming throughout my space. I clap my hands over my mouth to try to keep them from hearing me, which is ridiculous because if they haven't spotted me already, they certainly will in a moment.
My assumption is proved correct whenever one of them looks up at me sharply. "Where's your money, bitch?" he barks at me.
I just shake my head. I want to open my mouth and tell them I don't have any, but my throat is swollen shut with fear.
"Jewelry?" the other one prompts me.
When I still don't answer, he comes over and grabs my arm threateningly. I want to laugh at that. Do I really look like the kind of girl who has jewelry? Before I get a chance to get my voice back and respond, the man's hand is suddenly yanked off of my arm, and I hear a sickening crack.
I stare in front of me incredulously as the two men are thrown from my apartment fast as lightning. I hear thuds outside my door where they're thrown against the wall, but what I can't wrap my mind around is the flash of black that passed before my eyes quick as a bullet.
Somebody just saved me, but they were moving at almost superhuman speed so I couldn't make out who they were.
Or maybe that's just my mind playing tricks on me. Maybe I'm already traumatized and going into shock, and that's why I couldn't see clearly enough to make out the shape of my savior. Surely someone didn't move with superhuman speed. Maybe it's just my mind moving too slowly to process what my eyes saw.
All I could make out was an impossibly tall form with dark hair and glowing eyes. Eyes that somehow seem so familiar. Like maybe something I've seen in a dream before.
I hear inhuman snarling coming from the hallway and the sound of tearing and ripping. It sounds like something out of a horror flick, and I swallow as I realize the sound is reminiscent of that of ripping human flesh.
Suddenly, my entire body feels cold. It starts at my head and travels down through my arms and legs. Panic grips my chest at the odd sensation, and then my vision goes blurry.
My legs turn to jelly, and I feel myself falling.
