and pain like in her nipples and other parts, while totally alone and asleep.
“Maybe you’re possessed,” she quietly whispered to herself, then shuddered.
She also steered her thoughts away from her dream that she knew in her gut was actually a nightmare though she did not remember what happened in it. Slumping, she picked at the sugary crinkles and crushed one into dust as she obsessed over the dream that had turned on her. It was too much of a coincidence that the bruises had appeared in exact spots where she would be held if she had been fighting. What was scared was… was she fighting in her dream? And what was that feeling of dread, that inly darkness, that scary presence when she woke up? Was that also part of the dream?
And where the hell was the rest of her shirt?
She was still trying to analyze what happened to her on her second round of espresso and chocolate crinkles even though at the beginning, she wanted to forget them. She decided to find a logical – medical – explanation and signed onto her netbook to avidly search the internet.
By the end of her second cup of coffee, Cassie had believed she had a medical condition and decided that it would be best to get an appointment with a professional to find out for certain. Women sometimes exhibited a trait of being easily bruised when nearing their period. It was often a sign of anemia, too. Perhaps she was anemic and had grabbed her own arms… and ankles… and neck, in her dream and….
Okay. That explanation should be good, but it doesn't fit.
It didn’t explain her shirt, how it disappeared except for the torn sleeve. And that indentation at the foot of her bed!
She shoved away her cup. Maybe she’d had too much caffeine, chocolate, and sugar and not enough protein. The coffee shop was closing so she had to leave. Cassie trudged back out into the lonely darkness, taking note of the café door being locked behind her, before slowly treading the path towards her apartment building.
----
THE NIGHT night felt thick. She felt its weight upon her.
You are just imagining things. There’s nothing in your apartment to fear. Grow up, already. There’s nothing in the proverbial closet or under the—
Someone blocked her view and pushed at her, making her trip and fall back on her ass.
“You voracious slut!”
It took a second or two to realize it was a man, then another to understand who it was.
Jimmy screamed down in her face, his eyes wild, rimmed with dark bags as if he’d not been sleeping. Oh, and his eyes were glazed with craze, too.
“You fucking slut! What have you done to him! Polluted him with your bright lust and your insatiable angel’s cunt!”
Cassie’s heart was pounding. What the hell was his problem? Who was he talking about?
From behind him, Karen appeared running around the building’s exterior through the bushes and trees that landscaped it with a large flashlight.
“Hey-hey-hey! Jimmy! I’ve told you about that shit!” she shouted at him. Her appearance caught Elise’s attention. Karen looked ragged and beat, her hair standing up every which way. Being the super of an apartment building with Jimmy and his “pipes-to-hell” was telling on her.
“You, too!” Jimmy shrieked at Karen. “You keep him from me! He protects me from THEM! But YOU’RE playing with him, DISTRACTING him, from ME!!!”
Then, he ran into the building, his mail left scattered in the entryway.
“Well, he’s calmer today,” Karen snarked in a sarcastic deadpan. “You okay, Cassie?”
Cassie stood and took a quick inventory. She had no injuries, not from the last few seconds, anyway.
“Yeah, I’m fine. What’s his problem, Karen? And who’s this guy he’s talking about?”
Karen shrugged. She looked like she was about to fall down on the lawn and sleep. “Not sure who he’s talking about. He was gushing about – oh, the day before you moved in – about running into this ‘amazing, hot, sexy guy’ in the locker room at
“Maybe you’re possessed,” she quietly whispered to herself, then shuddered.
She also steered her thoughts away from her dream that she knew in her gut was actually a nightmare though she did not remember what happened in it. Slumping, she picked at the sugary crinkles and crushed one into dust as she obsessed over the dream that had turned on her. It was too much of a coincidence that the bruises had appeared in exact spots where she would be held if she had been fighting. What was scared was… was she fighting in her dream? And what was that feeling of dread, that inly darkness, that scary presence when she woke up? Was that also part of the dream?
And where the hell was the rest of her shirt?
She was still trying to analyze what happened to her on her second round of espresso and chocolate crinkles even though at the beginning, she wanted to forget them. She decided to find a logical – medical – explanation and signed onto her netbook to avidly search the internet.
By the end of her second cup of coffee, Cassie had believed she had a medical condition and decided that it would be best to get an appointment with a professional to find out for certain. Women sometimes exhibited a trait of being easily bruised when nearing their period. It was often a sign of anemia, too. Perhaps she was anemic and had grabbed her own arms… and ankles… and neck, in her dream and….
Okay. That explanation should be good, but it doesn't fit.
It didn’t explain her shirt, how it disappeared except for the torn sleeve. And that indentation at the foot of her bed!
She shoved away her cup. Maybe she’d had too much caffeine, chocolate, and sugar and not enough protein. The coffee shop was closing so she had to leave. Cassie trudged back out into the lonely darkness, taking note of the café door being locked behind her, before slowly treading the path towards her apartment building.
----
THE NIGHT night felt thick. She felt its weight upon her.
You are just imagining things. There’s nothing in your apartment to fear. Grow up, already. There’s nothing in the proverbial closet or under the—
Someone blocked her view and pushed at her, making her trip and fall back on her ass.
“You voracious slut!”
It took a second or two to realize it was a man, then another to understand who it was.
Jimmy screamed down in her face, his eyes wild, rimmed with dark bags as if he’d not been sleeping. Oh, and his eyes were glazed with craze, too.
“You fucking slut! What have you done to him! Polluted him with your bright lust and your insatiable angel’s cunt!”
Cassie’s heart was pounding. What the hell was his problem? Who was he talking about?
From behind him, Karen appeared running around the building’s exterior through the bushes and trees that landscaped it with a large flashlight.
“Hey-hey-hey! Jimmy! I’ve told you about that shit!” she shouted at him. Her appearance caught Elise’s attention. Karen looked ragged and beat, her hair standing up every which way. Being the super of an apartment building with Jimmy and his “pipes-to-hell” was telling on her.
“You, too!” Jimmy shrieked at Karen. “You keep him from me! He protects me from THEM! But YOU’RE playing with him, DISTRACTING him, from ME!!!”
Then, he ran into the building, his mail left scattered in the entryway.
“Well, he’s calmer today,” Karen snarked in a sarcastic deadpan. “You okay, Cassie?”
Cassie stood and took a quick inventory. She had no injuries, not from the last few seconds, anyway.
“Yeah, I’m fine. What’s his problem, Karen? And who’s this guy he’s talking about?”
Karen shrugged. She looked like she was about to fall down on the lawn and sleep. “Not sure who he’s talking about. He was gushing about – oh, the day before you moved in – about running into this ‘amazing, hot, sexy guy’ in the locker room at
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