Page 12 of Come Out, Come Out

“Yes, just like that,” she whines and douses any satisfaction I was experiencing. I don’t care how hot she looks spread out and writhing in pleasure, I don’t want anyone else earning those sounds from her.

No thought goes into it, I simply act as I slam my fist against the switch plate and turn the lights on and off in a quick sequence. That gets their attention. I fling the door open so hard it crashes into the wall with a bouncing thud. They all stare in my direction, mouths open in fear instead of pleasure, but nobody moves. I want them the fuck out of here,now. I march over to where his shoes are carelessly discarded and throw them onto the porch one after another, then I grab hers. Finally, their lust-addled minds catch up and register the danger.

“What the hell is going on?” The woman backs away as she stares at the open door, shaking in terror.

“I didn’t sign up for this shit. I’m getting the hell out of here,” the man yells as he grabs his clothes. “Come on, Sasha.” He doesn’t look back to see if she’s following, but she’s hot on his heels. Neither of them even checks to make sure Skye is going to be okay. If I could, I would follow them out and make them apologize to my girl, but their tires are already squealing down the dirt path as they haul ass away from the house.

I slam the door and turn my attention back to Skye who hasn’t moved. Lips parted and breath shallow, she waits. I consider trying to interact with her again, but it’s clear she can’t see me as her eyes dart around in fear. Instead, I find a shred of composure and go upstairs to wait for her to recover from what just happened.

As the minutes pass, guilt sinks its claws into me. It’s not that I don’t want her to be happy, I just can’t bare it if it’s not with me. I know it’s sick, but I’m not the man I used to be. Our circumstances test the limits of my sanity day after day, this pushed me too far. I hate that I’ve taken away some semblance of safety she felt here, but there’s no going back now. As long as she remains in this house—and I intend to do anything in my power to keep her here—she’s mine. Mine to watch. Mine to worship. Mine to hurt. She can’t escape me. Not now. Not ever.

I don’t know how, but I know in my gut that it’s true. I’ll have to wait and see how our story unfolds. My time in this home, in the in-between of life and death, has taught me one thing: I can be a patient man if I want something bad enough.

All I have is time, after all.

There’s nothing more motivating than the hope that I’ll have her in my grasp again. And if—no,when— I touch her next time, I’ll leave my mark, so she can never doubt how much I want her again. She’ll learn who she belongs to.

Skye

November 1st, 2020 – The Next Day

My eyes are heavy and my mind is more sluggish than usual as I finally turn off the light I left on overnight. I’m not sure if it helped me sleep or made it worse. I did everything I could to avoid drifting off but eventually, exhaustion had won out once the adrenaline waned. The stiffness in my neck and the throbbing in my back are evidence of that.

Despite my discomfort, I find that I can’t move. My fingers clench around the covers and my limbs are locked with the aftershocks of terror. Even my lungs are hesitant to expand and contract, as if the slightest movement might summonit. I swallow thickly as my temperature rises. The longer I remain still, the higher the tension in my room rises. I wait and wait, but all there is is silence. I don’t let my guard down though. The house is holding its breath, caught in a custody battle between the two beings that now occupy it.

God I really have to pee; this is such bullshit.

I squirm in the sheets as I weigh my options. It hasn’t bothered me since those two randos I invited over left, but it also might be lying in wait. I really am not in the mood to be possessed or whatever it is this ghost has in mind for me. But I also don’t want to die covered in my own urine.

How many times do I have to learn,dating apps never lead to anything good.Between the guy who nearly flipped the table when I beat him at Scrabble after a few drinks to the bubbly brunette who wouldn’t stop talking about how much she couldn’t wait to start a familyon the first date, I’d never gotten any payout from the effort it took to weed through all the weirdos.

The pressure in my bladder, my emotional hangover, and the absurdity of my situation come to a head and I fling the covers off me. I stomp into my bathroom, slam the door, lock it, and finally, let the relief flood through me. I know a lock probably, scratch that,definitelyisn’t going to keep a ghost out, but it’s the best solution I’ve got.

I stare into the water as I lather and rinse my hands, then force myself to meet my own gaze in the mirror. Dark, swollen bags and a paler-than-usual complexion greet me. The only thing that will make me feel better is a shower, so I risk it. I make it quick though, nearly rubbing my skin raw with the exfoliating net as I scrub my body from head to toe. When I turn the water off and grab my towel from where it hangs over the rod, the hairs on my arms rise; something feelsoff. I don’t see anything suspicious through the slight blur of the clear curtain, but I still hesitate for several seconds before pulling it open. I shouldn’t have let my guard down.

The wordMineis written on the steamy mirror. I’ve never moved so quickly in my life. My heart is at a gallop as I round the open doorway to the bedroom.Absolutely, the fuck not,I’m getting the hell out of here.I immediately start stuffing any clothing in reaching distance in my duffle bag. I grab Binx and run downstairs to pack up his essentials as I shove my phone to my ear. My heart picks up pace with each shrill ring.

“Ava, can I come stay with you for a few days.” My voice is tight and being drowned out by the cat’s cries, but thankfully she doesn’t make me explain. I’m positive she knows why I’m calling her. She lived here, after all.

In under ten minutes, Binx and I are in the car and on our way to her house. It’s a struggle to direct the steering wheel between my shaking hands and racing thoughts, but I manage. When the vibrant, manicured lawns and cookie-cutter houses of her suburb come into view, I finally loosen my grip just slightly and take what feels like my first real breath. I stop outside the beige home she now lives in with her girlfriend and take the keys out of the ignition. A knock on my window nearly sends me running out of my skin. When I look over, I’m relieved to see her concerned grimace.

Ava opens the door. “Hey, come on, let’s get you inside.”

I let her carry Binx while I grab our stuff and follow her inside. “I’m sorry,”

She cuts me off, “Don’t be, I understand.”

We were never super close, but I can tell she means it when she hands me some spiced cider and offers me a blanket on her couch before setting up Binx’s food and water for me. I take a few deep breaths and remind myself that I’m somewhere safe. When I finally look up at her, she’s watching me closely.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ava asks as she twirls a strand of dark purple hair around her manicured finger. Her round face is tense with worry, but I don’t see any smugness.

“Are you going to tell me ‘I told you so’?” I sigh and look away.

“No.” She gives me a small, sympathetic smile and squeezes my knee in reassurance, so I tell her what happened last night. After she adds some dark rum to our next cup of cider, I tell her about the guy who broke in, too. That’s what surprises her most out of everything I’ve told her.

“And he never came back?” she finally asks.

“Nope.” I roll my eyes at the disappointment in my voice.

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