I shove my phone back in my pocket and reach for a mug. Right when my hand closes around my favorite University of Georgia mug, it hits me why I had such a sense of unease when I walked through the back door.
The alarm.
It wasn’t armed, and from what I can tell, the door sensors didn’t even chime.
Suddenly, that nagging sense of dread doesn’t seem so ridiculous. I set the mug down quietly, and with a deep breath, turn to face the door leading into the open reception area. My head does a nice imitation of a bobble head as I look between the door to the offices, and the one that leads outside. Fight or flight.
God! I’m so sick of being afraid of everything! I feel like this is a defining moment. Run again, or stand up and fight for my life.
I should know better. Doesn’t every horror movie have that scene that has you screaming at the stupid bimbo who runs straight into the dangerous killer? Yeah, I should know better, but unfortunately, my mind has decided it’s had enough of the two-year freak fest, had enough of being a scared little pussy.
Ever since yesterday and my ‘moment’ with Beck in Greg’s office, I’ve felt different. Not different enough that I can pinpoint the change, but I don’t feel so… damaged. I almost feel a little like the old Dee. I want that Dee back, and I’m ready to fight to get there. That’s the only reason I can think of that would make me take the steps needed to bring me to the solid wood door leading into the offices. When my hand touches the cold knob, I jump slightly, but pull my strength, and try to muster up some of that courage I thought was long gone.
You can do this, Dee. Just open the door and when you see the office is empty have a good laugh. Nothing to it.
Turning the knob, I silently push the door until there’s just enough space for me to see into the brightly lit room. I gasp when the first thing I see is a tall figure dressed in black with a mask over his face, standing right in front of the open doorway. I scream loud enough that my own ears ring and try to pull the door shut. The beefy hand that reaches out and stops the door from closing scares me enough that I lose my footing and fall to my ass.
Panting in fear, I quickly back up, knocking my head against the table in the middle of the room. I keep crawling as fast as I can backwards until my spine hits the wall with a thump. All the while, the tall figure keeps slowly stalking towards me, like a predator would his prey.
“Where is it, bitch?” The voice isn’t one I’ve heard before, but then again, the blood rushing in my ears is enough to make the most familiar voice unrecognizable.
“I don’t know what you’re looking for! P-p—please, don’t hurt me… If you want to take my purse, you can have it; there’s money in there. Cards too. Please, oh God, please!” Tears are streaming down my face and my body is shaking so violently that my teeth feel as if they’re rattling in my head. This is it. My miserable life is going to be over before I ever get a chance to tell the people in my life how much I love them.
“I don’t want your fucking wallet, you stupid cunt! Whatever you have in that goddamn wallet isn’t enough to cover what that idiot owes. Where the fuck is he!” He bends down and roughly pulls me up by the roots of my hair. I yelp, but scramble from the floor to try to minimize the damage. My body is screaming for me to shut it down, to just let him end it. Anything would be easier than living with the emptiness my life has become. But just as quickly as the thought enters my mind, I remember I want to fight. I’m better than what I’ve let my life become, and I damn sure don’t want to go out like this.
“I d-don’t know,” I whimper. “Please, I don’t know!” Apparently that’s not what this stranger wants to hear because he rears back and punches me with what feels like all his strength right in my eye. My head snaps to the side, and the pain that radiates from his punch is almost enough to make me pass out. I can already tell that my eye will be useless, and my other one is watering so badly that I can’t make anything out but a slightly fuzzy black dot in an otherwise white room.
“That will be the least of your fucking worries if you don’t tell me where he’s fucking hiding! That idiot owes a lot of money, and if he isn’t around to pay up, then it looks like it’s going to fall on you. ” He gets right in my face, and with my good eye, I can tell his eyes are ice cold blue. They would almost be attractive if it wasn’t for the flame of pure evil dancing behind them. “Where. Is. That. Motherfucker!”