In.
You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re okay.
Out.
What if they hurt my friends? What if they kill them?
No. God, please. Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease…
I dug deeper, gasping. Fighting the panic. I knew it was irrational. Logically, I knew it. There was no reason to believe I was in immediate danger. But I couldn’t stop the barrage of fear that had overtaken me.
I begged and pleaded, gouging myself in the process, until my heart finally slowed, the air started to reach my lungs, and the sense of doom had mostly run its course.
I jolted at the knock on the door.
“Shil-Emory? Everything okay?”
I took a shaky breath, trying to steady my voice. “Fine. Be out in a minute.”
“Alright. I’ll be on the deck. I’m going to get the food started.”
I held my breath until the sound of his footsteps faded.
I glanced down at myself and gaped at the blood. I’d made a mess of myself. A mess of the linoleum. My nails were stained red. I gingerly stood, reaching for the roll of toilet paper. I pressed a wad against my bleeding hip, and, with my free hand, I awkwardly grabbed more to wipe up the floor. With a little water from the sink, I was able to rid the floor of my mess, but my hip and hem of my underwear were a different story.
With a soft grunt I kneeled down and opened the cabinet below the sink. I rifled through the contents until I found a box of Band-Aids. It was already open and missing several bandages, but I managed to sift through and find the largest option. I grabbed two and made quick work of putting them over the gashes I had made.
I tossed the wrappers and the old band-aid in the trashcan under the sink before flushing the bloody tissues.Isplashed some more water on my pale and clammy face before straightening up.
Hell, there’s no way he’s not going to realize I freaked out in the bathroom.
I huffed, using the towel hanging on the wall to pat my face dry before deciding I’d have to leave the room.I threw my sweatshirt back on and adjusted my clothes.
Enoch was where he said he’d be, on the back deck standing in front of an open grill.I opened the slider and paused. Enoch had put on a pair of slides, but I was still only in a pair of socks.
Enoch spun to face me at the sound of the door opening. The deck was East facing, and the sun was no longer shining on this side of the house leaving a chill in the air.I settled against the doorframe, standing inside the threshold, and crossed my arms over my chest. I thought he was going to ignore the state of me as he turned back towards the grill and shut the lid.
“Was it too much?” He asked, turning his body to face me again. I noticed he’d put on a lightweight jacket.
“What?”
“Did I cross a line back there? I can tell it shook you up. I’m sorry. I got carried away with the questions.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine. I hate to break it to you, but girls shit too, you know? And you should really have some air freshener in that bathroom for guests so they’re not afraid to take a shit when they gotta go.”
Enoch wasn’t fazed by my attempt at deflecting his question. His stare was penetrating, and I worried for a moment he’d somehow heard or seen what had happened in the bathroom.
After a long pause of enduring his stare, he finally shrugged and grabbed the tongs from beside the grill.
“I’ll have to remember that next time I go to the store. Wouldn’t want my guests to be afraid to use the bathroom,” he chuckled under his breath.
I let loose a sigh of relief that he was dropping the topic and took a moment to admire the view. The yard was overgrown, filled with piles of decayed leaves from seasons past. In the distance, I could make out the mountains.
“So…what’s next? You did the living room, the kitchen, and…the deck?” I glanced over at him with a raised brow.
“Yeah, the deck was rotting, and it was stipulation of the sale that it be repaired before we moved in. I think I’m going to update the guest bathroom next.”
Enoch retrieved the cooked chicken off the grill and placed everything onto a clean platter.
