10. Layne

Chapter ten

Layne

T he afternoon light shines through my bedroom window, blinding me as I open my eyes. I stretch out and reach for my glasses but a piece of paper brushes my fingers before I get to them. Holding the scrap of paper centimeters in front of my face, I struggle to read it without my glasses, but the blurry words on the paper read,

“I’m coming for you, Ma Petite Mort.”

That’s french for My Little Death. I hold the paper in my hand and ponder those words. I’m nobodies anything, never had a boyfriend or any kind of relationship.

Thanks for the reminder, creepy fucker. What the fuck! This means someone broke in while I was sleeping.

Feeling all over my body, I check under the covers to make sure that I’m still in my clothes but nothing seems out of the ordinary. As I look around my small apartment, I wonder how someone broke in without me waking. The city is full of noise, though, and I sleep like the dead when I’m drunk, so someone could break in and I wouldn’t even notice. Glasses on, I notice a water bottle and a white pill on the bedside table. My head is thumping, but I’m not dumb enough to take a random pill sitting on my bedside table. I hop out of bed and sprint to the bathroom, the wave of nausea hitting hard and fast.

“No more drinking,” I swear, hunched over. The alcohol helps me sleep so I have a hard time giving it up. I know its a problem. My brain won’t shut off on its own, and the numbness from the alcohol dulls all the emotions and lets me sleep. I brush my teeth and take a quick shower while in the bathroom. Outfit of the day consists of a vintage metal t-shirt, black mid-thigh skirt, and my knife harness and blades. A single girl can’t be too safe in the city. After getting dressed, I cross into the kitchen. I check the time on the microwave.

“Shit!” I grab a granola bar, bag, and phone. I’m already twenty minutes late.

Rushing out the door, I lock it behind me and tramp down the stairs, then make my way out of the building into the alley. I don’t have a car, who needs a car when they live in the city? I do, because I cannot for the life of me seem to get my shit together enough to be on time anywhere . Ride-sharing has been a godsend, but it’s expensive as fuck. I’d rather be spending the money on a vehicle of my own. My ride is ten minutes away, so I pop into the pizza shop for a slice and a drink for the road.

“What’s up, Roman!” I shout over the noisy kitchen. Roman’s head pops around the corner with a big ass grin.

“Hey! Layne! Chica, where have you been? We practically have a whole pizza waiting for you.” I roll my eyes. All because I haven’t come down to the restaurant in a few days. It’s not been that long.

“Don’t exaggerate. You know me, always running late.” He snorts, nodding his head in agreement as he puts a few slices in a small box and hands me a soda .

After thanking him, I pivot, making my way to the door but stop when I see the most striking pair of green eyes staring at me. Like precious jade the owner of those eyes sits at the table shoved in the back corner, hood over his head. I can see his dirty reddish-blond hair underneath, and it’s a curly mess. Most of his face is hidden by the shadow of the corner and his hood, but I can still see his mouth. He licks his lips like I’m something for him to eat. My stomach flutters and that sensation travels down to my core.

“You okay, chica?” Roman calls to me, noticing I’ve stopped completely. He steps out from behind the counter, a pizza cutter in hand.

“I’m good,” I shout back, noticing the pizza cutter in his hand, raising my eyebrow at him. Before I can even say anything, my phone dings, letting me know my ride’s here. Our eyes connect for another moment. Shaking myself, I run out the door before the ride leaves.

Fifteen minutes later, I walk into work. Late as fuck, I look around, hoping that the owner, Kris, isn’t here.

“You’re safe, La La,” Atlas shouts from behind the counter. He’s sitting on a stool, book in hand. I breathe a sigh of relief as didn’t need to hear again about how my job was at risk because of my tardiness.

“Bitch, don’t you have a phone? You know there is a nifty feature where you can set an alarm.” Atlas snorts, taking in my disheveled appearance.

“Shut it, Atlas.” I set my bag and pizza box on the counter. “Want some pizza? Roman gave me enough for you, too.” Atlas’s eyes perk up at the offer of food.

“Are you banging him yet? You know he has the hots for you.” He takes a slice of pizza out and moans. “The man can make pizza, and I bet he fucks like a God.” I take a bite of the slice.

The delicious greasy food soothing my empty, sour stomach.

“Then you fuck him,” I offer. Atlas knows I am a virgin. This has been a hot topic since high school.

“La La, he is hot. Why not? Who are you waiting for? ”

That’s the problem. I don’t know who I’m waiting for. Someone who gets me and my quirkiness? Someone who won’t think I am fucked up for the things I like. My childhood was fucked up and I’ve just never wanted to drag someone down with my depressive spirals.

“I don’t know, Atlas, I just want something real. Someone who can see past all my brokenness and love me even though I’m fucked up.” Atlas hops off the stool and hip-checks me, his long chain smacking my knee as he throws an arm around me in a half-assed hug.

“You are the strangest chick! So moody and broody. So find you a moody and broody guy, match that energy babe! Let’s check the dating apps.” He takes out his phone.

“No thank you, that’s how girls end up dead. And why do you even have those apps? You have Sky.” Atlas rolls his eyes and puts his phone down.

“Maybe we wanna add a third?” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Fine, but let’s go out this weekend and maybe we can find someone for you to hook up with.”

I nod, knowing saying yes will be the only way to get him off my back this shift. Plus, it’s been a long time since I went out and enjoyed myself.

“Let’s go to a show. There are some good ones in Oakland this weekend. Sky sent me a list of a bunch that are going on.”

The great part about working in a place you love is that time flies by. We dance around the shop blasting music and read whenever we feel like it. We get plenty of business too, and that makes Kris happy. I took the closing shift tonight so Atlas left a few hours ago, making me promise I would text him tomorrow to figure out our plans. I close up the shop and as I’m locking up; I realize I forgot to schedule a ride.

Get your shit together Layne!

I lean up against the window of the shop as I attempt to order a ride but nothing is showing up on the app. Shit. This is what I get for being a procrastinator. I GPS the distance if I was to walk and it’s a trek, but I can do it. Maybe I can catch a bus if I pass one. I pop my earbuds in and start walking.

Is this the safest thing I could do? Probably not.

My walk is going unbothered despite my audiobook playing in my ears, and my legs are killing me. Need to exercise, Layne. I recheck the map and see I am still twenty minutes away from my apartment.

Up ahead is a park with lots of big, beautiful trees. I think about it for a second and decide to cut through it. Walking in the chill night air feels fantastic. The dirt trail with trees cuts right across the map to where I need to head.

Halfway through the trail, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I shiver, thinking it is just the cold, but the rustling of leaves on the ground puts me on alert. I spin around to take in the surroundings and as I do, stepping onto the trail from between some trees is a dark figure. It inches closer and I let out an ear-piercing scream. Covered head to toe in all black, a tall person in a zombie mask is staring back at me.

My brain is telling me to run, but my feet refuse to move. The figure moves closer and finally, my fight-or-flight kicks in, and I take off toward the trail’s end. I’m running as fast as I can, but it isn’t enough. Whoever’s chasing me is fast.

This is not how I die.

A deep, sinister chuckle echoes through the trees. “ Ma Petite Mort , I told you I was coming for you.”

I trip at the sound of the shadow’s words. The paper this morning! Holy shit, this fucker has been inside my apartment.

I can see the street up ahead through the clearing of trees, and I try to get up. I get on my feet and just as I am about to take off, hands wrap around my waist, pulling me into the hard body behind me. I continue to scream as loud as I can “Help, someone! Please!” He spins me around to where I’m now face-to-face with them .

“You shouldn’t be out walking at night, alone, Ma Petite Mort. What if someone other than I would have found you? Then I would have had to make such a mess of them.“ His voice was a whisper against my skin. My skin prickles as his breath dances across the exposed skin of my neck.

My screams bounce off the surrounding trees. “Please, just let me go…” my voice quakes with fear.

“You’re so beautiful when you’re afraid. I can’t wait to see what you look like when my cock is deep inside you.”

Oh, fuck this!

I reach down to my thigh and grasp the handle of one of my knives, this zombie-faced fucker doesn’t know what he is getting himself into. I spin the blade up and get ready to drive it between his ribs.

Just as my momentum catches, he grabs me by the wrist. “Feeling stabby are we? If you wanted to play with pointy things you should have said so.”

I reach up with my other hand and hit him in the face, his mask doesn’t budge. He laughs, pushing me to the ground, falling on top of me. Using his body weight to keep me still, he reaches for my harness and yanks the other blade out.

“Now, can we play nice? Or do I need to tie you up?”