09 Jul Olivia

Chapter 1

A loud screeching noise interrupts my shower. Reaching for my towel, I hear it again, only louder.

I get out of the shower and towel off quickly. Listening carefully, I don’t hear the screech I heard earlier, and think to myself it must be nothing. Probably just bad plumbing in this older home. I put on my white jeans, the one’s that fit just right. They go so well with the new aqua top I bought yesterday, laying on top of the bed.

I am going to see my new guy friend that I met online. He looks so handsome, and his eyes make an electrical current pulse through me. We have a date to meet at the park, and I want to look my best. I’ve been friends with guys on the internet before, mostly chatting, but I have never gone to meet someone I found on the net.

I finish dressing, and I hear it again. A loud screeching noise, like claws upon the door causing me to jump. I go to the stair railing and, downstairs. I usually don’t scare easily, but I am curious as to what that noise might be. I grab my jean jacket and quickly throw it on before descending the stairs that lead to the front hallway of our home. I stop.  Go on down. Don’t be a chicken. I heard something and I know I must check it out. What could it be?

I open the front door. There is no one there. No scratches on the door. Nothing.

I start to go back to my room to finish dressing. When I reach the top of the stairs, I hear it again. This time I am sure something is there. A screeching, scratching noise, sounding like claws against metal. The back door, I think. That must be it, the back door that leads to the screened in porch is metal.

The screeching stopped as I make it halfway down the stairs. I pause and listen. I hear nothing. Silence. I take two more steps and freeze, straining to hear what I think is an animal, scratching at the back door again. Suddenly, it gets louder. The sound isn’t like a dog, or even a cat. It’s getting louder, and the screeching is sending chills down my spine.

I make it to the bottom of the stairs and proceed carefully towards the back door.  A loud crash, sounding like it came from the living room window being broken, makes me run instinctively for the back door. I open it to escape, but I can’t. My internet date is standing in front of me. But something is terribly wrong. He shouldn’t be here. How did he find me? He doesn’t have hands… he has… claws.

He opens his mouth and bloody fangs and horns on his head appear as I stand frozen and in shock. His claws reach for my throat.

“Hello, Olivia.”

Darkness.

Chapter 2

The light in the room woke me from my dream. I have this dream often and there seems to be the same ending. Always a good looking stranger I met on the internet dream, comes to my house and tries to kill me. I always wake up not knowing the ending. Did he kill me? Did I kill the demon with the sharp claws reaching for my neck? I never seem to find out as the dream ends the same. Darkness.

I get up and slide out of bed to make my coffee. Just out of curiosity, I check the front door. There are no footprints or scratches. I walk next to the backdoor, open it, and find nothing there showing anyone, or anything has been near the house. I knew that would be so, but I check, nonetheless.

I grab my coffee and head to the couch. I open my laptop and log on. Today I will look for an internet date. It had been a year since Tom left me and I was lonely and needed companionship.  All this internet dating stuff is making me have these awful dreams. I quickly close the laptop and stop myself. Maybe it isn’t meant for me to have someone else? I take a sip of my hot, steaming coffee and ponder my thoughts.

My phone rings and I see it is my friend, Lauren calling.

“Hello, Lauren.”

“Olivia, hi. I just found out there is a new bar in town opening this Friday night. I thought you may want to go.”

“Uh, I don’t know, Lauren. You know the guys you meet in bars. They are just out for one thing. Usually not looking for a long-term relationship.”

“Well, Olivia, not to be critical, but when’s the last time you’ve been with a man? Aren’t you getting, well…needy?”

“You mean horny, Lauren? Sure sometimes. But not to the point I must throw myself at someone. I always thought that looked bad on most women. You know, throwing yourself at a man.”

“C’mon, Olivia, let’s make a night of it. I’m not asking to throw yourself at anyone. Besides, it’s been a while since we did something fun together.”

“Okay, Okay, I’ll give in. Do you want me to drive?”

“That’s okay, Olivia. I’ll drive myself, you know, just in case the man of my dreams shows up?”

“Okay, to the new bar on Friday it is.”

I hang up the phone and laugh to myself at my friend, Lauren. She had always been the adventurous one, me, of course, the shy one. I took my relationships slow. Lauren was speedy and up front. She knew what she wanted and was not afraid to ask. I, on the other hand, tend to take my time, freezing a relationship before it even gets started. Maybe this Friday will be different. We’ll see.

It’s Thursday and I need to get dressed for work. I go upstairs and turn on the shower. The hot water is calming all the nerve endings that were stimulated far too much last night. I rinse my hair and turn towards the back of the shower. Through the steam I see a face? What the hell, Tom’s face? Just as quickly as she thought she saw her ex-husband, his face vanished into the steam. Tom?

“Hello, Olivia!”

I know, I don’t hear that. It can’t be, can it. I turn off the water and peek around the shower curtain. Barely open, I see nothing but the steam that has now gathered on my mirror. I grab my towel and begin to dry off. I would have to blow dry my hair but today, I decided to let it be curly. I didn’t want to stay in here too long. The episode in the shower is giving me the creeps.

I begin to wipe off the foggy mirror and reach down for the toothbrush and toothpaste, looking back up at the mirror. I jumped and lost my grip on both the toothbrush and tube of toothpaste. The claw, the one that reached for me in my dreams was above my head. I scream out loud and duck, covering my head with both hands. Waiting for my imminent demise. But there is nothing. I want to peak from my covered eyes, shut so tight it was giving me a headache. Do I dare?

Slowly, I open a small gap between my index and middle finger. Nothing. I turn my head around and look upward. Nothing. I raise myself from a squatting position and look back into the mirror. Nothing.

I must have something wrong with me. This dream, this crazy dream is consuming me. Damn that Tom. He’s the cause of it all. I think too much about him. That’s what it is. It’s Tom giving me these bad dreams. The evil son-of -a-bitch that he was. I shake my head and get back to finishing drying and putting on my clothes. Do I need therapy?

I finish dressing and head to grab my purse and keys, head to the garage, and start the car after opening the garage door. I back out and close the door and head off to work. Driving down the road, I hear the voice again.

Hello, Olivia!

A chill goes down my spine.

Chapter 3

I return home from work on Thursday and have a boring evening. Watching television and a cup of hot tea before bed, isn’t exactly killing it like we will be tomorrow going to the new club with Lauren.

Lauren and I had an on-again-off-again relationship as friends, depending on if she was attached to a guy or not. When she was single, we hung out a lot. If she had a steady relationship, we saw each other very little. But even with all that, her love life and single life far outdistanced anything going on in mine.

I’d looked at dating sites often, but I couldn’t get myself to jump into it. Mainly because I kept having these bad dreams about on-line dating. Was it me or was there really that many bad people out there. You hear it in the news all the time. It was hard to trust anyone after what Tom did. He ruined what I felt was the strongest love I ever felt for someone. The cheater brought his girlfriend to this house. I caught them here. In our home!

I feel my face flush with heat at the memory of such a horrible set of circumstances. Whatever was on TV was now just a blur and all of it came rushing back to me, causing me anger and tears. I hate myself for feeling this way. I must put this in the past. I promise myself tomorrow will be better and head up to my room. Friday night would be here soon, and I, Olivia Manson, will take control of my demons and have fun tomorrow at the new bar with Lauren.

I toss and turn, unable to turn off the flow of thoughts consuming me. Damn that Tom. My parents were right, which I hate, but I should have never married him. They nagged me to no end about not marrying him until I couldn’t take it any longer. I married him just to disappoint them. I wasn’t going to let them control my life any longer. But in the end, they were right, and it was Tom, that damn Tom Manson that shattered my world.

I hear the shower running, I think I see… Tom? In my shower? And who’s this woman under the sheets in my bed? What the f… ? A loud screech causes Tom to turn off the shower. He wraps the towel around him and leaves the bathroom.

“What is that?” the woman asks Tom.

“Stay here, I’m going to check it out.”

“I’m going with you,” the woman named Amy replied.

“Don’t go down there,” I say aloud in my sleep as the dream continued.

Tom makes it halfway down the stairs. The screeching noise gets louder. He stops halfway down the steps. Amy, the woman he cheated with, has a sheet wrapped around her and freezes. She starts to shake with fear. She had never heard such an awful sound.

“The back door, it’s coming from the back door,” Tom whispers.

“Don’t go… just… call the police,” Amy stammered.

“It’s probably just the dog.”

Tom continued down the steps and headed for the back door leading to the kitchen.

“Don’t open the door!” I scream and sit straight up in bed. My nightgown is soaked with sweat and the fear inside of me doesn’t want to know the end of the dream. I slowly get out of bed and make it to the bathroom. I lift the toilet seat and feel like I could hurl. But nothing comes and I now hold on to the sink, keeping myself upright, even though my legs are like jelly. I look up in the mirror…

“Hello, Olivia.”

I close my eyes, and needles, hot and piercing, feel like they are penetrating my skin all over my body. I shake my head, “No, no, no…”

With the morning dream and bathroom episode behind me, I head to work. I am barely keeping myself together. My dreams, they are haunting me more each night. Lauren and I would have fun tonight, and maybe these dreams will vanish. Maybe I should cancel. Call Lauren and tell her I’m not feeling my best. No, no, I will go, I must pull myself together.

***

Finally, Friday night has arrived. It’s time to put this all behind me. I am trying to convince myself that dreams are just that. They mostly have no basis, but maybe only a slight reality of happening in your life sparks all the other fears inside of you. You wake up, and they disappear.

I am ready to meet Lauren at the new bar. I take a deep breath, put my car in gear, and head to the new bar.

Chapter 4

Lauren texted me and said she already had a place for us to sit. Naturally, she beat me there as she was always the early bird. I enter the bar, and it is nicely decorated with modern taste, giving the appearance of a fun place to be. The atmosphere was all about something exciting tonight. The customers were buzzing, and a DJ is playing the thumping music. I see Lauren has a table for us already and I tell the host I am going to be with my friend as I point to Lauren. I walk ahead to meet Lauren.

“Hey, Olivia. I’m so glad you came. It’s so good to be out together again,” Lauren said loudly over the blaring music, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“It’s good to be here. I just hope we can hear each other over this music!” Olivia countered.

“Isn’t this the best place? Surely, we can find a nice guy in this place. It really seems popular,” Lauren said.

“It sure does,” Olivia responded looking to the left and noticing a handsome man staring at her from the long u-shaped bar to her left.

Lauren noticed Olivia staring at the man. “Did you find one already?” Lauren quizzed Olivia.

“Oh, he is cute, but I’m not quite settled in with you. How was your week?” Olivia asked, turning away from the man at the bar.

Oh, dull. Work is work, but there is a new hire at the office that I really like. I told him we were coming here tonight. Maybe he will show up!”

Oh great, just what I need. I don’t want to be a third wheel. Not my idea of fun. Can Lauren just be my friend and not always have to be after every guy she meets? I was looking forward to some conversation. Guess that won’t be happening.

Suddenly I snap out of my “Debbie Downer” thoughts, and there is a nice-looking guy at our table. “Olivia, this is Jerry Anderson. Jerry, this is my best friend, Olivia.”

“Nice to meet you, Olivia. I’ve heard a lot about you from Lauren.”

“Nice to meet you as well,” I offer back.

Lauren and Jerry have a conversation about work and my attention drifts back to the man at the bar. While I stare, Jerry and Lauren go to the dance floor, and I’m left alone. Oh well, third wheel I guess it is for tonight.

The handsome man from the bar is walking towards me. Me, Olivia, the one with the fractured outlook on life. Me, the dud and third wheel.

“Hello, seems like your friends left you alone. Mind if I sit for a second? I came alone and I noticed you from the bar. Something stuck out to me about you. You just appear different than most people who hang out on a Friday. Seems to me you might need some good conversation. My name is Nathan Grissom,” he said, holding his hand out to shake.

“I’m Olivia, that’s my friend, Lauren, out there dancing with her new friend from work. So, she left me here to fend for myself.”

“Well, Olivia, you may have done better than ending up with me, but you could have done worse. Can I sit down?”

“Sure, help yourself.” I offered, noticing his neat haircut, kind facial features, and eyes, oh his eyes, they were beautiful. He lowers his tall and fit body to our table, and he looks directly into my eyes.

“I feel as if I’ve seen you before. Not a pick-up line, just thinking I may know you from somewhere. You seem familiar, yet, you are remarkably beautiful, I don’t think I would have forgotten you.” Nathan started.

I blushed immediately, his eyes taking over. It was quite remarkable that his eyes were holding my attention like that. It was embarrassing. I recover quickly. “Well, thank you for that, I haven’t been out too much lately. Lauren and I wanted to check out this new place tonight. To be honest, I haven’t had much opportunity to date since… well, since my divorce.”

“I’m sorry,” Nathan answered, as he looked away from Lauren and Jerry, then quickly returning his attention to me. “Look, I must leave soon. I can only stay a few more minutes. I have to meet family. But can I see you again? I’d like to call and set up a real date, so maybe you can give me your number and I will call you and set up something for us, that is if you want to.”

His eyes, those beautiful eyes, tell me he was sincere, so I write my number down for him. He takes the number and reaches his hand out to shake mine. I take his hand to consecrate the future date and notice how cold his hand was. Really cold, contradicting his warm and sexually attractive eyes. Ice cold. He smiles and turns to walk away. What in the hell did I just do?

Jerry and Lauren come back from dancing, and I am still in a trance about how cold his hand was. It didn’t fit what his eyes were saying. I shake it off and my evening continues with me being that third wheel I despised being when I hang out with Lauren. She had a guy, and I always went home alone. This night is going to be no different. I’m such a drip.

Chapter 5

I get back home around eleven and quickly hang my coat on one of the hooks on the coat tree and head up the stairs. I can’t quit thinking about Nathan, his eyes as hot as fire and his hands, well… as cold as ice. Nathan also reminded me of someone, but I can’t put my finger on it. Was it Tom? Shit, I certainly hope not. What a mistake Tom was, married him because I loved him. He married me so he could cheat. I tried but I just couldn’t make it work. Tom, the cheating bastard.

My eyes begin to tear up as I sit on my bed in my robe. My phone rings and I quickly answer it, not looking to see who it is. I assume it must be Lauren wanting to tell me about how wonderful Jerry, the new guy from work was. But it wasn’t Lauren’s voice.

“Hello, Olivia.”

“Who is this?” I ask, not recognizing the voice immediately.

“It’s Nathan, you know, from the bar tonight.”

Hello, Nathan. Sorry I didn’t recognize the voice. I barely got to know you.”

“That’s why I called. I wanted to know if I could come by. I am finished with the family meeting and thought maybe we could talk more. I’d really like to get to know you better,” Nathan said.

Before I respond I think to myself, ‘No fucking way!’ but I relent and say yes. Those eyes, so pretty but those hands, so cold. “Sure, Nathan, sure.” I say, getting over my Debbie Downer Syndrome.

“Give me your address, and I’ll be there in just a few minutes, Olivia.”

I give him my address and wonder all the while is this okay? It seems even more dangerous than internet dating sites. I must be going out on a limb here. What makes it okay for him to come here? I hang up and Nathan Grissom will be on his way soon. What did I just do?

I hurried back upstairs to put on something casual, maybe just a bit seductive but revealing enough to at least draw Nathan’s interest. I do go slow, but there are times when, you know, you just need someone to look at you in a different way.

***

Nathan arrives in about a half an hour. I let him in and ask him if he’d like something to drink. He asked for a whiskey, and I poured myself a wine. We sit and chat for a while and he begins to flirt with me. He moves closer to me and tries to kiss me. I give in to his handsome eyes as our lips are about to meet. His kiss is well… not what I expected. His lips seem cool to me, not hot like I was hoping for. But I suggest we go upstairs to my room. I’m surprised I am moving this fast. For some reason, his eyes are controlling me, making me want him. We made love for quite some time and fell asleep in each other’s arms. I woke later and slip out of the covers quietly heading downstairs. Nathan was good, very good indeed. But aren’t all the Nathans and Toms in the world the same? Love you for a while, cheat on you when they get tired of you. Use you for what they want but skip the emotional love and friendship? Quit doing things for you? Quit being considerate of your needs? Quit fucking listening?

I once again felt that old flash of heat. The flash my therapist wanted me to overcome. That fucking Tom! I grabbed the kitchen sink to keep myself from falling. My legs weakening with each hateful thought, but my upper body gaining a familiar strength.

***

Nathan steps into the shower and feels the hot water soothe his cool skin. As he begins to wash himself, he hears a loud screeching noise. He stops and listens, but Nathan thinks it must be bad pipes. He finishes his shower and turns off the water. He hears it again. Another screech, this time louder than the next. He wraps a towel around him and heads for the landing outside of the bedroom.

“Olivia, hey Olivia!” Nathan calls out. No answer.

Another screech, the loudest of them all makes Nathan cringe.

“Hey Olivia, where are you? Olivia!”

No answer again.

Nathan walks towards the back door and the scratching and screeching continues.

Maybe Olivia is hurt. I need to check.

A voice inside of my head is saying, “Please, Nathan, please don’t open that door.”

Nathan reaches for the handle and turns it to open the door.

“Nathan do not open that door,” a voice and person that Nathan cannot see or hear commands him.

Too late.

Nathan opens the door. I am standing there.

“Hello, Nathan!”

Her strong right arm with claws attached to the end, reach for Nathan’s throat. He is stunned and shocked, not being able to move a muscle. Olivia lifts him off the ground and squeezes, puncturing his neck, and causing blood to spatter all over. Nathan’s face is bright red, and finally, his body goes limp and lifeless, collapsing to the ground. Darkness.

I told him not to open the door. I tried, but he wouldn’t listen. He would have just been another Tom. He would have cheated on me.

I drag his body out to the old apple tree near the shed in my backyard. I retrieve the shovel from the shed and began to dig. My thoughts excuse me for my actions.

Just another Tom.

Finally, the hole is finished, and I dump the body next to where I laid cheating Tom to rest. I covered the hole and said, “You belong together.”

I put the shovel away and begin to walk back to the house. I clean up the rest of the blood, and then go inside. I will get rid of his car and clothes in a while, I tell myself.

Exhausted and my super strength leaving my body, I sit down. It’s that fucking Tom. It’s his fault.

The phone rings, and it’s Lauren on the other line. Lauren begins blabbing about her date with Jerry, and I just listen, bored to tears.

“What about your guy? The one you met at the bar tonight. Do you think you’ll hear from him again? Lauren asked.

“I really doubt it,” I say. “I really doubt it…”

View as Slideshow