Warm Wednesday afternoon, basking in the cool AC, sprawled out on the couch without a care in the world. What more could 24 year old Kelvin ask for on such a peaceful day. Well, besides a place of his own, so that he doesn't have to act like he cares about the condition of his 22 year old "friend" Sara's living room. Being good friends and the occasional shoulder to cry on when things got hard. Sara didn't even think twice when he needed a place to lay his head at for a bit. Little did she know the last 4 years had actually put Kelvin through the wringer. With dead end jobs, failed attempts at schooling, and getting rich quick schemes. Kelvin found himself homeless relying on one of his last life lines, Sara.
"You're off today?" Sara asked with a bit of pep in her voice as she walked through the front door, taking off her work shoes.
"Huh? Oh yeah they took me off the schedule for today you know how it is!" he retorted with a half sleep tone raising himself into an upright position.
"Really? I'm sorry for asking then. I know they've been cutting your hours a lot lately, but I know they"ll see how hard you've been trying like I have. She said sweetly as she sat beside him and ever so gently put her hand on his shoulder. Without saying a word he placed his hand over hers as he looked away from her. He could feel her lingering for a moment. Knowing already that she was sporting that damn bright smile everyone loved. It wasn't long before she moved on to the kitchen to check the mail leaving Kelvin to reflect. As he laid back down a conflict of the mind seemed to plague him. "Why does she do all this? What is it that she sees in me? It's been like this for 3 months, how is she dealing with me?"
Just as quick as the thoughts came they left as he shot up right remembering that there were 4 more strips of bacon in the fridge. Bacon, pancakes, cereal, toast, and a bran muffin all the makings of a balanced breakfast in the early 2000's commercial filled his stomach. Just for him to retreat back to the living room leaving a full sink and taking a full belly. He was practically glued to the couch for the rest of the day. Endlessly scrolling through social media with the tv on as background noise at best. Making it much easier for him to drown out the sounds of Sara's constant moving around him. Every nook and cranny of her apartment had an organizational system to it. Whether it was some form of OCD or just an attempt to keep order in her life she had been killing it. However since Kelvin's arrival he's basically had her running at double time cleaning behind him at every turn. Days like this she tends to enjoy more than others since he's basically nested in one place out of the way.
10pm starts to roll around as Sara washes the very last of the dishes. By the time she racked the last plate, she felt like she was just clocking out. Slowly she staggered out the kitchen making her way through the living room to her room. Catching Kelvin's attention in the process he joyfully blurts out "Good night! I got breakfast for you in the morning. 3 Sausage and Egg McMuffins with a well done hash brown and Mclatte right?"
"Of course just make sure 3 are in there when you get back." she responded playfully with a weak smile on her face.
"It was one time you know that I was bulking up!" he said with a bit of a sour tone.
"Right! Good night to you too. Everything is going to be alright, just keep your head up for me." she said followed by a soft giggle as she walked into her room. While headed to the bathroom to make a much needed leak, he once again finds himself lost in thought. He is definitely nowhere near as oblivious as he lets on. The stress from her job was already eating away at her slowly. Now with him in the mix making things harder at home it was running her ragette. Looking in the mirror all he sees is a shell of the person she first met. A little beer belly poking its way through, fat covering the arm and legs muscles he used to be so proud of, and don't even get him started on the jelly ass he's acquired from just sitting on it with his spare time. He sees the man that could've properly helped her as gone. Now all that's left is this shell that is trying to show her first hand the same way everyone in his life before showed him "That the only person you can truly trust is yourself!". Little did he know that night that it was actually him that would be learning a lesson the hard way.
A shaky hand hesitates to cut off the tv. Aka the only source of light illuminating the living room. Darkness definitely doesn't sound like a problem to a good many people who would still take the time to tolerate him. That thought would definitely change if they took the time to actually hear the full story. The first 2 weeks he had gotten some of the most immaculate sleep he had in a long while. Sara's positive energy felt like it flowed through every room in her apartment even after she left. Yet one night as Kelvin started getting ready for bed, Sara rushed through the door looking utterly exhausted. With a quick good night she made her way to her room and he shut his eyes for another good night's sleep. Almost immediately an uncomfortable shiver crept up his spine. It was as if someone were in the room with him just watching. Part of him wanted to look around and prove that he was being ridiculous, but he had seen way too many horror movies to want to test that theory. Cautiously he forced his body to sleep praying that he was just imagining this. The morning after he awoke as if nothing had happened and not wanting to worry Sara he didn't mention any of it to her. This however was just the beginning.
Each night the feeling seemed to return stronger than the last. It had evolved from a simple watching feeling to a presence that was getting closer. The aura of this thing felt like raw malice that seemed to weigh down on his chest. For the last month he's been here it felt as though it's been directly behind him. Every instinct he had told him to run but this living situation was way too ideal to be ruined by a dumbass superstition. Nightly he endured this with a couple of deep breaths, cocooning himself in 2 thick blankets, and he had even taken to praying like he used to as a child. This night would be no different as he had finished his nightly ritual and all that was left was to press the button.
In an instant everything goes black as he tries to get comfortable laying on his stomach. Even breaths were the only thing keeping his mind a float. Little by little he could actually feel himself start to drift off to sleep. That was until an all too familiar feeling ran down his spine. However this time it was accompanied by an unusual weight on his back. Slowly it crept its way down his lower back and up towards his shoulders. To his utter horror that's when he felt a sharp pain like claws coming down his forearms. Attempting to wriggle away and shout, Kelvin quickly found one of the clawed hands gripping his right shoulder. While the other found its way over his mouth. He didn't even need to see to feel that its size dwarfed his by a long shot. Easily being able to identify two large breasts on his upper back and her whole weight was able to keep him completely pinned to the couch.
