The car horn blaring was likely the one thing that saved her life in that moment.
"Fuck You Too!!" She screamed at the car, after having regained her balance on the street curb. With a sigh and another muttered curse, she dusted off crumbs, spilled coffee, and street debris from her elf costume. She hated this time of year. She hated her job. She hated what her life had become. She looked around the plaza of the shopping center as the last of the patrons began to filter out for the night. The merry lights blazed in the humid yet oddly cool air of the southern seaside town. They were far enough away from the oceanfront that you couldn't hear the waves, but you could still smell the hint of salt on the air. She looked both ways this time, and then crossed the street.
Annabelle was still relatively young, in her early 30s, but she felt like a failure. She had dropped out of art school to write her big manuscript that would be her break into the book scene. This morning, she had gotten the news that she had been rejected, yet AGAIN.
And now here she was, she ruminated, dressed as a fucking Christmas elf for fucks sake. She worked at the department store just to make ends meet between restaurant jobs and taking freelance graphic design jobs to keep the rent paid, the lights on, and to keep herself from starving in the meantime. The fact that a quick swipe here and there from the department store and the restaurant helped to keep some spare change in her wallet and a few extra snacks in her fridge as well, didn't hurt matter. Annabelle had come to terms with the fact that she wasn't a nice person. But to make it in this world, sometimes you had to face the facts. Not everyone could stay on Santa's Nice List for long.
Her striped stockings were starting to chafe her thick thighs as she walked down the sidewalk, making her way to the bus stop. The short green skirt was far shorter than was regulation, but she liked it that way. She enjoyed the way she caught the dads leering at her while they waited in line. Her neckline might have dipped a little lower to show a bit more cleavage as well. Her light brown skin and straight dark hair complimented the elf ears and costume a bit too well. She was always teased for being the chubby girl in school, so she enjoyed the attention she got for being seen as attractive. Management had tried to approach her about it once, but Annabelle managed to convince Gerald to look the other way for a few more weeks and let her enjoy her fun. Nothing a quick blow job in the janitor's closet couldn't cure. Gerald was too easy anyway. All the girls knew how to get him to see things their way.
Annabelle smiled to herself as she got to the bus station just as the bus arrived. She had tossed her cold cup of coffee and stale muffin a while ago. She was holding her purse and a bag with a few things she had "bought" from the store. She was glad that the security officer Mike was a friend of hers and was looking out for her. She was afraid she was getting sloppy, what with tonight being Christmas Eve, but thankfully no one had said a word to her at all today. She shrugged and figured that things may not be going all that bad after all.
The doors to the bus opened, and the familiar face of Cathy was there behind the wheel.
"Well if it isn't Santa's little elf. He doesn't give you a ride home on his sleigh?" She wheezed as Annabelle climbed onto the bus and found a seat on the mostly empty vehicle.
"Please, who would want to ride with that handsy fat fuck anyway." She cringed, thinking of the store Santa. He was fine when it came to the kids outside. But all the elves made sure to not leave anyone alone during break time, no matter how much they couldn't stand one another.
"Now Annabelle, you know what they say. He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake." Cathy chuckled again, insinuating that Annabelle should be more mindful of her behavior. But Annabelle just rolled her eyes skyward and looked outside as the scenery rushed by. They travelled farther away from the oceanside and further into the inner city where Annabelle called home.
When her stop finally came, she patted Cathy on the shoulder and made her way off the bus. Her feet hurt and her back was killing her. She stretched for a moment before turning to walk the last block and a half to her building. The residential area was an eclectic mix of upper class and impoverished all rolled up into one area. Beautiful, gentrified, historic apartment buildings stood side by side with run down, tired, dilapidated buildings that were ready to be turned over and given new life or torn down.
Her building was neither gentrified nor too torn down but was just cleaned up enough to be in between. She had decorated her window with multicolored lights that gave the impression of gumdrops. The pillars at her door were wrapped with white and red garland to give the illusion of peppermint sticks. And she had decorated the dried-up flower beds with large models of lollipops she had made from a tutorial she had made online. It wasn't much in the way of decorating, but it was still surprising to see she had a little bit of Christmas spirit left in her. One wouldn't think she enjoyed the holiday if one were to just look at her from the outside. But as she caught sight of her home, a smile spread across her face, and she felt a warmth spread within her heart as she made her way up to the door and let herself in.
She shed herself of her bags as soon as she got into her apartment. She closed and locked the door, latching the three security locks, along with putting the door stopper in place. She checked the bay windows in front of the apartment, around her Christmas tree to ensure they were secure. When she was satisfied, she then turned on her tree. It was small, but the jeweled lights glistened in the dark, reflecting from the few cut crystal ornaments adorning the branches, some of which still held security tags. She fished a few more of the little ornaments from her bag and placed them on the tree before getting up and heading to the back of the small apartment. Below the tree were several parcels wrapped in bright metallic, wrapping paper with beautiful gift tags. If you didn't know any better, they looked as though they could have come from a store display.
Annabelle set the bag on her small dinette table next to her wrapping station and made a beeline for her room. She undressed herself as she went, stripping off the ears and her dress as she walked. She muttered about brats and disgusting families and the store and everything in between as she went. She left a trail of disappointment and sadness behind her and slammed the bathroom door behind her.
The hot water showered her skin as she huddled down in the tub, letting the steam envelope her. It was growing late. She stewed as she thought about all those happy families that came through her line over the season. Those wives with their husbands and their children. For most of her life, she had done everything a good girl was supposed to do. She played by the rules. She minded her Ps and her Qs. She did what her parents told her to do. She played the part of a good and faithful girlfriend. But then, five years ago, it all went to shit. Ronald ended up being a cheater. Her parents ended up saying she must have done something wrong. Her studies started going to hell. She lost her scholarship. Her friends ditched her and went their own way. She was left on her own... And now here she was, making her own way.
She massaged the wetness from her face, water, or tears, who knew what they were anymore and who cared. She sure didn't. She stood up and finished washing herself off. She washed her hair and used up the last bit of gingerbread bodywash she loved. When she finished rinsing off, she shut off the water, got out of the shower and retrieved her towel from where it sat warming on the radiator by the frosted window. She dried her hair and ran the warm terry cloth all over her skin before wrapping herself up and headed over to her room. She finished putting on her cute little reindeer underwear and a matching long-sleeved pj shirt to go with it. She had bottoms, but who cared anymore. She was alone. She had started to set a plate of milk and cookies by the window like she always did, but tonight was different. She ate the cookie, drank the milk, and she scratched out her usual "Dear Santa," letter. At the bottom, she just wrote "Fuck it all and Fuck you too".
With that, she tossed her pencil and the note on the plate. She put the last of her presents under her tree, beautifully wrapped, and put away her little wrapping station tote. With one final survey of her little apartment, she sighed a small sigh and went into her room. She crawled into her bed, the brass posts jingling almost like bells before she settled in and fell asleep.
* * *
She heard something. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked around. She wasn't sure what she heard, but she knew she heard something. She sat up and looked around, bleary eyed. She shivered in the cold and rubbed at the crust in her eyes. She sat for a moment again just listening but heard nothing. She reached for her phone on the nightstand and looked at the time, it was 3:12 am. Merry Christmas, she thought to herself. She started to make herself cozy back in bed, but then she heard it again. It was like, a shifting of boxes in the other room.
Her eyes slowly opened very wide as she looked over her shoulder towards the door to the hallway. She could hear her heartbeat in her ear as she started to breathe deeply and evenly. She made her way out of her bed and reached beneath it, grabbing for the heavy aluminum bat she kept there in case of a break in. She crept towards her door and opened it a crack, peering out and into the common area. She didn't see anyone. She looked down and realized she wasn't wearing her pants. Then realized she had left her phone on the night stand.
"Fuck!" she mouthed to herself before she looked back out and decided to look around a bit more. It was likely just her imagination. It had happened before. Everyone in the neighborhood knew she didn't have a pot to piss in, after all! She glanced around before seeing that the living room and kitchen were clear. But she kept feeling like she was not registering something. She looked at the little tree and it had stayed lit, the presents stayed undisturbed, and everything indeed looked a bit brighter. The area seemed warmer. The room smelled like sugar cookies and marshmallows. And she felt, lighter somehow. And yet, at the same time, she felt a strange sense of foreboding.
As she looked at the window where the cookies and milk plate were tossed, she realized the paper was floating in midair. Annabelle tilted her head and squinted her eyes as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. "What the fuck?!" she exclaimed to herself as she scratched her head, wondering if there was some kind of draft of air coming through the window at work here.
"Oh Annabelle," a voice tsk'd.
Annabelle froze and jumped about a foot away from the sound.
"What am I going to do with you..." the voice asked no one in particular, ringing with disappointment.
