Relief washed through me. "Thanks," I smiled in earnest. "Good night."
"Night." She offered bluntly and turned up the television again. My heart contracted violently inside my chest as though it had been struck with the full force of a furious champion boxer. My head spun. I turned away from her and clenched my eyes shut as tightly as I could, reaching for my bags and searching for the smallest piece of clarity. My fingers fumbled about the handles.
I began to walk towards my bedroom, my mind a blur of confusion. Finally hidden behind the security of my bedroom door, I dropped the heavy bags from my shoulders and slumped against the closed door. I kept my eyes closed as relief rolled through my nerves like a wave of warm water. I massaged the stiff muscles in my neck, the smell of the stale air in my room beginning to fill my senses. Suddenly aware of the extent of the darkness behind my eyelids, I reached to my left and felt the wall for the light switch. As the room was illuminated I was reminded that I hadn't tidied it before leaving for New York. The silver curtains were still closed and the bed unmade. Clothes I had decided not to take lay in piles strewn across the floor and the edge of the bed. The framed black and white prints on the walls brought a welcomed sense of familiarity and comfort. A comfort which was short lived after a small splash of green at the top of my bed caught my attention. I still hadn't been able to remove the scarf.
My breath caught in my throat and a pang of arousal sparked in me. My fingers began to twitch and I lunged for the bag with my shower supplies in it. I swung the heavy case forward and lay it flat on the floor. I hastily unzipped the black polyester and rummaged through the dirty laundry to find the body wash and toothpaste. I rushed to the closet, which was left ajar, and pulled a clean towel and a change of clothes. As I turned to head toward the door the small splash of green satin seemed to freeze me in my step and seize my gaze. It seemed to laugh cruelly as it tormented me with vivid memories. So vivid I could feel the weight of Renee's legs on my forearms and her scent on my lips. My ears rushed with the low sounds of lust-dripping moans and her warped voice whispering "Please!" over and over again. My body blazed at the memory of her juices flowing over my tongue and down my throat. A violent shiver broke my spiralling trance and wrenched my gaze from the scarf.
I charged toward the concealed window at the opposite end of the room and yanked the curtains open. I hurled the windows open and flung my head into the clean air, desperate to rid my senses of the lucid and paralysing remnants of the encounter. My fingers ached from the grip they held on the windowsill and I tried to take long deep breaths. "Okay." I muttered to myself once the apparitions tormenting my mind and body had dissipated.
Shit!
I thought as I looked out at the thousands of lights scattered through the moonlit streets and roof tops of the city. In the distance, voices were yelling and whistles rang through the air from the university's football field. I shook some sense back into my head and pulled myself back into the room. I chose to leave the window open and headed for the door. Slowly pulling the door open, I peered through the slight gap and saw that Renee wasn't on the sofa. I quietly opened the door enough to squeeze through and slip across the hall into the bathroom.
I wasn't sure how long I spent in the shower. I stood under the torrents of warm water that cascaded over my skin and rinsed away the panic that trickled through my pores at so many moments during the day. I smoothed my hair over my head as the water spattered against my forehead and flowed over my eyelids, cloaking and carrying away the disobedient tears which crept from my eyes. My hands shook and my emotions shivered as my new past and present reality soaked into me. Resting my palms against the cold tiles, I rolled my head forward and the water moved my hair down the side of my face. I stood like that until my eyes had no more tears to give. After washing my fatigued body I turned the water off and noted that the apartment was quite. I sighed in relief realising that it meant Renee had probably gone to bed. I wrapped my towel around my body and carted my clean clothes into my room where I collapsed onto my bed and faded into sleep.
Morning arrived in what seemed like no time at all, the alarm clock screeched its monotonous call and I awoke feeling as though I hadn't slept at all. I reached out to silence the contraption and glared at the bold red numbers telling me it was 07:00 AM. I rolled onto my back and fixed my eyes on the only smudge on the otherwise pristine white ceiling. I noticed the apartment was still quiet, as usual, and my mind ran through the list of things I needed to do which included buying a new textbook for the semester. I grimaced at the thought of the unbearable queue there was bound to be. Realising it would be beneficial to get there earlier and remembering that I wanted to drop off my laundry at the dry cleaners, I dragged myself up and reached for a pair of jeans and whichever clean shirt was closest the bed.
After gathering all my laundry into a bag, I pulled a brush through my hair and headed for the bedroom door. Renee's door was still closed as I left my room, setting the laundry bag down outside the bathroom. I stood brushing my teeth in front of the mirror and sighed as I looked at the dark rings under my eyes. My attention was pulled by the corner of one of Renee's pink shirts sticking out of the laundry hamper by the tub. I finished up and pulled the hamper bag from its woven bamboo basket.
"Hey." Renee's voice startled me as I left the bathroom and I mumbled a curse word in fright.
"Hey." I answered as my tensed muscles began to relax. She was standing in the doorway to her room, leaning against the doorpost, arms behind her back and her right leg supporting her weight. Her curves hugged by a white tank top and white boy shorts. I couldn't hide the confused dip of my eyebrows when I saw that her ankle socks were grey and not white.
"You're up early." Her voice was soft and clung to notes of sleepiness.
"Yeah. I uh... Need to pick up a new textbook and I figured better to go in early." Her eyes sunk to the floor and she nodded faintly at my explanation.
"When is your first class?" She asked as she crossed her legs at the ankles.
"Today, starts at 10. That's why I wanna get the book now." I offered, knowing that was not what Renee really wanted to ask.
"You didn't leave yourself much time to rest. After the long drive." She let out a relenting but frustrated sigh and tried to give me a sympathetic smile. I could only smile and shrug my shoulders in response. I looked into my room at the clock.
"It's 7:25. I should really get going." I made the two steps to where I had dropped my own laundry and picked it up.
"Oh, you don't need to do that!" Renee called from behind me. I turned slightly to look at her and she was pointing to her laundry in my hand.
"No, I'm going there anyway. It's okay." I answered while walking backwards across the living room toward the door. I set the laundry down to pull on my boots and coat and grab my keys from the table. I made my way to the parking lot, seeing for the first time that the hand rails on the stairs had been painted grey. I tossed the laundry onto the back seat and hopped in the driver's seat. As I slid my key into the ignition, I froze as an unexpected thought fused itself to my mind, blanketing my entire consciousness.
Grey socks?
The book store was predictably uneventful. I found the textbook I needed almost immediately, cursing under my breath when I saw the price of it. Fortunately, my decision to get to the store early paid off and there were only four people waiting in the queue when I got there. Exiting the store, I looked down at my watch and frowned as I noted that it was only 08:32 AM. I stood for what felt like ages outside the store and considered what I should do next, it would only take me twelve minutes to get to campus but that would leave an hour before the class started. If I went back to the apartment... No. Finally, I decided to stop at the coffee shop just off campus and bide my time using the discounted wi-fi.
09:58 AM. I gazed at my watch as the lecture hall began to fill with familiar faces, enthusiastic voices cluttered the air with tales of "stellar waves", "banging babes" and, of course, "I can't believe he did that's". I tried in vain to block out the stories I had heard a hundred variations of until a ghost froze the room around me. A thin, 5"10 ghost with dark hair and bright eyes, her form flowed in a knee-length white and purple sun dress. Her flawless complexion was a fuzzy memory with no time or place. I watched the spectre cross the front of the hall and place her things on the lecturer's podium. Reaching behind her she picked up a small wooden block and banged it against the podium. The room fell quiet and she had everyone's attention.
