One Shots

The Wings Of The Unnamed

The young female fumbled with the house keys, trying to unlock the door as quick as she could. Caeli's back ached in pain due to her heavy backpack and her arms did the same but this time, with plastic bags that happened to be full of fresh groceries that she had just gotten not too long ago. Her trembling hands and heavy breathing weren't helping that much, either.

The unnerving and creepy man that lived across the hall of Caeli's apartment building was drunk, once again. The girl could barely recall his name since she avoided any and all human contact with this being that was somehow still classified as one. But, he always seemed to make his presence so well known to the building that it's an unwritten rule or 'tip' that anyone should avoid the second for at any cost.

Yes, he was that bad.

The fact that the non-gentleman was drunk wasn't unusual for anyone, to be honest. Even for some of the newest residents. The older male had been drinking a lot since his daughters had decided they weren't going to put up with his antics anymore and left. But the thing was, they had already been gone for a good while now. Almost around two years ago. One could only assume that he drank once to 'relive his stress' and then the alcohol just became glued to his hand as it seemed that he never stopped after that one night.

What would be surprising is if anyone on the second floor of the aging and rickety apartment building hadn't seen the male drunk at least two times. Despite the fact, it didn't make the current moment at hand and less nerve wracking.

With her shaky and unstable hands, the nineteen year old girl finally managed to slip the key into it's designated slot and began to attempt to open the door as quick as she could as she looked behind her and called out; "M-mr.Winston you should really be going back to apartment now! N-nothing to see out here!"

Mr. Winston came closer, the distance between the two being slowly closing. "Why don't you let me see what's in those bags of yours dearie? Won't you share some food with your poor, unfortunate neighbor?" He wheezily replied, taking another swing of the beer in his left hand and coughing obnoxiously afterwards.

The white-haired waitress sighed anxiously as the game of key roulette continued with the lock. "Sir, I'm sure I don't have anything you want. My bags are full of fruits and veggies to keep my father healthy!" She lied smoothly. The bags were in fact full various kinds of soup, sandwich meats (as she couldn't quite afford a larger quantity of meat), and two boxes of semi-sugary snacks she had gotten as a small treat that she thought her father and herself could share. Not a single fruit or vegetable had made it into the bags as she had a big enough stock of those to last them for at least a month if she preserves them properly.

The fatty, yet large man growled lowly in a threatening way. "Don't lie to me, little girl." He warned in a deep tone. This, sent a shiver down the other's spine. No one was able to see through her lies so quickly. 'Maybe it was just the luck of the drunk,' she repeated told herself in her head, trying to get rid of one worry to focus on another.

This wasn't very effective since all her thoughts, concerns, and fears were swarming through her head, all trying to get her attention. It was a lot for her to take on all at once.

Too much for her to take on right now.

It was overwhelming her-all her senses and her thought process were beginning to crash.

No. This was not the time to have a panic attack.

Just as her 'oh-so kind neighbor' reached out to grab her, she gave the door one big shove with her shoulder and burst into her studio-style apartment. She quickly dumped all the bags she was carrying into the floor next to the door and pushed all her body weight onto the door to shut it as quickly as possible and lock the door. Which, she somehow managed to do without a problem. 'Maybe adrenaline had something to do with that...' She thought in her head, leaned against the door.

That's where her adrenaline rush must have ended because then it all came crashing right back down against, breaking through her temporary not-so-strong stronghold. Caeli collapsed to the floor in a heap, attempting to catch her breath while taming her emotions and brain.

She straightened herself out on the floor and thought back to what her school therapist told her to do in these types of situations. The girl placed one arm over her stomach and the over over her heart. At first it was awkward to do this and she felt embarrassed doing it, but wether she liked it or not, it worked. She moved onto the next steps.

Breathe in, breathe out.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Breathe in, breathe out.

Caeli could feel her anxieties slowly retreating into the dark corners of her mind, to wait for another opportunity to come out and strike her again at the most unexpected and inconvenient time. Like they always do. She always tells her herself to be ready so she doesn't have get ready but, then she forgets about it until she ends up humiliating herself in the condiments isle of the grocery store by having an anxiety attack right then and there. It can never feel any more worse for her than when her attacks happened in public.

She laid there on the ground for awhile longer then got up. The waitress had other things to do. She grabbed the bags off the floor and set them down on the counter with a soft thud. The weight of the bags came back like an unpleasant memory to her. The girl wasn't the strongest but, her strong was good enough. Caeli started to unpack all the food and put them in their respective places quickly. Once she was done, Caeli put the plastic bags in a cabinet and glanced over to her father's room. To be honest, she was afraid to look in there.

But, it was inevitable.

Slowly, she made her way over to the only other room of their home and poked her head inside and saw something peaceful for once. Her father sleeping like he didn't have to worry about anything in the world.

Which was the plan, of course. For him to not have to worry about any for as long as he lives with her. That's all that mattered in the end...

The white-haired female sighed silently and stumbled her way over to the couch and flopped onto it. The ceiling had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world.

Despite the fact that it was an off-white color and it was currently peeling off the ceiling and onto the floor and her face. She grimaced and thought to herself;

'Is this really the life I want?'