Beyond What Meets The Eye

Chapter Six

Ever since her dad had become MIA, leaving her to live alone 95% of the time, she'd grown quite cautious, all the doors remaining locked at all times, their alarm system armed, and a can of mace on her nightstand. With that being said, she knew when something wasn't right.

She would never leave the door unlocked, no matter how much of a rush she was in.

She knew you needed a key card to get into the building and that the alarm system would have gone off if someone had broken in, but it still didn't do much to ease the uncertainty she felt as she pushed the door open.

Thankfully, there wasn't an axe murder waiting for her inside, just a snoring Pickles on the couch. She let out a long breath.

"Fuck I'm losing my mind," she shook her head, locking the door behind her. She made her towards her room, passing her fathers bedroom as she did. She froze as a musky floral smell filled her nostrils. She turned towards the door that always remained locked, a lit up keypad next to the handle.

Was her dad here? No... oddly enough, she knew her dad's smell, the cologne he wore everyday. This was far from it, full of florals her dad hated.

She hesitated before reaching towards the door handle, the lock jingling as she attempted to twist it.

She pulled back, turning and walking back into the living room. She scanned the room, looking for anything that might be displaced. She walked around, carefully taking in everything, from the empt glass she'd left on the table the night before to the remote that sat in one of the couch's creases.

Was she overreacting?

Once she'd concluded that everything was still where she had left it, and the alarm remained armed, she walked over to Pickles.

"Hey bud, come on, let's go to bed," she rustled his ears. He looked up at her drowsily, as if he was too exhausted to move after spending the day lounging about the apartment.

"Come on, you can't be that tired," she lifted him to his feet and after a moment he sluggishly followed behind her into her room. She showered and changed, the exhaustion from here game finally hitting her. She was about to crawl into bed when she hesitated, instead, grabbing her desk chair and propping it under her door handle. Not that she was really worried, it would just put her mind at ease while going to bed.

She laid in bed, Pickles cuddled up next to her and scrolled through her phone. She pulled up the email the recruiter had sent her shortly after their conversation, a formal invitation to their recruiting clinic. Playing for them would be a dream come true. She loved everything about the university, especially getting a chance to move away from home. She smiled to herself as she turned her phone off and sat it on her nightstand.

She had needed something to look forward to. The idea of being stuck with her dad for another four years made her want to vomit.

***

When Mira woke up, Pickles was heaving next to her, his throw up falling in a pile on her comforter.

"Oh Pickles, come on," Mira scrunched up her nose, helping him down onto the floor as she carefully crawled out from beneath the covers.

"Jeez pal, did you get some scraps off the floor or something?" She asked, looking at the gross spot with her hands on her hips. Shaking her head, she rolled up her bedding and tossed it in the wash. Usually Pickles didn't have any stomach issues, but she knew she often dropped things here and there whenever she ate so wasn't too shocked he'd gone ahead and licked up whatever he could find.