Phobia

9. The Peep - Hole

When did it all start to go wrong? 10? 10:30? Or way before that?

There was a hole in the wall. I don't know why, but an insatiable curiosity took over me, and I peeped through it. On the other side was an eye, peeping through too.

3 MONTHS AGO (Exactly 3 months to go)

I walked through the bustling streets of New York, my heels click - clacking on the pavement. I was in a hurry, and my heels were killing me. Finally, my office came into sight and I burst through, yelling out a frantic apology to the old lady I bumped into. Liz stood at the reception, glaring at me. I gulped and prepared for the onslaught of words. "Amara, what the hell?! You're half an hour late! How can you not be on time? I swear to god, you really need a watch. No worries, I'll buy one for you. How can you be so LATE??....(she said a lot more but it'd take three pages to write it all down so I'll skip it).

At last she took a breath and pointed a finger at me in indignation. "You are not coming on the trip with Constance and I until you start being punctual." I groaned. Liz, my best friend, was a very.... strict person, to say the least. She hated anyone who was late the first time she met them. Everyone has flaws. But other than that, Elizabeth Taylor was absolutely amazing. She and her sister Constance were the most loyal people people I've ever met.

Speaking of loyal, the most deceitful person I've ever known walked in, Jay Miller. He made my skin crawl. Constantly sucking up to the seniors, and constantly looking down on the juniors like unwanted gum stuck on his shoe sole. I could even picture him murdering someone. A chill went down my spine at the imagery. It was so realistic. Too realistic. His clear blue eyes glared at me, the same shade as Constance's eyes, two entirely different people.

(2 months to go)

Constance and Liz were waiting for me when I reached, this time at the correct time. "Looks like someone's on time today," Constance said teasingly as Liz grudgingly agreed. I just smiled and got into the car. The sound of the car door closing, and we were off to a much- deserved vacation.

(1.5 months to go)

Constance left for London. Back to reality in NYC. The trip was so fun, and Constance collected so many trinkets from here and there for all of us. However, it was time to resume my boring life again.

As I stood on the floor of my room which was littered with clothes, I heard a subtle sound of giggling.

Puzzled, I stepped out of my apartment to search for the source. No one. I probably imagined it. I resumed unpacking, unaware that in my room, the walls could hear. And talk.

The next day, I was getting ready to sleep when I heard sounds. Whispers. Even while walking back from work, I thought I saw someone following me. Hours turned to days. Voices kept me up at night, footsteps kept me alert during the day. What was happening?

(1 month to go)

I was done. Really, I was fed up and scared. I told Liz about my suspicions, and she started walking around with me just in case. But how much could she protect me? She couldn't sleep with me. She couldn't come with me everywhere. My work was getting shabby, my eyes always had dark bags under them and Jay's glaring became even creepier. I was starting to become paranoid of everything and everyone. Heels were replaced by sneakers in case I had to run. I flinched every single time I entered my apartment, imagining an ambush. I slept with a kitchen knife under my pillow, on the rare occasion I actually fell asleep. I was a living zombie.

(0 Days to go - THE DAY)

I woke up in a cold sweat, my hand tightly clutching the knife. Another nightmare. I checked the watch. 5 am. I sighed. I fell asleep at 3 am. Getting up, I brushed my teeth and made two huge mugs of coffee. I'd need plenty.

A huge crashing sound made me jump. I hurried to my room to see - my bookshelf had fallen down. Groaning, I lifted it back up after several failed attempts. 7 am.

Weekends are so heavenly - just lazing around. Going out too - but I had definitely limited my trips outside the house since my mysterious foreboding stalker. And wasting time by doing nothing brought the clock to 9:59 am. As soon as it turned 10, the loud crash echoed in the hollow apartment again. Dammit. I went to see the bookshelf on the floor again. I was about to pick it up when I heard it. Whispering. Again. But this time, it sounded clearer. Way clearer.

My attention went to the wall. It seemed to be coming... from the wall.

How absurd. I laughed at my own stupidity, and I was so busy laughing, I tripped on the fallen bookshelf and twisted my ankle. Wincing, I limped to get some ice from the fridge. 10:30 am. Whispers again.

Pausing, I decided to go with my instincts and went back to the wall.

Looking closely, I saw it. There was a hole in the wall. Curiosity overcame my survival instincts, and I peeped through the hole. To my utter horror - clear blue eyes peeped back into my soul.

My shrill screams echoed in the room as I stumbled back towards the other end of the room in shock. There was someone... someone was in the wall.

A scraping sound followed as someone tore the flimsy wall around the hole to reveal their face. It was... no. There should be an explanation. My stalker grinned and removed all my doubts. Constance's smile was sinister as she entered my room. I tried to run, but my twisted ankle led to my doom. She caught me, threw me into my hollow wall, and swiftly hit me on the head to knock me out.

1 pm. I slowly woke up to Constance's muttering. "Love.... truly wins. Now she'll always be mine. My beloved. I love her so much, see? I care so much.." As reality crashed into me, I started sobbing in despair. The bookshelf was put back; I was tied to it. I was inside the wall of my room. There was a plate of food in front of me along with a bouquet of roses. Ice was pressed on my ankle. The bookshelf came down as Constance looked at me with her deranged, once- beautiful doe eyes.

"You woke up," she whispered as she hugged me," Now you can see my love for you" She held my face and gazed at me adoringly, and as her face came closer, I wondered.

When did it all start going wrong?

When Constance fell in love with me two years ago. 10/11/2020.