Somewhere Only We Know

Chapter Five

Sometimes it felt as if he was stuck on repeat in an endless loop of activities and emotions that were always the same. Never changing.

Zackary wanted things to change. He hated staying motionless throughout time, it was too stressful, it was more stressful than actually doing something. He knew that he'd enjoy his life more if he would actually try to enjoy it rather than surviving it.

If he somehow found a way to escape, he would pay any amount of what he had to get a ticket out. He couldn't stand the world moving on without him.

Zack entered the small cubicle, trying to make the door budge against the worn-out planks beneath the sink. Once inside, he tried turning around to reach the lock and accidentally threw the paper toilet on the wet floor with his elbow.

"Fuck." He swore, picking it up and hitting his head against the wall in the process.

He hadn't been having the best days recently. He hadn't been having the best weeks either. Wherever he went, he ended up finding something to be disappointed about and even if he tried to convince himself otherwise, he felt utterly destroyed and deprived of any energy.

Eventually, after Zack had finished with his business, he tried to turn the lock back but it wouldn't budge. He shook the doorknob in distress but it didn't move at all and the drawings on the grey surface seemed to be laughing at his demise.

He could hear steps outside and he banged on the door and spoke loudly, trying to keep his voice from wavering. "Hey, is anyone there? Please? The lock is stuck!"

He heard a laugh and instantly recognized who it was. He felt his confidence deflate to have been caught in such a compromising situation, especially since whatever would occur from that moment on would end up travelling all the way to Jared's ears.

He heard a loud thump on the other side and he jerked back, assuming that Candice had leaned against the wooden surface with both her elbows, speaking into the door with her mouth stuck directly onto it. "You stuck in there Zackary?"

She sounded so smug, Zackary could already hear Jared's mocking voice teasing him later on. He sighed in frustration, tapping his fingers against the wall beside him before pulling back in disgust when he got in contact with a sticky substance.

"Christ! Just call someone and get me the fuck out of here!" Zack cried out as he slammed both his fists on the door.

"Oh my! I never heard you swear! This is hilarious."

His outburst only seemed to amuse her more and he found himself getting red in embarassement, groaning out loud and passing his hands in his hair. He paced around in the small space until her laughters died down.

"Wait a second." Candice said, her steps resonnating in the hallways as she walked away and Zackary felt an ounce of hope rise from within him until he realized that she could be just leaving him there, going on about her business while he slowly decomposed into a rotting corpse in a locked bathroom.

"Candice?" He whispered tentatively as he crossed his arms and tilted his head against the door. "Are you still there?"

"Nope."

He recognized that voice as well. By then, Zackary had no choice but to give up the idea of freedom whatsoever, it seemed as if these people enjoyed seeing him suffer and dearly wanted to drag him down the same path as theirs.