Stranger

01 | The Text

The scent of my musky duvet welcomed me as I opened my eyes. I really needed to change my sheets but I had been so busy with college that I could never find time to clean my room. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, preparing myself for the day ahead. Birds were calling to each other with little chirps;  it was such a lovely sound to wake up to. A faint smile crossed my face until the harsh noise of my alarm clock filled my ears and without hesitation, I turned over and hit the snooze button.

My Nokia buzzed. It was probably Ryan, my boyfriend of 3 years, sending me a good morning text. I stretched my arm out, picked up my phone and swiped up on the touch screen and as always, I was correct. I replied with the same reply I used every day, "good morning sweetie xx". I threw my phone back onto the mattress as I began to sit up, hanging my legs over the side of my double bed. My phone buzzed again. That was fast. Peering over at my phone's display, I didn't see Ryan's familiar response, but an unknown number. I picked up my phone and unlocked it. At first, I believed it was another spam text about PPI or how I had magically won £5000, but it was just one sentence long.

"I see you've just woke up".

At first, I thought it was Ryan but surely his name would come up? Then I realised that it wasn't Ryan, it couldn't be. My heart skipped a beat. I stood up and frantically looked around my teal coloured room. I sped to my window, there was nothing to see other than the view of my back garden and 12 feet tall trees, hiding the houses behind. No-one could possibly see into my room. I glanced back at my phone, there was another message.

"There's no need to panic, Mya."

I warily text back as my stomach began to churn.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

I looked out of my window again. Everything was still calm and the birds were tweeting without a care in the world. The morning sun was gently rising above the trees. There was no-one in sight. My phone buzzed in my hand.

"You'll find out soon enough".

I let myself fall back onto my double bed. What was going on? How did they get my number? So many thoughts sprinted through my mind. My alarm sounded a second time; five minutes had passed. I couldn't be late, I hate being late. I jumped up from my bed and tried to put the whole situation behind me. Maybe it's just a prankster? Yeah, that must be it.

As my heart rate returned to normality, I looked into the bathroom mirror. My hair looked so dry and my skin looked dull. My nightie gracefully fell from my body before I stepped into the warm shower.

                                                                                     ****

I slipped on my not-so-white daps and headed for the stairs. My mum was already standing at the bottom, preparing to shout up like she always did, but there was never a need. I was always ready before she had to call me because I loved early mornings. All that new day, new start malarkey.

I stormed down the carpeted stairs, almost missing a step at the bottom. My dog, Bobby, jumped up at me, licking my hands. He was a 6 year old, English Bull Terrier and he was my choice of course. People, my mum included, always said that the breed was ugly, but I always thought that they had one of the best characters and I admired their unique look.

"You'll have to walk that mutt later, I'm doing overtime tonight." Whether my mum admitted it or not, she loved Bobby. It's hard not to love a dog with so much personality and loyalty to his owners. He didn't have a bad bone in his body.

"Again?" I asked as I sat at the dining room table with my cereal.

"Don't say that, you make me sound like a bad mum!" She exclaimed from the kitchen. The clattering of cutlery and her never-ending collection of Tupperware could be heard.

I chuckled. "You know I don't think you're a bad mum."

My mother walked hastily from the kitchen, holding two cups of tea and handed me one. 

"I have to do overtime. One of the girls is on maternity leave and two others have booked their holidays in the same week so they need as much help as possible." She couldn't keep still and she seemed disassociated. I could tell she was in a rush, strands of her dirty blonde hair were out of place and her top wasn't well ironed. 

My mum was a nurse so it inevitably came with huge shifts and overtime, as well as premature wrinkles from the stress. She had been working hard ever since I could remember, being a single mother had never been easy for her. I sometimes felt guilty, but she always made sure to remind me that none of that was my fault.

"Hello?" she asked, waving her hand in front of my face. I quickly propped myself up. "Have you been listening to me?"

"Uh yeah, sorry." I muttered before taking a sip of tea.

She leaned forward, almost inspecting me for emotional cues to my mental state. "Are you okay? You seem a bit out of it." I could say the same about her.

"I'm just feeling a bit stressed from all the coursework I have to do." I glared at my worn out college bag that was overflowing with unidentified and disorganised paper. 

"Mya, you can always ask me if you need any help." My mum rested her hand on my shoulder sympathetically. We both knew that wouldn't happen; when would she have the time?

"It's alright, I don't need help. Everyone's feeling stressed at the moment, what with exams coming up in a couple of months." The thought of exams instantly saddened me but I hid the emotion.

She smirked. "Okay, I guess I'll have to take your word for it." She kissed my cheek, grabbed her bag and newly made lunch and headed for the door. "Bye Mya, I'll see you tomorrow. Love you!"

"Love you too!" The door closed behind her and it was just me and silence. We were interrupted by Bobby's whimpering; he always cried when one of us left. I hated leaving him at home but we didn't have enough money for kennels and we didn't want to give him up either. We always made sure to leave the radio on for him though.

I gulped down my tea and finished off the last few mouthfuls of my cereal. I gave Bobby a cuddle and a kiss, and he reciprocated it with numerous licks to my face. I locked the house up after waving goodbye to Bobby and left for my journey to college. 

Stepping out of my front door, the feeling of unease and vulnerability swept over me. I turned towards my front door, pressed my forehead against the cold glass and closed my eyes. I tried to reassure myself that the text was just a prank - a very good prank.