Roommates

Chapter 43 Part 1

Aurora opened the apartment door with Evangeline's key and she helped her walk in. Evangeline's arm was over her shoulder and Aurora was hunched over, trying to support her weight.

Lowering her onto the couch, Aurora pecked her glistening forehead. "We've got to get you sobered up so you can take your medicine."

"I need to take it," Evangeline agreed with slurred words.

Aurora laid a blanket over her shivering body. "Lay here and when I get back, we'll get you showered, get your make up off, and get you in bed."

She tucked Evangeline in, then rubbed her head. Evangeline was trembling, but it wasn't because of the air conditioning. It was pure terror consuming her.

If she wasn't hallucinating before, she certainly was now that it was quiet and dark. Her delusions were getting more and more intense with each silent tick of the clock. Images of bloodshed and mutilation flooded her mind like red paint spilling down a wall.

"I don't want to be drunk anymore," she whimpered, clenching her fists around the blanket.

Aurora nodded. "I know, sweetheart."

"Don't go," Evangeline begged.

"Trey is in the car. I have to take him home. You'll be alright." It pained her to leave Evangeline, but she had to get Trey back to his house and tell his parents what happened so they can take care of him. "I'll be right back," Aurora said, placing a bowl on the floor in case Evangeline got sick.

While Aurora was taking Trey home, Evangeline tried to make herself as comfortable as she could be on the couch. She knew she had way over done it at the party and her stomach flip flopped every time she moved. The quaking of her body under her skin was like a rocking boat, making her sea sick. She could feel the liquor in her throat as it rose, but it never came out. She dry heaved into the bowl, hoping to relieve her discomfort, but deep down, she couldn't get rid of the sickening feeling, stemming from her anxiety.

A wave of paranoia struck her while she tried to induce herself. Something terrible was going to happen. Impending doom, darkness, and eerieness began to spiral in her mind. Creeping through the ceiling and walls, something evil was in the room with her. She wasn't alone.

She hobbled to the front door and locked it, then she unlocked and locked it again, listening to the dead bolt click in and out of place. Begging the door to protect her, she set her head against it. She tuned in to listen to the wood. Faint scratching from the other side of the door startled her and she stumbled backwards, covering her mouth as she gasped.

Behind her, the window cracked loudly as if breaking into millions of pieces. Spinning on her heels, she waited for her vision to catch up to her direction. The window against the back wall was perfectly in tact, however, the sound of shattering glass from the kitchen made her jump. She tried to conceal her whimpers, but failed. Terror filled her as the paranoia sought to destroy her.

Footsteps crushing shards of glass could be heard in the back of her mind and the ghostly feel of cool air from the vent troubled her. She shivered and goosebumps budded from her buzzing skin. Blood sucking mites crawled all over her arms. She tried swatting them away, but they were underneath her skin.

She stumbled to the kitchen, grabbing onto the archway to support herself. She peeked around the corner into the dining space and found that the window that she had heard was still in one piece. Not a single crack could be found in the glass. She could even see her reflection. Behind her was a dark cloud that she didn't dare turn to face.

Her skin continued to buzz with adrenaline and she could barely control her rapid, shaky breathing. Tears poured from her eyes as she tried her best to ground herself. She was just having a psychotic episode from the alcohol. It was all in her head, but that didn't make it any less real to her.