The Midnight Crisis

Matthew

I woke up to the sound of floorboards creaking down the hallway outside of the room I was sleeping in. The door slipped open and then closed. I couldn't see anything besides the spot beside me that was illuminated with moonlight. Light footsteps inched towards the bed and I felt someone plop down on the opposite side of the bed. I could hear the slight sound of peaceful breathing.

I sat up and turned to the spot next to me. There lay a curled-up Asher sound asleep. At the sight, I gave a slight smile, but then it faded as quickly as it appeared. Had he meant to do this? I shook my head. I doubt he would do this with someone he barely knows, but then again, he had let me stay the night at his place without even a trace of mistrust.

I examined his face, realizing he had the smallest of freckles dotting his nose. But something else caught my eye. In the moonlight shining on his face, I could see that it was red, not like his usual complexion. I don't think it was from earlier, otherwise, the redness would have faded by now. Had he been crying again? I sighed.

I got up out of bed, pulling the covers over Asher when I went out into the living room. The blanket was on the floor, turned like someone had gotten up from there. I looked towards the couch where I saw Asher sleeping last night. I picked up the blanket off of the floor and lay on the couch.

Wow, this is a lot more uncomfortable than I expected.

Why had I let him sleep on this? You could barely sit on it without feeling the springs in your back. I shifted, trying to get comfortable, but it was no use. I groaned.

I decided to get up because obviously, no one could ever sleep on that thing. I'm not sure how Asher did it, but now I'm blaming myself for letting him sleep on that.

I walked out onto the porch to get some fresh air. The cold November air chilled me to the bone, making me wish I had brought my leather jacket. I let out a breath, the smoke dispersing almost as soon as it touched the air. I pull my phone out of my pocket.

5:47 am.

"It's early," I whisper to myself, "he probably wouldn't mind if I called right now. After all, he did call me at 3 am last time." As I dialed his number, a notification popped up on the screen. A news report.

I'll look at it in a minute.

After about 5 rings, Chief Holtman picked up. "What do you want?" he groaned. "Good morning to you too," I gave a small chuckle, "I want to take a leave of absence," I told him.

"For how long?" he asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but it might be a while. I'm willing to work extra hours when I get back but-" "Don't worry about it," he cuts me off. "I'm not sure what you're up to, but since it's you who asked, I trust you know what you're doing." I smiled, "Thank you Chief. I promise to repay you one day."

After hanging up, I went back and looked at that news report.

Breaking News! A new body has just been discovered at Central Mall. The markings on the man's body were similar to the ones on a previous victim named Loid Chuckerman. Paramedics and police are on the scene now looking for clues. There is no evidence yet, but police suspect that there is a serial killer on the loose. The scenes are quite similar to each other, but again, there is no proof yet. Everyone should be careful about going out after dark.

You've got to be kidding me. No way there's a serial killer on the loose. Argh and things were just starting to calm down. I shove my phone back into my pocket, not even wanting to think about it. Thank god I took a leave of absence.

I headed back inside, drank some water, grabbed the blanket from the couch, and quietly walked into the bedroom where Asher was sleeping soundlessly. There was a bean bag in the corner of the room so I lay down and spread the blanket over myself. No surprise, the bean bag was much more comfortable than the couch. It was so comfortable that it only took a few minutes to fall asleep.