Mr. Sandman

fifteen

I stood in front of the door with my fist raised, inches from the wood paneling. I drew my arm back a few inches. I could leave right now and forget about what happened. I could even just stop talking to Dan completely. I could wait it out until the killer was caught. As I mulled over my thoughts, my eyes flashed to the cut on the inside of my palm, and I knew; it was now or never. I rapped my curled up fist against the door and took a step back, and a breath in. A few moments later, I could hear the hinge of the lock jolting out of place, and the door opened.

"Oh, hello Sophia!" I was greeted by Phil. He was dressed casually in a red hoodie and jeans. Why hadn't I remembered that Dan lived with Phil? This was what I had least expected and was not prepared for. "Dan's actually still at work." God damn it.

"Oh, yeah I know." I blurted out a complete lie. I actually didn't know anything. My brain raced for an explanation as to why I had shown up on their doorstep. "He actually texted me to come over."

Phil gave me a confused look, furrowing his eyebrows. "He did?"

"Yeah, he forgot something and wanted me to bring it to him." I stated and Phil's eye lit up with understanding.

"Oh!" He opened the door further and let me in. "That's funny. Dan is normally super anal about bringing everything with him."

The flat was just how I had remembered, except the light was now filtering through the shutters ever so slightly. The entry way seemed to have a dark feel to it, and I had a feeling it wasn't the lack of light that was giving me this vibe.

"Dan has been so happy ever since you two got together."

I turned to look at Phil, feeling more confused than ever. "What?"

"Well I mean, you know. Ever since you guys started dating he's been different. For the better." He smiled to me and put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. I felt my cheeks go hot and I nervously shifted on my feet.

"Oh yeah, right. Did Dan tell you that?" I questioned.

"Yeah, just the other night. That's okay, right? Was he not supposed to tell me?" Phil began to stammer.

"No, no it's fine! I just didn't realize we were official." I laughed. Phil went to say something, but was cut short by his phone ringing. I watched him grab his phone and look at the screen.

"Oh, I've been waiting all afternoon for this call. Sorry, but if you want to grab whatever it was he forgot, his room is right down that hall." He pointed down a dark hallway and then spun on his heel towards the living room. "Hello! Yes, this is Phil."

I looked back down the hall and saw a closed door at the end of the hall. Today ended up working in my favor. This way, I could snoop in Dan's room without him knowing. If I didn't find anything, I would assume he wasn't in correlation to Mr. Sandman, and he wouldn't have to know I was speculating him.

I took long stride down the hall and wrapped my hand around the cold door handle, turning and pushing on the door. The room was illuminated from the light pouring in through the window. Surprisingly, it was sunny for a wintery London day. The black headboard of Dan's room was pushed against the wall, leaving plenty of space throughout the room. I wasn't shocked to see plenty of black through his bedroom, considering that was all he ever seemed to wear. I took my coat off and threw it on the ground and went to the bed, going for the most cliché spot to hide things; under the bed.

I got on the floor (which was exceptionally clean) and peered into the darkened space beneath the surface. Nothing but a spotless, white carpet. I stood to full form and listened for a moment, still hearing Phil's voice at a distance, on the phone with whomever he was talking with. Granted, if he were to walk in, he would think I was looking for whatever item Dan "left" at the house. Nevertheless, I wasn't taking any chances. Next, I moved to the nightstand. The surface was dust and knick-knack free. The only things that covered the wood top was an alarm clock and a drink coaster.

The drawer had what looked like a few legal documents, some photos, and pens inside. As I closed, I listened again. This time, my ears met silence. Suddenly, I could hear a noise, but I couldn't fully decipher it. I squinted my eyes slightly and attempted to listen harder; footsteps. I stood from my kneeling position on the floor and went to the closet, which was already open for me to look around. I looked to the ground and saw a pair of black Nike running shoes. I quickly grabbed them and began to walk to the door. I pulled it open and Phil had been reaching for the handle.

He looked to what was in my hand and gave a short laugh. "He needed his running shoes?" I let out a quick laugh and nodded, shrugging.

"You know him," I joked and he laughed as well. "Anyways, I should probably get going, but thank you."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll let you out."

We walked down the hall and I put my arms through the sleeves in my coat. "Dan mentioned you coming over again sometime. The other night was a lot of fun!" He enthused and I nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, that would be cool."

The walk home was miserable, and not because of the frigid weather. Part of me was enthralled that I found no evidence pointing to Dan ( even though I didn't look much.) I knew something was missing, finding it was the problem. I also felt bad for using Phil like I did. When Dan got home, it was likely that he would tell Dan I came by and then he would realize I had lied. Clearly, I hadn't thought my "genius" plan through.

I got to my flat and threw my coat and purse on my bed. I took Dan's shoes and threw them on the floor and fell back onto my plushy bed, closing my eyes. I had to think of an excuse about Dan's shoes in a timely manner before Phil said something.

I sat up and rested my elbows on my legs. I looked around the white walls of my room thinking. My eyes landed on Dan's black shoes, and I was stunned. I stood up slowly as if someone were watching me and crept over to the shoes. I kneeled on the floor and grabbed one of the shoes, pulling it slightly closer to me so I could see it more clear.

Along the white underside of the shoes, was a different color. It was fading from being walked on, what I was assuming, multiple times. I dropped the shoe and fell back onto my backside, left staring at the shoes that lay on the floor.

Encrusted on the bottom of the shoes, was an obvious smear of dried blood.

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