Paranoia - A Short Story
Natalie bit her lip. She kept biting on her unfortunate lip until her teeth sank in deep enough to draw the metallic scent and taste of blood. The red liquid gently trickled down her pink and sweaty face as the petrified 25 year old kept biting.
A hand clamped onto her shoulder and she quit biting; she thought she saw her torturous life flash before her unforgiving eyes. She could never forget what she saw, what he said.
Swinging around fast enough to nearly give her a nasty whiplash, Natalie lashed her pale white arms out violently. The loud grunt of pain followed by the sound of something heavy hitting hardwood filled her ears as Natalie immediately backed away in guilt and...fear?
Fear of what she had become. A nervous wreck attacking the remaining loved ones at the very edge of insanity. She gasped and stifled loud nerve wracking sobs. She shoved a fist in her mouth to shut herself up. He could be listening.
The traumatized woman approached the seemingly lifeless body of her boyfriend of 8 years. She kneeled to the floor. Quiet now, he could be around.
She put her head to his chest. A heartbeat could barely be heard. The blow was not fatal. He bled from the ears. She got up and wiped her tears. She had had enough. The one who drove her off the cliff of sanity and into the dark and deep sea of crazy would pay for the losses she endured.
She knelt once more and kissed her boyfriend on the head.
"I-I will make him pay," she sobbed.
Her burst of strength and confidence was faltering and she worried she would break down once more.
A light noise sounded from beneath her and she was on high alert. The paranoia was slowly setting in. She got up and lightly padded across the floor. Her tiny feet made a faintly audible tapping sound as they made contact with the floor.
"Natalie..." a voice whispered to her through the wind. She backed up and hit her back to the wall. She saw his face, his being, coming closer to her. His heavy boots pounded hard against the ground as he wrung his strapped, rugged, bloody, murder stained hands together. She didn't want to be a coward but he had her shaking. She turned around, and without another thought, jumped through the window.
She felt light, she felt free. This is it, she thought. How wrong was she. He somehow got to the ground before her. He wouldn't let her die to escape him.
She closed her eyelids and tried to ignore him. He held her tightly. She flashed back to that fateful moment she looked through his window. Curiosity killed the cat. The cliché adage had become her life.
She remembered her boyfriend. Poor Evan Samuels. He got messed up with her and she couldn't let him succumb to his injuries. She kicked hard. She pushed and bit on his arm.
The man dropped her hard on the unforgiving concrete driveway. She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the blood and shooting pains. She pushed him back and ran inside. She locked the door.
"Hello? I need an ambulance!" She uttered into the phone.
If only she'd finished...maybe they would have come on time. The door swung open wide and a bitterly cold wind rushed in despite the sun high up in the sky.
He pushed her and she ran as fast as she could. Get to the kitchen, Natalie.
She nearly fell over as she pulled out the biggest butcher knife she owned. The man looked genuinely afraid. Her insanity was showing. She chased him up the stairs. He fell to his knees and over onto his stomach.
She wasn't going to let him get to her. The paranoia was finally going to stop. She raised the knife high and stabbed. She punctured his lungs, like he did to that woman all those years ago. She turned him over and stuck the knife deep in his chest.
She dropped to her knees. It was finally over. She smiled.
The door behind her opened and a police officer walked in. She looked wild. Her feet were bloodied and her clothes were sprayed with the same substance.
"Ma'am, you are under arrest," the officer started reciting her rights.
"What?" she questioned. She slowly turned around and nearly fainted. There, on the floor, was her now dead boyfriend. What had she done? What had her paranoia, though justified, cost her?
"No, Lucas Ashen was here. He tried to kill me!" She sobbed, and tried to explain.
As the body of her now ex boyfriend was loaded into a black body bag, the officer explained, "Ma'am, Lucas Ashen was arrested last week and hanged himself before trial."
Her paranoia was not justified. How could she have been so careless? Her mind was long gone as she allowed the officer to handcuff her and load her into the car.
