Infinity and Beyond

40 - Hands Above the Blanket

Ashton

Waking up in the night and hearing noises: it's something we probably all hate. More often than not, it's just a floorboard creaking or the wind against the roof, and you go back to sleep feeling silly for thinking anything else.

Sometimes, though, for the unlucky ones, the thought that someone's in your house isn't your mind playing tricks. And I don't know what's worse - being alone when that happens, or having your pregnant fiancée with you.

"Ashton - Ashton - Ashton! Wake up!" The frantic tone to Emily's whispering woke me up with a start, panicking straight away.

"What's up?" I asked and she stopped hitting me.

"There's someone downstairs," she said.

"What do you mean there's someone downstairs?"

"I mean, there's someone downstairs!"

"No, you're probably just hearing stuff."

"I'm serious! I heard a door close and it sounds like they're in the kitchen! Go and check it out."

"What? Why me?" I objected, not much liking the idea of going to investigate someone who had broken into our house in the middle of the night.

"Because I'm five months pregnant and you work out!"

"You work out too," I mumbled, reluctantly pulling the covers back and climbing out of bed. To be fair, there's no way I would let Emily go downstairs. It was now February and we'd been for her twenty week scan just last week. The baby was looking like an actual human being now, and everything was just fine, so I wasn't putting Emily at risk in a million years.

The thought of going down topless was even less appealing that going at all, so I pulled on a vest top, pausing when my eye caught Emily's camera tripod sitting at the bottom of the wardrobe. Without hesitation I picked it up and carried it with me, poised and ready to use if I needed it. I felt a bit stupid, but I wasn't taking any chances. I crept down the stairs with it tight in my grasp and peered round the living room door when I reached it. Just as Emily had said, there was a light coming from the kitchen and I gulped, then muttered a string of curse words to myself and slowly approached.

My heart was racing more with each step closer I got and I prayed that it wouldn't give me away. In the minute that had passed since I left Emily I'd formulated a plan in my head, which was to sneak up behind them and, hopefully, knock whoever it was out. I took a deep breath when I reached the kitchen door, all ready to put the plan into action and get it over with swiftly, however it went out the window when I stepped into the kitchen.

"Michael?"

"Holy FUCK balls," he yelled, jumping out of his skin and dropping half the things he was holding. I turned the lights on and we both squinted, but then I could properly see him rather than just by the light of the fridge. He had been stood peering into it, and was now picking up various items of food from the floor.

"Why are you in our house? It's nearly 2am!" I shouted.

"We were having a movie night but we ran out of food," he explained briefly.

"So you decided to raid our fridge instead?"

"I raided the cupboards too."

"You didn't think to go to a shop instead? I don't know if you're aware, but they have these crazy things called 24-hour supermarkets."

"That would have required both interaction with other people, and getting dressed," he said and it was then I noticed he was wearing nothing but flip flops, pyjama bottoms and a hoodie. "Enough with questioning me though, why are you holding a tripod?"