Sweet Luxuria

2

Waking up gasping for breath was not something Erela particularly enjoyed. Her face was covered in sweat and she was breathing heavily, but she found herself relaxing after groggily realizing that the man in her house must have simply been a nightmare. She listened silently for movement in her house just in case but heard nothing. 

After what happened in the alley, she must have fallen asleep on the couch. She brought her fingers to her cheek, running over the marks left by the incident. She cringed thinking about the repulsive man's hands on her body, fully understanding what his intentions had been. It was no wonder she had a nightmare about a threatening intruder once she fell asleep last night. 

Her plan of pigging out had been completely ruined, the snacks she had purchased were now spread along her neighbourhood's sidewalk. A fraction of the same fear she felt last night filled her body at remembering what had happened on her walk home. She wanted to cry thinking about it, about what would have happened if the unknown person hadn't stepped in. Whoever it was, she would always be thankful toward them, even though she would never really know their identity. She had been so caught up in panic that her only focus was reaching the safety of her home.

It was hard to wrap her head around what had happened the night prior. Her neighbourhood was not great, but these kinds of things didn't happen. Did they? Erela was finding it difficult to accept that instead of it happening to someone else, to some other unlucky person, it had almost happened to her. She couldn't brush it off after feeling bad about it, she would always have to remember it.

Erela tried to stuff the fresh memory away. She could only be grateful that she had made it out okay. She was lucky in a way, although the man had still emotionally and physically assaulted her, the situation could have ended up far worse.

Glancing at the clock on her DVD player she took in the time. It was early in the morning, 8:00 am, far too early for her to be up. Erela was not a morning person, she liked to sleep in as late as possible whenever she could, sometimes even into the afternoon. However, any hopes of going back to sleep were thwarted the second she heard knocking at her front door. Jumping from the couch, she was immediately filled with panic once again, her mind assuming that the man from the alley had come back to finish what he'd started. Hesitantly, Erela crept to her living room window. It had a view of her front door so she could see who was at her home so early this morning. 

Pulling back the curtain, she was surprised to see two police officers standing on her front step. She made eye contact with one within seconds and he gestured toward the door for her to open up. She stepped away from the window and approached the door, still wearing the clothes from last night, her hair a complete mess, and her face completely scratched up.

Unlocking the deadbolt, she pulled the wooden door open to reveal the two officers's serious faces. "Hello," she greeted, "Is there something I can do for you?"

The older of the two men answered, "Good morning, sorry for the early visit ma'am," he gave an apologetic smile, "Unfortunately, last night there was a disturbance in the neighbourhood and we have a few questions. You aren't in any trouble, we're just looking for more information," he explained.

Dread filled her, "A-a disturbance?"

The other man spoke up, "Yes. Unfortunately an unidentified body was discovered in a nearby alley and we are currently investigating the situation."

She didn't know what to tell them. It could easily be the man from last night. Or maybe even the person who had saved her. She hoped that it was the former, even if it was wrong to wish harm on a person. 

"May we come in?" the older officer asked.

Erela was about to pull the door open wider to let them in when another hand gripped the door from inside. The presence of another person appeared behind her suddenly, "Sorry gentlemen, is there an issue here?" the person spoke, "I was just getting dressed, sorry for the abrupt arrival."