Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
LAURA
My eyes snapped open to the sound of deep mumbling: grating and hard. I blinked at the piercing rays from the blinds as the light struggled its way through the window that probably has a decade of grime covering it. The walls of the bedroom had a shade I couldn't put a finger on, something like curdled milk. It stunk of vapor, ten bucks says that if I were to walk across the room without proper footwear, I'd probably attract a dermis disease. Eddie had no regard for house maintenance. He was most likely sharing his apartment with a family of rats.
'You stay outta this, 'kay? I can handle it.' Eddie's brackish voice hit my ears from behind me. I curled the covers tighter to my chest, trying to slow my breaths and make it seem like I was still asleep. Before I could wonder about who he was talking to, it hit me.
He was talking to that thing. The thing from last night. Yesterday's events came racing to my head, screening faster than necessary. I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth. It was an alien. An extraterrestrial.
'Okay, what the actual - ' His growl stopped midway. Maybe because of the inevitable sneeze that wracked my body. It was a prompt response for me to shield myself from thing/Eddie with my blanket which would be my shield. Yeah right, like a flimsy blanket was going to keep that alien away.
I squeezed my eyes shut and awaited impact. His sharp voice cut through. 'Are you seriously hiding under that blanket?'
I refused to speak back. What if it ripped my throat right off?
'Laura, c'mon.' A hand slithered over the opening hear my head and tore it off me. Immediately, my upturned palms slapped over my eyes and I buried my head into my knees. What I screamed next, truly puzzled me. Even Eddie.
'Don't eat me! Please don't put your progeny in my chest, please! '
His answer came after a long beat in the tone I expected. 'We, uh, won't eat you and ay, that's a notion created by the film enterprise.'
I peeped from the edge of my fingers hesitantly. Eddie's assessing eyes were on me, dark welts embedded under them. His hair was greasy from sweat and the obvious stench hit my nose. Setting his elbows on his thighs, he sent dirtied fingers to comb his hair back and rub his jaw.
'Eddie. It's you, right?'
'Last I checked.'
'No pranks?'
'Nada.'
I dropped my hostile stance. Pushing my hands onto the mattress, I backed into the headboard and pulled my legs to my chest. We settled in silence for a while, my eyes glued to his hands. The sound of his rough palms scraping against each other lilted my heavy feelings.
