My Bookshelf Is Crooked

Around the Corner; Waiting

"I have anxiety." I mustered. It was my fallback. It was how I explained everything away to anyone who ever noticed enough to ask. "I'll be fine." I assured him.

"At least sit down."

I let him pull me to the kitchen table. The room was almost back to normal now, although I was still physically aware of how close to the bookshelf we were. It was there, right around the corner, waiting.

"There, that's better." Peter smiled at me from across the table and set the glass I'd gotten for him in front of me. The light streaming in from window over the sink seemed to brighten. "What did I do?"

His question left me dumfounded. "No, I-. It's me, really. I really do have anxiety." In the scheme of things, that was very true.

"I must have done something wrong. You were fine just a minute ago."

Now, I really did feel terrible. "No, no," I said automatically. "You didn't do anything." I was lying without meaning to. I just wanted to reassure him. I didn't want him to feel guilty. I didn't want him to stop walking with me. I didn't want to be alone.

I encircled the glass with my fingers, and stared down at the reflections of light in the water. "It's been building all day." I finally admitted. That was true. "It all just overwhelmed me, I guess."

"I thought something seemed off with you today." He sounded proud of himself.

I snuck a glance at him and the worry had vanished from his face. He was his normal self again.

"Well, if you're really okay. I guess I should go." The chair scrapped loudly against the wood floor as he stood, filling the empty house with it's harsh sound.

I mimicked his movement, but with more care, so as not to leave scratches on the floorboards. The less evidence I had lived here when my brother returned, the better.

"I just have to grab my phone. I dropped it earlier."

He turned the corner before I could say anything. My chest tightened again. I should have told him about the shadow.

I followed him instinctively, rounding the corner as he leaned down and reached toward the bottom most shelf.  

Did the shadow just deepen?

I sucked in a breath to warn Peter, but darkness expanded at the same rate as my lungs. He was now completely inside it's boundaries. As for me? It had reached my toes.

Peter had just enough time to register the shock of what was happening and look at me in confusion before the dark shadow disappeared the floor and turned into a very real black hole.