Character Unlocked

Chapter 3

My phone startled me awake; For some reason, I left it in my bedroom.

“Hello..?”

“Mark! Hey! It’s Jenn!” She shouted into my ear. I groaned and pulled the phone away for a second before placing it back against my ear.

“Hi.. Can we not blow my eardrum out first thing in the morning?”

“It’s 3. What the hell kind of ‘first thing in the morning’ bull?”

“Oh.. Well it’s first thing in the morning for me, shut up. What do you want?”

“Am I sensing some hostility there, bud? I just wanted to see what you were up to today.”

I rubbed my eyes and sighed heftily.

“I still need to record something, if it is actually 3. Or at least put something up. Edit some thumbnails.. Probably call my mom to let her know I haven’t died,” I pushed my glasses on to my face and stared at the ceiling. “Other than that, more than likely the same as usual.”

“So absolutely jack shit and wallowing in self pity?”

“Pretty much.”

“Awesome! I’ll come over and save you from that then!”

I found myself smiling at the thought.

“Yeah, whatever, fine. I’ll let you know when I’m done, give you my address and all that.”

“Perfect, see you then!”

 

“DING DONG THE WICKED BITCH IS HERE!” I jumped at the sound of her voice traveling down the hall. I jumped from my couch and ran to the door, opening it quickly.

“Jenn, for the love of God, I have neighbors!”

“Well they need to know I’m here too.” She laughed as she stepped across my threshold into my apartment. I shook my head and closed the door behind her.

“So! Did you finish all the crap you needed to do?”

“Yeah, I did. I was just catching up on some TV.”

She plopped down on my couch with a thud and stared at the screen.

“Didn’t peg you as a Supernatural fan,” she looked over at me. “Huh. Okay.”

 

We spent a few hours just watching TV in silence. I knew she wanted to talk about something, though I wasn’t sure just what, so I kept quiet.

“So,” here we go “I didn’t just come here to hang out with you, Mark.” She turned to face me, crossing her legs on the couch. I met her gaze and nodded to let her know I was listening.

‘I uh.. I had a thought..”

“Okay…”

“Hear me out before you go off, okay? Like, you know I care a lot about you and that’s why I’m about to say this.” My heart rate increased.

“A-Alright…”

“I think I should help you move Isabell’s stuff into storage,” She looked as if she was bracing for impact. “Please don’t kill me..”

I didn’t quite know how I felt; My palms were clammy, my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.

I think this is an anxiety attack.. I think that’s what I’m having right now.

My breathing grew very rapid and I felt my hands clench into tight, white-knuckled fists.

“M-Mark.. You okay?”

I can’t breathe, I’m going to die, I can’t breathe

“Mark?”

‘I-I can’t-” I tried to speak, but the words got caught in my throat.

“What’s wrong?!”

“I’m going to..” I tried to catch my breath, at least enough to speak.

“Going to?”

“P-Pass.. out..”

“Oh.. Oh, shit. You’re having an anxiety attack. Oh, fuck. Fuck. Okay. I-I, shit.”

Her voice started to fade out as black crept into my vision; Before I even knew it, I passed out.

 

I woke up a few hours later, a cool towelette on my forehead and Jenn gently fanning my face. I groaned and looked over at her, my whole body aching.

“You’re awake. Good. Look, Mark, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you an anxiety attack, I just want to help, that’s all.”

“Please, don’t talk about it.” I mumbled, my throat felt severely dry and my body ached.

Is this how Isabell felt? Is this what she suffered through?

“I… I don’t think I’m ready for that, Jenn,” I chuckled darkly. “If my reaction was any indication.” She smiled and nodded.

“I understand, bud. I do. Sorry for bringing it up.” She placed her hand gently on my arm and rubbed her thumb against it. I stared down at her hand, unsure of how to react to the intimate gesture. I ignored the warmth I felt spreading in my gut, a heavy dose of guilt laced in as well. I didn’t want to feel that with anyone but Bell, so I ignored it. Tucked it away.

But I let her keep her hand there regardless, I still don’t know why.