A Nefarious Secret

Chapter 6

"Murderer," a voice whispered in her ear.

"Murder... Murderer.... MURDERER!"

Chiara jolted awake.

It was a dream she realized, letting out a breath.

She looked to the right her. Jess slept peacefully. His lips slightly parted, his breathing softened. His ashy hair tousled from sleep and his body had morphed to accompany hers. She wanted to curl back up and fall asleep, his body cocooned around her. But Chiara decided to stay up. She had things to do today, and if she wasn't in class, she still needed to be productive.

Chiara tiptoed out of bed and across the room. She slowly turned the bathroom handled, inching it closed as to not make any noise. She flipped on the light and the white noise of the fan filled the bathroom. The hard water drummed across her hair and skin as she soaked herself in the shower. The knots in her shoulders loosened as she lathered the blood orange and nectar shampoo invigorated her scalp.

She had realized how exhausting yesterday was until she stood alone in the shower. The memory of walking into her apartment, creeped down her neck, twisting its charcoal claws around her lungs.

The noose. The note. The picture.

Chiara held her face back, letting the water coarse down her throat.

She finished her shower, wrapping herself in a towel, using Jess's slightly damp towel to ring her hair out with. If she could just finish one small task at a time, she could survive this anxiety attack she felt coming on.

Chiara took a deep breath in through her nose, held it for five seconds, and released out her mouth. She repeated the breathing technique four more times. By the last one, she dealt with the worst of it.

Chiara opened the door and walked out into the room. Jess had woken up and was sitting on his phone. He looked at her, his eyes trekking up her body.

"Good morning," he said through his grin.

"Morning," she replied.

Chiara bounced onto the bed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked.

"Scrolling," he replied, his thumb pulling his Instagram feed.

"You don't follow me," Chiara accused, batting her eyes at him.

Jess let out a small laugh and typed her name into the search bar. He started scrolling through her posts.

"Cute," he said pulling up an older photo of Chiara on a sailboat in Sorrento.

"Mmmm I miss it," she replied. "I can't wait to go back."