Food is my weakness. It’s also what got me killed.
I woke up on time, for once, actually excited for school. I lay in bed on my phone and opened up twitter seeing I had a new notification. @hitgirl had just followed me, stalking time. No profile picture, no tweets and not following anyone except for me. Hmm weird. I ended up following them anyways just in case they were new. Seconds later i received a message from this same person complimenting how pretty I look. The only problem was i had never put photos of myself on twitter. Not thinking twice about it I got up and got ready for school.
After school was always fun. I loved it because I got away from the people I hate, so mainly majority of the school. But this afternoon things were going to change. While walking home I put my headphones on and blast my music hoping to escape the world around me. Halfway down the road it is deserted, a car pulls up next to me with a lady in it. She’s looking expectantly at me so I internally sigh while taking out my headphones and plastering a fake smile on my face.
“Hey darlin’” obviously Australian.
“Hi?” what does she want I want to go home.
“Do you want some cheesecake? I’ve got heaps and I can’t finish it all.” Is she for real? I LOVE cheesecake.
“Sure, I love cheesecake!” she hands me a piece of passion fruit cheesecake, my mouth overflowing with saliva. She drives away leaving me mesmerized by this piece of cheesecake. I shovel it down instantly regretting it. I walk home feeling uncertain as to why a random lady would hand out food.
Getting home and stumbled over the door mat where I drop my bag, turn the TV onto MTV and go to get my laptop. This was my daily routine for after school until mum came home with pizza or other takeout’s at 8 o’clock. I log onto Twitter to see I have another message from @hitgirl.
“You look beautiful.” Minutes later I get a call,
“Hello?”
“You’re home alone tonight.” His voice was deep and sounded like he just woke up.
“Who is this?” I was trying to sound brave but it came out like a squeak.
“I’m watching you, Zaria.” Then the line went dead.
Straight away I called my mother and told her EVERYTHING, in the end I just broke down after she told me she was out of town till the weekend and she would call me every hour through the night and when I’m not at school. One question that stuck in my mind was how did he know that she was out of town?
That night I was on the phone to mum and she was telling me everything that was happening in Florida when the power went out.
“Mum, have you paid the power bill?”
“Yea why?”
“ ’Cos the power just went out.” Then my phone started cutting out before going dead. I knew I needed a new phone but didn’t realize how soon. I sprinted to the top of the stairs before tripping and rolling down them, I’ve always been clumsy but that’s something that happens when you’re drunk. Soon the dark took over my sight of moonlight streaming through the windows.
My head was throbbing and I felt paralyzed with something tightening around my wrists. From a little window at the top of a wall I could see daylight. Before a black figure covers the light. My breath hitched when the rope tightens around my wrists.
“Your awake, Zaria.” I know his voice from somewhere.
“Yes, you do know me.” It’s like he just read my fricken’ mind! Or maybe I’m that obvious when I think. He gives me a hard slap before it all goes black again.
I woke up with blood trickling down my forehead. Thinking about it that cheesecake wasn’t a good idea I felt a lump in my throat as he comes back into the room. At first he just stood there looking at me.
“You’re looking a little green. Maybe you should learn to not take food from strangers.” As he said this he came up to me and started to stroke my hair. Pulling out a knife he gently puts a cut on my throat, then down on each arm, onto my stomach and the insides of my thighs, before slowly pushing the knife through my heart.
From my point of view in the otherworld I don’t want to know what that cruel man did with my body but one thing I know for sure is that I wasn’t his only victim. But I was the blindest.
