The Key Killer

Chapter 3

Colourful textiles hang from the painted walls and the occasional Tibetian prayer flag can be spotted in between. The uneven lampions, they have created together one rainy afternoon, hang in messy criss-cross patterns attached to the low ceiling. 

Happy, long-forgotten memories are brought back at the sight of the organised mess that is Katie's living room, and the usual hideout for their little group of friends. This room has always been inviting, and warm and it is no different today, no matter how long she has stayed away from it, fearing she hasn't been sane enough to face the people who would have noticed.

But it doesn't matter anymore. She will never abandon herself again in self-pity for being victimized by the world. After all, it has been her own actions that have brought her to where she is today. 

If she would have stayed true to herself, things would surely be different. 

She can feel the confidence in herself returning for having grabbed the steering wheel of her life again. She might not be in control of what happens around her, but she certainly is in control of her reaction to it. 

Nobody can take that away from her.
Not the people who pay her.
Not even the Key Killer. 

"Wanna drag?"

Katie's blissful eyes hover over to Zoe's scrunched form on the red couch, lifting her hand in an offer to her friend.

"Might as well." The blonde responds with a cheeky smile on her face. 

For the first time in months, she allows herself a deep inhale from the impeccably rolled joint underneath her nose. Katie is, by far, the biggest stoner she knows and Zoe usually shares her friend's love for the medicinal herb. When also a lot less often. 

But today she wants company and self-medication, so she has swung herself on her ragged bicycle and headed straight for the little condo in Jonestown. Not too far from her own home which she still refuses to think about.

"So," Katie plunges her tiny body into the cushions on the other side of the couch, eyeing her friend expectantly, "do you want to talk about it?"

Zoe fakes innocence in a terribly executed way. The other woman raises an eyebrow at her whilst playing subconsciously with the thick dreadlock reaching her lap.

Even herself wonders why she hasn't talked about last night, or the last months for that matter, to anyone yet. Is she ashamed for having to admit that she has lost her way, and herself? That she is, indeed, afraid of the repercussions of her choices? And that maybe not even her friends will believe her about the Key Killer?

A big, freeing sigh later, she lets go of her worries and decides to spill the beans with the risk of being judged 'high as fuck'.

________

"Shut up, man!"

Wide chocolate eyes gaze up into hers in amazed horror as she finishes her retelling of the night's dramatic event. 

"I'm so sorry you had to go through this alone, Zoe."

Katie touches her arm softly in comfort.

I've almost forgotten how good it feels to be cared for, she thinks.

She has spent so much time on her own, that she tends to forget about the emotions following alongside social relationships. It surely is hard to shoulder her burdens all by herself, but that is how she has come into the world and that is how she has to leave it.
By herself.