Midnight lies

Chapter 5

A typical Saturday evening for me would usually be, my favourite takeout, a bottle of wine and trashy tv. I watch the trashy tv because it has no real meaning and you don't need to focus at all to watch it. Tonight however, I can't eat due to the nausea I seem to be experiencing and even though I consider getting something a lot stronger than wine to make myself feel numb, I decide that if I'm going to really figure out what happened that night I will need a clear head so this should be avoided.

I lay down on the sofa and close my eyes, I try to steady my heart rate by breathing in and out slowly and try to remember that night. I'm staring out the office window, my face is up against the glass, I see a figure I believe to be a woman. I see the blood smears but the image of the woman's face is blurry, I try to close my eyes more tightly, hoping this will make her face clearer to me, it doesn't. I open my eyes in the present and sigh, let's try this again. I decide to try and picture the killer and the weapon instead this time. The axe is as clear as day to me but just like the victim, the killer is a blur. How am I supposed to move forward with my life if I cannot remember a damn thing of value about that night. If what happened was real, I was the only person who witnessed it, the only person who may be able to help catch the killer. If what happened was not real, then what did that mean for me? This reality was too scary to fathom, I need a drink.

Two hours and six, maybe ten shots of whiskey later I find myself falling into a comatose like state, I was drunk that was for certain and my body was shutting down for the rest of the night. Tomorrow was another day, I just hoped and prayed for it to be a better one.

Due to passing out last night the curtains had been left open, the morning light shines into the living room and wakes me up. As I open my eyes slowly, the sun burns into them and I find myself squinting, I roll myself over onto my front to shield my eyes away from the sun and I drift off again. I wake up an hour later only to be greeted with an excruciating shooting pain through my head, I need some water and a shower ASAP. Two pints of water and a shower later, I start to feel human again, only slightly. I need to get out of the house, fresh air is desperately needed. I walk for what feels like hours and in my current fragile state I should really sit down. I find a public bench along the high street and sit myself on down, it's surprisingly busy about for a Sunday and I would much prefer it to be quieter. As a force of habit I people watch, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary today until I glance to my left. I feel a presence, almost like someone or something is watching me. I stare in the same direction, to the left, amongst the crowds of people and I see someone. I don't think I know this person but it feels like they know me, they are staring directly at me, almost through me. Before I can look long enough to see if I recognise them they vanish, just like the other night. This cannot be a coincidence but I am hoping deep down that it is. And with that, I start to briskly walk home. I didn't feel safe and based on today's events, I'm not entirely sure I will ever feel safe again.