“I have to call my friend!” I blurted out with absolutely no thought, which was quite possibly one of the dumbest things I could have done. Naturally, that thought only occurred to me after I’d said it out loud.

“What’s that?” Melve’s voice came from over my shoulder, and I heard his approaching footsteps come with it.

Instead of taking a second to pause and think, my mouth opened and continued babbling as I internally died. “My friend! I have to call her and tell her she can’t come by!”

“Oh, you do?” Melve appeared in the corner of my vision, as he crossed over in front of me to sit on the other end of the couch.

I visibly moved away, pressing myself against the armrest as I decided it was too late to stop now, saying, “Yesterday she told me she was going to stop by today! I’ve gotta tell her I’m-,” I paused briefly, trying to think of an excuse. “I’m sick or something!”

Melve looked at me, holding a cup in his hand, an eyebrow raised, which seemed to be his constant expression when dealing with me. “Okay, then. Go ahead.”

It sounded like a challenge, and I didn’t like that one bit. However, I stood up all the same, scratching the inside of my wrist, and walked into the kitchen, trying to ignore the fact that he was probably watching me from the couch.

I hated eyes on the back of my head.

I picked up my phone from the receiver, dialing Violet’s number with a shaky finger. I kept my back to Melve the whole time, hating how it felt like ants were crawling over my skin. I held the phone to my ear, anxiety coursing through me like a river.

Okay, Theo, just tell her you’ve got a fever. You’ve got a fever and you don’t want her to get sick, so she most definitely should not come over today.

Easy. Right?

I jumped at the sound of Violet’s voice in my ear, too occupied with my thoughts to realize the line had stopped ringing because she’d picked up.

“Theo? You there?”

“Uh, yes! Sorry!” I fiddled with the phone chord, my mind suddenly and inconveniently blank, everything I had been planning on saying gone without a trace.

“So what did ya need?” Shuffling came from the other end of the line.

“Oh! Um, right, yes, I was calling to tell you, that I er- I caught a fever this morning, so it probably- it isn’t a good idea for you to stop by today.”

I nodded to myself, satisfied with my lie.

“Are you sure? I could stop by and bring you something. My immune systems great, I’ll be fine.”

“No!” I paused, then continued on in a lower tone of voice. “No, that’s um, that’s okay. I feel really sick, so it’s probably best if I stay away from everyone.”

Come on, buy it, buy it…

“I guess if you’re sure… but don’t hesitate to call if you need anything! I’m only a couple of floors away!” The sound of something falling came from the phone, and I winced as I heard muffled curses from Violet.

“I’m sure. It sounds like you’re occupied anyways, so I’m going to, um, go.”

“Okay, bye! Ow- fuck!”

I smiled a little to myself as I said, “Bye,” before putting the phone back on the receiver. That smile slid off my face, however, as I turned back around to face the nightmare I was living.

A shaky sigh escaped as my shoulders slumped in relief. Melve however, was watching me with an amused look on his face, like this was all a silly game to him.

My life is on the line.

I sidled back over to the couch, folding myself into the corner again, as far away from him as I could get. Now that I knew Violet wasn’t in danger of sudden death, I let my thoughts drift off into speculation.

What were the odds he’d knock on my door?

It may not have been odds at all. It may have been a premeditated decision.

How long has my fate been doomed to this?

Only one way to find out.

What if I don’t want to find out?

You know you do. Don’t lie to yourself.

I cleared my throat, and his eyes snapped to me. I instantly regretted making any noise at all. “Uh.”

He cocked his head at me, a slight smirk on his face. “What’s that?”

Nope nope nope shut up shut up shut up-

Don’t back down. Ask.

“Why here? Why-,” I paused. “-me?

He regarded me in silence. I watched him in trepidation, already regretting my question. The silence stretched on, and I looked away from his eyes, which were drilling into my soul.

I fiddled with my hands, watching as my fingers twisted together, my fear mounting, higher and higher, the tension growing with every passing second as I glanced at him from the corner of my eye-

And he suddenly smiled, sharp and dangerous. “Let’s just call it really bad luck.”