I sighed in the darkness; I couldn't rest, couldn't sleep. Especially after what happened in that dream. Well, after every stupid dream I had this night. The midnight dog next-door barked repeatedly at the usual pedestrian, walking the streets after dark. As it howled relentlessly, I heard a man yelling profanities at it from a house down the street. I smiled and wiped my forehead. I understood his annoyance fully; after all, it was one of the most humid summer nights. To add to this weather, the stupid bullmastiff would not shut his stupid mouth. The barks became muffled and then, nothing. I stopped thinking about the violent thoughts that arose in my head when I quickly noticed the silence in the house. The barking had suddenly stopped, with one last howl, cut short. Miraculously, the dog seemed to have stopped and gone to bed, as there was no sound to be heard. I thanked the yelling man and rolled over, hoping for a quiet sleep, if there was any night leftover anyway.
It didn't last. I woke up with a gasp half an hour later. Something outside screeched like car tyres. I groaned deeply and took sip of my water bottle. I loosened my shirt buttons when I realized the strange moist texture of the material and realized the texture. I seemed to be drenched in something wet. I smelt myself and winced. Geez, was it that hot? I reluctantly got up and walked groggily toward the bathroom, thinking. What was wrong with me? Do have an intermittent case of insomnia? I pulled my clothes off, turned the shower on and stepped in. The cold water felt so good so I stayed in there for a full hour.
As I looked in the mirror, I grimaced when I saw my pruned skin. I quickly slipped on a silk dress and sat on the counter in the kitchen, half naked looking at the moon. The heat was overwhelming so I reached for the window. It window faced my neighbour's one, which was wide open, for once. I peeked my head out and inhaled the air. Nice and fresh .I looked out into the street, the wind blowing through my hair and the autumn leaves and newspapers on the road. Listening to the distant silence, a sense of eeriness crept in my house and I caught myself wishing for Bonito to start barking again. I turned my head toward Mason's house across the street. I smiled as I thought of him. that Spanish idiota. She reminisced the times of when he teased her constantly in her sophomore years.
His house looked like it had been locked for years as the curtains were drawn and no windows were open, yet he visited me just a few a days ago. I hadn't seen him, since, said he was busy, dealing with his life. I knew what he was referring to. the dangerous deals he makes with the "our guys" downtown in the city. I always told him to quit doing this "business" but he said everything was cool and that the guys liked his style. I knew something would go wrong but I didn't think this soon, I could of persuaded him more but what if it was too late? My worried expression was starting to hurt my eyebrows so I decided to call him . I ran and picked up my old cord phone from the sofa and quickly dialled. No one answered. Damn it!. I tried several times, hoping he would wake up or even be in his house. I walked back to the window, disgruntled at his deafness, after all, his phone was right next to his bedroom.
I scanned his house for anything suspicious when I noticed a dark figure on the footpath, hooded in black. I nearly laughed when I thought of this man's clichéd appearance.Surely there just had to be some sus- looking people in this Hispanic distract! I took one last breath and shut the window tight. I was not in the mood for robbers today as they were known to rob on such humid days. It was then I remembered I'd forgotten to close my dining room's window. Miriam and the girls had come over a few hours ago for our weekly dinner together. I jogged and closed it hastily. Strangely, the curtains were flying high, as if a gust of wind had blown into my house even though it was something like 42 degrees .My eyebrows furrowed, but I couldn't care less, after all, in 5 hours it would be morning, and I had Uni to go to at 7:30. Stupid biology. I walked to bed in the dark after a swig of some water and collapsed on it. I closed my eyes and faced the wall to the right. As the silence grew, I heard something in my room. A panting sound and soft groans. At first I thought I was dreaming, but the sounds were too real and close. The sounds grew, like a radio tuning louder. I started sweating; too scared to turn and confront whatever it was. I started to shake, so I lifted my hand to my mouth, biting it vigorously to stop me from screaming. Of all the times my cell phone could die it had to be just a few hours ago; my telephone was too far away. "How the hell did a robber come in my room" I thought frantically, as a strange taste dripped into my mouth. "Oh no", I remembered the window I forgot to close. I started shaking harder and droplets of sweats poured from my forehead, when a voice came from the sounds.
" Don't make any sudden noises Severa, it's me" a male voice spoke urgently, obviously in pain. It startled me, not that the voice sounded breathless but that I recognized it quite clearly. I flipped around frantically and saw a small huddled figure on the floor behind my armchair. I could hardly see his shadow but I knew that voice.
" Mason?" I nearly yelled. I jumped off the bed and moved closer to him. To my horror, I saw a part of his head, dripping in something. I could tell it wasn't water. I knelt in front of him to get a closer look. There was blood on the floor. He recoiled and turned away from me, trying to hide the fact that he was truly hurting.
"You're bleeding," I gasped as I reached my hand up to his head. " Don't touch me, I shouldn't have come here, I'm fine, really, I don't need anything, I should go Then, I got angry. Here he was, in the darkness of my bedroom, loosing blood by the second and yet saying he doesn't need " medical attention". And he didn't even want my help. Anyway, what was this idiot doing here anyway and who bashed him nearly to death?
It was then I knew I had to change my tone to get some real answers out of him.
I turned and walked away from him, towards the light switch.
" Don't turn the light on, that idiota might notice", he nearly yelped in a heavy accent. He swore again. Which idiot was he referring to? I knew he only used Spanish to swear at something, so this situation could turn ugly. I finally came to conclusion. If I couldn't do anything at all to help him, I might as well use the " I want some answers or I'll call the police" trick. I didn't care that he was my closest friend. If he was going to be this stubborn, well, so be it. I walked to my bed, purposely not looking at him. He could tell that his words had hurt me and tried to reconcile with me, but I cut across him, still looking at the floor.
" Tell me what's going on, or voy a llamar a la policía!", I said in a stern voice, nearly convincing myself. He appraised me, his brows furrowed, then started laughing, as quiet as he could. I looked at him in disgust, but the laughter was catching. Who was I kidding? I couldn't call the cops; I wouldn't have the guts to.
" Look, before you bleed to death, let me bandage your head", I added quickly. Mason touched his head, his hand glistening with red in the moonlight. He then looked at me with a resigned expression. My plan worked, nonetheless
"Fine, but quietly" he said with significance. I looked at him curiously before I ran out the door to my first aid cabinet in the storeroom.
" Ahhh, it…hurts!" He sounded surprised.
" Well of course it hurts, it's antiseptic", I whispered matter-of –factly, wiping his head gently as I could.
" Keep on going, come on, you were saying that you heard noises in your house".
He sighed and continued.
" Okay, then I all the lights went out and for a few minutes I heard nothing, then I heard him rummaging through papers; probably my desk", Mason said with thoughtful eyes.
I looked at him with one brow raised. "Your hand!" he said, alarmingly, grabbing my hand from his head and surveying it closely. " It's nothing, I got scared" I said, shrugging, abit embarrassed. He looked at me with a curious expression and then
He continued.
" I was knocked down by something and then he stepped on my arm", Mason said, his voice decreasing. He was tired. His head drooped after my treatment was done.
I held his head up from under his neck. He looked at me, and then closed his eyes. I guess I had to cut him some slack; he did suffer a robbery, and a bashing.
" Wait a minute, I saw him, outside your house, was he wearing black?" I asked urgently. Mason opened his eyes automatically, looking troubled. " I'm fine Mason , he didn't come here," I said.
"Yes", he answered quietly and closed his anxious eyes.
" Tell me the rest in the morning, but tell me my house is safe" I said, shuddering slightly.
" Yes, I think it is, I heard his car leave, but I was afraid it might come back".. " That's what woke me". " I ran out of the house, but he lost me. It was then I climbed through your window", he said embarrassed
"Hang on", I cut across him.
" How come you know it's a he?" I said accusatory. His expression was evasive so I turned to the worst option.
" You know him, and he knows you!" I guessed, my tone understanding yet angrily. I decided to leave the discussion for the morning, then I could receive coherent answers from him.
I let go of his face and he opened his eyes. I told him to wait as I stood up and cleaned my bedroom. I could not be bothered changing so I just stayed in my nightdress. I was too scared to let him go back to his house and wait for a decent hour to call the police, as he was too lethargic, so he decided to stay for the night.
I came back to him with some of my clothes that almost looked like menswear. He was staring at me weirdly; maybe the madness of his situation made him look dumbfounded. Or maybe it was the clothes I gave to him. After he changed, I took his hand and led him to my bed. As we walked I reminisced on the times we had sleep overs when we were kids. We were so carefree then.
Mason insisted on sleeping on the floor but I insisted on sleeping on the softest place in the house; he had serious injuries. We snuggled in the darkness, facing the moon behind the window, his arm around my waist.
" Thankyou" he said respectfully.
" No problem" I replied, as he fell into a peaceful sleep, I didn't.
I awoke with a pant, and groaned internally. An hour had passed since I had discovered Mason in my room and I had just realised in less than 3 hours , I had uni. I still felt Mason's arm across my waist, tighter than ever, then releasing the tension, as if he knew what I was thinking. I was surprised that I didn't find it hard to breathe or maybe that was because I was still dreaming. I decided I didn't care as my eyes were to groggy to be open, so I let them rest, with my last vision of the night being a clouded figure standing over me. I gasped and then saw nothing.
I rolled over but regretted it afterwards as I thought I might disturb Mason's sleep. I was surprised when I saw there was an empty space beside me; he was gone. I must have looked terrible, as my throat was hoarse as I called "Mason". No one replied. I looked at my alarm clock and sighed. My alarm should be going off any minute now. I counted down the arrival of the tune when,
my stomach twisted and convulsed. I could my last evening's meal rise up my throat as I ran to the bathroom and heaved. I was definitely jigging uni today.