Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Guest

Jane awoke. She looked around the room. It was light. Must be late. Later than usual. She rolled over to look at the window. It was closed. The curtains were closed. But the light still poured through.

The apartment is much more dilapidated since we were last here. The room is messy. Clothes strewn about near the bed. There was half empty coffee cups all over the night stand. Pill bottles, both spilled, empty, and full are on the bedside table. The curtains are drawn along the floor to ceiling windows on one side of the previously pristine penthouse apartment. On the other side of the wall is newspaper clippings, printouts from websites, and several blurry, mostly black pictures. There is one large mirror fronted wardrobe. Jane struggles out of bed. She drops her legs over the side of the bed and sits up. Her hair is darker and badly cut. Shorter than she'd had it before. She hulked herself up out of bed.

She walked over to the wardrobe.

She pulled down the bags under her bloodshot eyes. The sleep didn't come often, when it did it was disturbed… very disturbed. The bags were accentuated by her bad makeup removal.

She looked up and down. She was thinner. Unhealthy. Not happy. Jane opened the door to the wardrobe and pulled out a dressing gown. She dropped it loosely round her shoulders and walked the the other end of the room.

She booted her computer. A nice, large iMac, old, but still useable. She looked at her notepad. There was a handful of things left that hadn't been crossed off.

She walked over to the door and opens it. The room floods with light and Jane squints. The large kitchen living room matches her old life much better. The black granite work tops and leather sofas. The large dusty TV. Actually, most of its dusty. It's all an air of quality that hasn't been looked after. Two pizza boxes are poking out of the recycling bin. Slightly too big to ever fit in there. And an epically overflowing glass recycling bin either from someone who drinks too much wine or doesn't empty the box enough. The only clean thing in the room was a large, silver espresso machine and grinder. It was already hot. In order for it to be the temperature she needed she would just leave it on all the time.

God knows how much this costs.

The quiet calm of the kitchen was suddenly interrupted. The vicious grinding filled the kitchen. When the portafilter was full Jane tamped and began to pull and espresso. She walked slowly over to the "dining table" it hadn't been that for a long time. She picked up a cigarette and lit it. They were loose, perfect looking roll ups. Which at some point over the last few days whilst unable to sleep she had rolled, for hours, methodically. It used to help her sleep. Now it stopped her from thinking about things. The repetitive action took her mind away from the images that plagued her.

She walked back to the coffee machine, a light steam slowly rose off the two shots. She steamed some milk, neatly pouring it into a tall glass. And slowly and carefully poured the espresso shots in. The coffee slowly cascaded down creating a beautiful three layered latte. She took a sip. And turned around to look out the windows over the city.

Coffee and cigarettes. What could be better.

She took a sip. She took a drag. She took a sip. She took a drag.

Her brain began to wake up. Her links were getting her close. She was nearly there. Thank God she quit her job. And spent all those years saving. Although terrified, nervous and confused. Somewhere… she became excited and determined to know what the fuck was going on.

Her brain was about to run wild. But for now she was in a happy bliss of not quite awake, not quite asleep.

The doorbell rang.

Jane looked at the clock.

Could be a parcel?

She did up her dressing gown.

Don't want anybody seeing that!

Then walked over to the door and opened it.

Standing there at the door with several bottles of champagne. A cake and a big pink bag was her old friend May.

Fuck

"No" Jane said bluntly

"Yes" said may back.

"No"

"Yes"

"No" Jane said as she pushed the door closed walking back to her latte.

May caught the door before it closed and walked into the flat. "I ask to come round, you say no, I invite you out, you say no, I haven't seen you in ages and you're starting to worry me. And when I did see you… well!"

"Don't get shirty about that. You said we were cool. And you know how I feel about birthdays" Jane retorted whilst closing her bedroom door. She calmly picked up another cigarette and lit it.

May was putting the wine in the fridge. "I was cool… till I woke up the next day and you were gone… and you send me some bullshit about an old church. And I don't care about your attitude to birthdays. I know what you want. So here I am! Cake, wine and if you have enough wine and am in a good mood… me. And i am NOT leaving" may stuck her tongue out at Jane as she closed the fridge with her foot.

It was no different to the way you used to treat me. Wish I'd never booty called her now.

"So, what's been going on?" may asked.

"Not much. Just research and stuff, you?" Jane replied.

"You know, the usual, chilling, working, keeping bills in check. Research for what? Your crazy church rubbish?" May enquired, dismissive but concerned.

"yeah" Jane replied as bluntly as possible.

"you going to tell me about this?"

"nope"

"why not?"

"Its a long, complicated story and I don't know all of it yet."

"Sure… Just you disappeared off the face of the planet. Then when you're back, you're nervous, twitchy and regularly visiting churches all of a sudden. Its worrying. You're not the same. What's happened? why won't you tell me." May had stepped closer to Jane and put her hand on jane's shoulder.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay I just don't."

"Go on!" May egged her on.

Jane shrugged off may and took a large drag of her cigarette "NO! Just leave it okay!"

May somehow let it lie. Janes agitation was a bit much to keep pressing it. They sat and chatted for a couple of hours. Jane was slowly relaxing.

"is it time for wine?" May asked.

"Sure, back in a mo" Jane replied, getting up and going to the bathroom.

May got the wine out of the fridge, she let out a big sigh when she realised that it was a corked bottle.

"It's not the 1960's we have bloody screw tops now" she rummaged around the draws and looked about. Knowing of Jane's habbit of drinking wine in bed, before going to sleep she thought she'd check there. She opened the door to the bedroom. The darkness of the room was shocking. May turned on a light. "What the fuck!?"