Page 22 of His Obsession
Before I knew it, my bucket was empty, and my drink too. I knew I should have gotten the larger bucket. I sat back and watched the screen just as an alien’s tentacle came down right through a woman’s skull.Ugh,why didn’t she run? I cringed as I watched her mouth drop and what was left of her brain plopped to the grass. Why do people like this shit?
“I have to go to the bathroom,” I whispered in Jason’s ear, not wanting to disturb the other horror freaks. After drinking 44 ounces of nothing but bubbly syrup water, my bladder felt like it was about to burst, and my belly growled for more of the delicious buttery treat.
I stood at the entrance, squinting at the bright lights as they assault my retinas. My eyes finally adjusting, I blinked a few more times and rushed to the restroom. This stupid movie was going to give me nightmares on top of the ones I had already. I was regretting coming. If it wasn’t for the popcorn, I’d never agree to these things. I’d rather sit through a romance on Valentine’s Day alone than a horror movie with no popcorn.
I rushed into the stall, slamming the door behind me, all while doing the potty dance—Elmo would be so proud.
I shimmied my shorts into place, flushed the toilet, and stepped out. A lanky man leaned against the door, his hands in his pockets, his legs crossed at the ankles.
“Whoa! What the hell, dude? This is the women’s bathroom. Get the fuck out.” I shrieked, my voice echoing off the tiled walls.
He put his hand up to calm me. “Liz, someone would like to speak to you.”
“Is that right?” I said sarcastically. I slowly placed my hand on the handle of my gun.
“There is no need for violence, Ms. Keel. We just want to have a chat,” he said, removing his other hand from his pocket. The man held them out to show me he didn’t have a weapon—not that I gave a shit. I’d still shoot him if I needed to.
I shrugged my shoulders and gave a nervous laugh. “No movie character ever survives after someone says that. Besides, you are standing in the women’s bathroom, and I’d say that is enough cause for violence,” I threatened.
He just stood there, not responding. “Are you deaf? Get the fuck out of my way, or I’ll scream bloody murder, and tell the police that a man in a shit-brown suit with a five-dollar haircut tried to assault me.” All my threat provoked was a smirk I wanted to smack off his face.
“Wrong answer.” He turned on his heel, and as if he did nothing wrong, walked out the door as calm as could be.
“I hope the door hits you on the way out, you fucking perv.” I hoped he heard me. Before he or anyone else could come in, I ran through the door and pulled out my phone.
Me: I’m at the theater on Chester. Some man just confronted me in the bathroom, telling me “they” wanted to talk.
I waited for only a moment for his reply.
Alek: Did he hurt you?
Me: No.
I stood by the theater door, waiting for him to respond. After five minutes of nothing, I walked back into the dark theater and found my seat. It surprised me that was all the response I got from someone who seemed so concerned with my safety. I held on to Jason’s arm, curled up in my seat, and tried not to look at the gore on the screen.
Too late.
A man and a woman panting from running and fear hid in a drainage pipe. The movie went silent except for the eerie sound of nails clicking on the cement behind them. A tall multi-legged alien jumped out as they turned to see where the noise was coming from. The man swung a pipe at the alien’s leg and made him scream a terrifying screech.
I dug my face into Jason’s shoulder, not wanting to see what came next but could not help myself. I glanced back at the screen as the man’s arm ripped away, leaving a stump that spurted blood like a Super Soaker. I dry heaved as the man collapsed to the ground, crying about his missing arm. The woman stood there like an idiot screaming, and the alien threw her into a spike, killing her instantly. Well, at least I didn’t have to listen toheranymore.
The movie ended with all major cities in the United States on fire and the aliens retreating to their home planet. The lights came on, and the credits rolled. I released my death grip on Jason and stood to stretch, locking eyes with Alek at the bottom of the steps; he didn’t look pleased. Giving my head a slight shake and mouthing the word “no,” he turned, walking out, disappearing into the crowd. I didn’t want my friends to see him, know him, or have anything to do with him. If I was in danger of just two days being in contact with Alek, I absolutely didn’t want my friends around him. My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Alek: He’s not here, I’ll take care of it.
What did that even mean? No explanation of who it was. No reasoning for why they wanted to talk to me, nothing. Just, “I’ll take care of it,” like a mafia boss ordering the hit on someone. Who taught him how to communicate?
∞∞∞
They dropped me off at home, none the wiser that something took place, and went out to dinner. They invited me to go, but I told them no, I had enough excitement for one day. The house was dark and quiet, something that never bothered me before. My keys made a loud jingling noise that freaked me out and made me look for green aliens wanting to kill me. I turned the lamp on by the couch and screamed as a shadowy figure sat there staring at me.
“Jesus H. Christ, Alek.” I clasped my chest and stumbled backward into the wall, toppling onto my ass. Motherfucker. “Can’t you come inside the normal way? Like knocking on the door or making yourself known!” I stood, rubbing my ass, and threw my purse on the counter, trying to catch my breath, listening to him chuckle. “Yeah, laugh it up. I think I broke my tailbone.” I grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge, popped the cork, and chugged from the bottle, then poured myself a glass.
Alek put his hand on mine and took the bottle away. “I was making sure you got home safely,” he said with a calm, gravelly voice.
“I wanted you to leave the theater because I didn’t want my friends to see you. You thought it was a good idea to sit on my couch in the dark after a man confronted me tonight? What if my friends saw you? What if I shot you?” I scolded.
He put the glass to his lips and finished my wine. That’s all I got, more questions, no answers.