A Day of Ruin

I hid in my room for as long as possible but eventually I got hungry and needed a shower.

I watched the UberEats tracker carefully, trying to time it so I left my room at the exact moment the delivery driver arrived. Stepping out of my bedroom, I noticed the apartment seemed quiet.

Huh. Maybe they had left.

My feet padded on the soft carpet quietly and just as I reached the centre of the room, a shirtless Dex stepped out from the opposite doorway.

I stopped, eyes widening at being caught. And maybe for other reasons too.

Dex looked at me, his exterior blank, but his eyes moved in a way that told me there was more going on beneath the surface.

He said nothing and the knock on the door reminded me why I was out here. I greeted the delivery driver and took my food, turning back to head to my room when Dex stepped towards me.

“So... you and Finn, hey? I didn’t guess that.”

My better judgment told me to run, to ignore his questions but the desperate part that sought comfort and friendship won out.

I turned to face him, gripping my food bag nervously. “It was a long time ago.”

Dex nodded, and I couldn’t help notice the crease of his eyebrows as he eyed off Mister Chen’s Chinois on the logo. Damn judgmental chefs.

“Yeah, he filled me in. Small world...”

Shifting awkwardly, I moved the bag out of sight behind my back as best as I could. “How do you even know him? He hasn’t lived here in years.”

He straightened up and my eyes automatically zoned in on his exposed torso. Fuck... this was just cruel and unusual punishment. Is it possible to die from death by muscle perving?

“He’s been back in the city for a few weeks. We actually met at a business meeting. He’s partnering up with my work as part of a health campaign.”

Swallowing as I forced my eyes not to look at his 6-pack, I gave a confused shake of my head. “What do you mean ‘health campaign’?”

“Finn has his own personal training business. We’re doing meal plans and fitness training to customers in an 8 week health challenge.”

Personal training...

I supposed it made sense. Back in school, Finn was always playing sports. He was on the football team, went to the gym a lot, early morning runs. The whole nine yards. It doesn’t surprise me that he turned it into a career.

Hope blossomed in me but the thought was quickly squashed by the impending darkness. Voices filled my mind, reminding me of everything I had lost.

Why would he want to be friends? Everyone hates me. Don’t let him get the better of you. You will only end up disappointed and hurt.

“Why are you suddenly being nice to me?” I muttered quietly, my mind quickly shutting off.

Dex opened his mouth, then closed it. He dragged his eyes away, looking at the ground awkwardly like he didn’t have an answer either.

I guess the first mistake I made was assuming that a half-naked Dex was alone. My second mistake was not leaving when the silence hung between us.

The front door opened, laughter filling the silence as Finn and Oliver stepped inside.

They stopped just in the doorway, leaving enough room to close the door behind them but not moving as they took in the scene in front of them.

I noticed the new beers in their hands, cursing myself for being so stupid and leaving myself vulnerable.

“What’s going on?” asked Oliver, looking to Dex for answers.

My eyes met Finn’s and I couldn’t stop the pain shooting across my face as our memories flooded through me like a tsunami. It was painful enough without the added clusterfuck of everything else on top of it.

Dex didn’t answer him either and the four of us stood silently as the tension climbed. Finally, Finn cleared his throat.

“This was at the door for you,” he said, holding up an envelope with my name on it.

I didn’t move from my spot, frozen and unsure as panic threatened to spill. Finn stepped forward, holding out the cream envelope for me.

“Thanks,” I murmured, grabbing it before turning and disappearing quickly into my room.

Locking the door behind me, I put my food down on the bed, my hunger suddenly evaporating into thin air. Instead, I made my way to the window sill where I curled my legs into my chest, my trembling hands opening the envelope.

I should have expected it. But the whole Dex-Finn-Oliver situation fucked me up so much that I could only focus on one problem at a time.

Looking over the letter, I gasped, dropping it on the sill at my feet.

HARLOW. YOU HAVEN’T PLAYED NICE. SO NOW I WON’T BE EITHER. IT’S NEARLY OUR TIME LITTLE FOX.

“No!” I yelled out, immediately cupping my mouth to hide the sound. I let out a shaky breath, staring at the piece of paper like it was a snake about to attack. “This can’t be happening.”

I wasn’t naive. I suspected the stalker knew where I lived. If he knew where I worked then logically he had to have known where I lived too. But he had always been so quiet on that front that I relished in the fact that he didn’t try to physically approach my apartment. But this... this was next level.

Along with the attack at work and now him daring to come up to the apartment door with other people inside, he was getting cunning. The dangerous ones were the ones who had nothing to lose or who didn’t care what consequences they suffered.

The air was thinning around me, dark spots appearing at the edge of my vision. The wounded animal was nearby again, the sound like a desperate whimper.

And as the haze took my vision over, the last thought I had was ′fuck I wish I was dead’.