Chapter Text
Your parents and you had always had a bad relationship; yelling, bruises, and cops were a constant in your life. Everyone has a breaking point, and you had found yours after 19 years of hell. Moving to the middle of Alabama days after graduation probably wasn’t your brightest idea, but you couldn’t stand living anywhere close to anyone you had previously known.
With the little money you had saved up, you were able to get a roof over your head. It was a fairly large house for just one person: two stories, two bedrooms, and two and a half bathrooms. You honestly didn’t know why the landlord even let you rent it, considering your age and that you had never even rented an apartment.
You figured it had less to do with the kindness of his heart and more of the house being empty for the last seven years, double homicide doesn’t attract many buyers you guess. It honestly would’ve been more off-putting if you weren’t desperate to not stay at the only dingy motel the town had to offer any longer than you had to.
Your house may be worse though. Being abandoned for years left the house derelict and in need of a lot of TLC.
You’ve never considered yourself picky- hard to be when your parents rarely gave you anything- but it creeped you out. The sudden creaks and cracks of the house made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. But the rent was dirt cheap and beggars can’t be choosers, right?
Your house wasn’t the only crime scene in town though. There had been a concerning amount of disappearances considering the population being less than that of Narnia. They stopped a few months before you moved there but you figured being a bit cautious couldn’t hurt.
It wasn’t too bad though- you managed to get a job your first week there as a waitress at the cafe down the road. Sure, there have been quite a few awkward moments and creeps, but a job is a job.
…
The job in question was currently going horribly.
Closing shifts were the bane of your existence at your job back home, but it was the only opening they had, and fixing your piece of shit house was not cheap. The diner you worked at closed at 2 am, but it still managed to attract quite a crowd of drunks after 11 pm. You didn’t know how many more men twice your age you could take hitting on you, especially when you could barely understand them with their slurring their every word.
Friday nights were no joke, customers were endless and rowdy. It didn’t help that one of your coworkers had to call in sick, so it was only you and Analise upfront. Even though she was your favorite coworker- and only actual friend- she was not much help. She had a bad habit of talking too much to anything that breathed and was often on her phone. You honestly don’t know how she hasn’t been fired.
“Y/N!” Analise calls out as you go to grab your table’s plates.
“What’s up?”
“Sooo! I know you haven’t gotten out much since you’ve been here-”
“Get to the point, Ana” You cut her off, beginning to walk away.
“Okay fine, do you wanna go to the bar with me tomorrow?”
You shoot her a look, a little confused. “You know I’m 19, right?”
“You think I’d take you to a place that cards knowing you’re underage?” She sees the exasperated look on your face and laughs, “So you wanna go, or not?”
“Yeah I’ll go, I need a break from unpacking anyway.”
“You’ve been here for a month and you’re still unpacking? Damn girl”
You’re about to respond when you hear your manager yelling for y’all to get back to work.
…
You needed a break but had already gone on your thirty, and your boss would be on your ass if you took longer than five minutes in the bathroom, so instead you’re hiding by the kitchen, praying no one else comes in. As soon as the thought crosses your mind the bell chimes and you hold back a groan. “Welcome in! Go ahead and sit wherever’s free,” You yell, trying to force the enthusiasm back into your voice.
You turn to see the customer sit down on one of the barstools up by you, you grab a menu before he stops you, “I just want a coffee, black.” You nod and grab the pitcher, filling a mug and setting it down before him. “That all for you, sir?” You ask, finally getting a good look at the man.
He seems really tired- as expected for someone drinking coffee at 1 am- but the bags under his brown eyes seem like they’re from more than a couple of nights of hard sleep. You almost felt a little bad before remembering you probably look the same as he does now.
You try to act like you weren’t checking the man out, even though you kinda were. He may have looked like he just got back from hell itself, but the way his sideburns framed his face-
You clear your throat, looking away. “Sir?”
Luckily for you, he seemed too spaced out to even notice your staring. “Oh, just the coffee.” He pauses before adding, “Sorry, it’s been a long day, and I’m about to have a long night at work.”
“You’re all good, night shifts can be pretty rough.” You smile at him in understanding before your small talk is interrupted by gagging. You groan and you can hear him huff out a laugh. “You have a good night, hope to see you back soon.”
…
Closing on Fridays made your shitty life back home seem like paradise, at least cleaning there didn’t need a hazmat suit. It had taken an hour to get everything situated and sparkling, you really couldn’t handle another lecture from the morning shift on cleanliness when they didn’t even wipe down tables after customers. You grimace as you check the time, 3 am isn’t a time for anyone to be alone at night- especially not in a relatively new place.
You make sure to lock the doors behind you as you leave, checking your surroundings as you do. You begin to walk, keeping one earbud out and one hand clutching the knife in your pocket. As you grow further away from work, you turn down your music and unconsciously pick up the pace.
It looks like the trees are moving. The forest has always been a source of comfort for you, but here every tree looks like it’s breathing . You hadn’t even gone in your backyard at night since you moved in since opening the gate would lead straight into the woods.
A ‘ pop!’ pulls you out of your thoughts. You take the other earbud out as you fix your hair, trying to be discreet. You keep walking, another popping sound coming shortly after the first. The crackling and crunching of leaves under steps other than your own follow not long after.
You were being followed.
You knew walking home at night alone was dangerous but pepper spray and your pocket knife always kept those thoughts at bay.
You try to not clue them in on your knowing, but when you feel them grow closer you break into a jog. You finally look behind you when you reach the beginning of your street, and you see nothing. You look around, straining your eyes in the dark and pulling the knife out. A shadow in the trees finally catches your eye.
“Hell no”
You run, forget being paranoid, you are not going to end up on a missing poster when you haven’t even been here for a month. Luckily you make it to the door, rushing inside and locking it. Unluckily, you hear a harsh knock not even a minute later. You check the time and see that it’s 3:15- not at all a time for a normal person to be at your door.
You sit next to the door to catch your breath as the knocking continues. You shake, trying to calm down but each knock brings you close to a breakdown. A shitty night at work wasn’t enough, huh?
“Fuck! Go away!” knock, knock, knock. The knocks continue even after you keep yelling. You grab at your hair, feeling a migraine coming on. “I’m gonna stab the knife through the fucking door if you keep that up!” Your voice cracks from your heavy breathing.
You hear a laugh from the other side of the door, increasing your anxiety and anger tenfold. The knocking continues and finally, someone speaks, “Rude to leave a guest out-sssside in the cold, d-don’t you know?” The voice comes through muffled through the door, but no less terrifying.
“Also pretty fucking rude to bang on someone’s door at 3 am!” You’re gonna get yourself killed at this rate but you’ve always been argumentative and if you’re not gonna put the fucker in their place then who is?
You whip your head to the window, suddenly hearing knocking on the glass. You get up, having probably the stupidest idea in your life but you’re exhausted from work and just want it to end. You turn off the lights and sneak upstairs as quietly as you can in the old house, locking your bedroom door behind you.
Sleep doesn’t come easy for obvious reasons, but after tossing and turning for hours you finally manage to let it take you.