"Katie," he said in his thick Korean accent. He crossed the hall and approached her. But not in the furious charge that she expected. He approached softly, almost apprehensively.
"I don't have my keys on me," she said quietly.
"I heard what happened to you," he replied. He looked at her for a moment, then he pulled a key ring off of his belt, cycling through them. He went to her door and unlocked it for her.
She stared at him blankly. "You're... letting me in? I... I still don't have the money for my rent... I mean, I will though, soon."
He smiled at her weakly, like it was restrained by something. Maybe pity. "Don't worry about the rent right now. Just relax and settle in. We talk about it later." He smiled at her again then turned to leave.
Katie stood at her door feeling worthless. "I will get you the money," she called after him.
He turned around. "I'm looking for an assistant," he said. "Some janitorial work and such. Maybe you help me out and you can pay off your debt. Maybe I let you keep a little extra on each payment for groceries." He looked at her for a long moment, but this time with no smile. His face was expressionless and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Oh, and Katie... welcome home."
Tears welled up in Katie's eyes and she wiped them away before opening her door and stepping back into her apartment that she never knew she could miss so much.
Katie sat on her couch watching TV. She had a big bowl of microwaved popcorn sitting between her crossed legs. She picked up the remote carefully with her bad hand and slowly changed the channel to something she liked. Her fingers were still bandaged and splinted, but they seemed to be getting better. She still had no sensation at all in them, and that was the strangest thing of all, but she was readjusting well back to her old life. She set the remote down and grabbed a big heap of popcorn with her other hand.
The phone rang. Her new cell phone that she had gotten a few days after coming home sat on the table at the end of the couch. She leaned over carefully, trying not to spill the popcorn bowl, and grabbed it.
It was Josh calling.
Katie's heart jumped in her chest. Her skin became clammy and her hand started to tremble. All the old feelings she'd ever had when they were broken up and he contacted her out of the blue came back to her—the excitement, the confusion, the love, the upset stomach. She'd been intentionally cold to him when he seemed to change his mind about dumping her recently, but that was before all that. After her ordeal, she would jump at the chance to throw herself in his arms, just to be held and loved.
She answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey... uh, hey babe, it's me. Beth gave me your new number. I heard what happened to you. I... I don't know what to say. I figured if I just picked up the phone and called you maybe I would."
She tried to keep her cool. "Hey. Well, it's nice to hear from you again."
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I'm doing good."
"That's good, um... listen Katie, I can't even imagine what you went through and I felt so terrible ever since I heard. Like I could've done something, maybe. I don't know. I just wanted to talk to you. I mean, I want to talk to you. I want to be with you, too. I don't know what I was thinking before. I was confused. I just needed some time to sort out what I want in life. But after this whole thing I realized all I want is you. Talk to me, Katie. I need to hear your voice. I need to see you again. Can I see you?"
Katie listened to his emotional rant as her heart fluttered in her chest. Her throat got tight and her eyes welled up with tears from all the emotion dammed up behind them. "I missed you," she said.
She could hear Josh crying on the other end. "I missed you too, babe. I love you. And I want to ask you something else. I want to move in with you, Katie. All that unsureness is gone, I promise. I never want to let you go again."
Katie's heart was alight with love. She squeezed her eyes shut, elated at the words she was hearing. If she had any rationality in that moment, it would have told her to take a minute and think about what she was doing, to think about all of the bad things he'd ever done to her, all the times when he treated her like she was nobody. But Katie completely ignored that voice if it was speaking to her at all.
"Picture it," Josh continued. "Just you and me living in our own house. We could even get married. I'd do it for you. A nice big two- or three-story house. We could do it, Katie; my job's been real good to me lately. I could make you dinner every night. I'd treat you like a princess. Jewelry, shoes, nice dresses. Whatever you want, babe, because I love you. I'll get you all the dresses you want. You pick it and I'll get it and lay it out for you. What do you say?"
Katie's smile slumped into a frown. All the love and overwhelming emotions she felt dissolved as he talked. She felt a cold change in the air and there was a sound that she wasn't sure she actually heard like iron bars closing over her, trapping her in. As she stared blankly at the TV with her cell phone held up to her ear, the whole living room drained of color until it was a bleak gray.
"What do you say, Katie? Say yes."
She cleared her throat. "Actually, I already found someone."
"...What?"
"You heard me," she said. "You had your chance with me, Josh, and you blew it. You blew it one too many times. I never had the guts to say this to you before, but I deserve better than you."
He was still stuck on her first sentence. "You found someone else?"
"That's right," Katie said. "Me and my man will be just fine without you. Oh, and Josh? Don't ever call me again." She ended the call and tossed her cell phone to the other end of the couch, then she looked at the top of the couch next to her head. "Isn't that right, Hero?"
The black cat hopped down and settled next to her. She pet him as he curled up and started purring.
"I think we're going to be just fine," she said, turning up the volume on the movie and stuffing a handful of popcorn into her mouth. And she knew she would; having found the courage to stand up for herself and tell others "no", she found a happiness she had never known.
THE END
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Also by Jeff DeGordick:
The Haunting of Bloodmoon House
A Haunting at Hollow's Cove
Ghosthunter
The Witches of Halloween Haven
About the Author
Jeff DeGordick is a horror and post-apocalyptic novelist currently living in southern Ontario, Canada with his wife Victoria. Writing stories was his first passion as a child, but he's also had forays into testing and designing video games for a living, and a very brief career as a cook.
He began writing in 1994 at age seven, embarking on a long journey of spinning strange and scary tales, penning many short stories and partial novels as a hobby.
He is also the author of the Zombie Apocalypse Series and he's currently writing many more creepy tales!
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