Free Fates' Folly by Ella Norris

floor,
the dining room table and part of my orange chair. No one was
standing within my sight, no moving shadows, and still no new
noise.
    I didn't think I should stay there, huddled
under the sink. Sebastian could probably shift - or whatever Riley
called it- into the bathroom and then I'd be trapped. Besides, I'm
just not a sit-tight-and-wait-it-out type of girl.
    I slowly turned the knob, the clicking of the
latch overly loud in my ears. I opened the door, slowly at first,
then, unable to stand the suspense, I swung the door open, just
catching it before the door knob hit the tiled bathroom wall.
    I pretty much had a view of almost my entire
apartment from the bathroom doorway. There may have been someone
hiding on the other side of the fridge or between the small blue
chair and the balcony door, but I didn't think so. If someone was
hiding in my apartment - and I was starting to think it was all a
case of me being paranoid- they were most likely hiding in my
bedroom.
    My bedroom door was open about a foot. I
could see my green wicker headboard and most of my bed. I took a
step forward and pushed the door the rest of the way open. My
dresser was the first thing I saw. The drawers were open and
clothing was hanging out and strewn over each drawer.
    I walked through the door and did a quick one
eighty; the bed was unmade, its covers twisted around each other.
Towels and shoes were haphazardly thrown on the floor. The closet
door was open, one folding door off its track- hanging crooked, off
to the side with only a laundry basket holding it up- and plastic
hangers were poking out at odd angles, shirts hanging precariously
every which way.
    I took a deep breath in relief. Nothing had
been touched, the only thing off was the neatly folded blanket on
top of the pillow that Riley had placed on the end of the bed.
    I pulled on some panties and a pair of cut
offs from the top of the dresser- a bra and my green Kermit the
frog t-shirt from the basket of clean clothes. I found the clogs I
had searched for the day before in the back of my closet and slid
my feet into them as I headed out the door. I paused for a second,
staring at the mattress where I knew my gun was hidden, but I left
it in its hiding place. I was already spooked, I didn't need a gun
at my paranoid fingertips.
    What I needed was some sugar and chocolate,
and I knew just where to go.
    Linda Farnsworth owned the convenience store
just off Highway 441. Linda's overly large breasts were way too
perky to be real, but I was pretty sure it was her breasts that
persuaded Norman Sweeney to drive into Madison four different times
every weekend to bring her fresh Krispy Kreme donuts to stock in
her store, twice a day- ten in the morning for the Saturday bingo
bunch or Sunday church goers, and ten at night for pot smoking
teenagers with the munchies.
    I checked my watch- 9:30pm. If I hurried, I
could get there before Norman and have my pick of yumminess. I
grabbed my school bag off the floor, and my hands had just found my
wallet when…
    Thump, thump, thump.
    My heart stopped, which was okay, because a
knot lodged in my throat so large I couldn't breathe anyway.
    I ran into my bedroom, reached in between my
mattress and box spring and pulled out my little gun. It was light
weight yet powerful the sales guy had told me, a 9mm worth every
penny. It better be worth every penny I thought, considering it
cost fifty thousand of them.
    I walked towards the balcony doors, where the
sound had come from. The curtains, original to the apartment, were
made of thick white and cream tweed. They were as ugly as they
could be, but I kept them up because you couldn't see anything
behind them at night when I had the lights on. I wasn't going to
see what the hell was on the balcony, unless I pulled the curtains
aside.
    I held the gun in my right hand and tried
using my foot to push the curtains open. The curtains swayed
slightly but otherwise didn’t move. A hundred ideas on how to
stealthily get