He's Not Dead He Only Looks That Way

I wake up to Frank shaking me, my eyes fluttering open and as my vision comes into focus I see Frank staring over at the corner of the room as he softly says "Gee, wake up." "What's....." I trail off, my eyes locking onto the reason Frank is shaking me awake and I feel my breath hitch as I stare at the black figure standing in the corner of our bedroom. "Frankie" I whisper, slowly sliding up to sit and my hand trembles, giving away how terrified I am as I struggle to slide my fingers through Franks, taking hold of his hand. We sit in silence for a few long minutes, both of our gazes fixated on the figure as it remains where is it, hovering a few inches above the floor. I feel my whole body shiver, the room freezing cold and as Frank drops my hand and starts to slide his arm around my waist the figure lets out a low growling noise and Frank snaps, jumping off the bed and charging towards it as he yells "Get out, we don't want you here." The figure flickers for a few seconds, the growling ceasing before it disappears all together, the room immediately feeling different, warmer and calmer. Frank and I remain still for a few seconds just looking around before I break, a loud sob escaping me and Frank turns and rushes back to the bed, pulling me into his arms and trying to shush me but I'm way beyond that, the lack of sleep paired with the constant terror I've been feeling finally breaking me and I sob so hard I feel light headed, unable to breathe properly.

When I finally do manage to calm down Frank scoops me into his arms, carrying me from the room and taking me into the living room where Ruby is sitting on the couch with her teddy bear watching Toy Story. "Buzz is funny Geegee" she tells me, a massive smile on her face and I force a smile back, not wanting to upset her or alert her that anything is wrong. After Frank sits me down on the couch beside her Ruby climbs over to settle herself in my lap and Frank bends down and reaches out a hand to smooth my hair back as he softly says "Will you be alright for a moment?" I take a deep shaky breath, slowly exhaling as I nod slightly, not really wanting to be left alone but I tighten my arms around Ruby and swallow hard and Frank frowns and strokes his hand down my cheek as he promises to be right back, leaving the room and I listen to the sounds in the apartment, his footsteps sounding down the hall before everything goes silent and I feel myself start to panic before I hear the familiar click of the coffee machine being started and I start to relax again.

After Frank comes back with coffee and a few bagels, bringing Ruby some warm chocolate milk we sit on the couch and continue to watch the movie while Frank and Ruby eat, me mostly just picking at my bagel but not really eating it and I decide to brave it and go for a shower, feeling tense and stressed out and as much as I don't want to be alone I know how much the hot water will make me feel better. I stand and leave the living room after shooting Frank what I hope passed for a reassuring smile and as I slowly make my way down the hallway and into the bedroom I notice that everything feels okay and I breathe a sigh of relief, letting my guard down a little more as I gather some clean clothes and make my way into the bathroom, starting the water and letting the room get steamy around me as I slowly strip my clothes off.

The hot water feels amazing and I allow myself to just lean against the wall for a few minutes, letting it wash over me and relax me further until the lights start to flicker a little and I tense right up again, bracing myself for whatever's coming and just as I open my mouth to call for Frank I hear a creaking and the bathroom door slowly creaks open, revealing an empty doorway and just as I inhale to be able to make some noise the black figure from earlier manifests right outside the shower door, it's featureless head tilted slightly to one side like it's appraising me and as the air escapes my lungs no sound goes with it, just a pathetic wheezing gasp and the figure reaches out towards me, my body suddenly trapped against the wall, feeling weak like I'm about to collapse but paralysed and frozen in place at the same time, my chest rapidly rising and falling as all I can do is breathe, watching wide eyed as it reaches for me.

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