Sinister Scribblings - Volume 1 Read online

  Kicking off her broken shoes to remove any unwanted noise on the laminate flooring, she made her way towards the bathroom door. Holding out the knife in front, ready to warn off any potential intruder, she approached the door. Another sound came from within the bathroom – the sound of a man humming. Why is there a man in my shower?

  Her heart thundered in her chest as she started to open the bathroom door with her left hand, her right hand holding the knife. The noise of the shower increased as she entered the room.

  Straining her eyes, she could barely make out the flesh coloured silhouette of a man through the steam rising from the shower cubicle. At exactly the same time, the man turned the shower off and turned, the sight of Lisa stood in the bathroom before him, the knife held out with a menacing look upon her face convinced the man to throw his arms up in defence.

  He pleaded. “No, Lisa, Listen to me.”

  “Who are you? How the fuck do you know my name? What the fuck are you doing in my shower?” she shouted.

  The man looked surprised. “You mean you really don’t remember?”

  “Remember what?” she asked. “What the fuck is going on?”

  The man glanced down at his soaked, naked body. “Do you mind if I grab a towel first?”

  The condensation from the shower had started to clear. Lisa’s eyes inspected the stranger’s athletic frame. He was handsome, with short brown hair, green eyes, and a little designer stubble.

  “Sure, there’s one on the rail there.” She pointed with the knife. “Then you can tell me what the hell is going on.”

  Taking the towel from the rail, he quickly wrapped it around his waist. “Do you mind if we go through to the lounge? I feel a little awkward stood here like this.”

  Lisa agreed and she led the man into her lounge. Sitting down on the sofa, she gestured for the man to sit in the chair opposite, allowing herself some space.

  “Would you mind putting down the knife?” he asked. “It’s making me a little nervous.”

  “I’ll put the knife down when you have explained who you are and what you are doing in my apartment.”

  “Fair enough,” he said. “My name is Michael. I met you in the bar last night.”

  Desperately trying to think back to the events of the previous evening, the last thing she could recall was stumbling into the Remedy wine bar, on Manor Road at about 9 p.m.

  “Remedy?”

  “Correct. I was in there having a drink on my own when you came in. We were the only ones in the bar, it was pretty dead. I asked if I could join you.”

  “And I agreed?”

  “Yes, you did.”

  Lisa frowned. “It doesn’t sound like something I would normally do.”

  “Maybe not,” said Michael. “But I hope you don’t mind me saying, you did look a little worse for wear.”

  Blushing slightly at his statement, she thought, sure, it’s possible that they got talking in a bar. But that doesn’t explain how he came to be in her apartment, in her shower.

  “Yeah. I apologise about the state I was in. I was celebrating.”

  “That’s strange. You told me last night that you were drowning your sorrows because your ex - partner Daniel was a dirty stinking pervert. You stated that you had caught him having sex with another man.”

  "Oh." Lisa cringed. Shit, exactly how much did I have to drink last night?

  “Don’t be embarrassed, it’s fine. We had a nice chat in between your frequent visits to the bathroom. To … as you put it, powder your nose.”

  Laying the knife down before her on the glass coffee table, she put her head in her hands, elbows rested on her knees and looked at Michael.

  “Shit, you must have thought I was a right mess?”

  “Not really.” He chuckled. “You were fine until you suggested that we move on to a nightclub at around midnight. As soon as we left, you were hit by fresh air and you went down like a sack of potatoes.”

  “I fell over?”

  “Yes, and you broke your shoe.”

  She cringed. “And I threw up?”

  He nodded. “Yes, four times. Mostly over yourself.”

  Shame welled up inside her; she was being given a blow by blow testimony of her destructive behaviour by a complete stranger. “So, how did you end up in my shower?”

  “Well, after you collapsed outside the bar last night, I managed to flag down a taxi and help you into the back. I asked you where you lived and you mumbled something about the Watch Tower. Thankfully, the taxi driver knew where it was.”

  “How did you get past old Edward downstairs?” she asked.

  “Well, he saw that I was with you, and that you were in a bit of a mess. He agreed to let me bring you up to your apartment. He mentioned that it wasn't the first time.”

  The confirmation of her suspicions about Edward made her shudder. “So why didn't you go home?"

  “Well, as I carried you in last night and found your bedroom, you asked me to stay with you.”

  “What?” Lisa blurted out in total surprise.

  “Don’t worry. Nothing happened. I laid you down and decided to sleep on the sofa to make sure that you were safe. I’ve been checking on you throughout the night. I worried that you might choke if you were sick again.”

  The humiliation hit her like a sledge hammer, along with an enormous sense of relief. Luckily, this Michael character seemed genuine enough. He had really gone out of his way to ensure her safety. Those feelings aside, she was once more shocked at her own impetuous attitude. He could have been anyone – perhaps someone dangerous.

  “I didn’t really sleep whilst checking on you,” he continued. “So, I took the liberty of taking a quick shower before I left to freshen up. I hope you don’t mind?”

  “No,” she replied. “Not at all, especially after the way you looked after me last night. Thank you.”

  He smiled. "Don't mention it. I took the liberty of ringing down to Edward last night to explain I was staying over to look after you. I told him that I would get you to report in this morning to let him know that everything was in order.”

  Hanging her head in shame, “I’m really sorry about all this. Thank you for making sure I got home in one piece.”

  “My pleasure,” he replied. “If I’m totally honest, I found it kind of cute.”

  Lisa sniggered. “Cute?”

  “Well, you know what I mean. I was your knight in shining armour.” He gave her a sly wink. “Listen, why don’t you go and have a shower and get cleaned up. I’ll see if I can find some stuff to knock up for breakfast.”

  “I can’t expect you to do that, not after everything you’ve done.”

  “Don’t worry,” he replied. “It will be my pleasure.”

  “Are you sure? There is plenty of stuff in the fridge over there, and the coffee is in the cupboard on the left.”

  “Go have your shower. I’m sure I can find everything I need.”

  “You might want to consider dressing first?”

  Looking down, he had totally forgotten that he was still sat half naked in the towel. His face went a slight shade of crimson in embarrassment. “Would you mind?” he asked, nodding towards the bathroom.

  “No, not at all.” She chuckled. “I just need to make a quick phone call anyway.”

  Collecting the knife from the table, she ambled into the kitchen and returned it to its home in the knife block. Heading towards the bathroom, Michael heard her on the phone, explaining to Edward downstairs that everything was fine and apologising for the hassle that she had caused.

  Dressed in smart blue trousers, a white shirt and a suit jacket draped over his forearm, Michael appeared from the bathroom.”

  “All yours. Now, how do you like your eggs?”

  “Unfertilised,” she joked.

  They both laughed and she walked into the bathroom for her shower. The hot stream of water caressed her body, it felt heavenly. Lavishly, she rubbed the shower gel into her skin and her expensive shampoo into her
hair. It didn’t take too long before the powerful spray from the shower rinsed the sinful residue from the previous night from her skin and down the plug hole.

  Whilst in the shower, her thoughts turned to Michael. It had been a strange turn of events, however he seemed genuine enough. He seemed kind, he was good looking and without his help last night who knows what could have happened to her.

  Was she ready to enter another relationship?

  Is that even what he wanted? He had been the one that approached her in the bar after all.

  Reaching forward, she grabbed the lever that operated the shower and turned it off. Lisa stepped from the cubicle and grabbed a fresh bath robe from the folded pile stored beside the shower glass. Daily replacement of fresh towels and linen was another benefit of living in a luxury apartment complex. Wrapping a clean towel around her head, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Touching the dark bags around her eyes with her index fingers, she continued with a few facial exercises, raising her eyebrows, opening her mouth as wide as it would allow. She lay her fingers on her cheeks and gave them a quick wobble up and down, somehow relieving the built-up tension in her mind.

  Considering the debauchery from the previous night, she was quite shocked, yet relieved, that she didn’t look too bad. Thinking again of Michael, she pondered over the thought. Could he really be the thing that may help drag herself from her current state of misery, loneliness and depravity? She wasn’t getting any younger and she hadn’t been seeing anyone since her break up with Daniel. She missed the sex, she missed the intimacy, and she missed the company.

  Whilst brushing her teeth, her mind decided on a new start with a new man. A spot of blood started to drip into the sink from her gums. Signals of substance abuse ran through her mind, she reached for the mouthwash and swilled it around in her mouth. The gagging sensation as she nearly swallowed it made her lurch forward and spill the contents into the sink, green mouthwash infused with traces of red and bubbly saliva.

  Walking from the bathroom, the smell of bacon cooking made her stomach grumble with hunger. The last time she had eaten anything was lunchtime yesterday.

  “Something smells good.”

  “How do you take your coffee?” Michael responded.

  Sitting herself down at the table in the kitchen, she replied, “Black, no sugar please.”

  Within a few seconds, Michael carried over two plates full of perfectly grilled bacon, complete with scrambled eggs and toast. He returned to the kitchen counter to collect the coffee and placed hers down in front of her plate, in her 'The Boss' cup.

  “Wow, this looks great. And again, thanks … and sorry for last night.”

  “No worries,” he replied. "It was my pleasure, no need for apologies.”

  “So, tell me a little bit about yourself,” she said enthusiastically, shovelling some egg into her mouth. “You know everything about my sad life, and I only know your name.”

  “Well, you have seen me naked.”

  Nearly choking on her food, she let out a little snort. After a second, she laughed. “Yeah you got me there." She wiped her mouth with a napkin. "So where do you live?”

  “On the other side of town in three bedroom semi – detached,” he replied. “It’s nowhere near as nice as this though.” Again, he gave that little wink.

  “Yeah, it’s nice,” she replied, "I’ve been here for a couple of years now.”

  They chatted away whilst sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Michael gave the sense that he had a very trusting nature that really put Lisa at ease; he was easy to talk to and conversation flowed from one thing to another, effortlessly. In her heart of hearts she felt that they had already formed a bond. They continued to talk about life. Michael worked as a site manager for a construction company. He loved animals, he loved art, he loved films, and they had so many things in common. Lisa told him about her job and her recent misfortunes, he reached over and held her hand as he could see that she was getting a little upset. She welcomed his touch.

  “Still, never mind all that,” she said. “So, the real question is, are you taken?”

  “Taken?”

  “You know, do you have a girlfriend, a wife?”

  “Oh, I see. No, I don’t.”

  A wry smile appeared on her face. He continued, “You see, I don’t need one. I just take what I want, or who I want, whenever I decide to take it.”

  Lisa was hit by an immediate sense of panic as an evil, predatory glare spread all over Michael’s face. His handsome features turning malevolent. His eyes narrowed and seemed to glaze over. Suddenly, Lisa started to feel light headed and dizzy.

  “I don’t feel too good,” she mumbled, as the room began to spin.

  “Maybe that’s the after effects of the countless glasses of wine you shoved down your neck, or maybe the cheap drugs you hoovered up your nose last night. Or, just maybe it’s down to the gamma hydroxybutyrate that I slipped into your coffee while I was preparing breakfast. I must admit, you have quite the tolerance. I was wondering if it would ever fucking work.”

  Losing all control in her upper body, Lisa fell back into the backrest of her chair. Her head lolled to one side. She was conscious but could not move. Sounds seemed distant and groggy. Standing up, Michael grabbed the towel that was still wrapped around her head and threw it to the kitchen floor. Grabbing a handful of her hair and twisting it around his fingers, he yanked her from the seat. Falling to the floor with a thud, he continued to drag her into the direction of the bedroom by her hair. He kicked open the bedroom door, smashing the handle and hauled her up, throwing her onto the bed covers. Standing over her, he waved his hand in front of her face.

  He clicked his fingers. “Hello, Lisa. Can you hear me?”

  She was unable to give a response but he could tell from the dilation in her pupils and the fact that her eyes were slowly moving around that she was awake. A slow slither of saliva started to run down her to chin from the corner of her mouth. He wiped it away with his thumb.

  “Don’t get going all vegetable on me yet, girl. You see, I could have done this at any time last night, but I doubt you would have even noticed me fucking you. I like them to move a little.”

  He laughed. Lisa continued to watch, helpless to move while his depraved and heinous laughter echoed around in her mind. Leaning over her, he ripped the dressing gown from her body and threw it to the other side of the bed. Leering down over her naked body, he immediately started to feel himself harden. Forcefully running his hands over both of her pert breasts, he roughly squeezed the nipples between his fingers so that they stood erect. Running his fingers down her stomach, his hand reached down to her neatly trimmed pubic hair.

  “Oh, we are going to have some fun, alright. And the best thing is, now old Edward downstairs thinks that you are okay, we have all the time in the world.”

  Turning around, he walked from the bedroom. He was gone for a few minutes. Lisa could do nothing but lay and wait for his return. A few minutes passed before he returned. Totally naked and sporting a throbbing erection, he was carrying a holdall which he placed on the bed next to Lisa.

  “Oh, just one more thing, I believe that you have already met my three little friends?”

  Unzipping the holdall, he reached inside, pulling out three items; two masks, Zippy and George from the children's TV show, Rainbow, and a massive black dildo.

  “You see, Daniel and his recommendation of a safe investment cost me twenty grand. In return I wanted to ruin his life. You walking in on our little business meeting was more than I could have hoped for – the real cherry on the cake. I just needed to keep my eye on you to ensure that you never told anyone.”

  Removing the last item from his holdall, a small video camera, he put it down on the bed side table, its lens pointing towards the bed and pressed record.

  Charity Shop

  Geoffrey walked silently through the mall as he listened to the soothing background music being filtered through the state of the art PA s
ystem. The ambient music calmed his mood and reduced his otherwise agitated state of mind.

  He continued strolling through the shopping mall; he passed the window of a toy shop, the adult shop, the internet café, the herbal remedy shop, the bridal shop, the electrical shop and the antique shop, eventually arriving at his own. He looked up and smiled as he read the sign above the doors; Drop Your Drawers.

  He inserted his key into the device that operated the steel shutter on the shop front. Twisting the key to the right started the automation that pulled the gate upwards to reveal the opening to the store. When the shutter was fully open, he removed the keys and dropped them back into his trouser pocket.

  Life was good. Geoffrey had been working at the charity shop in the Happy Valley shopping mall now for a few months. The mall would never have been home to a charity shop when it first opened its doors. It took pride in offering the largest range of department stores and prestigious businesses in the area but the crumbling and wavering economy had led to the charity shop opening twelve months ago.

  Geoffrey loved the job; every day he would deal with a varied collection of generous people who would visit the shop to give their contributions. The customers varied from the very young to the old. Their donations ranged from items as simple as old books and video collections or hand tools, right up to large items such as wardrobes or three-piece suites.

  At first, he was a little unsure about the daily interaction with members of the public. In his current stage of psychiatric rehabilitation, he was concerned that their annoyances and demands would be something that he would struggle to handle. After a few weeks in the job, he had grown to love the duties and his customers. He took his job in his stride and performed well, his manager often commented that his smile and happy demeanour was like a fly trap to potential punters.