Discombobulate

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tuesday's afternoon rolled into the evening. By two in the morning, on Wednesday, Denise had written four chapters. She had curled up on her couch. Dupe stretched below on the floor. A toy mouse batted between his paws.

Denise had triple-checked every lock. Both the sliding door and the front door were locked. During the day, she was fine. The past few nights, something about the night scared her. It left her on edge. She dreaded the heavy blanket of black.

She had turned off almost every light for an unsettling ambiance. The only light still shining was a dim lamp beside her. Every other room in the house was dark.

She felt better since she put blinds on the sliding glass door. She couldn't see out and nobody could look in. Deep down, she knew it was silly. She had decided to buy a cabin in the woods. She knew she'd be by herself all the time. After Andy's visit, she was starting to regret it. Her paranoia had grown since the hit and run.

A sudden thud from the glass door sent her flying two feet into the air. Her laptop slid off her lap and hit the floor. Dupe took off into the kitchen. Denise held her breath waiting for another sound.

Nothing happened.

After waiting a few seconds, she pushed herself up and tip-toed to the blinds. Her fingers shook while she pried two blinds apart. She stuck her face closer to peer through them. Her heart thudded a hundred miles an hour.

She expected to see a person standing there. Memories of her stabbed sister came to mind. The killer was out there and Denise was alive. She might be the next one to die. There could be a whole plan. Her family was first and she could be next.

A beam of moonlight filtered through the trees. The side deck was scarcely lit up. The only thing outside was tall looming trees. Their branches swayed from a gentle wind.

Denise let out a sigh of relief. She reached over, flipped on the outside light, and peered outside again. A large lump was sitting at the bottom of the sliding door.

She let out a gasp. A grey face glanced up at her. A black mask covered a pair of eyes. The raccoon turned and scampered down the side steps. It darted into the thicket of trees.

Her shoulders dropped in relief. She flipped the switch back off and turned back to the kitchen. Dupe was peering out from behind the bar counter. She couldn't help, but let out a small chuckle. She scared both of them tonight.

"Don't worry about it, Dupe. It was a raccoon, it's harmless as long as it stays outside."

She picked up her laptop, the camera, and placed an arm underneath Dupe's stomach. He meowed in objection as he left the ground. She took a final glance at the glass sliding door before heading into her room.

When Dupe hit the floor, he launched himself onto Denise's bed. He plopped down on one of her pillows. The once frightened kitten seemed back to normal. It wasn't long before he closed his eyes.

Denise placed her laptop on her nightstand. The camera went onto her dresser. It faced the end of her bed. She hit the record button and sat on the edge of her bed.

"I've been awake for three days and three hours. I feel..." She trailed off and furrowed her eyebrows. "I feel weird. I'm paranoid and on edge. I think it's because of the story I'm writing along with a variety of other things."

"I was exhausted and I could barely keep my eyes open a few hours ago. I'm paranoid, but other than that, I feel normal. I feel like I've slept, but I know I haven't. I'm assuming my body is getting used to not sleeping and it's adjusting."

"I have some good news. I've made a decent amount of progress with my story. I think Ellen will be pleased when she calls me on Friday. I've plotted the basic storyline. Obviously, it'll likely change while I continue to write, but I like where it's going. Along with the good news, there's also some bad news."