Masks

Chapter 3

"You sure you don't need me to stick around?" Zac asked as we left the doctor's office.

"It's been a month- I'm fine now." I rolled my left shoulder, relieved nothing had been permanently damaged and the scar was easily hidden under my sleeve. "Remember what I said when I called you?"

There was silence for a moment. "...Yeah."

"I really did appreciate the help... I couldn't ask the others, they'd ask too many questions." I thought back to all the lies I'd told them to avoid hanging out.

A hand was placed on my right shoulder before quickly falling away as I turned to look over at Zac. "Sorry... I just... I worry about you. You keep your friends in the dark- push me away- and... Ash... you could've died. Let me-"

"No." I gave him a firm look. "Last time I let someone help me he ended up shooting himself in the fucking head! ...I just... I can't let something like that happen to anyone else."

"Ethan-"

"Don't." I cut him off and got in the car.

The car ride was silent other than the radio. I felt slightly guilty for snapping at him but didn't apologize... I couldn't. If I did then he'd keep pushing the topic to try convincing me he wouldn't get hurt by helping me. "He already has been... I know he saw it a few times when we were together... I had to push him away before I killed him- before it made me kill him."

The hazy memory of nearly impaling him with his own hunting knife flashed through my mind. I pressed my crossed arms closer to my body. "...He doesn't seem to still be affected by Slenderman... but a month around me... it's gotta be pushing it. He's starting to look exhausted again... It's my fault."

I turned to look out the window. "I can't let him end up like my cousin. I can't let him..."

"Hey." Zac spoke up softly, breaking my train of thought. "I'm alright... I shouldn't have brought that up."

"You didn't, I did..." I kept quiet for a moment before actually responding. "It's fine."

He parked the car outside my apartment and stared at his steering wheel for a minute, an uncertain look on his face. "...Tell me honestly... are you really okay?"

"Yes." I got out of the car and walked with him up to my door, pausing for a second to dig my key out of my pocket. "Don't get yourself into my problems. I don't want people to die because of me- especially not a close friend like you."

"Yeah but... I know you don't love me anymore but I'll always love you, I hate kno-"

"Zac..." I let a warning tone slip into my voice.

He sighed and kicked at the ground before turning back towards his car. "Call me if anything happens?"

"Maybe."

A hurt look crossed his face before he turned away, a cold look replacing the pained one; his reply held a bitter edge to it. "Fine."

"...I didn't mean it like that..." I sighed and turned my back to him to unlock my door and step inside. "Bye... I guess."

With the rest of the day off work and nothing else to do, I decided to spend my time recording the recent encounters with Slenderman and his proxy down in my old journal- a habit I made after the first encounter I could remember with him. Some of the entries I couldn't quite recall being real or nightmares but they were there nonetheless. I eventually grew uneasy with the silence and played some music in the background as I finished recording what I could remember of past situations. My cat joined me on the couch after I grabbed a book I'd been reading off the coffee table and opened it up to start where I'd left off.

It had only been a few minutes of trying to get into the chapter before I set it back down and looked at Angel. "...Even with you I still feel lonely... I shouldn't have snapped at Zac like that... Surprised he doesn't hate me yet."

I considered calling Landon or Mallory to see what they were up to before casting the thought aside. "I shouldn't bother them..."

The fact Zac was probably available and could come back crossed my mind as well but I shoved the thought away. We'd only have dying, one sided conversations or end up arguing again- not to mention he was probably still annoyed at me after I told him to leave. He'd probably shove a barbed comment back at me, mocking something I'd told him.

Angel trilled as she jumped up and stared at me, rubbing her face against my side happily before snapping her head towards the screen door and staring intently at it with wide eyes, her tail suddenly fluffing up so it almost resembled a raccoon's. I instantly tensed up and followed her gaze, barely making out two glowing yellow eyes and a black cloak between the blinds before the figure was gone. I grabbed Angel and held her close to me as I jumped up and shut the blinds, feeling like someone was now going to show up and attack at any moment. My eyes fell on the locked door, waiting for a knock or the knob to jiggle as someone tried to get in.

Minutes passed with only the music playing in the background. Nothing. "Did I really see something? ...Angel reacted to whatever it was... so it had to be real... What was it?"

I looked down at the chubby tabby in my arms to see her thick fur was once again lying flat and she was now staring up at me. When she noticed me looking at her she immediately began purring and reached a paw up to touch my face. I couldn't help but smile down at her.

"Yeah, you're just adorable." I shifted her into one arm so I could pet her white belly and chin, her purrs growing louder as I gave her attention. "What would I do without you?"

I sat her down on the floor and cautiously made a round through my apartment to check the other windows. Satisfied no one was outside anymore, I decided to risk going out there and checking nothing had been left behind or tampered with. Naturally, the window and wall around it was untouched and the grass obviously lacked any footprints to suggest someone had even been there. However, I did find a hastily written note crumpled on the ground, as if it had been in the process of being thrown out or destroyed before being left behind.

I glanced around one last time before picking it up and going back inside, making sure to lock the door behind me. Uncrumpling the note, I only found a foreboding three word message: Don't trust him.

"Is this a joke? Was that someone messing with me?" I stared at the small scrap of paper. "It could be one of his proxies trying to trick me... but who is 'him' then if not Slenderman or that proxy?"

I tried to think through everyone it could be referring to. "Surely not Landon or Dillan... they never come here to hang out... whoever left this couldn't know them, right? ...Zac maybe? ...or maybe it's Zac trying to scare me and call him back- prove he was right... he did have a black jacket on... that yellow could've just been the lighting on his blond hair... "

I crumpled the paper again and threw it away. "It's not going to work."

I settled back down on the couch with a huff before picking up my book again and casting what happened aside. Once more Angel took her place on my lap and we settled into a comfortable silence as I finally got a chance to relax. After that little scare- Zac's stupid prank- I wasn't really feeling up for trying to get out and do something with friends. I just wanted to relax and get over that petty revenge scheme he tried to pull.