Autophobia

Games

All Amelia could do is blink. She couldn't decipher if Zane's tone was sarcastic or if he was serious. Looking at him, she studied his clean void like a black suit. It was so dark it was more like a hole in her vision than cloth. His hair was recently washed and combed back. He stared back to her, leaning against the door frame lazily. He looked taller in the suit. His shoulders looked broader. His face recently shaved.

He seemed more scarier in that attire.

"So..." Amelia spoke slowly. "We are going to a party?" She asked cautiously. Still uncertain if she was hearing exactly what she heard.

The past two days have been completely uneventful. Zane seemed to have given up on Amelia dining with him. Amelia counted and memorized all the furniture, doors, windows, and small passages for maids in the giant mansion. Yesterday, she didn't even get to see Zane for more than fifteen minutes. He ate his breakfast at the table and just left. Amelia didn't hear his car come back till late in the evening when she was in bed.

Amelia remembered him walking past her door last night too. And now here he was, all decked out to go to some party.

Zane nodded. "I think you deserve it."

Amelia wasn't happy that he was here, but what he said struck a nerve. "Deserve?"

He nodded again.

She let her question sit in the air for a short moment before scowling at the man. Turning in her chair she faced back to her desk. "Go find some bimbo who might be more deserving to accompany you." She spoke in spite, emphasizing the word 'deserving'. "I'm not interested."

In confidence she straightened her back and reached out for her pen. Holding the pen rather tight, she fumbled with her journal. He stepped into her room and walked up until he was right behind her. His tall height blocked out the light from the fixture shining above them.

Swallowing, she slipped her fingers in between the pages of her journal.

In a split second, Amelia's hands were yanked away from the journal. Her heart almost burst as she fell back into his chest. A familiar feeling from the koi pond swallowed her, turning her into a a statue. Her pen dropped onto the floor. She felt exposed with her hands high up in the air above her. Zane leaned in close and whispered into her ear.

"You will go, whether you want to or not." Tightening his grip on her forearms he leaned in a little further. "I have no shame dragging you there kicking and screaming."

He released her arms with a yank and walked to the door. Timidly, Amelia turned her head but only enough to see him staring back at her through the door.

"A maid will come in with your dress." With that he slammed the door.

She listened to his footsteps fade down the hall.

Amelia wiped the tears and walked to her bed and grabbed her pillow. She hugged it tight in her arms. With an uneven breath she squished the pillow deep as she could into her chest. Her heart was beating in her ears.

Feeling a dizziness wash over her she rushed to her nightstand and pulled out her little orange bottle of pills. She wasn't sure if two or three fell into her hand but she swallowed them regardless. She rushed to the bathroom to drink some water to help it go down smoother. When she returned to the bedroom she looked out to the setting sun. As she sat on the bed and grabbed the sheets wishing she could join them instead of Zane.

She waited patently. Like Zane said, a maid walked in with a dress on a hanger wrapped in plastic. Amelia has seen many maids on in the home. This maid however, always seems to be the one to help her. Or more likely assigned to babysit in Zane's eyes.