Diamond
She walked through her house as she heard the knocking on her front door. She wasn't expecting any company and didn't order anything, so was a bit confused on who it could be.
She checked the clock on her wall to see it was just barely ten in the evening.
That's weird.
She paused before she opened it. She looked through the peephole, and to her surprise, it was Chika. They hadn't been in touch for weeks, and she assumed they had mutually moved on. "Chika? Is that you?"
She waved. "Hey, Diamond. I'm sorry to be dropping on you like this. Can I come in?"
Diamond hesitated. "Is everything okay?"
She nodded, pushing her brown hair over her shoulder. "I don't mean to freak you out," she laughed, "sorry, I'll go." She stumbled when she attempted to turn around.
Diamond unlocked the door. "No, it's fine." She pulled the door inward and got a good look at Chika. She was taller. Thinner. Tanner. Thin brows. Intense but not unwelcoming look to her. Great at sex. "Come on in."
Chika paused as she passed Diamond and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Diamond tried not to give away that she was startled by the gesture. "What's going on, Chika?"
She sighed and made her way toward the front room, wavering from side to side as she did so. "We haven't talked in a while. I've missed you." She plopped down on the couch and offered a sweet smile. "I may also be a little drunk and impulsively got a ride here."
Diamond laughed and joined her, though sat opposite of her instead of to her side. "I wish I could say I've never done anything like that, but..." She made a cringing expression.
Chika leaned back, settling into the couch. "So, tell me why the ghosting."
Diamond scoffed. "A phone works two ways."
She flared her arms out in dramatic fashion. "Yeah, but I just made a grand gesture." The last word was a bit slurred.
"Two months late..."
She hiccuped and then laughed. "Okay, you got me there, Diamond."
Diamond shook her head at the drunken woman. "Yeah, I know I do."
"Should we...?"
"I don't think so."
She suddenly sat up. "Wait a second, have you met someone else?"
Diamond froze up.
Chika smiled in satisfaction, as though to say 'gotcha'. "I thought you seemed a little distracted the last couple of times. I know what it's like to be with someone and think of someone else. It sucks on both sides."
Diamond leaned forward. "I'm sorry, Chika, it wasn't fair to you."
She waved a hand of dismissal. "It's not like we were exclusive or anything, don't worry about it. Although," her face curled with mischief, making Diamond laugh, "I thought we had a really good time."
"We did, we did. She's justâ"
"Different."
Diamond nodded. Rocio's beguiling face popped into her thoughts. If we pursue this, it'll only hurt her. She understood this but continued to play their encounters again and again in her mind.
"Where'd you meet her? At work?"
"No..." The shame grew in her chest, weighing her down. She wanted to lie, remove Renata from the situation and lessen the consequences on Diamond's end. But it was deceptive and would only worsen her turmoil of emotions. "She's Renata's older sister."
"Your best friend, Renata?"
Diamond nodded again, unable to get the words out.
Her face remained contorted with confusion. Her black eyebrows scrunched together. "Renata, the ex-girlfriend, the one I thought you were hung up on?"
"Yes, it's complicated."
Chika's smile turned sympathetic. She shook her head. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a silver flask. "I think you need this more than I do."
Diamond accepted the offer. "You're right, I do."
"I came to see if you'd be interested in fucking one last time," Chika confessed as she took the flask back and took a heavy sip. "But I see you've got a lot more important shit going on."
Diamond coughed, not expecting the liquor to taste like straight-up rubbing alcohol. It burned on its way down her throat. "Sorry to disappoint."
"No, I should say sorry. Your situation sounds really messy. And you've got a good heart, so don't worry, it'll work itself out."
Her throat clogged up. "We decided against it. It's not going to go anywhere."
Chika shook her head. "I doubt it. You're just lying to yourselves."
"It doesn't matter."
She made a face but said nothing else. "Well, I'm not trying to be rude, I'll just go order aâ"
Diamond stood up quick enough to press Chika back down. Considering her state, she sank into the couch easily. "I don't think so. You're way too drunk to be on your own, something bad could happen. Sleep it off here, you can leave in the morning."
Chike slurped at her flask. "You don't have to."
"I can't have that on my conscience, I already feel like a shitty enough person as it is."
Chika lumbered to her feet and threw her arms around Diamond. "Thanks, girl. You're the best." She pulled back and had a beaming smile. Diamond tried not to wince at her alcohol-soaked breath. "You know, it's good we didn't do the thing. I think I just really needed a friendly face."
Diamond shifted so they were side to side, and she was holding some of Chika's body weight. "Well, you've got it. Now, c'mon, let's get upstairs."
And just as they began to walk up the first step, a great tremor went through the house, followed by a blast that knocked them right off their feet before they even knew what hit them.
Diamond coughed as the air was punched from her lungs. She turned on her side and groaned in pain. Her body was aching all over and any coherent thought fled from her skull. "What the fuck..."
"Chika?" She took in some deep breaths and tried to steady her racing heart beat. Her entire body was on alert, awaiting any other pain. She slowly sat up, alarmed that Chika hadn't responded. "Chika?" She looked to see that Chika, who was curled into herself, landed in the opposite direction.
"Are you alright?" Diamond slowly got to her hands and knees and began crawling toward her. "Chika, answer me." Once she reached her, she saw that she was unconscious, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't awaken.
After she was certain Chika wasn't bleeding, she allowed herself to think past this moment. "Phone, phone, I need my phone."
Upstairs!
"Chika, if you can hear me, don't move. I'm going to see if I can call someone." She rose and headed up the stairs. "Hang on!" When she was midway, she cried out as something sliced through her foot. She barely caught herself as she saw one of her pictures had fallen from the wall and shattered across the step. She examined her foot and whimpered when the crimson liquid swelled and dripped from the wound. She took a hold of the glass and pulled it out.
She watched her step and limped the rest of the way to her private bathroom. She found her phone on the sink and dialed '911'. Instead of dialing, an automated voice repeated, "we're sorry, all lines at your local public safety answering point are unavailable."
Diamond looked down at her phone in desperation and dialed again, but there was only the same response. "No, don't say that!" she shouted.
She needed to go check on Chika. Maybe they could figure out what happened together, but something was definitely wrong.
She hopped on one foot. She opened her door, but before her stood an unrecognizable creature. Ghastly pale, almost translucent skin. Some of their hair had fallen out completely. And the eyes were blood red.
"Chika?" Diamond squeaked out, completely terrified by this abrupt, monstrous transformation.
Her head snapped to the side, and her nostrils flared as she inhaled deeply. Her quickly thinning face exuded a primal satisfaction to whatever it was that she smelled.
Diamond took a step back, but on the wrong footâshe cried out before she could control herself. This sound flipped whatever switch and Chika lurched forward, releasing terrible noises from her razor sharp mouth.
Diamond stepped out of the way just in time but collapsed due to her injury. She was closest to the bathroom and threw herself inside without a second thought. Chika's body slammed against the wood right as Diamond locked it and pressed her own weight against it.
"Chika, please stop, it's me! Please, don't do this, you're sick," she cried as she looked around for an escape. She reached for her phone, and her heart dropped when she felt nothing. But then there was the distinct sound of her phone ringing on the other side of the locked door, only just barely notable when drowned out by Chika's growling and screaming.
Chika banged against the door but clearly wasn't strong enough to break through.
Diamond remained against the door and sobbed to herself when she realized there was no escape.
**********
Hours had passed and eventually, Chika's terrible noises quieted. Diamond wasn't sure whether she had died or left once it became obvious Diamond wasn't going anywhere.
She was terrified of leaving the bathroom but was taunted by her ringing phone and knew it was Renata.
She listened for another minute or two before the resolve finally settled in.
I refuse to die in a fucking bathroom!
She moved inch by inch, freezing at any noise she made as she unlocked the bathroom door and opened it. To her relief, the room was empty, but it didn't mean Chika still wasn't in the house.
She refused to even stand and stayed on all fours as she searched for her phone. It hadn't rung in a while.
She looked beneath her bed and sighed when she saw her device. She pulled herself beneath the furniture and reached her phone. There were countless missed calls from Renata and Rocio.
The house was still silent.
She pressed the button on her phone and lowered the volume. She hesitated between dialing Renata or Rocio.
She looked around from beneath the bed one more time before hitting Renata's name.
The phone dialed.
To her dismay, Renata shouted on the other line, "Diamond?"
A cold, sharp hand wrapped around her ankle and yanked her from beneath the bed. "Please!" She screamed. "She's attacking me. I don't know what to do," Chika snapped her teeth at Diamond as they fought, "she's trying to bite me!" Though Diamond felt guilty, she fought back, hitting, shoving, doing anything to put space between them, crying the entire time.
Chika's claws tore into her like nothing, and she knew she would be ripped apart if she didn't kill her or at least get away.
"Please, help me. I don't know what's goingâ" Chika sunk her teeth into Diamond's shoulder and the pain filled her vision with stars. She used the phone to beat Chika on the head despite the overwhelming pain she was in.
This did something, and Diamond was able to evade Chika long enough to place herself right back inside of the bathroom.
She gasped for air and winced as she saw how badly she was injured. The blood was all over her white-tiled floor.
Chika pounded on the door, but Diamond knewâor at least hopedâthe bloodthirsty monster and former friend/lover couldn't get through.
She just needed to hold on long enough for Renata to come save the day.
Back to square one.