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My thoughts are all jumbled as I watch the water run over Justin. He didn’t deserve this. The kindest thing I can think of is to wash off the puke.
Steam joins my liquid-filled eyes. I can’t see. My whole body is shaking. My skin feels wrong like it’s too tight and too loose all at once. My lungs can’t expand fully. But I have to do something.
I grip the door frame and use it to guide my panicked body away from the horror.
My hands tremble around my phone, but after a few failed attempts I finally manage to click on Caleb’s name.
“Hey, sorry, I’m kind of busy right now, can I call you back?” he answers on the first ring.
“Justin is in my house!” I scream.
“Your ex?”
“He’s dead!” I yell again because it’s the only pitch I can maintain right now.
I hear his sharp intake, followed by a curse. “Did you kill him?”
“No!” I fumble with the phone, nearly turning it off before managing to hit the video button. I walk back to the bathroom, phone outstretched, eyes closed as I aim it toward Justin’s body.
“If he’s dead, why is he taking a shower?”
“Because I threw up on him!” I turn the phone back to my splotchy face, trying to focus on Caleb’s comforting green eyes. But my brain is on overload and on the verge of self-destructing. “I’ve never found a dead person in my apartment before, Caleb!” My voice cracks and he curses again.
“I’ll be right there. I’ll call the cops. Just turn off the water and don’t touch anything!”
A bit too late for that.
There’s a knock on the door.
“I’ve gotta go, someone is here.”
“Amelia, do not open the door!” Caleb barks. “It could be the killer.”
My knees buckle and my blood turns cold. The killer came back to finish the job.
No, me. To finish off me. I look around for something to use as a weapon.
“Amelia?” The knock comes again. “It’s Gary. I have your tea.”
The sound of his aged and gentle voice takes the edge off the frantic panic controlling my body. “It’s just Gary,” I tell Caleb.
“Do not, under any circumstances, open that door, Amelia! Do you hear—?”
But I click the end button before he can finish.
I tiptoe to the door, then crack it open, ensuring the bathroom is out of sight of the old man. He doesn’t need a heart attack tonight. I may be at risk myself.
Gary’s grandfatherly face greets me, and I take my first full breath since finding Justin. Dead. In my tub. Dead. Tub. The words keep repeating themselves in my head like they have nowhere else to go.
“Amelia dear, I just realized what time it was. Silly me thinking it was morning when I saw you earlier.” He gives a slight shake of his head, and I silently will him to hurry. “I brought you that tea you asked for.”
That he offered. That I could really use right about now. But I don’t think I could keep anything down if I tried.
“Thank you.” I snatch the mug out of his hands. Murder has a way of making people less civilized.
His brow furrows. “Are you alright, dear? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Ha!” I bark out an awkward laugh. I would have preferred the ghost to still be connected to Justin’s lifeless body in my tub. “I’m great!” My voice squeaks. “Even better now!” I raise the cup in cheers.