Branda

It was almost midnight, I shouldn't have stayed out so late. I am a creature of habit; I don't stay out late, it wasn't in my nature but here I am cold and alone in what use to be a busy street just two hours ago.

I was at Bobby's, the only fast food place you get one free soda after ordering for two and yes, I drank all three and so did Alexis and Ureh.

Bobby's is the one spot we hung out every Wednesday after work. It isn't good for our blood sugar level but it is somewhat a safe place.

It was where I met her; the girl of my dreams. You could almost get lost in her blue eyes, it was like staring into the open sea. There is something wicked about her smile but it was comforting at the same time.

"Do you guys mind if I join you?" those were the first words that came out of her mouth when I first saw her.

"We don't mind at all," Ureh replied and made room for her almost immediately then winked at me like a middle-age drunk.

Alexis became mute, partly because she doesn't like anyone crowding our personal space and partly because this overconfident girl was more pretty than she was.

"Hi, I'm Branda," she stretched her polished fingers for a handshake.

I was busy with a newly downloaded game on my phone when I felt a heavy foot on my right foot. I looked up and saw Branda's hand pointing towards me and that wicked smile on her face.

"Chris-Christopher," I replied, kicking Ureh's ugly Snickers away from mine. I frowned briefly at him then smiled at her, who of course, knew what was going on.

"I'm Ureh and this is Alexis," Ureh introduced.

"Pleasure," she said softly and confidently.

We have all soon become close friends with Branda despite her interest was zeroed on me. Things were great for a while until a few weeks ago.

She had invited me over to her place but forgot she did until I showed up at her front door. It was a struggle between trying to shuffle her room back to order and getting the kitchen cleaned up.

It was cute actually; I loved the fact that she was really trying to impress me.

I suggested we order in but she insisted she cooks. Probably she had other plans but I never got to find out what they were.

"I will only be gone for five minutes; make yourself comfortable."

Only a few knows the joy such words brings to ones' ears. As she hurried out to the grocery store, I put my imagination to good use.

I took off my leather jacket, threw it on the couch then headed to the bathroom to do a quick physical evaluation of my looks.

It was after I came out from the bathroom I noticed an entrance on the ceiling. Curious, I dragged a ladder close by and climbed through. I found myself in a almost dark room that smelled damp like an old basement.

My heart jumped to my throat when I saw the pictures on the wall. They were pictures of me! Hundreds, I guess and a few of me with Ureh and Alexis. Some were old, like five years old and some recent, probably taken when we were together but I had no idea they were taken. I brought out my phone and turned on the torchlight App just to take a closer look but all I could see now was an obsession. Branda is obsessed with me and not in a good way.

Run! My thoughts screamed at me when my eyes fell on her wall.

"You shouldn't be here," A voice came from behind me and it was Branda's.

I turned slowly and saw her clinging to a kitchen knife.

"Stay back!"

I pointed my phone towards her as though it could shoot out lacers from its camera

"I can explain, " she said anxiously and she kept getting uneasy by the second.

She dropped the knife as a sign of goodwill but that was when the voice in my head streamed at me again. Run!

I managed to shrove her off the way and jumped down to the hallway, twisting an ankle in the process but that didn't stop me from running like a mad dog out of her apartment.

It has been weeks since our date night, but I was still living with my head over my shoulders. I have developed insomnia despite the fact that Ureh and Alexis took turn every night to sleep in my apartment.

It was Ureh's turn tonight and I couldn't wait to get to the warmth of my apartment even thought Ureh was snoring on the couch and I wouldn't be able to get any sleep. At least, I could watch some funny videos online until it was dawn and time for our morning shift.

As I pounced from one wet corner to the next, I wondered why the package that was dropped off for me at Bobby's took so long for me to pick it.

I wanted to take a peek at it but the atmosphere was too wet and soon it started to rain. Last thing I wanted was to spoil whatever was inside. After all, I waited almost two hours to pick it up, the least I could do is wait another five minutes to check what was inside.

I felt someone was watching me, I could feel it in my guts; someone was stalking me. Could it be Branda? I haven't seen her since our date night and I made sure she couldn't reach me.

I saw a figure at the end of the street where the streetlights couldn't reach. I hastened up but each time I turn to take a look at the figure, it kept getting closer, so I ran in fear.

Just a few steps away, something hit me forcefully in the face. I landed hard on the tarred road like someone that was knocked down by a car.

The package on my hand rolled forward and stopped at the feet of Branda. She was holding a baseball bat that had bloodstain on it; too much for it to have been mine. Hair long dark hair were wet and she was wearing my leather jacket on a very bloody dress.

I started to bleed from where the bat had collided with my face. My view was blurred by the impact but I could still see her cold blue eyes staring right back at me

"I can't let them take you away from me," she said softly as she knelt beside me.

I wondered what was going on in her dark twisted mind before I passed out.