Every Kind of Way

Scaredy Cat

We parked close to the main entrance of her house. It looked homier than both my mansion and grandmother's place in comparison. The only time I ever felt at home was when my parents were alive, everywhere else felt empty or prison-like.

I got out of the car and moved the seat so Mon could climb out.

Mon: "Thank you." I didn't say anything. I tried to act cool by leaning against the car. I didn't like this area at all. What if there are criminals here? Or worse ghosts. Mon walked towards the other side of the car. "Thank you so much for dropping me off, Mr. Kirk." It was my idea, but who cares, right?

Kirk: "With pleasure, Mon. But it must be very tiring for you to travel to the office every day when it's so far from your house." That's true. Mon didn't drive to the office. She didn't even have a car. Coming to the office must cost her a fortune every day. Hmm.

Mon: "Not at all. I'm used to it."

Sam: "Going back and forth, time wasted on commute." Time that I want to have for myself. "Surely, it affects work quality." I did care about that too, though Mon's work hasn't been affected at all.

Kirk: "Sam." Always that tone, scolding me like a child. "She's just worried about you." I am. Maybe Mon should stay at my house so she can save time on commutes. I heard a noise nearby and got a little startled.

Sam: "Does this place...have ghosts?"

Kirk: "We took Mon to dinner, so she wouldn't be upset anymore. She'll be even more upset if you talk like this." I didn't say anything bad. They can't see me pouting because my back is turned to them, but I am. I can never say anything right. "Don't take her words seriously."

Mon: "I'll be on my way then. Thank you again. Lady Sam, thank you too." I looked back and Mon was walking towards her house. I saw a man inside, he seemed to be waiting for her. Who is that?

Kirk: "Is that...Mon's boyfriend?" How would I know?! I didn't like the idea of someone else with Mon. "How cute. He's waiting for her." I could feel Kirk smiling, but this was no happy matter. I have to talk to Mon about him. Why didn't she tell me she had a boyfriend? I watched them go into the house together and my blood was boiling inside. "How long are you going to stay like that? Let's go."

I got into the car but didn't speak to Kirk. A few 'Mhm', 'Ok', 'Yep' were the only things that I uttered during the ride. If I didn't know him any better, I would think that Kirk was crushing on Mon. He kept talking about her all the way home. I didn't like the idea of him or her boyfriend near her. What is wrong with me? Could I be...? Nop! I can't be. I might be confusing things.

I couldn't get Mon's boyfriend off my mind. I had to find out if he was staying over with her. If her parents allowed that, it could mean they have been together for years. I couldn't sleep until I knew for sure if she was with him right now on the same bed. I breathed in and out relaxing myself a little and decide to subtlety ask Mon.

I didn't know how to start the conversation, so I sent her a sticker. She sends one back. Ok, she's awake. I look at the time on my phone and it's almost 11:30pm. I shoot back a text. 'Why did you reply? Why are you still awake?' I didn't know how to approach the question so this is the best that I could think of. We weren't close enough yet for me to ask her such a direct question.

After a few seconds she replied. 'I'm about to go to bed'. I don't want her to go yet so I sent her another message. 'Don't, stay and chat with me'. I gathered up the courage I needed to ask what I wanted to know. 'Who are you sleeping with? Are you by yourself?'. I didn't want to beat around the bush anymore, I needed answers. While Mon took her sweet little time to respond, I was mentally biting my nails. It took only a few seconds for her to respond but to me it felt like an eternity. 'I'm by myself'. That's all I needed to know in order to sleep better. Even if he was her boyfriend, her parents didn't allow him to sleep over yet.

I decided to tease her a little bit since I already got what I needed. 'Is there a space under your bed? If there is, the ghost might come out'. I almost had a restless night so now maybe she should have one herself. I chuckled at my genius and placed my phone face down on the bed. I thought she would get scared, but again, Mon never gives me the response that I expect.

When I grabbed the phone again, I read something I really wish I hadn't. 'Lady Sam, don't look outside the window. A Peta might appear.' I couldn't sleep, maybe an hour or two max. I kept checking under the bed, I closed the window curtains, I turned on every single candle that I had in my room. I lived by myself. The servant was only in the house when I wasn't there. She made sure the house was clean, there was food cooked and ready to eat when I got home, but other than that I was always alone in my house.

I kept hearing noises I had never noticed before. The sound of frogs outside, the wind howling, a neighbor's door closing nearby. It was almost 2am when I decided to do some work since I couldn't sleep. I really hated Mon right now, I know it was my own fault because I started the ghost talk, but she knows I'm scared of ghosts. Did she think I wouldn't get scared by what she said?

I woke up a couple of hours later startled by the alarm sound. I didn't feel like having my breakfast near the pool like I always did. I put on a lot of makeup to cover the baggy eyes that I know I didn't have the day before. I got into Ms. Duanpen and drove to the office. While I was walking upstairs, I saw Mon. I put on my sunglasses to cover my eyes. She was about to walk away from the board with our current activities when I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the wall.

I was really close to her so she could see what she did to me. I lowered my sunglasses a little bit until she noticed.

Mon: "Lady Sam, how come you have dark circles under your eyes?!" As if she didn't know what she did to me.

Sam: "You even dare to ask? It's all because of you."

Mon: "Because of me?"

Sam: "Correct. Entirely your fault. It's because you scared me last night with the..." I could hear voices behind me, and I didn't want them to see me talking to Mon, so I walked away. 

We will finish this later.