Vitamin Water

Flash Fiction Friday

Hi all! Thanks for tuning in, please enjoy this very flash fiction Friday!

Vitamin Water

Ann was finally alone. She plunked the box down on the floor of her new apartment loft and a chill snuck up behind her. She turned her head and frowned, realizing it was just a draft and she’d left her hoodie in the car. Gooseflesh erupted on her arms and something told her to go to the window and twist the handle shut. Can’t be too safe, especially at night time. The full moon shone through the cracked blinds and she shut those too. Nothing was getting in. Dust tickled her nose — Rick would have torn these old blinds down in no time and put up California shutters. Ann wasn’t handy in the least, Rick did all the repairs and she’d miss that. But, she wouldn’t miss the slaps and the shoves and his humiliating pranks.

She rummaged through some of her stuff from the box – her favorite mug wrapped in newspaper, a Mariners hat and some books she’d grabbed from the old house. Rick had made fun of her romance novels, had even sold some in a garage sale behind her back. Said they were for the “weak minded” and she should stop reading such trash. Her neck tensed up thinking about her life before. She was glad she had her books and all the rest of her stuff and the move was finally over. She hated the thought of going back there. Ann smiled, glad that he didn’t know where she lived, or that she’d found another job in the next city over. Her smile quickly evaporated. A half empty bottle of vitamin water poked out from the box. Rick’s favorite. She hated the taste. How did it get in there?

An icy drop plopped on her head and her heart jumped. The feeling spread to her face, just like when she played under the melting icicles as a kid. Is the damn roof leaky? Ann looked up at the ceiling rafters but there were only shadows and cobwebs and no sign of a leak that she could see.

She felt her forehead, sure she’d have to get a towel. She brushed a drop from her skin and thought maybe she’d been sweating from bringing the boxes in. Sighing, Ann shuffled the box of stuff to the corner of the living room and made sure the door was locked behind her.

She flopped onto the couch, feet throbbing, and enjoyed the dead silence. Her body stiffened — she forgot she was holding her phone and it vibrated hot in her hand. She scrolled up and saw her mother had called, and the lawyer after that. A text from an unknown number popped up on her screen. “Do you like my pranks?” Another icy plop dripped onto the back of her neck. She clutched herself and looked up. Rick’s body was curled like a snake in the rafters. He tipped a bottle of vitamin water over her head and a grin crawled past his hollow cheeks.

Thanks for reading!

I’d like to thank all of you who’ve grabbed a copy of my new sci-fi short story collection, An Orb Over The Strawberry Moon And Other Sci-Fi Tales, on Amazon. It’s still available on Kindle Unlimited and in paperback. Please visit my website and check it out! Nancy's website