The next few days passed by in a blur, Stella hardly got any sleep and was dragging her feet at work. An entire week passed by and by Friday morning she felt completely burnt out, which her coworkers must have noticed because Matthew (The new analyst) set a fresh cup of hot coffee on Stella's desk. She looked up at him in shock and gave him a tired smile. Although she felt as if she stared too long, it was hard not to because Matthew was very handsome. His curly black hair rested on his head like some sort of nest, but still managed to look good, his light blue eyes glowed every time the light hit them and his scruffy peach fuzz shaped the sides of his face perfectly. His smile caught my attention the most as it shone even brighter than his eggshell white skin.
Stella quickly snapped out of her haze when she realized the confused look on Matthew's face. "Thank you." She mumbled in embarrassment. "You're welcome." Matthew replied with a smile as he walked away from her desk. She sighed deeply and took a sip of the coffee Matthew gave her and it was made was perfectly! "Hmm how did he know?" She thought to herself as she smiled between ever sip, it was the highlight of her week. Stella looked down at my desk to see a post-note on my keyboard that wrote "Paperwork day!" it was from her boss. She hated paperwork but at least it was the last day of work before the weekend.
Hours passed by as Stella struggled to keep her eyes open as she entered the paperwork into her computer. Her eyes started to blur from staring at the computer screen for too long. She stood up, stretched, took a sip of water before leaving her desk to go on a bathroom break. As she washed her hands in the bathroom she slowly looked up into the mirror at her own reflection. She remained still, trying to overcome her fear of her shadow self suddenly appearing in front of her. She didn't move as she stared deeper into her reflection as she saw her pupils dilate in fear as her eyes began to water. Even though she was terrified, she remained steady as she felt goosebumps form on her skin and her heart started to beat twice as fast! Nothing was changing, she was herself again! There was no sign of the demonic reflection in sight and Stella was so happy she let out a sigh of relief! She suddenly saw that her shoelace was untied, so she quickly fixed it before standing up and facing the mirror once again only to see that her shadow-self had returned! "AHHHH!" she let out a scream as she jumped back in fear! She started to breath heavily in rushed, short breaths as the door of the restroom slowly opened.
She slid across the floor as she pressed her back against the side of the wall between the door and bathroom stalls. She was trying to hide, but also preparing herself in case she needed to be ready to attack! As the door swung completely open, she saw that it was just her coworker, Julie that walked into the Bathroom. Julie looked down at Stella in confusion as she knelt down and extended her arm out to her. "Are you okay? I thought I heard a scream." Julie said as she gave Stella a strange look. "I'm okay I just slipped when I was watching my hands." Stella said quickly after Julie helped her off the floor and without any further explanation she ran out of the bathroom.
After rushing out of the bathroom, Stella slowly walked back to her desk, avoiding eye contact with her coworkers because she was embarrassed about what had just happened. She felt like everyone's eyes were peering into her soul. She felt like everyone knew her secret and that they thought she was crazy. She took a deep breath and tried to not let her paranoia get the best of her as she sat down in her desk chair, she let her head fall forward as she stared down at her computer keyboard. She suddenly noticed that there was a new post-it-note placed on her keyboard. She looked closer to the note and it read: "Please report to the lab after your lunch break. Thank you." The note was signed with the initials S.J. "It couldn't be…her or it!?" Stella thought to herself as she imagined her shadow-self approaching her at work in the most horrifying way! She sat still for a few moments and thought about how she shouldn't let her paranoia get the best of her, especially at work. Although she couldn't help but to feel nervous, especially after what she had just seen in the bathroom mirror.
It was five minutes until Stella's lunch break, and she was starting to get nervous. The time passed by quickly and before she knew it her lunch break was over. She headed towards the lab in anticipation and a bit of fear. Stella walked down the hallway leading to the lab, it seemed to be getting smaller and darker, or maybe that's just how she was feeling. Her skin started to feel cold as her hands switched as they rested at her sides. She began to look at the floor when it became hard to focus and suddenly felt herself crash into someone as she felt her face rub against cotton and polyester. She quickly looked up to see Matthew staring down at her. "Eyes on the road Stella." He said with a smirk on his face before passing her in the hallway.
Stella peeked at the lab door noticing that it was left open. Matthew must have just come from there. She wondered if he saw who she's supposed to be meeting, which would be hard to believe considering that she was pretty much going completely insane or at least close enough to it! She was unsure what led her to the lab, she knew that she could be setting herself to up to be caught in another trap! Something pulled her towards that laboratory door. She couldn't explain what it was, but it was like a magnetic force pulling her and even if she wanted to stop walking, she couldn't! Her legs had a mind of their own and she wasn't sure what she was about to walk into…
Stella slowly walked into the open doorway of the lab. She kept her gaze steady as her eyes searched the room. Strangely, there was no one in sight, so she walked into the lab and stayed close to the door as she waited patiently for her meeting. Suddenly the door was slammed shut and Stella looked over to see Will entering the lab in a coat and gloves. Will looked over at her with a confused look on his face. "Stella, I thought you were doing paperwork today, why are in the lab? With no equipment, nonetheless?" Will asked as he started to set up his lab equipment. "I was waiting to meet a coworker here, look!" Stella said as she held up the note that was left on her desk.
Will gave her a strange look before grabbing the note from Stella and showing it to her. "There's nothing written on this note." Will said with a strange look on his face. Stella's eyes widened as she snatched the note from Will's hand and hastily flipped it over checking both sides for any writing! She was in shock because she was sure she grabbed the correct note and now there was nothing written on it! "Could I have imagined the whole thing?" Stella thought to herself before she quickly ran out of the lab and straight to her desk! She hastily searched her desk for any other note or if she misplaced the original one, but there was nothing there.
Stella slumped down in her desk chair feeling defeated and confused. A single tear rolled down her cheek as her breathing started to speed up as more tears rolled down her cheeks. He eyes started to blur as her chest began to feel heavy and her heartbeat was pounding so hard, she felt as if everyone around her could hear it. She stared down at the empty post-it note that was still in her shaking hand. Suddenly, she felt a hand grip her shoulder. The contact sent a tingly feeling down her spine and a warmth that was so comforting that she was able to slow her breathing. The sound of her pounding heart quickly faded as her body stop twitching and her twitching muscles relaxed all at once.
She looked up to see Will standing over her with sadness in his eyes and a concerned look on his face. Stella gave him a small smile before letting him help her in an upright position and out of her desk chair. He helped her walk into the break room and away from the staring eyes of her coworkers who were also her desk mates. After Will helped Stella sit down, he made her a cup of coffee with some cream and sugar as he set the cup down on the table in front of her. Stella took a deep breath before taking a small sip of her coffee. Her head finally stopped spinning and she was finally able to remain calm and refocus. Will pulled out a chair and took a seat next to her.
The room was silent, until Will finally spoke. "Stella, we have to stop meeting like this, why won't you tell me what's wrong?" He asked as he gave her a sorrowful look. "Nothing is wrong, I just haven't had a good night's sleep in a few weeks, that's all." Stella mumbled back as her gaze wandered to the floor. "This is the second time I witnessed you having a panic attack, at work, nonetheless. I really think you should seek help, or at least take a long vacation to relieve some of the stress." Will said with a bit of frustration in his voice. "Thanks for the ADVICE Will! Thanks for being such a GREAT friend!" Stella shouted as she stormed out of the room as she slammed the door behind her.
She regretted what she did right when it happened, she shouldn't have shouted at Will like that. However, it was too late to turn back now, and she was still feeling angry, so she just headed straight back to her desk. Stella sat in silence as she worked on her computer with getting up again, not even to take a bathroom break. She didn't see Will again after she snapped at him, he was most likely keeping his distance, which was understandable due to the circumstances. The rest of the day was uneventful, until she noticed something strange.
The lab door creaked open, which was strange because it was time to clock out and the lab was supposed to be locked for the day. Stella slowly stood up from her chair and peeked towards the lab door, but she couldn't see anything. She tip-toed down the hallway trying to remain quiet so no one would hear her. The place was kind of eerie, it was completely quiet and all the desks were empty. Stella was sure she was the last one in the office, so it was strange to see someone in the lab. She walked to the door and peeked in quietly. She saw Matthew standing over one of the corpses. He wasn't analyzing the body, he was just staring at it.
He didn't move for a few minutes, he just stood still staring at the decaying corpse. She watched him through the crack in the door and started to back away when she noticed a smile forming on his face. I backed away in fear! She remained unnoticed until my phone started to vibrate and was heard through my purse. Matthew quickly put the body back in its place and headed towards the door and Stella quickly ran out of the front door! She stood against the walls of the front of the building and looked all around her, but Matthew was no where in sight. Stella was safe, but she was still worried, so she quickly ran to her car and drove home!
As soon as Stella got home, she ran to er apartment door and quickly locked it behind her! She scurried around the room checking every corner to see if anyone followed her home. There was no one in sight, so she took a deep breath and decided to stop being so paranoid. She walked over to the window and peeked out at the dark, almost empty street. The city was beautiful at night, but something seemed off and she couldn't shake the nervous feeling that overcame her. she leaned her head against the windowsill as tears streamed down her face as she thought about everything that happened today. The world inside her head and the real world were colliding and she didn't know what to do. She wasn't sure if she would ever know what to do and now, she felt like she had more enemies than friends. The one person who was there for her was not speaking to her now and it was all her fault. She slid down the side of the wall as she sat on the carpeted floor as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.
She stared at the blank, bright screen as she clicked on Will's name and opened the message icon. "Hey" she typed nervously, not knowing if he would reply or not. She stared at it intently before tossing it on her bed and sighing deeply. A few more minutes passed by before Stella heard a Ding! She quickly leaped towards her bed and reached for her phone! It was a message from Will that read "Hi." She took a deep breath of relief as she smiled at her phone screen before calling him. The phone barely rang once before he answered. "Hello Stella, how are you feeling?" His voice was so comforting that it spread a warm feeling through Stella's body. He also sounded calm, which was a good sign.
After a few seconds Stella answered him "I'm feeling better, thank you for asking. Listen, I'm so sorry about earlier, I was just frustrated and took it out on you. I'll never do that again or at least I'll try not to. Again, I'm really really sorry, please forgive me!" She pleaded with him on the phone. "Cut the dramatics, we're good. I know you're going through something, but next time you feel like you're about to panic at least tell me first, so I can help you. Please understand that I was NOT calling you crazy earlier today, I just know that this job can get to people sometimes, hell, it has gotten to me sometimes. I just want to make sure you're okay, I'd hate seeing good friends going through things like this." Will replied with a concerned tone. "Thank you Will, I really appreciate having you around. Dinner's on me next time! Since I was such a jerk, I'll pay for the next 3 meals! Stella said as the cheerfulness in her voice returned. "Make it the next 4 meals and you got a deal!" Will said as he chuckled through the phone. "It's a deal! Thanks for accepting my apology and I'll see you tomorrow, I'll be the one paying for dinner after work! Bye and good night!" Stella replied. "Bye and good night Stella, I hope you sleep better tonight." Will replied before they both hung up and the room went silent once more. Although her phone conversation with Will was comforting, she wasn't sure if she was prepared to face whatever was coming for her next…