Done with the first chapter

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Chapter One: Astrid’s POV
I drown in my office between the piles of work and the countless complaints from angry customers. Whenever I try to get up and sneak to the bathroom to try and rest I get sent back to my desk. I can’t even go to the bathroom in peace, I throw myself back in the chair admitting defeat.
I rest my head back and stretch, my body is cramped from the constant work, the countless papers and reports, I stare at the door slowly zoning out, I start thinking of what I should get for lunch but then I slowly start sinking in my thoughts, my brain keeps going back to that one memory from my childhood that still haunts me till this day…
The screaming…
The blood…
My mother’s corpse…
It's been almost 10 years but I still can’t get over it, I already went through a ton of therapy and yet I still can’t get that damned image out of my head, all that blood still makes me nauseous till this day.
As the sun goes down and the voices of the crowd die, I finally make my way home after a long exhausting day, my feet dragging across the ground trying to force myself to get home in one piece, I step inside the apartment, exhaustion is clinging to my shoulder, I take off my shoes and coat then throw my bag on the bed and collapse onto the couch.
I sigh and throw my head back.
After faking smiles all day I finally have a moment all to myself, I feel depression consume my mind again and the pills are not helping anymore, that’s why I don’t see the point in taking them.
The apartment is silent, lights are dim, and the environment is peaceful, my roommate is at work which leaves me all alone, my body is exhausted with fatigue from a job that I don’t even love, a job that barely pays my rent and keeps me fed, I have to enjoy every second of this rest before I go back to that hell hole again tomorrow.
I close my eyes and feel sleep slowly take a toll on my mind
“This is really nice” I say with a soft smile slowly appearing on my face, this smile quickly fades as I hear my phone ringing from across the room, I curse under my breath and get up making my way to the counter where I left my phone.
I reach for my phone and check the caller ID, it’s a name that I grew to hate.
Mr. Morrow
Of course it’s my boss, he only calls when he needs something, which is always the same damn thing every time, I hesitantly stare at the screen thinking if I should ignore or answer the call, should I answer and get drowned in an ocean of work again, or should I pretend like I never saw the call and let it go to voicemail, it could work but I will suffer the consequences of my actions the moment he finds out that I ignored him.
I made up my mind, and swiped right.
I pick up my phone and put it on speaker
“Hello?” I say as I slowly start regretting my decision
“I need you to write a report to the health department” He says without any greetings, just his bossy orders.
I always wondered why he is always in a rush.
I close my eyes, I already feel the headache kicking in, why is it a report out of anything? “But sir it’s two in the morning” I say while trying to hold back my frustration, obviously I don’t wanna do extra work that I will not get paid for.
“Do it or you’re off the team” He says in a cold demanding tone
These words hit hard especially that I have no way out, I can’t say “No thanks” or “I don’t wanna do it”, my only way of getting money is this crappy work, my jaw tightens as I stare at the screen while he waits for my response.
I take a deep breath. “I will get right to it”
“Good I want it done by 6am” He barks the order like the animal he is
I hang up as I question my life choices.
Dozens of thoughts swim in my mind…I feel like quitting, I want to tell him to go straight to hell and find someone else to boss them around.
But reality hits harder. I can't just quit, I’m not in a good financial situation where I can just quit, and the job market is tight. I can't find any job even if I try… I don’t have a way out.
I grab my laptop and I settle down on my desk and get back to the work that has been draining my life ever since I signed that cursed contract.
“Great… JUST GREAT” i said to myself sarcastically, I sigh and stare at the ceiling “…another sleepless night”
The dim light from the moon lights up my office, the glow of the screen exhausts my eyes, something feels different, the whole apartment just feels…weird…maybe it’s just my exhaustion playing games in my mind.
I swear sometimes I just want to quit my job and disappear somewhere far… far away
…
It’s looking at me…why is it looking at me…?

stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking stop looking
…
The clock hit 2am and I'm still on my desk…my fingers sore from typing…my eyes get redder the longer I keep staring at the screen.
I take a deep breath and get up from my desk, I stumble into the kitchen, my movements slow almost robotic, the kitchen is silent except for the kittle’s hisses killing the silence, I pour two spoonfuls of coffee grounds in my mug and start mixing it.
I close my eyes as I feel the weirdness slowly consume me, I feel like I’m not alone here, I tilt my head and look around searching for that thing that is making me feel like this…then I spot it.
My eyes get stuck on the uncanny figure by the door hidden in the dark
It’s too tall to be my roommate
Too still to be human
I squint my eyes trying to figure out what I am staring at, then I see it.
Those rotten teeth…
That cursed smile that is stretching so far that it looks painful…I know that face it’s my father, but it can’t be…
He is rotting in a cell…he shouldn’t be here.
It’s…standing by the door slowly creeping out of the darkness, its big yellow eyes are eyeing me up and down like a prey.
I take a deep breath and try to convince myself that it’s just my hallucinations again, and that he isn’t really here, no…he can’t be here, why would he be here? he’s rotting in jail.
My shaky hands start tugging the drawer trying to force it open.
I locked my antipsychotics away a few days ago.
Trying to convince myself that I don’t need pills to stay sane.
Trying to abandon the feeling that I need pills to survive this harsh world.
But it’s impossible with these things taunting me everyday, I break open the drawer, sharps of wood stab the flesh of my hands like pieces of glass, blood is spreading everywhere but I don’t care, I need to get rid of this thing.
I quickly grab a fistful of my pills, my fingers tremble against the cold plastic lid, I don’t even count the pills, I just shove them down my throat and chug it down with water, accidentally biting my tongue making it bleed.
I pant as I stare at the figure slowly fades away, water and blood drips down my chin, my knees give out as I fall on the ground, I feel my body sink into the wooden floor, my head feels heavy as the pills take over my mind.
Soft gasps come out of my mouth as the dizziness takes over me, it starts as trembles in my fingers, my body runs cold, it seemed the walls are pressing inwards like the room was slowly yet strongly shrinking more and more by the minute.

Everything suddenly got louder, the clock ticking, the hums of the AC, my own ragged breathing, I clutch my head tightly, It felt like the world was spinning over and over and over. Everything was too loud, my gasps grew harder, tears started racing down my cheeks.

I cover my eyes with my hands trying to block any light from reaching my eyes. I feel like my head is gonna explode.
Every nightmare, every memory, is slowly coming back to haunt me.

The tears were uninvited and unstoppable, I don’t even know why I'm crying anymore. Is it sadness? Is it fear? Is it exhaustion? Maybe all of it or none at all.
Time has blurred, I can’t tell how much time passed by, how many minutes and hours flew by while I’m on the floor sobbing my heart out, the only thing I was sure of is that something inside of me broke, and I don’t know how to put the pieces back together.
I lay on the ground, my head facing the ceiling. I'm not sure how much time passed but it was hours.
My hand trembles as it reaches for the cracked photo frame.
My mother’s eyes smile at me, I sit up and look around, I wipe my tears off then get up to start cleaning the mess, the shattered glass, the spilled coffee on the floor, my blood staining the counter.
Knock Knock Knock
My blood runs cold. He found me.