Something warned me you were coming...

"ugh" it had been a long long day, dropping my backpack onto the ground with a satisfying thud I dragged my feet down the hall to the beckoning sofa. As I enter my living room Pumpkin my ginger cat begins to purr and promptly crawls onto my lap as soon as I sit down. "well I guess I cant cook now your comfy, oh what a shame takeaway it is" one hand scratching behind his ear I pull out my phone to order something that'll improve me day dramatically. I drop a text to My boyfriend David complaining about my day before I debate whether to watch TV, play a game, or read my book and decide not to waste the ambiance of the rain pattering outside my window and the ever present purring from pumpkin, I press order on my pizza and pick up my book. I've been reading one of my murder mystery books by Riley Sager, He is a genius! Time flies by before I know it pumpkins jumping off my lap warning me my delivery driver was probably walking up the path. I bookmark my book and slowly get up, making my way to the door I notice Pumpkin has hidden in the spare room instead of running to the door like he usually would. Maybe it was just a false alarm he likes to hide before I leave the flat or want to go to bed which used to be cute and now consists of coming up with new tricks to lure him into the living room. I go to head back to my book but something stops me. I have this small voice in the back of my head telling me something is wrong. I take a deep breath and laugh it off, work really has rattled me. I spent all day managing angry customers after there was some mistake with some pension letters, god knows how such a big mistake went through but it happens. The whole time I just looked out the window repeating the same attempt at an apology. I didn't blame them for being angry but I just couldn't get them to understand that I didn't have anything to do with the letters and nor did it change anything about their pensions. They were perfectly safe and most of them more money then I'd likely ever see. I had some Duchess complain at the audacity of having to wait more then 2 minutes to get through to us. The whole time I felt like I was being watched, I figured it was probably the managers keeping a close eye on everyone but I could have sworn I saw some guy on the street down below just pacing back and forth looking right at me. There's no way he could have seen me 6 floors up even with my bright blue hair but it still felt uneasy. By the end of the day I was drained and spooked. I walked out with one of my friends both ranting about how tomorrow will probably be more of the same and we are not paid enough to deal with this, by then the guy was gone. Enough to have my cat make me feel like something or someone was coming for me... Maybe my murder mystery book isn't helping either. Switching on the TV instead I hear the gravel outside my window and jump, its just my creepy neighbour. Honestly he drives me crazy, he always walks on the gravel outside my window instead of going around on the path and ALWAYS looks into my living room and glares at me. I need to get some of those mottled glass stickers or better blinds so whatever is so interesting about me on my sofa stops being an option for him. During covid is the only time we've spoken and it was because he banged on my door to shout at me about singing in my flat. I just sung louder. Which in hind sight is probably another reason he doesn't speak to me. My thoughts are disrupted by a knocking on my door. finally food, I answer the door and the smell of warm pizza wipes away my day and that spooky feeling lingering at my back. The delivery driver is older than I expected, usually always younger to middle aged guys but maybe this is topping up his retirement. I take the pizza and hand him a tip hoping he's having a better day than I did. Walking back to the beckoning sofa I realise Pumpkin is still hiding. I put my pizza down walking to the spare room when suddenly there's a loud click and all the lights go out. Now Pumpkin hiding makes sense the rain has turned from a drizzle to a storm, lightning flashes as I turn back to my pizza and I have to do a double take. Just as the light flashes through the window I could have sworn it highlighted a silhouette of someone outside my window. I can feel the colour drain from my face as a second crash of lightning confirms my fears. Someone is in my garden, staring at me as I stare at them, I'm frozen to the spot terrified. I'm a woman alone and I have one hell of a right hook but if he has a weapon that wont mean much. "FUCK" Pumpkin is obviously just as freaked out as he digs his claws into my leg climbing up the side of me. I grab him before I can obtain anymore puncture wounds and cradle him like a baby scratching his chest. Clearly its not just me feeling spooked this evening. The lightning crashes again and this time the window is empty. I try to rationalise to myself how it could be the neighbour checking if my powers gone out too or maybe I just imagined it. But surely if I imagined it the figure would have gone after the second strike not the third.

Either way I cant see a thing so I need some candles or a torch heading back to the hallway I again come to an abrupt stop. My front door is wide open. The light from the streetlamps cast in showing not only is my door wide open by my keys are gone too. I put Pumpkin back in the spare room and shut the door. "You know something told me you were coming" I call into my darkened flat trying to bluff some bravery. "you might as well come out this place isn't very big" I wait and nothing happens, but I've seen too many horror films to just run for the front door. I slide into my kitchen to the right of me. Empty kitchen thank god. I grab the biggest knife I own and peek into the hallway. Still empty and that's when I see it. Shoes, but not whoever is in my home they are laying down outside my flat, they could be a trick luring me to the front door, or maybe the delivery guy had a heart attack and just caught my door handle on the way down.. Ignoring every instinct in my body screaming to hide I slowly walk towards my front door, another bolt of lighting crashes flashing a silhouette standing in my bedroom to the left of the front door "got you" I whisper under my breath. I still have no idea what to do but I know where he is at least. As I try to formulate my plan the feet outside my front door start to twitch, then vanish from sight replacing them a hand curls around the door frame. I stumble backwards as everything happens so fast. bounding from my bedroom comes David, he already has blood on his hands and as the electric suddenly comes back I see the blood. He's holding a knife and the delivery guy clutching a stab wound to his ribs lurches forward. They crash in the middle and I stare dumbfounded. Was one of them of them trying to save me? But the worst realisation was at least one of them wanted to kill me. After a nasty blow to the head the delivery driver went down like a sack of spuds, I was backed as far away as possible against the door when my boyfriend starts telling me how he wanted to cheer me up after my bad day surprise me with some chocolates and flowers and he was the delivery guy come from my garden and open my front door with a knife in one hand. "I panicked and managed to get a surprise punch in but then I hid in your room trying to work out what to do, I thought I'd killed him." I stare at him dumbfounded "police" I say the only words breaking through my thoughts "we need to call the police" We can't they will send me to prison" I need to sit down I need to get my thoughts together. I stumble into the living room not stopping to check if David follows. I sit down on the sofa the pizza still smelling warm and fresh but I'm not interested in eating anymore. David stands in the doorway looking frantic which I cant blame him for he's driven all the way here just to find a wannabe murderer and... "How did you get here so fast?" It occurs to me at probably the worst time possible David lives an hours drive away. The pizza took half an hour max! "what do you mean? you said you had had a bad day so I came over as fast as I could" My stomach drops as he cements my suspicions I get up and walk towards the door, "maybe we should check he is definitely dead before we rule out calling the police" David watches me for a minute before letting me pass through the doorway. Taking a deep breath I walk over to the pizza delivery guy and check his pulse, relief waves over me as a faint pulse is still there. But now what do I do, do I tell David he's alive and risk him finishing the job or lie either way I have no idea how to get out of this situation "what did you mean earlier by something told me you were coming?" As if this night couldn't get worse "I was just bluffing I knew someone was here but no idea who or why" I feel a hand on my shoulder and cant stop myself from jumping. " is he still alive? maybe we can call an ambulance? you know if I haven't committed murder?" Maybe I got this all wrong "he's alive can you call I'm still trying to process what the hell is going on" The hand on my shoulder goes away but the anxiety increases, he steps away opening the spare room door and Pumpkin shoots out. He takes one look at the crumpled pizza guy and his hair fluffs up and for the first time in this cats whole damn life he hisses. David stops and even he looks surprised before returning to his phone call. I turn my head back to the Pizza guy just in time to see his hand shoot to my face falling back the hand reaches my throat "You don't understand I need you do understand and help me" On the edge of blacking as my vision closes in on itself his hands around my throat an orange furry blur flies across my vision Pumpkins claws digging into his arms force him to fly back and let go of my throat, I take the opportunity to punch him as hard as I can and scream while I do it. Once again he is out cold I run to David expecting him to be on the phone but he is sat on the floor holding the knife, "What are you doing? is the ambulance on the way? we need police too" Without looking up he laughs, full belly laughs. "This isn't funny what are you doing?" Finally he looks up at me but his whole demeaner feels like someone else. The corner of his mouth lifts in to a smile "I've got to give it to the old man he really wanted to save you. I didn't expect you to work it out so fast but I guess you thinking I saved you gave you more time than I planned for." As he gets up and slowly walks towards me I know I am done for. "But why? why would you want to kill me anyway" keep him talking that's what they do in the movies right? get the villain to do some grand monologue to buy time. "I guess you'll never know" well it was worth a shot. I turn and run for the door I don't care that I have no shoes on I don't know where to run too I just need to run. Not even 2 feet out the door a policeman pulls up outside the flat. I frantically wave him down screaming for help. The panicked look on his face tells me he wasn't planning on a rescue mission today "I got called for a noise disturbance from number 15 is that you?" "yes my boyfriend is trying to kill me and the pizza guy tried to save me but he's in there unconscious you need to help me" I watch as the officer regains his composure and tells me to wait by the car as he goes inside. He vanishes down the dark ally to my front door. The few minutes it takes for him to return feel like a lifetime.

The rest of the evening feels like a blur. The pizza guy whose name was Harold is swiftly taken to A&E turns out he was just a bit creepy, he was the one at my window hoping to catch a peek of something... What he thought he would catch a peek of immediately after giving me pizza I don't know but he was quickly found by David and used as bait to lure me to the front door. Only problem being that David didn't stay down and tried to warn me. In the few minutes it took for me to run outside into the police officer David had run. His plan ruined by an old man who wouldn't stay down. I never thought I would be so grateful to have had a peaking tom turn up outside my window. "is there anywhere else you can stay for tonight while we continue searching for David" The officer tears me from me thoughts back to the small interview room. "I can ask a friend but can someone check my cats okay?" I feel silly really worrying about Pumpkin when someone just tried to murder me, not even someone but my boyfriend. After 3 years together why would he suddenly want to kill me. "Of course we have officers stationed at your flat so we can keep a look out for your cat, do you know any reason why David might have wanted to kill you?" I wrack my brain over and over but I just cant think of anything "I have no Idea but he seemed really concerned when I tried to bluff before I knew he was there" The officers brows furrow. "in what way did you try to bluff?" "well I called out something warned me you were coming"