The Girl in the Apartment Shower

I sat down on the couch with a bottle of wine. It was my second glass and I needed to not feel anything after several stressful days of moving. I was proud of myself for saving up money so I could move out of my parent’s house. I was proud that I had a stable income. When my parents kicked me out of their home after I came out as a lesbian, I was ready. The move was not immediate; I still had a couple of days. They thought I wouldn’t make it on my own. But I outwardly laughed in their faces when they found out I was already prepared for that day. 

My girlfriend, close friends, and I, splurged hard on the alcohol and spirits. We had whiskey, vodka, rum and wine. 

My girlfriend Bonnie stumbled over and fell on top of me on the couch. Her long, raven hair was plastered on her face. She giggled and kissed me passionately. 

“I’m so happy,” she slurred. She clutched Sailor Jerry’s in her hand and half of the bottle was gone. I smiled at her, not quite feeling the alcohol in me just yet. I snuggled her. She had a hard time with her family as well and I could feel the weight of the pressures of her anxiety slipping away as I held her in my arms. 

One of my friends stood up. She tried to get all the girls’ attention. The laughter and commotion died down. 

“I’d like to make a toast!” my friend Nai exclaimed, raising a glass to the air. Everyone followed suit. My girlfriend clumsily raised her bottle, with an awkward grin. She looked at me. I smiled back. Nai continued. “To new beginnings!”

“To new beginnings,” everyone echoed loudly. And we all drank. 

“I’m so glad everyone came. I moved everything out of my house. Every. Single. Thing,” I said, beaming at all of my loving friends. “Y’all helped me a lot. Every single one of you.” 

“You did all of the work,” Giselle, one of my friends said.  She was biracial, African American and Caucasian. Coils of her beautiful dark blonde curly main bounced around her face. Bonnie looked from me to Giselle warily. She protectively cuddled close, like a cat protecting its owner. I gave my girlfriend a look. 

“Chill,” I said patting my girlfriend on the back. “You know you have nothing to worry about.” 

We spend the rest of the night watching James Bond movies. We laughed at the cheesy over-the-top action scenes that would be so unrealistic in real time. My friends fell asleep on the mattresses in the floor. 

Everyone woke up with excruciating headaches..except me. When we were watching movies, I drank a lot of water. And had to use the bathroom a lot. My friends left, giving us both hugs and wishing us luck in our new life together. 

Bonnie and I stayed in the house all day. She wasn’t fully awake. We were glad we made our first payment of the month. I had been very excited to work while living in a new place, with the person that I loved. It was heaven. We passed the time getting comfortable and cozy in our new home. Until later on.

I carried Bonnie to the bedroom so  she could get some more rest. I had decided to take a hot bath. I adored the bathroom. It was clean and had a nice shower. I filled the bath with water. I couldn’t wait to soak my weary body into the water. 

I hadn't fully soaked in the tub, when I felt a cold draft and what sounded like a long sigh of exhaled air. My left shoulder was covered in the cold draft. It was as if the hot water wasn’t touching it. I saw something in my peripheral vision that looked like a shadowy outline of a body standing near the shower curtain. It was probably Bonnie. 

I smiled. “If I had known you had wanted to join me, I would have made room,” I said. But, I was met with silence. 

“Bonnie?” I called. The figure of what I thought was Bonnie stood there silently. The shower curtain moved as air pushed and pulled from the figure. She, or it, was breathing. Even though the bath was warm, I was cold. I froze. My heart beat quickly. I know it’s stupid, but I wanted to see if the figure would disappear as soon as I pulled back the black-and-white striped shower curtain. Or if I closed my eyes, it would vanish.

 It didn’t take any of that to make for the terrifying figure to disappear. I sank back in the tub, not daring to move. It took a moment for the rush of fear to wash over me and subside like a tide in the sea. 

“Diana?” The voice of my love broke through my fear. It was muffled, due to the door being closed. She knocked on the bathroom door. Even though she could just walk in, she still made it a habit to knock. 

“Yeah?” I responded, my voice cracking a little. 

“You okay? You’ve been in there for a long time. I ordered food for us an hour ago. We got Chinese. Yours is gonna get cold.”

My body was still immersed in the water. I hadn’t fully wound down. Had it been hours? Surely, it hadn’t. Maybe she woke up as soon as I stepped in the tub. She was known to be a light sleeper, even when drunk. 

“Oh, my head is killing me!” I heard Bonnie exclaim. She still hadn’t gotten over her hangover. 

“Go back to bed!” I shouted. “You didn’t even drink any water so you can prevent your hangover.” 

“I’m fine!” my girlfriend shouted back. Her voice was a little raspy.

I sighed. She was so stubborn, never listening to me or, anyone. Headstrong woman. But I wouldn’t have her any other way.

That evening, we ate our takeout Chinese. I was staring straight ahead at the show we were watching. After a moment of mulling it over, I decided not to tell Bonnie what I saw, or, what I thought I saw. I still didn’t think it was real. 

I hadn’t realized how little I had eaten. I almost wolfed down my meal, causing my girlfriend to stare at me. I covered my mouth and looked at her sheepishly. 

“I haven’t had any good meal in a  while since we started packing,” I said. She didn’t have to say anything to me with words. I already knew what she was thinking when she looked at me. She giggled. 

“I know,” she replied. “I just think you’re cute gobbling up the food like that.” 

“Weirdo, you like looking at me gorge on food,” I cracked up laughing.

Bonnie pouted at me. “How dare you laugh at me. I love everything you do!” She hit me playfully and gently with a throw pillow. Then her face frowned. “Ugh, I have work in the morning. I slept all day. I know I’m not going to be able to sleep at all tonight.” 

I ate the last of my sweet and sour chicken. “Just lay down and don’t watch the scary gaming videos you like so much.” 

“But, Diana, that’s how I wind down!” she whined.

“No, that’s how you stay up all night and get nightmares,” I retorted. Bonnie huffed. 

“I’m desensitized to that stuff,” she said, looking away and folding her arms. “Ugh, I’m gonna get an Advil. Want anything from the kitchen? More wine?” She smirked. 

“As if I hadn’t driven myself to drink enough already!” I responded, rolling my eyes. She moved to the kitchen.  “And don’t even think about getting yourself some either,” I admonished. 

Bonnie sighed. “Yes, Mom.” 

I heard glasses clinking and pills  clacking as she rummaged through the kitchen. 

“Maybe a shower would do me some good,” she said. She moved toward me as I was finishing my meal. She towered over me and began to straddle me. She clutched a small glass of water and some Advil in her hand. “I know you just took your bath, but, if you wanna have another one, you know you’re welcome to join me,” she cooed. She bent down to kiss my neck. Her long, wavy hair gliding on my skin. I giggled. 

“Go on, you naughty thing,” I replied. She moved away from me, leaving her lasting imprint on me, before moving to the shower.

I heard the shower running. And moments later, heard a scream. I jolted upright and quickly made my way to the bathroom. Good thing she didn’t lock it. I opened up the bathroom. 

There were two figures in the shower. I saw Bonnie’s, but the other one…

My heart leapt in my throat. “Bonnie, don’t move!” I said, hating that my voice was cracking. 

“Diana, the shower is cold,” I heard Bonnie whimper. 

“I’ve got you,” I said, moving closer. I closed the distance between me and the bath and pulled the curtain. Bonnie was against the shower wall, frozen in fear. But the other one standing there, was gone. I helped Bonnie out of the tub. 

Now that she had seen whatever that was, it was time for me to tell her. But I had to get her to the bedroom. After a trying  time getting her to calm down, we both walked in the bedroom. She clung to me tightly, trembling in my arms. I debated telling her that I saw this shadow, again, behind me. 

“Am I crazy? It must be the stress. Got me seeing scary things,” she murmured. 

“Yeah, probably,” I muttered, rubbing her back. “We must have seen the same thing.” I felt Bonnie stiffen as she looked up at me. 

“What?!” she exclaimed. “You saw that thing too?” 

I nodded. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” 

“I didn’t want to worry you!” I said desperately. “Besides, it’s probably nothing, but stress.”

Bonnie sat up, folding her arms. I just spewed out everything, from the first moment I saw the woman, to the moment she checked on me. She relaxed after I told her. 

We held each other and fell asleep, once our nerves settled. We slept a little restlessly. I had a disturbing dream, and yes, the woman was involved. She was young with matted hair and glassy eyes that horrified me.!

Bonnie’s alarm woke me up at eight in the morning sharp. She was groggy when she woke up, but she still kissed me good morning before rolling off the bed to gather her work clothes.

“If feels like the nightmare I had won’t let me go,” she said, a bit too hauntingly for my taste. She looked at me and groaned. “Don’t tell me you had the same dream.” 

I did, but I wanted to be quiet about it. Something was going on, but I wanted to focus on our life together. Yet, I could never hide my emotions from her.

Bonnie fixed us some eggs, bacon and toast. “Food will do us some good,” she said, milling about in the kitchen. “Unfortunately mine will have to be to-go.” Bonnie was wearing her business suit for her secretary job. It was a black blazer with a matching skirt and pumps. Her hair was curled in little tight coils that draped over her shoulders and down her back. She wore lipstick the color of red wine. I sipped my coffee while watching her, and checking emails on my phone. She glanced at her watch and made a noise of exclamation. 

She pecked me on the cheek and said, “Gotta go!” before rushing out of the door.

I sat down in front of my laptop on the desk in our room. I began to boot it up so I can start my work. I put my headset on and opened the phone software used for my job. 

I was busy answering calls and solving customer problems, when I heard a creek behind me. I moved my head toward the noise and noticed that the closet door was ajar. I quickly finished the call, happy that it was short and sweet and switched the phone to auxiliary. 

“What the hell?” I wondered. An object thumped from behind the closet, causing me to jump back. Did a mouse find a hole and made a way inside our room? I looked down and saw what seemed to be a diary. I opened the door and picked up the book. Maybe this was Bonnie’s? If it was, I didn’t want to snoop. I took the book with me to my desk, grabbed my cell phone, and texted her, asking if she was trying to hide her personal diary. 

A few moments later, a message popped up. “No, and if it was, why do you have it?”

I replied to the message telling her that I found a slightly worn diary in our wardrobe. She responded by telling me she had to go to a meeting. We sent heart emojis to one another, and I moved in front of the computer to get back to work. It was break time. My curiosity was piqued, so I opened the diary. Maybe it belonged to the last tenant? I opened the diary. There was slight yellowing of the pages.  

I read some of the entries. This woman, Maria, as told by the diary, was a beautiful good-natured soul. But, she had a history of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. She suffered greatly at a young age. It seemed life took its toll on  her, as demonstrated by the final journal entry. 

June 6, 2014. 

Well, I think I’m going to do it, finally. I think I’m going to end it all. I’m going to show them. I’ll show them that they cannot hurt me any longer with their words. I’m just contemplating how I’m going to do this

 I broke down in tears and had to call in for the rest of the day, telling my supervisor that I was having a panic attack. She was a little irked, but let me off that day. 

I decided to go to the landlady, Sylvia’s office. I carried the diary with me. I knew she might think me crazy, but I had to see if Maria was whom Bonnie and I saw, and why she never told us about the tragedy that happened in this room. Luckily, she was in.

She was a kindly, middle-aged lady with a youthful face. She was on her computer. 

“Hey darling, how are you liking the place?” she asked me, smiling. 

It’s fine, except there’s a ghost in my apartment, was what I wanted to tell her. 

“I just had some questions about who else lived here. I found this diary, from a girl named Maria,” I said. My phone suddenly buzzed, alerting me of a message.  Bonnie was home and asking where I was. “‘Scuse me,” I said. 

“You’re fine!” Sylvia said cheerily. “But Maria, poor girl. Her family didn’t treat her right. It wasn’t  my place to intervene either, her parents made sure of that. She died, but I don’t know how. Must’ve drowned accidentally, because her body was really wet when the paramedics came. Why do you ask?” 

“I just found something of hers,” was all I said. I clutched the book by my side. I would tell my girlfriend what was going on later, about the ghost girl in our shower.