Flinch

Tap, tap, tap.

Elijah sat alone in the shower as the water came down over his head. He tried his best to forget everything that had happened the previous day. He played with his fingers, rubbing them together and tapping them on the tub’s edge. He knew he was alone, but he couldn't help but feel as though there was someone watching him, and standing right around the corner.

The water was cold. Elijah wasn't sure who told him that cold water would help him calm down, but he remembered hearing it from someone. It didn't seem to be working.

Tap, tap, tap.

Elijah couldn't stop tapping on the side of the tub. He was positive someone was watching him. There must have been someone, someone outside of the shower, just waiting for him to step out. What would they do? Why were they there? He started to shake with fear.

No, that was silly talk. There was no one outside the shower. Elijah was alone.

Or was he?

Tap, tap, tap.

Elijah continued to tap his fingers on the tub. What did this stranger want from him, and why was someone there? Were they waiting for Elijah to get out? What would they do when Elijah turned off the water?

No. There was no one out there, right?

Tap, tap, tap.

That was it, Elijah was going to have to look. He couldn't wait any longer. He needed to check that there was no one there.

He slowly stood up. His hands were shaking. He took a deep breath, just in case it was his last. He grabbed the shower curtain and slowly peeked his head out.

He looked left, he looked right. No one was there.

Of course there was no one there, why would someone be waiting for him?

Elijah pulled back the curtain and turned to the front of the shower. Standing before him was the outline of a misty female figure. Elijah was terrified, but he didn't scream. He just shook his head rapidly.

This wasn't real, just a trick of the light or the water. Maybe it was just because he hadn't slept in the past few days and this was just a figment of his imagination. There was no face in his shower.

At least, that's what he thought until the spirit spoke.

"Elijah Jackson, don't freak out. My name is Samantha Kite," the spirit whispered in a calming voice. 

Elijah wanted to say something in return, but he was at a loss for words. His breathing was heavy as he tried to get more air in his lungs.

"Quickly, I need you to get out of the shower and drive down to the cemetery. I will meet you there," Samantha said before disappearing into the water.

Elijah quickly turned off the water and got out. He raced to put on some clothes and drove down to the cemetery. Could the spirit have known what Elijah did last night? If so, why would she send him to the cemetery?

Once there, he got out of the car and began to walk to the middle of the cemetery. His hands were still shaking, and his hair was wet.

"You’re here," Samantha whispered.

Elijah looked around, searching for Samantha. He found her next to a gravestone. It was her whole body, though she still looked like a wispy spirit.

As Elijah got closer to the gravestone, he noticed that the name on it was Samantha's. She was dead, Elijah was seeing the dead. Did that mean that she knew what he did last night? Did she know what Elijah has been trying so hard to forget?

"The girl you killed last night, they will bury her soon, in the grave next to mine," Samantha said.

She did know what he did last night. If she knew, who else did? He didn't mean to kill her, and once he did, he thought he could get away with it. Maybe if he just forgot about it everyone else would too? What a silly thought to think.

"Tell me, Elijah Jackson, what happened the night of Lillian Park's death?" Samantha questioned.

Elijah hadn't told anyone, for obvious reasons, could he really tell Samantha what had happened? He didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to hear the words come out of his mouth. He didn't want to admit he killed the girl.

He took a deep breath, "We were at the party together, it was getting late, she was drunk, and she wanted me to drive her home. I turned her down, I don't know why, I guess it was due to the fact that she scared me a little. I was about to leave the house when she grabbed my hand. I asked her to let go, but she wouldn't. I begged and pleaded, but she hung on. I can still hear her saying, 'Please, Elijah, take me home, there is no one else I trust to drive me there, please take me home.' She wouldn’t let go. Before I knew what was going on, I grabbed my pocket knife and threatened to kill her. All she said was, 'You can kill me if you want, just take my body home.' I threatened again, but she didn't let go, so I threw the knife down at her hand. She let go and I ran out after picking up the knife. I didn't know she would bleed out. I didn't even know she was dead until I heard it on the news the following morning," Elijah explained.

"Why on Earth would you find it okay to stab someone?" Samantha questioned.

"I don't. I'm not sure why I did it," Elijah admitted. His hand began to shake quicker. He had just admitted to killing someone. He knew that he had, but now that he was telling someone, it seemed so much more real.

Samantha and Elijah just stared at each other. Elijah's shaking spread from just his hand to his whole body. He couldn't seem to stop.

He fell down and began to whisper, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Tears began to fill up in his eyes. They gathered there before falling off, watering the dirt.

"I'm sorry," he repeated over and over again. The tears came faster and faster until you couldn't even make out what he was saying anymore.

Eventually, he began to take deep breaths, slowly ending the stream of tears. He looked up, his eyes to still wet, to see that Samantha was gone. Her grave wasn't even there.

Had Samantha been a figment of his imagination? Could he really see spirits? What had happened?

He got up slowly and slumped back over to his car. It didn't matter what happened that night, he knew what he needed to do. He got into his car and began to drive off.

He arrived at Lillian's house at around ten at night. He parked the car and got out. There were no other cars in the parking lot, he would have thought her parents would have come down to collect her stuff.

He opened up the door, it wasn't locked. He walked through the house to her bedroom. There was a large bed, stripped of everything that was once there. Luckily, there was still Lillian's stack of paper on her nightstand. He began to shift through the paper, going past all of her drawings and notes to find a blank one.

He found it and dug through a drawer to find a pen. He began to write out his note:

   Dear whoever it may concern,

My name is Elijah Jackson, I was Lillian's friend. I was also Lillian's killer. I'm sorry for any distress I have caused. Lillian was an amazing person, and I'm really sad to see her go. I need to apologize to her for not taking her home that night. I hope you understand. With Love,     Elijah

He left the note on the top of Lillian's nightstand and pulled out his pocket knife, the same one he used to kill her.

Tap, tap, tap.

He began to tap the knife against the nightstand. Was he really going to go through with this? What other option was there?

He climbed into Lillian's bed.

Tap, tap, tap.

He started tapping the knife against his skin. He took a deep breath, his final one, before stabbing the knife through his heart, going to join Lillian in the great beyond.