Page 34 of So This Is War
“I can, uh, get you a mattress.” I point at the empty bed.
“No need.” She waves me off. “We actually have one in the spare bedroom at my dad’s house that I can grab.”
“Okay, and sorry about this nightstand,” I say as I reach down and tug the drawer open only for it to fall to the ground with a crash. “Shit, sorry.” I bend down to pick it up just as a furry critter skitters over my hand and across the floor.
Mother.
Of.
God.
The world stops spinning as the skin on my knuckles tingles with the sensation of clammy, claw feet. I stare down at my hand and then to the right, where the furry critter scurries around the baseboard of the tiny bedroom.
“Oh . . . my . . . fuck,” I scream like a man whose nuts just got lassoed off before levitating off the floor and right on top of the slats of the bed. “Mouse,” I squeal. “There’s a fucking mousein here.” I point at it as it runs back and forth. “A rodent. Right there. Holy fuck, a rodent.”
Wylie turns toward the mouse just as it scurries toward me again and under the bed.
“Ahhhh, it’s under me,” I scream as I attempt to leap off the bed, but unfortunately, the bed can’t handle my weight, and the slat I’m standing on buckles together in a snap and my foot lands on the ground with a resounding squish.
I still.
My blood goes cold.
And I look up at Wylie, who is now wincing.
Please fuck . . . no.
Nope.
No.
Breathing heavily, I rest my hand against the exposed brick wall next to me as I very quietly and calmly say, “Is . . . is it under my foot?”
She shifts uncomfortably and cringes. “That would be a yes.”
I slowly nod, reality puncturing me.
“The whole thing?”
“Yes. Your very large foot carries quite the radial stomp.”
I gulp.
“Would you say it’s . . . dead?”
She glances down at my foot, then back up at me. “I would be surprised if it’s not.”
“Okay.” I swallow my building saliva. “Okay, everything will be okay.” I remain still, unmoving. “I’m, uh, I’m going to need some privacy.”
“If you need to scream in private, I’m going to hear it, so you might as well just do it now.”
“Right.” I take a deep breath right before a full-on shiver takes over my body from the tips of my toes to the roots of thehair on top of my head and I let out an ear-piercing squeal that echoes through the quaint space. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
When I’m done, Wylie takes a step forward. “Want me to help you out of your shoe?”
“I just, uh, I need a second.”
“Right, understandable.” She crosses her arms at her chest and looks around. “While we wait, I’ll tell you that this space will be perfect. I don’t need much.” She sticks her head in the bathroom, and for a moment, I catch her nose scrunching up in disgust. “Yup, lovely. It will be great.”
