Page 58 of Stay Awake
There’s a pause as he talks to somebody. My heart skips a beat when I realize he must be talking to a doorman. I hear a door slam shut over the phone line, and then the tap of footsteps quickly going down stairs. He’s in the building. He must be on his way down to this apartment.
I glance at the white unpainted section of living room wall. Pulsating on the wall is a scribble:HE’S COMING FOR ME.
It’s too late to leave through the front door. I look around for another exit. The living room and bedroom windows are high off the ground. They’re all barred. The only way out is through the kitchen window. It’s lower and appears to have a hinged grille that can be opened in case of a fire.
“You’ve done something terrible, Liv.”
I almost jump at the voice coming through the phone again. I struggle to hear as I run my hands over the kitchen window bars looking for a latch to open the grille.
“What have I done?” I force myself to hide my fear. I can’t let him realize I know he’s here.
“You haven’t seen the news?” he asks.
“What’s on the news?”
“The murder. Your fingerprints are all over the apartment. The police will eventually piece things together and determine that it was you.”
“I didn’t kill anyone,” I say, climbing onto a stool to reach the latch, which is at the top of the window grille.
“How could you possibly know what you’ve done? You don’t remember.”
“I know I’m not a murderer. It’s not in me to kill someone.” I prod and pull at the window bar latch. It’s unyielding. I break into a sweat as I wrestle to get it open.
“Everyone is capable of murder,” he says. His footsteps thud as he walks down the stairs. “Given the right provocation.”
“Not me.”
“All the evidence points to you, Liv. Even the wordsWAKE UP!written on the window link back to you. The same slogan is written on your wrist.”
A door bangs down the hallway. It’s the stairwell door slamming behind him. He’s on my floor. His footsteps echo as he walks down the corridor.
“The evidence ties you directly to the murder,” he rasps.
“I didn’t kill anyone,” I insist.
“I know that. And you know that. But the evidence suggests otherwise. The police might think differently.”
“What do you want from me?” My voice is barely above a whisper.
“I want to help you, Liv. All I need to know is where you put the knife. Is it in the apartment with you, Liv?”
I finally release the stubborn catch on the window bars. The security grille swings open.
“They’ll find you, Liv. When they do, they’ll put you away for the rest of your life. It’s only a matter of time. I’m the only person who can help you clear your name.”
“What do you mean it’s only a matter of time?”
The window’s stuck. I grit my teeth and use all my strength to lift it up.
“Every time you fall asleep, you forget everything. You’ll forget this conversation, too, within hours. By the time the police track you down, you won’t be able to say a single word in your own defense.”
The footsteps pause in the corridor. There’s a rattle of keys. He’s outside the apartment. Using every ounce of strength, I push the window up enough to create a gap. It’s too narrow for me to squeeze through. I try again, forcing up the window with my shoulder until there’s enough space for me to crawl through.
A key enters the front door lock. The lock clicks.
He’s here.
I wriggle through the narrow opening. My legs are still dangling in the kitchen when the apartment door swings wide open. I pull my legs through the gap and run out of the alley and into the street.
