Ficorpio
Chapter 1
Late that night, I ordered takeout as usual and left a note:
“Elevator’s working. Just leave it at the door—no need to call. Thanks.”
A few minutes later, the delivery rider replied.
“Don’t leave notes like that again.”
“You expect me to bring it upstairs for a four-dollar delivery fee?”
I lost my temper and cursed him out.
About ten minutes later, someone knocked on my door. When I checked, my takeout had been left outside, but the rider was nowhere to be seen.
I picked up the bag and was about to close the order when a new message from the rider appeared:
“I want ice cream.”
I froze.
Ice cream?
My order happened to include ice cream.
Had the rider stolen some of my food?
I looked around. The hallway was completely silent.
My heart pounded as I quickly shut the door and checked the order to see whether anything was missing.
The ice cream was still there.
The rider was obviously messing with me.
I decided to ignore his prank, but just as I was about to enjoy my meal, I remembered the stories spreading all over the internet about delivery riders tampering with customers’ food.
We had just fought. I had cursed him out, and yet he’d delivered everything perfectly without saying another word.
Could he really be that considerate?
I leaned closer and smelled the food. There was no strange odor, but I still didn’t dare take a bite.
While I hesitated, another message popped up on my cell phone.
“Hey, beautiful. Could you share half your ice cream with me?”
“I brought it all the way upstairs for you. Eating it all by yourself isn’t very nice.”
What did that mean?
Had the delivery guy never left? Had he seen that I’d already brought the food inside?
Carefully, I moved toward the door and checked the courier’s profile on my phone as I went.
His page said he averaged one delivery a day. Was Ryan Brooks some rich kid playing at being a delivery rider for fun?
I usually tried not to complain. Delivery drivers had it hard enough.
But this one had been unbearable. First, he’d acted like he was doing me a favor by telling me not to leave delivery instructions. Now he kept going on about wanting my ice cream.
I peered through the door peephole again. The hallway was still empty.
Not entirely convinced, I messaged him.
[Did you put something in my food?]
[I’m warning you, I report people like you.]
Ryan replied almost immediately.
[Seriously, beautiful? You think I’d do something that trashy?]
[Don’t worry. I’m done joking. I’ve still got another delivery to make.]
So he really had been messing with me.
I’d worked late enough to stumble home exhausted, and now I couldn’t even order takeout without running into some obnoxious delivery guy. I opened the app and started filing a complaint.
Before I could submit it, several more messages appeared.
[Beautiful, I was out of line today.]
[Since you haven’t reported me, I’ll give you a warning: someone’s watching you.]
Chapter 2
I typed back at once.
[Are you seriously still doing this?]
Ryan replied:
[That’s what I heard from some of the other riders.]
[If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.]
Then he closed the chat.
I wanted to finish the complaint, but I was too tired after work. I picked at my food, ate enough to keep my stomach from growling, then went into my bedroom and collapsed onto the bed.
It was almost eleven.
Just as I was drifting off, something suddenly felt wrong.
Where was Lucky?
Around this time every night, my cat usually prowled around me, demanding dinner.
But ever since I’d brought the takeout inside, I hadn’t seen him once.
I called Lucky’s name, but he didn’t answer.
That was strange. Far too strange.
I swept my gaze around the bedroom, searching for any sign of him.
Then I spotted him.
Pretending not to notice anything unusual, I casually sat back down on the bed.
Lucky was crouched in the corner, trembling with fear. His unblinking eyes were fixed on the darkness beneath my bed, as if something there had terrified him into silence.
Had the delivery rider been telling the truth after all?
Was someone really watching me?
And judging by Lucky’s reaction…
That person might already be inside my apartment.
Because I had Lucky at home, I worried he would get restless being shut inside all day. So when I came back from work at night, I sometimes left the door open for a while.
I thought I was letting Lucky wander around the hallway.
Instead, I had invited disaster into my home.
Then I remembered the security camera I had installed outside my door because I was afraid Lucky might run off.
To test my suspicion, I opened the app on my phone and watched what had happened that night.
The footage showed me opening my apartment door. Lucky slipped out and paced around the hall.
Not long after, a man approached my door and reached down as if he wanted to pet him. Lucky bolted back inside.
The man leaned toward the gap in my doorway and looked in for several seconds before stepping into my apartment.
At that moment, I was probably in the bathroom taking off my makeup.
No wonder the delivery rider had warned me someone was watching me.
The second that man entered my apartment, the rider came out of the elevator.
He had seen it himself. Yet he’d claimed he’d only heard it from someone else.
Damn it. If the rider hadn’t messed with me before, I might not have doubted him so much.
Someone really had broken into my apartment.
I told myself to stay calm, even as I cursed my usual carelessness.
I pinched my thigh hard.
Don’t panic.
Chapter 3
Don’t do anything rash. If I suddenly walked out now, the man would know something was wrong.
And if he realized I was trying to escape, he would probably catch me before I made it more than a few steps.
If I wanted to get out of this safely, I had to pretend I didn’t know anything had happened.
I drew in a deep breath, but the fear only tightened around me.
Maybe that man was lying beneath my bed right now, watching every move I made.
He was hiding in the bedroom. He was probably waiting for me to finish dinner and go to sleep.
If I hadn’t figured it out, I didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened.
Stay calm. I had to stay calm.
He didn’t know I had discovered him.
All I could do was avoid tipping him off.
I swallowed and forced myself to stop shaking. Then I raised my voice, letting irritation color every word.
“That delivery guy kept going on about ice cream!”
“I probably shouldn’t eat that takeout. Who knows if he put something in it?”
“What a terrible day. I’ll just order from somewhere else.”
I picked up my phone and called 911.
When the dispatcher answered, I said, “Hi. The order I just placed shouldn’t have any chili peppers. And I saw that you deliver drinks too, but I don’t want one of those either.”
“Ma’am, you’ve reached emergency services.”
“I know. I already left a note. I’m just calling to remind you in case you missed it.”
“Are you in danger right now?”
“Mm-hm. Good. As long as you saw the note.”
“What’s your location?”
…
I gave the dispatcher my exact address and kept the line open, just as she instructed.
Afterward, I planned to take the paring knife from my desk. At least then I would have something to defend myself with.
But the instant I stood up, plastic crinkled beneath the bed.
My nerves snapped taut. I didn’t dare move my feet another inch.
Had the intruder knocked into something beneath the bed?
Had he realized I’d called the police?
I kept telling myself not to panic. The more frightened I became, the less clearly I could think.
But what was I supposed to do now…?
I considered texting the police to ask when they would arrive. The moment I unlocked my cell phone, a pair of icy hands closed around my ankle.
I screamed and tried to wrench myself free.
“Help! Somebody help me!”
I shouted with all my strength, praying one of the neighbors would hear.
But the harder I fought to escape, the foggier my mind became. Even Fortune’s familiar shape blurred before my eyes, as though a veil had fallen over everything.
My eyelids grew unbearably heavy. No matter how hard I fought to keep them open, they slowly closed.
Then my legs gave out, and I crumpled to the floor.
Rewriting chapter narration voice