Margarita in the Dark

For just a split second, the entire sky lit up. Then came the tremendous roars of thunder. It had not let up for the past half hour, precisely when my brother left. I was angry with him for leaving me by myself, but he bought me french fries, my favorite snack, to prevent me from telling Mom that he went out when he was supposed to be watching me. I knew it was useless to dwell on, so I removed the ketchup from the refrigerator in defeat. It was at that moment that something caught my eye.

Disposed to paranoia as I was, I jumped at the sight of it. With a great sigh of relief, I quickly recognized the dark shadow as my cat, Carl. Carl hurried up the stairs, seemingly disturbed by something outside. Animals are instinctive creatures, or so I’ve heard, so I decided wherever Carl was going was safer than the formidable downstairs kitchen. Following him up the stairs, I felt a sense of security, but I couldn’t help but steal a glance behind me as I went. What’s out there? I shivered at the thought. Carl jumped up on my bed, knocking off a towel in the process. He was always knocking things over. I should really remember to put my things away, I thought. I curled up on the bed with him and grabbed my phone.

I didn’t have any messages. Somehow, that made my situation seem even bleaker. A kidnapper could barge in at any moment, and there would be no message trail to help identify my whereabouts. I opened a new message to my best friend, Angie. “I’m at home alone and I think there’s someone outside!” Her response was immediate. “What?? Are you okay? Want to come over?” Before I could respond, there was a loud crashing sound from outside my house. Carl jumped off the bed and scurried into another room. The pounding of my heart was nearly audible. I anxiously searched for Carl, who surely knew the best places in the house to find refuge.

I quickly surveyed my brother’s room, but there was no sight of him. “Carl,” I called out softly. I received no response. I peaked in my mom’s room, but the darkness deterred me. You had to traverse several square feet of floor just to get to the light switch, so I reluctantly opted to search downstairs. I tip-toed down the stairs, as my subconscious continued to believe an intruder lurked nearby. The noise outside had ceased, but…what was that?! This time, it was clear to me that someone was in my house. An unidentifiable noise had come from the kitchen, followed by a near-human shriek. My peripheral vision detected something red gushing out on the floor. I flew up the stairs, into my room, and closed the door as quietly as possible, despite my internal screams and sobs. I now understood why they hide under the covers in horror movies. I didn’t know what else to do. I buried myself under the blankets, trying to appear as one solid lump of a pillow. Just when I thought my fate couldn’t get any more desperate, someone began banging on the front door. I hoped it wasn’t my brother returning, the intruder would surely get him first. There was no time to consider this; regardless, I knew I was next.

“Margarita!” a voice called through the wind. The solicitor knew my name! “Margarita! Why haven’t you answered your phone!? Open up, I am worried about you!” The voice was familiar to me. Angie, I gasped. I clumsily rustled my hands around the bed, and my hand landed on the cold object I was looking for. Rapidly scrolling through a string of messages from Angie that I had missed, I began a new one. “LEAVE NOW there’s someone in my house!! Call 911!”

It was too late. Angie had spent a lot of time at my house, and she knew a secret entrance to get inside. It was probably the same entrance the intruder used. “Margarita!!!” She called again, this time louder and with more urgency. Her voice sounded like it came from the kitchen. I curled up tighter and braced myself for the moment that the intruder discovered her. What happened next, I never would have predicted. My door opened wide, and Angie stood there with furrowed eyebrows. This time, she spoke at a normal volume. “Margarita,” she said slowly, “what is going on?” she paused to look at me disapprovingly. “There is ketchup all over the kitchen floor, and Carl is going to make himself sick licking it up. Get a hold of yourself and let’s go clean it up.”