Last night was ... weird. What was that ? 

At this point she wasn't only referring to the jog with the unwanted company.

Let's go back to when she engulfed herself in the couch. She was ready to pass out and sleep, but the call of food was much stronger. She also had to do some homework, so no sleeping for now. She made herself some pasta and sat at the tiny table, eating and writing at the same time. Of course, she turned on her radio, the music filling the spaces of the apartment. She even listened to Acrylic Ghosts for 10 minutes, responding to questions who weren't directed at her and judging the stories that were told. But if you asked her, she would deny it. They talked about someone who lived in a haunted house and had to move out, so it was unlivable. Of course, Avril didn't believe a word they said.

It was only when she was going to take a quick shower before bed that something happened.

See, in the old building that she, and other peoples lived in, the walls are thin. You can hear when someone above you is moving the furniture and most of all, you can hear when someone enters the building and walks the stairs.

When Avril heard something browse the hallways near her door, she was getting kind of paranoid.

Did the creep find my house ?, she was asking herself, walking a bit closer to the door.

If horror movies taught her something, it was to not look in the peephole, at least if you didn't want the murderer to stare back at you from the other side. So she did just that, because the door is locked, and Avril just wanted to sleep at this point. 

The other side is pitch black, which is weird because the lights turn on when someone is in the hallways. 

Maybe the lighbulb has burned out. But even so, they're walking in the dark, that's fucking weird, she thought. At some point during her monologue, she couldn't hear them anymore. She didn't hear any doors open, so that meant they were just standing still in the shadows. At least that's what she thought.

Avril just stared at her door, waiting just like the person outside, not making a sound. It was as if they were both aware of the presence of the other.

So she waited.

And waited some more.

Until finally something happened.

Frantic footsteps running down the stairs, making so much noise compared to the silence of the night that Avril jumped out of her skin. Chills ran down her arms and spine, and she couldn't move. Frozen in place. The footsteps disappeared ou of thin air when she presumed they reached the bottom floor. 

And after that, nothing.

Not a sound.

After 15 minutes of just staying still with wide eyes, Avril started to move again. 

She was confused out of her mind, so she did the only things she could think of. 

She had gone to the kitchen and retrieved a glass, putting it on the door handle. If someone was trying to break in tonight, she will know. She got a tiny knife too, just in case.

When she got to bed, she forgot about the shower and just laid down, being alert to every little tumult of the night. The howling wind rattling the windows, the sound of the rain, the ticking of a clock. Until she finally got to rest.

She woke up a few hours later. Avril didn't stir in the night due to the clatter of glass on flour. So she doesn't bother to check, and just takes the shower she forgot about. The shower is warm and comforting, like a hug, and she doesn't want to leave it. Unfortunately, she gets out and dries herself off. She looks at her reflexion in the mirror, dark circles around her eyes, and decide she'll dye her hair today.

She gets out of the bathroom, goes to the living room and on her way there, she peeks at the front door.

Her eyes widen when she sees broken pieces of glass exposed the floor, shining in the light like twinkling stars.

Well, that's... intriguing, to say the least. She thinks to herself, not having expected it. Now Avril doesn't know if she's supposed to call the cops or hide in her apartment until the end of time. But maybe she can do something else today instead of worry. She had already planned to go out to take pictures, and she really wanted to go. If she comes back and her door is open, she could go to a friend's house. 

"Yeah, I'll do that", she says to no one, while picking the broken glass up in her hands. And maybe the glass shattered by itself, due to the wind. Just because it's broken doesn't mean that someone tried to break in.

Maybe, she sighs, wincing when a shard of glass lodges itself in her thumb. A drip of blood slides from the cut and fell on the floor. Avril watches the stain. Today is already a bad day. 

She gets up and takes the broken glass to the bin in her kitchen. She opens the tap and puts her hand under the cold water, watching as the blood and the tiny shard disappear down the drain. Closing the water, she exit the kitchen  and decides to see if she has any bandages left. It would be unfortunate if she stained more than the floor. Luckily, there are some with tiny dinosaurs on it in the cupboard that she had brought to Tania that one time she fell and had scratched her cheek on the pavement.

While putting it on, Avril sees the hair dye in the cupboard. She wants to dye it right now so that she can do other things this afternoon.

It can still be a good day, she thinks before opening the lid of the orange mixture.