I’ve never been an anxious person. Sure, I had reasons to be, but I never was. The secret is that I have always had this presence beside me. Everywhere I’d go I could feel something or someone there. Nothing perceptible but just a feeling. When my parents divorced, I had the presence with me to calm me down. At my high school graduation speech, I wasn’t nervous because of their support. Now, as I walk into my job interview, I am not worried because I know it will be by my side.
I walk in confidently and introduce myself to the interviewer. She smiles, “Nice to meet you, Miss Mack.” She seems very warm and friendly and I know this interview will go great.
We talk about the work environment and my past experiences in the field and I ask some questions about what my job would entail. The interview is going so well, I am beaming.
Until, all of a sudden, she stops talking abruptly. It’s like her whole demeanor changed. The once warm and friendly lady morphed into someone cold and unfeeling. She just stares at me. And I instantly felt so very alone.
I shift in my seat, “So, um, about the salary…” She is still. I open my mouth to speak again until the word “Annie” is ripped from her mouth. Almost like she herself didn’t say it. Yes, Annie was my name but she strictly called me Miss Mack during the whole interview, it didn’t make sense.
I try to keep the conversation going, hoping to wrap it up soon, “Anyway it would be a delight to work here, and–”
“You have such beautiful skin,” she whispers softly. Never once has anyone told me this before. I have had acne my whole life so I wouldn’t say I have the best skin in the world. As I ponder this, she begins to reach out her hand toward me. Before she can touch me, I scoot my chair back and abruptly stand up.
“It was, uh, nice to meet you, and um I hope to hear from you soon!” I speed walk out of the building. What a weird encounter, I think, turning it over in my mind.
Once I get back to my apartment, I’m relieved that my roommate is home. “Layla, oh my god you have to hear what just happened.” I briefly tell her about the weird vibe in my interview and she seems to have the same reaction.
“Girl, I don’t know if you should work there,” she finally responds.
I think about it. “No, it was probably just her so it doesn’t reflect the company. Plus she was perfectly friendly in the beginning.”
“Okay well I’m super hungry and I’m sure you are too so I’m gonna get started on the tacos,” she says as she walks toward the kitchen.
“Kay, I’ll join in a minute!” I shout as I listen to her loudly grab all the materials from the cabinets and fridge.
I’m texting my boyfriend since he asked how my interview went. I’m not even sure if this is something I can explain over the phone. As I start typing out a response, I realize the rummaging in the kitchen has stopped.
“Sorry, I’m almost d-” I jump, seeing Layla right behind the couch, staring at me with cold, almost dead eyes.
“Jeez, I said I was coming, I was just texting Jonas-”
“Such beautiful skin,” she whispers. Cold chills run through my bones. I never told her about that part.
“Layla this isn’t funny, I was actually scared,” I begin to say, but she just keeps her cold gaze on me with no response nor change in expression. Her arm starts to reach up and suddenly, this no longer feels like a joke. I never told her those details of the interview.
I jump up and run out the door into the freezing winter and don’t stop until I reach the bus station. Where the fuck do I go? And why does it feel like something is chasing me? My phone chimes and it’s from Jonas. That’s it! I call Jonas immediately and ask frantically if I can stay at his house tonight. He supportively complies, knowing something is wrong.
I show up at his apartment 20 minutes later, shaking like a leaf. “Jesus, Annie, you’re going to catch a cold,” he says as he goes to wrap a blanket around me.
I smile up at his soft brown eyes, “Can you just hold me? I don’t want to talk, I just want you to hold me.”
“Of course, baby, anything,” he says as we move toward the bed. He goes to spoon me and I snuggle up to him.
“Can you tell me a story?” I plead.
“Of course, angel,” he complies, caressing my arm. “Once upon a time, there was a princess named Annie in a castle so big…” he continues as I nestle closer to him.
My eyes grow heavy as sleep calls for me until Jonas softly says, “And then Princess Annie beckoned the prince into her beautiful skin…” At first, I chalk it up to my imagination, but I realize his hand has gone still and his body is stiff.
“Jonas?” I whisper. No response.
Instead, I feel a hand come up to my face and caress my cheek. I instinctively flinch away and shoot off the bed. This is not my Jonas. Gone are his soft eyes, replaced by those cold eerie eyes I have seen all day.
I grab the lamp on the bedside table, and as Jonas starts moving toward me, I whip the lamp at him and it crashes into his head. I keep hitting. And hitting. And hitting. Until he’s nothing but a red mess on the wooden floor.
Annie’s hands are shaking and she can’t catch her breath. I frantically walk back and forth across the room, take a deep breath, and move to the full-body mirror. Her breath settles down and I stare at my green eyes in the mirror. Annie walks closer as her breath evens. She brings my hand up to my cheek.
When did I get such beautiful skin?